Patelco Credit Union

First, I would like to say that I am not much of a Unilocal user, but I do look at other folk’s opinions about what goes into their experiences with companies on here.
I felt that this experience needed to be shared.
My wife has been a teacher for over 19 years in one of the best school districts in California. She has a solid income, and her credit score is phenomenal.
She has had great experiences with Patelco; and moved the majority of her daily accounts to Patelco within the last few years.
She was referred to apply for a home loan refinance with Patelco; and was excited about the prospects of moving the mortgage to Patelco at such a great rate.
She said the initial application process was smooth, and straight forward; and thought this was going to be a «slam dunk».
Then she was referred to a «mortgage consultant» that seemed to be a little «green» around the edges — and everything went south.
She provided all necessary documents within a quick turnaround, and felt that this was going to be a seamless transaction.
The mortgage consultant, that I will not post their name, responded to my wife that she did not qualify for a refinance and said her debt ratio was too high. The consultant stated in the email that the D/​R needed to be below 45%. The consultant proceeded to state that they could do a refinance with a different product that was a full 1.35 points higher, and would cost an estimated $ 600 more than her current mortgage!
How is this a solution?
My wife was very flustered and asked me to do a debt ratio comparison. I proceeded to provide her financial picture in basic terms to the consultant. I showed that her debt ratio was approximately 34.5%, which is well below the initial 45% showed by the consultant. The consultant blatantly missed several items, and their numbers provided were so faulty, that it borders on incompetence.
My wife then emailed the consultant in a professional manner that their numbers were off, and that there were several missed items. The consultant then responded that our numbers were correct, but that Patelco had to add an additional amount in due to the fact this was a ⁵⁄₁ ARM loan and that they will only refinance at less than 40% — not the original 45% stated in the prior email. The amount added in conveniently made the d/​r at 41.3 percent; so she did not qualify for the refinance. The consultant then reiterated the High Balance solution or offered to withdraw the application.
Now keep this in mind; the house LTV (Loan-​to-​value) was at 61%, she has an 817 credit score, a 19-​year job, and has not missed a house payment — but Patelco was not interested in the loan opportunity.
So I leave you this Patelco — you all would rather lose out on non-​interest income from the application, and approximately $ 67k in interest income — rather than finding the proper solution for your core member base. We all understand guidelines, and procedures — but in this situation, the rep did not take the time to look at the bigger picture. Its too bad, but I am sure you are losing a solid member due to this process.

I had the pleasure of speaking with a representative named Herman. He is a true gentleman who epitomizes grace, understanding, and true customer service. Patelco is fortunate to have such a gentleman on board.

I have been a member of Patelco since I moved to California two years ago. I can’t say enough about their great products — check out their money market savings account — and friendly service. Simply a great place to bank!

I have been a Patelco member for over 9 years. There customer service is usually very good.
I have had few issues with billing when customer service failed to notify me that checks wouldn’t be sent out before a certain date. However, they have reimbursed me for expenses incurred due to this. I think there was one other time when the teller didn’t count my checks up correctly that I was depositing but I was able to catch the mistake there.
They have also have had great interest rates in the past for certain savings accounts.

Would recommend Patelco and this branch to anyone and everyone. The manager at this branch assisted me by making phone calls to my credit card company and ensuring that issues I was having with them were resolved, with friendly and competent speed. You want to feel cared for at your financial institution, and this friendly and caring staff has always accomplished that for me. Bank here, and you will not regret it.

Herman helped me yesterday and was the sweetest guy! Ask for him when you call Patelco. He was very patient, personable, and all around genuinely interested in helping you to the best of his ability. I’ve been in hospitality for a few years and he definitely has the unique and awesome skills you need. Thanks so much Herman! I hope this comment finds you well!

20+years of membership ended in a forever breakup. Patelco loved my money but disapproved a $ 35k HELOC all the while I have great credit 760 (zero Kate’s, no defaults), and four times $ 35k home equity! Who’s making lending decisions at Patelco? I don’t know because I submitted my loan app online… and got a decline letter in the mail. Mark my word. This credit union is sealing its fate.

