San Diego County Credit Union – Hillcrest Branch

Went in to the Hillcrest branch to open an account and were told we would have to run a credit check. When we told him we have bad credit, and we would have to go elsewhere, the guy told us that every financial institute in SD runs credit checks.
Good thing we did our own research, because THATS A LIE. We would’ve just gone without checking accounts…
I assume he told us that so that we would fix our credit and come back. Nope. That’s dishonest and could have screwed us if we weren’t smart consumers.

1 year customer. Tired of being mistreated and spoken to like I am at their mercy, which I am not. It’s my money I work hard to save it and I don’t need to be treated like a jerk to access my own money. I am entrusting your credit union and employees with something that belongs to me, you are not doing me a favor, you are using my money to lend to others for a profit. Like any business, you need to treat banking customers like retail store customers. You’re offering nothing different than any other bank or credit union. It once was that credit unions were the better way to bank because they are more affordable, they were accessible mostly only to a particular group which gave a community feel. Now I see little to no difference other than perhaps a lessor interest rate on a loan, but for regular banking customers who don’t have loans, it simply comes down to the behavior of the banking employees for which your credit union fails miserably. You don’t have my vote for best credit union. It’s time for change. When you finally get the message that people will pull their money elsewhere and walk 1 block to another credit union or bank, maybe you will finally get it but by then my suspicion is you will be taken over by another banking institution.

My relationship with this business lasted about 13 years.
The good: I initially opened my account in PB– no lines, and you could sit in front of the teller. Bought a car through SDCCU… they offer good deals and car sales, financing. They’ll help you find a car if you know the make/​model you want, and they offer financial counseling for free. I consolidated debt through a signature loan from SDCCU. The internet banking is pretty easy to use.
But If you call, its pretty annoying to be on hold for 20 minutes, and you can’t speak to a person on a Sunday when you’re in Vegas and they’ve turned your ATM card off because you exceeded your daily ATM limit. (stuck in Vegas w/​o cash!!! Pick up the phone!)
So why 1 star? At the PB location, the manager Michelle Sutton (since married) and I got into an argument about a check. The check was good but they said it was not and bounced a bunch of incoming charges which resulted in hundreds of dollars of overdraft fees… I went and spoke with Michelle and she refused to listen, she said «sorry bad check, your fault.» Well, I turned the check over and THEIR micr reader did not read the check correctly! I figured it out! The branch manager was dismissive and didn’t even look at the numbers on the check until I pointed it out to her. It was their fault and she had to reverse the charges. That incident was embarassing and a waste of time. I wrote a letter to the branch head about my experience with Michelle and did not get any mail back, and to my knowledge she is still the manager.
The Hillcrest location is ONE star. Great, they finally opened a Hillcrest location but it is $ 4 to park… that is if a spot is open in the tiny lot. The parking in the area is congested. Their ATM is located a half a mile down the street, not at the branch. Often times there are lines, and it is located on a loud and a noisy, busy intersection. There is a blonde manager guy who works there with a snarky attitude that I pick up on. I assume he thinks because I hold a low balance that I am not important to their bank. But I have accounts with other banks.
Here is what set me off though… the kicker… after 13 years what inspired me to take my business elsewhere:
On Saturday 6÷4÷16 I walked in and nobody acknowledged me. Fine, I am not the Queen of England, I can deal with that. There was one other customer in the bank, seated with nobody in front of him. 2 people working, a woman with dark curly hair facing me, and the snarky blonde manager facing her, having an intense discussion about something. I watched them for a while while I worried about my husband who was driving in circles because the lot was full… Stood there with my arms crossed staring at them. Nothing.
I don’t usually say anything but I was in a rush and felt this was very unprofessional no matter what they were talking about so I loudly said «Excuse me, is anybody WORKING here?» The blonde guy gave me a look that could singe hair and the woman said «I am teaching him xxx just a minute…» and went back to talking to him and after a few minutes of staring at her… she then she helped me with a STRAIGHT CASH DEPOSIT that took her 30 seconds.
You knew I was standing there for several minutes staring at you but couldn’t even acknowledge me?
Every other bank has free parking. In addition I pay 8 bucks a month for a business account because I don’t maintain a high balance, whereas it is free at US Bank. At Chase Bank, everybody says hello when you walk in, at US Bank they greet me by name. Even icky Bank of America… they’ll greet you as you walk in. Why would waste time and money with SDCCU for this kind of treatment?
A week or so after this happened I got a new business ATM card in the mail that I did not request. My ATM card was not expired. Does this mean I get the joy of paying $ 4 to park to find out if the card I have is no longer valid by a dismissive employees that don’t even bother looking up as you walk in? The numbers on the card are the same. Or the joy of calling to wait 20 minutes to talk to someone who has no idea why they mailed me a new card when it was not expired or requested. Or I do use the card I have and then it is declined? Fun.
It’s not going to be an issue because I am closing my account. Easier to open a new account elsewhere then deal with Hillcrest SDCCU. They will not allow me to close the zero balance account over the phone, I must go to a branch. Makes no sense.
Transferring my business account is a pain. But I am not going to pay $ 4 to park and $ 8 a month to be treated as an annoyance when I come in the bank.
This bank, like Washington Mutual is outgrowing itself. It was good. Now it sucks.

