Monterey Credit Union

I wish I had gone on here to read these reviews before I went to Monterey Credit Union. I took out an auto loan with MCU in 2011. Prior to that, I had little to no credit, I did not know very much about loans, and I was naïve and was taken advantage of and lied to by Monterey Credit Union because of it. When I went to Monterey Credit Union to see if I could get an auto loan, the option they gave me had very high interest and therefore very high monthly payments. I understand this because of my lack of credit, however I was upfront with them and admitted that I would not be able to make those payments. I was told by the woman selling me on the loan that as long as I could pay the monthly payment at that rate for about a year, I could refinance after that. She convinced me to go ahead with the loan and just tough it out until the refinancing. I was hesitant but desperate so I agreed. After a year and a half, I called Monterey Credit Union to speak about refinancing. I was informed (quite rudely) that they do not refinance any of their loans.
Being a student and in a position where I am working while in school to try to pay for as much as I can before having to take out more loans, these steep payments are very difficult.
One of my payments bounced this last November. Now, in December, after trying to get ahold of the loan officer who had called me about it for weeks, I finally get ahold of her and try to give her credit card information. She won’t take it because it has to be a bank account. When I tell her I don’t have it, she responds with, «well, you better get it.» She then starts to tell me that I’d better find it somewhere or else. She tells me I’m two months late, which I quickly correct her on and she realized she’s wrong. She continued to be condescending and rude to me. She asks for my reasoning for not having the money, so I told her I’m a working student and just don’t have the money right now. I also told her that I was told I could refinance even though that was a lie. She ignores the refinance part because I’m sure that’s a lie that they tell all the time, and continues to harass me about how I need to find the money.
Anyway, I am paying the payment late when I get the money. It’s all I can do.
While I fully understand my part in the situation, for a bank I have been with for about 5 years, and a bank that has collected almost $ 4,000 from me in interest on my loan alone, you would think they would be kinder and want to work with me.
I like credit unions because they are usually there to be a part of the community and be on a more personal level with their patrons.
Monterey Credit Union is solely in existence to take advantage of people hoping that they default. They probably hedge their bets and make more money from failed loans. It’s banks like this that threw our economy in a downward spiral in 2008 in the first place.
There were other experiences besides this ordeal that make me say STAY AWAY from Monterey Credit Union. They are liars and swindlers who take advantage of whoever they can.

Excellent service! Super quick and my bankers name was Clarissa, a young lady who was knowledgeable and helped me with everything! Thank you

This is not a credit union, this is a fee palace with skimpy services and does not have good rates or easy loan approval, to be honest, worse than a bank and does not offer the convenience. Please go elsewhere, Bay Federal is much better if you need a local CU. This CU is not federally insured and they are not a member of the COOP CU ATM network, so wherever you go you pay a fee if you use their ATM card. Other CU members that use their ATM get charged a $ 3.00 fee. They are one of the very few (1^st CU I have ever seen) that does not participate in COOP, which provides free ATM’s at over 30,000 CU ATM’s nationwide to most CU members (not this funky CU). UGH.

I LOVE the Soquel branch of Monterey Credit Union. Sometimes when I walk in the door I feel like I’ve walked into the Cheers bar. Everyone there knows my name and goes out of their way to be friendly and helpful. I spent years at Bay Fed and finally left after several bad experiences. I couldn’t be happier with the change.

I was calling for one of my customers I needed to send them an Insurance Binder for my customer and the receptionist never answers I they pick up, but they dont answer you just hear them conversating with eachother, very unprofessional. I would be embarrased to work here. How am I sappossed to service my customer with incopetent employees like these!

Honestly the WOSRT experience I have ever had in my life at a financial institution.
I was recently approved for a simple car loan at Monterey credit union. Not only were the employees rude to me, they were rude to each other. While meeting with a banker she needed to call another credit union employee to figure out the answer to a question I asked. At the end of the conversation she exclaimed to me (and the rest of the bank) «SHE THINKS I DONT KNOW HOW TO DO MY JOB.» This was at the Soquel branch. The overall customer service experience was embarrassingly bad.
If you are thinking about using Monterey credit union, take a look at their Unilocal ranking and ask yourself: why have so many people taken time out of their busy days to write about their negative experiences with this company?

Very limited resources but their service is great if you do walk ins… Go to Soquel branch and ask for Cory. She’ll help you out and does it fast too.

I’m one of the rare people you’ll meet who actually prefers the national banks to that of local credit unions. Between Monterey CU and Bay Federal CU, I am thoroughly dissatisfied with the local CUs. I had met one of the tellers, Jessica, at the Starbucks right down the parking lot.
She let me know about their current auto loan deals and rates, and she was VERY nice. She’s the only reason they’re getting an extra star (and not zero, if it was possible tor rate that low). I returned to the branch a few weeks later with the interest of applying for a personal loan. I had already received approvals from Citigroup and Bank of America, but I figured I might as well check all options. I stopped by and spoke with Jessica, who assisted me in filling out the application and submitting it. She, again, was very helpful and personable. It made that experience overall very enjoyable.
However, that’s where the enjoyable part ends. I got a call back a day or so later from some woman, whose name I do not remember, who lectured me that I was too young from what the CU usually considers, didn’t make enough (even though I make WELL above state average and have no other bills or rent), and that I wouldn’t be able to pay it back. Umm, excuse me, don’t lecture me on what you THINK about me. As a Finance major, with perfect credit and a score of 783, to add, I know how to manage my finances and I know exactly what I’m getting into with a measly $ 5k personal loan.
The experience turned me off of this institution completely and I will NEVER consider doing business with them again. It’s really too bad, because as I noted, Jessica, and the branch staff, to be honest, were really nice to work with, but after seeing what their internal operations are like… I really don’t feel like doing business with them. At all. Plus, the benefits of the larger banks are superior and they have more locations.
PS: I’m not one to play regulatory games, but turning someone down because they’re «too young» (unless they’re under legal age) is a violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Just FYI, Monterey Bay Credit Union — if you do this to too many people, it will eventually come back as a regulatory nightmare.

I used to be a huge fan of this place. They used to be 5 stars all the way, but I had to downgrade them from 5 to 2 stars. Why? Well for starters, its getting harder and harder to actually get anything done here.
This place seems to have a fast employee turnover rate (says a lot about the company if you ask me) and for some reason, they seem to have no intentions of having this place function as a bank at all. There have been countless times that I’ve gone to make a deposit only to find only one person in the entire branch, and 5 people in line already. It takes just one person with a question or concern to turn my 5 minute bank deposit /​loan payment into a 30 – 40 min ordeal. So now when I see that, I usually just leave. Not everything sucks about this place. If it weren’t for Cathy and Cindy, I would have closed my accounts here long ago, those two are always friendly, smart and helpful, and the branch seems to fall apart if they’re not there. The new girl Monica is great too. I don’t know why, but things just seem to have fallen apart recently.
They USED to get help from the friendly loan salesmen (Nicos and Jessica — you guys rocked!) when they got busy, but if any of the tellers ask for help from either of the two saleswomen now, they get condescending and exasperated comments from them. Or sometimes they just get a plain «No — I won’t help you»
It really sucks as a customer when you’re made to feel like you are an inconvenience to them. (See the quotes from every other reviewer.)
Bottom line: If it wasn’t for a few awesome employees here that I’ve built a relationship with, who have great customer service skills, and are very knowledgeable, I would have left this place by now. As much as it pains me to say it, I don’t suggest banking here unless they can get their act straight. I’ll keep you posted…