I moved to Patelco after I lost my job in 2009. Everyone there was very friendly and quite honestly, wanted to help.
I understand that they were limited in what they could do for me with little assets.
Fast forward to now — I have a great job and getting back on my feet financially. I asked for a consolidation loan and let’s just say, I was ready for the rejection… I received an email that congratulated me for being approved!
When I went into the branch that Saturday, I met Bianca Fernandez. I gave her my information needed for the loan and she looked up my account. Long story short, I not only was advised by her to change my loan to a low interest card, but she also approved me for a lower car loan. She followed up with emails and phone calls and honestly just cared! It was all so painless and just really great to receive outstanding customer service. I cannot tell you how much this all meant to me…
Thank you Bianca for such excellent service and just caring!

Updated review. After posting this, Marla Lucas, a Member Experience Manager, reached out to me and passed my review on to the branch manager, Irena. I met with Irena and she was so very sincere. She’s the branch’s new manager and she’s awesome. I hope this branch excells with her management.

DO NOT GO — BEWARE.
They gave pre-​approval for Auto Loan, give green signal by accepting all documentation from car dealersip and then refuse once the contract is signed and car delivered?
Go with the Big banks — you are safer off.

I have been working with Herman L. since last Wed (¹⁰⁄₁₅) regarding some fees charged to my account. Not only was Herman very professional and pleasant on the phone, he reassured me that everything would ultimately get resolved… despite having to deal with my displease demeanor. He gave me clear instructions for resolution and after completing those steps, he did exactly what he said he would… resolve the issue. I can’t speak highly enough about Herman and the process. A great customer service experience from beginning end. Reminds me why I love banking with Patelco, and will continue to!
JP R.

Best banking experience I’ve ever had. The service I received here for an auto loan/​credit card was amazing! Esther Sison, MY service representative was totally professional, efficient, great personality, just awesome all around. She made the whole process completely painless and got me a super good deal on the auto loan and a very low credit card rates as well. Look forward to doing more business with this bank.
Thanks again for great service Esther!

Jon was extremely helpful and friendly. The entire staff there is always so nice with a smile on their faces. They always lift their head while with another customer to greet me while I’m in line. They show they care about my time and the person they are helping. They can’t rush things when helping people who need 15 different things. Lol I should know. I’m usually that banker. Like today. I needed some papers notarized and they helped me right away. Jon even took the time to tell me about the app for my iPhone to keep my account current. Kudos to you guys. A++++

Long time Patelco CU customer. Always recieved the best customer service in all of Patelco branches except for the one location in Hayward.

Patelco Credit Union did a fantastic job accommodating me with my motorcycle loan. I received very personal attention from the loan department after I submitted my online credit application.
A special thanks to Mani Budwal for his help at the Pleasanton Branch, he made the entire experience extremely clear and concise. As a result, I will definitely come back to Patelco for my future lending needs. Thanks again!

I needed to have 13 documents notarized. This would have cost at least $ 143 elsewhere. I’m glad I checked with Patelco. They offer this service at no charge to account holders. See??? Yet another reason I’m happy I opened my account here. Marcelino was our notary today, and he couldn’t have been an ounce more helpful. I was crabby at first; and he was gracious, kind and patient. By the time I finished signing, he had me laughing and feeling light. It got me to thinking… I can honestly say I’ve never had a negative experience at any of the Patelco locations.

Stay away from the auto buying service they provide it’s a joke
You can go right to the dealer and save money and time.

Went in to the Dublin branch to open a checking and got the best service, lowered my auto payment in half drop the interest rate by over half. Made everything so easy, and the manager is very easy on the eyes. They did everything right and I now can start saving more every month. THANKING YOU ALL

We got stranded at Hilton Hawaiian village because we couldn’t check in due to going over my daily spending limit although the balance was 6 times the amount for our hotel charges. I was on the phone for 30 minutes trying to get customer service but since it was a weekend, no customer service available to increase my daily limit.

I have had 5+ auto loans… directly through car manufacturers, at another credit union, and even prior loans with Patelco. All of them have been great — except this one and the not-​so-​helpful teller at this branch.
I called Patelco’s toll free number and asked if I could pay the seller of the car cash, then come in and finance it directly after in order to speed up the process and not require the seller to come to the branch. The phone rep assured me that this would work fine as long as I had the title, smog, registration, insurance, etc — and Patelco would handle the DMV paperwork and financing. That turned out not to be the case, and the teller was not particularly helpful explaining why this was the case. She didn’t want to help at all.
The manager ultimately helped answer my questions, but I still was not able to finance the car despite having pre-​approval and all of the documentation that the corporate office said I needed.
Patelco does not have their people all on the same page when it comes to auto loans… so watch out.