Desert Schools Federal Credit Union

Been a member for over 15 years, in December of 2014 went to re-​fi my home.
Submitted my application, NEVER heard from them, so went with a larger mtg company, then 7 weeks later, I received a customer survey asking how my loan officer did? REALLY, I never heard anything from any Loan Officer! Sad, they used to have good customer service

I’ve been handling a relatives estate and noticed that she had an account with this Credit Union. So, I went to the above named branch to see about it. I met with banker Tyler Gardner. He went over the account and explained a number of things I wasn’t aware of, for example that I and another relative had been made co owners many years ago (I had at that time made many major changes in my life so forgot signing a form).
Anyway, after explaining all this he met my request to close the account and divide the money so I could easily place the monies in accounts owned by myself and the other beneficiary. Tyler was friendly, helpful and professional. So, posting a review like this is what I do when I’m happy with a service (which doesn’t happen often enough in this world).

Friendly people, good service. It’s like they actually don’t mind being at work. Unlike their 16^th and Camelback location.

Desert Schools is one of the worst banking institutions I have come across in my life time. Chase is worse then them and that isn’t saying much. There are plenty of other credit unions that are exceptional… Alliant is one of them! Don’t waste your time with this bank

I was a member of Desert Schools for years and decided to change credit unions a few years back. The atmosphere was very unprofessional and unfriendly. A manager named Lisa Lowe (not sure of last name spelling) struck me as a snarky teenager that hated her employees. I witnessed her being disrespectful towards her tellers on multiple occasions. She dresses inappropriately for a banking environment. And she doesn’t seem to know how to properly speak to members, remaining diplomatic while explaining basic fees. I worked in a similar field for years and it’s an important and essential skill to have, to be able to explain fee changes (or any changes) to the member while still remaining friendly and staying loyal to your company. Lisa really seemed to struggle with this, and just came off as uninformed and annoyed.

The ahwatukee branch used to have 2 ATM’s.
they now have one and this morning it as OUT OF SERVICE,!,!,!
ONE TOP OF THAT THEY NOW CHAEGE 5 $ for EACH OVERDRAFT TRANSACTION.
wells fargo is starting to look better and better.

this bank is terrible and will charge you unfounded fees. it is a hassle to try and communicate with this bank and their customer service is terrible, i would not recommend this bank unless it is for someone you don’t like and would like them to become financial screwed.

After being told, «yeah, you qualify for a refi, no problem» they question and ask redundant, repetitive questions, paperwork, letters, check credit scores constantly!!!
Don’t be self employed, or you will get the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th degree!!! Mind you, this is a refi, I already qualified for the house!!! If they did this questioning of illegals, criminals, and welfare recipients, our country would save trillions…
Now.into the 4^th month, and 2,000 dollars later, having to pay my accountant for every paper and question they have, plus paying for appraisals, I told them to shove it!
Every Canadian, foreigner and investor from out of state, welcome! !Out of state investors can buy WHATEVER house they want, you know money talks and s#%t walks…
Arizona, The snowbird state
and the 10 C’s
Copper
Cattle
Cotton
Citrus
Corporate
Credit Unions
Children
Canadians
Casinos
Courses

They ran my credit without my permission. You guys are really lame.

We opened up a savings account here about eight months ago with an insurance settlement that we had received from a car accident. This was our first joint account after getting married about a year ago.
After being given the runaround from another bank when trying to set up a joint checking account, we came back to Desert Schools and talked with our personal banker. We both had Visa Debit Checking Cards within five minutes of coming inside the bank. Literally five minutes.
I’m going to be a Desert Schools customer for life.

This isn’t my normal branch. When I walked in there was a line but it moved pretty quick and the teller was extremely friendly. I accidentally put an extra $ 100 in my deposit. The teller caught it and added it. Thanks doll!!!

I believe there is still an exclusivity in belonging to a credit union. Desert schools has always been good to us. Any fees are minimal in comparison to other banks. I have been banking with them for about ten years. In that time, any issues I had were resolved promptly.

A long time ago being a member of a credit union used to mean something. That something was usually great service and not feeling like just another schlub at a bank. A long time ago Desert Schools used to be just like that.
It’s been a few years now that Desert Schools has been on the downhill path to suckiness. This particular branch used to be in Bashas’ and had later hours. That’s gone now. This particular branch used to have the same employees all the time and even a couple hottie teller girls. That’s gone now too. They’ve done dumb things here and there like installing telephone looking booths that were supposed to be express tellers but most of the time nobody used them because they weren’t very fast or the customers just didn’t get them. I never really liked the idea of picking up some nasty phone that has touched the ear of god-​knows-​who just to make a simple transaction but I guess they thought it a great idea. Those are gone now as apparently the only people who thought them a good idea was Desert Schools.
But what really has ruined Desert Schools is their completely ludicrous computer system. It used to be that if you made a card transaction it would post immediately. Now, and for the last couple of years, it can take days for a transaction to post. God forbid you want to do anything between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. because it might not happen. I’ve seen my direct deposit show up at midnight only to go to a store to pick up groceries or something and have my transaction denied because they’re updating their system. I was told it was because their old software was outdated but I can’t help but wonder why the so-​called outdated software seemed to be better than their current new and hip (see crap) software.
While I still bank with DSFCU, I only do so because most other banking institutions in this town suck.