Pasadena Federal Credit Union (formerly Pasadena Service Federal Credit Union) - Pasadena, California

TJ R.

Avoid This Credit Union at All Costs

This is, without a doubt, the worst financial institution I’ve ever dealt with. They change something practically every month—whether it’s a new app, connecting with different banks, or expanding services—and they handle it all incredibly sloppily. There’s no communication at all: no emails, no letters, nothing. If you call for assistance, be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes or more just to speak with someone.

When I first opened my account, they messed up everything—my email address, my phone number, all of it. I set up auto pay through the phone, only to discover a month later that no payments were being taken out. When I called back, they told me I was never set up with auto pay. I had to go through the process all over again, only for the situation to get worse.

The following month, they switched banks and apps without any prior notice. Suddenly, I couldn’t log into the app, and after waiting 30 minutes on hold, I was told they had switched to a new app because of their banking change. On top of that, my phone number was somehow wrong again, so I couldn’t verify my account.

Once everything was finally sorted out, I asked to set up auto pay again—only to be told that with the new app, auto pay wasn’t an option anymore. They said I could either come into the branch to pay or pay over the phone. I reluctantly chose the phone option. But the next month, when I tried to pay over the phone again, they informed me that there would now be a $10 charge for phone payments!

It feels like this credit union is making things up as they go. There’s always some new issue or policy change, and their lack of professionalism is astonishing. I don’t understand how people trust this institution with their money, let alone get loans from them.

If I could give them negative stars, I would. Save yourself the frustration and stay far, far away from this bank.

K C.

I came in 2/14/22 around 4:15pm and opened a business checking account. While the business I wanted to handle was taken care of, there were many points that I almost left due to the customer service I received from the woman who helped me set up the account. Immediately upon her arrival to the desk to help me set up the account, I got a feeling that she did not want me to be there or that she simply did not want to do her job. Here are examples:

1. Her first glance at my LLC docs she said "this isn't right." I said, "what isn't right?" and she said "let me look some more." She looked at the documents more and determined there wasn't an issue. I got an immediate feeling that she was "trying" to find something wrong so she could send me away.
2. She looked at my address and said "You can't use a PO box, we can't take this" - Nothing on my documents indicated a PO box or the words "P.O." I said, it's not a PO box and it's a college campus which is where I live and reflected on my driver's license and all of my LLC docs. She then asks for my ID to verify.
3. She asked me how much longer will I be living on campus. I said until I change jobs. - Why does she need to know how much longer I will be at my residence and what makes this an appropriate question to ask?
4. She then said why didn't you go to *other* Credit Union? - I said, "are you asking me to leave and go somewhere else?" Then she says, "No, I'm just wondering why you chose us." - I said *other* CU doesn't have checking accounts. She says, "Oh I'm surprised they don't offer checking accounts." In what world is it good business to ask someone why they didn't go to a competing credit union? Had I not already looked into that credit union, I may have been inclined to leave and go see, since she's offering suggestions.

There were many other small examples like above that led me to feel like my business was not wanted at this bank. I grinned through the experience because I did not want to cause a scene and I really wanted the services that the BANK provided. If this bank did not fit my needs in anyway, I would have left and closed the savings account I had recently opened as well.

She ended up being more polite towards the end of our meeting but I believe it could be due to us being around other tellers when the deposit was being made. I am only sharing my experience because I believe that she could benefit from additional training on how to be friendlier/welcoming to customers and learn what questions are appropriate to the application process and not her curiosity. I'm glad I ended up getting what I needed, but this being my FIRST experience with PSFCU left much to be desired. Based on my experiences so far, I would not recommend this bank to anyone. 2/5 from this teller/banking associate.

M H.

I closed my account with this credit union back in 2002. I had been with them for three and a half years. I was a student and deposited my financial aid check, which was over 3k. They put a hold in the check without notification, which caused payments for textbooks and classes to bounce. I went to the branch to try to resolve the issue and their supervisor and teller were rude and condescending. I cancelled my account there and then. I don't recommend this credit union to anyone. Go somewhere else

AGoddess N.

Has a relative that been with this place for over 20 years, her wallet was stolen with personal cards, money etc. in it..... These ppl r brain dead, they don't do much to help you with your account at other credit unions and they take up to one month to mail out replacement debit cards..... I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYBODY DO BUSINESS NOR OPEN ACCOUNTS WITH THIS PLACE AT ALL, ARE THE EPITOMY OF SORRY AND IS IN TRASHADENA, TOWN WITH AN EXTENSIVE NEGATIVE HISTORY & ENERGY.

Gisele M.

I had previously called on two separate occasions to have details regarding my account sorted out. The ball had definitely been dropped and I was not happy. Thankfully, on my third attempt I was assisted by a representative by the name of Kathy Cherry and she delivered! Professional, patient, diffused the situation (I was heated), and corrected all errors even though they were not hers. I ended my call feeling like I was heard and confident that the issues had been resolved. She was extremely kind and only offered solutions. Thank you Kathy!

Patrick T.

The staff is kind and remembers your name. As long as Pasadena Service Federal Credit Union is in business they have my business.

John D.

This place used to be a solid credit union, but the last 2-3 years it has continually gone further south. I don't know if there's new management or what, but I HIGHLY recommend you look somewhere else for a good CU experience (most CU's are great) because for a CU this bank uses the same scummy tactics you'll see at a private bank. I finally gave up on them and closed my accounts in favor of another CU - there are plenty nearby. Good riddance!

nancy G.

I was able to ignore many issues with this credit union for years. The biggest issue for me is the fees. I have used notory service here twice. The first time, they charged me $15. This was reasonable enough. The second time, I had a larger document notorized and was led to believe that the fee would be higher but not by too much. After it was done, they tried to charge me, a member, $405.00 to notorize one 27 page document. As I then had no option, I went to pay the shockingly exorbitant fee, I tried to also close my account. In order to keep my account, they did cut the fee down to $200. This is still much too high, but I accepted the deal. I'm afraid they will not be keeping my account for long.The lesser issues include that the ATM is in the lobby and only accessible during their regular hours. There are few ATMs in the area that do not charge me a fee to use them with my debit card from psfcu. They charge a monthly fee for checking accounts unlike other credit unions. Their service is slow but friendly overall. I have found another local credit union in the area with an outdoor atm, FREE Notory service for members, no monthly fee, and even cookies in the lobby. Do yourself a favor and don't get an account with this credit union. There are better options.