Went in today to open a new checking account expecting it to take forever and I don’t like change (been with a bank that charges 12.00 for nothing each month for over 14 yrs
). Met with Estrella Garcia and received prompt and excellent service. I was in and out in 30 min and completely satisfied. Thank you for the excellent service and prompt care. You made a guy whom hate’s change ok with change for the better. Thanks again for the help.

When this location opened, I was thrilled. I live in the neighborhood, and it’s so convenient to have a branch within walking distance. I no longer have to drive into mission valley or elsewhere to make a bank deposit or withdrawal in person. I can see how parking would be an issued or some– but that’s Hillcrest! My guess is that this location was meant to serve the local crowd, rather than members from outside the immediate area.

Shopping for car loan and stopped in to see what interest rates were available. Do not let the construction on the outside scare you away as I was a bit apprehensive and parking a bit of a challenge. However, so worth it! The staff is so friendly, welcoming and professional.
Justinn Chukes is out of this world fantastic! ! He went out of his way to help answer all of my questions and assisted me with all of my inquiries. Suggested financial investment advisement, savings, checking and loan services. No hard selling or pressure.
Follow up and customer service 5 star. He even went above and beyond with understanding my concerns with the car shopping stress and acted as a personal concierge to help me by contacting dealers and viewing online quotes. He is amazing! !!! Love this place!!! Banking the way it used to and always should be! Thank you SDCU!!!

Inconvenient to say the least. Good luck finding parking. Everything is metered or pay lots. The atm is also not at the actual bank but a block down the road. What’s the point?

Amazing service every time I go in to this branch I am greeted with a warm and friendly welcome. They are fast and efficient! Only downside is no parking… However the people are awesome!

SDCCU Hillcrest is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t ask for better service. It’s like a bug family. I was helped by Jessica Hicks. She was friendly, attentive, and fast. Thank you SDCCU for being awesome!

By far the worst credit union I have been a member of. I moved out of state and the process I have gone through to get a new ATM card or access and transfer any of the money I have in my SDCCU account has been ridiculous. Everything has to be done by mail because the information they have on the account to verify that I am who I say I am is wrong even though I personally updated it before I moved. If you need anything done on you account you either message them on their website and hope for a response or call and spend over 30min on hold waiting to talk to a representative. The first chance I get to visit San Diego I’m closing my account.

This bank is like banking in the 90s. I wish debts came out right away sometimes they do not. They so far behind the times. You much get the checkbook out and balance daily. I think most people stay because of the good rates but on checking account debits take days to come out and often all at the same time. It is a real hassle online one error you can be locked out your bank account. I will keep them locally but unless I start getting a loan it really doesn’t matter.

Finally! A bank that doesn’t penalize me for absolutely NOTHING! I had been a customer of Washington Mutual followed by Chase… I left because there would always appear (fairly constantly) these mystery charges to my account. Usually directly from the bank itself under some nondescript title as «monthly account fee» or some other such nonsense despite the fact that I had supposedly «free» checking.
The final straw with Chase was when I deposit a check and they cleared it after the 3 day period. A few days later I pulled the money out, no problem. Fast forward to the end of the next week. They then withdrew the check saying that the writer of said commissions check canceled it, charged ME a bounced check fee, and then an overdraft fee on top of that! What… The account I had with them at the time was a «Liquid» account, which means my debit card was essentially a prepay card; the only money on it was what I loaded up because I was sick of their constant account fees and overdraft charges despite signing numerous documents stating that they would deny any charges that would lead to an overdraft rather than letting it go through. Can’t figure out how they can overdraft a prepay card, but that was IT for me.
I switched to San Diego County Credit Union. /​cue the blissful music
SDCCU has been nothing but good to me. No mystery fees. No bitchy tellers. No convoluted BS to sift through. Just straight forward and friendly service.
This branch in particular is GREAT! There is never a long wait and the tellers are always seem genuinely concerned with managing my account well despite my not being a «big fish». Even the security guard is friendly, but ALWAYS attentive. There have been some other banks I’ve been to where the guard sat on his phone all day. I’m sorry, but how can you be on guard if you are taking selfies and texting? At SDCCU, I never see the guards doing anything other than keeping watch and greeting me as I enter the door.
When I traveled to Chicago, I forgot to alert the bank as to my travels so, consequently, my card got shut off when I tried to use it. It had been flagged as suspicious since I was never before spending in that area. I immediately called them and they apologized for the inconvenience and asked my travel dates then explained to me why they had flagged the account. It was corrected with a smile before I even hung up the phone. I appreciate them monitoring my money and protecting my best interests.
ALWAYS a clean, efficient, and friendly environment. Often times I am in and out in a matter of minutes without any wait. Never have I been so grateful to a bank for their services. This is the one time that I haven’t felt frustrated and shuffled around. THANK YOU!