Alabama Credit Union

Like other long-term members here, we are going to have to leave after a horrific experience with them in requesting an auto loan. We are joint owners of our accounts, have substantial sums in checking and savings, excellent credit scores, stable long-term, well-paying income, etc. It's a no-brainer for any lender. We moved out of state a decade ago but kept them as our bank because our experience with them was so positive, and we even got an auto loan that we paid off during that time. Initially, there was a loan officer who played the "I don't know if you qualify" game even though we had perfect credit, but it was transferred to someone professional and stable who wanted us to have the loan and worked with our out-of-state dealer well.

This time, our call and then the online application was assigned to a branch manager on a power trip who seemed insulted by our excellent credit and financial status. How dare we know from the evidence and formulas that we should qualify for the loan, best interest rate, etc., the same as last time! There was confusion about something I said regarding dealerships in our state that automatically used their bank, and she said she would check with a loan officer before submitting. She then came back on the phone and denied the loan. We asked to speak to the loan officer directly, who didn't deny us but quoted us a higher interest rate, saying things had changed with out-of-state auto sales and titles in the past years. We decided not to do the hard credit check then because if you do it at multiple dealers within a 14-day period, it counts as one, and we weren't completely sure of our timing. A day later, we knew and went vehicle shopping. We thought the online application would go to, you know, a loan officer. Instead, it went back to this branch manager who called to say my husband had been flagged for fraud on his account with them. I immediately grabbed the phone and told her that wasn't true. What did that even mean anyway? She then said I should allow her to speak, but I didn't because the entire ordeal was so absurd. I asked to be put through to her supervisor, unless she was the President of the bank, she has one, but she said that she was the supervisor.

We later found out that she was going to state that my husband travel thousands of miles to Alabama to their bank in person to prove his identity. By not letting her continue, I know now that I ruined her hubris and the shock and drama she was trying to create by making that directive to us as members and supposed co-owners of the bank. There are many less extreme ways to prove identity in these modern times. This lady and ACU just went way out of their way to falsely criminalize loyal customers of 25 years. There's never been any fraud on our account by either of us. We protected ourselves from fraud when I experienced identity theft years ago during Covid, but the person wasn't successful. We put an alert on our account then, but we have no idea what ACU is talking about, saying my husband has been flagged for fraud in the past. They just don't want to give us an auto loan where they would receive interest payments that are much higher than the interest they pay us on savings to borrow our money, which is several times higher than the auto loan! They make no sense. When you have customers for decades and many that keep you when they move out of state, that's a huge compliment. I gave her a compliment before it got this bad with her, and she didn't take it. I said, "Y'all have lower interest rates," and she said, "Probably not!" You can see it on their website. We weren't desperate, just trying to get the best deal from our bank. It's called business. However, when you, as a bank/business, go so far out of your way to mistreat those same customers, it seems that could be your downfall.

Anyway, any dealership we looked at asked about our credit score and knew both of us easily qualified for the best rates here. It should have been a little lower with ACU, but my husband easily got the loan and vehicle yesterday. My credit score was just 10 points lower than his, still excellent, but we just let him do it; we didn't care anymore. We didn't put a down payment on it because we didn't even want to bother with ACU for that and we can pay off the loan with no penalties at any time. It may have hurt us, but we don't care and will start the process of shopping for a new bank where we will qualify for perks for opening accounts because our finances are so good.

Impossible to get your money out. My funds have sat idle now for 20 days without earning interest after my CD matured. They keep asking for more and more verification after I have given them everything they ask for. They just keep moving the goalposts. These people are unscrupulous and arew getting away with robbery

I have never in my life had such a problem, but this bank is ridiculous. It is taking forever for everyone to get help. I have gone to numerous locations and it's the same result. My account was hacked, which should have been handled as soon as it happened, but it wasn't. Now all they keep telling me is that they are looking into it. It should not take weeks to get this situation resolved. There has to be someone who can resolve this for me.

I've never had a credit union charge a fee for paying a bill. This is ridiculous. I really wish the dealership I worked with to purchase my tractor would have looked into this more. For an interest-free option, I am paying more than I would have paid in interest for each fee. Avoid this credit union if possible. They are not about the customer.

When I called in, no one with knowledge of this product was in the office, apparently. Eventually, someone called back to me when I was out and that one left a message and said s/he would call me back later. S/he never did. It's pretty disappointing. But that also matches other experiences from several months back—it's hard to reach anyone on the phone, and they often don't seem to call back when you leave a message.

I have been a customer for around 37 years, and ALCU has gone from a credit union you can trust, with customer-first service, to the absolute disaster it is today. Today was the last straw. How can I continue to bank with an institution when I can no longer trust their words or their actions? I tried to make a withdrawal from a "partner" credit union because I am over an hour away from the closest ALCU branch. It was rejected. There were more than sufficient funds to cover the transaction, and I had talked to ALCU the week before to make sure I could do this with a partner credit union. They said I could. This was the funds to close on some property for a house. I had to make the 3+ hour round trip to the nearest ALCU to get a check... I was late getting to the closing, but fortunately, everyone understood. To top it off, during my drive, I tried to reach a manager on the help line to find out why... but the manager was too busy to talk to me and had some other employee call me back... after all, I am only a customer - nobody important. I will start looking for a reliable credit union tomorrow.

I applied for a paid overtime loan with Gear Fire and was introduced to Alabama Credit Union as the financing institution. While completing the application, ACU insisted that I donate to their Secret Meals for Hungry Children program. Initially, I found this request unusual, but I understand they want to support their programs and proceeded.

However, I was denied the loan four times. I contacted your customer service department and spoke with a woman who told me I needed to speak with a loan officer and would arrange a callback. Unfortunately, I never received that callback.

Continuing my attempt to resolve the issue, I called customer service again and spoke to a gentleman who also promised a callback from the loan officer, which did not happen. This is concerning because there was a hard inquiry on my credit report even though the loan application stated it would not affect my credit unnecessarily. My credit score and report are very important to me, yet it seems my concerns have been dismissed. Now I am faced with a decreased credit score and no loan.

I have been a member for years, but Alabama Credit Union was not there for me when I experienced fraud on my debit and credit card. Their fraud department is outsourced and managed to mess up both of my accounts. After multiple complaints, the card manager said she could fix the problem, but never did. Nobody takes responsibility for fixing anything at Alabama Credit Union. If I continue to be a member, I may just have to keep my debit and credit cards in a safe because there is little to no help from Alabama Credit Union if fraud appears on your cards. Customer service will only give you the runaround and direct you to sit on hold with another department. Unacceptable.

I've never had so many bounced transactions in my life. I would look at my account in the morning and be fine, then later that day, be overdrawn. They would charge me for each amount that bounced. Then, they deposited money into my account without my knowledge, for a dispute, and later withdrew it without informing me. They put me in the red by doing that and then charged me again for all the transactions that bounced. Stay away from this bank—they are just after your money. I didn't stay with them for long.

I cannot get anyone to look into my remote deposit. I made it Sunday night, and now it's Thursday night. It was approved but has never been made available. I sent them a message. They said it would post. It did not and has not posted. I just want someone to look into it.

This bank is horrible. It's impossible to get anyone on the phone. Plus, your money goes missing. I had money in my account, but when I deposited my checks, over half the funds didn't show up in the account. After waiting for the longest hold time, I couldn't get anyone to tell me what happened to my money either. I also ordered checks and they were never delivered, even though the money was taken out. This place is terrible. If you can bank anywhere else, do it.

Worst bank ever! They cancelled our debit cards without even notifying us, meanwhile, we are waiting for new cards to arrive without any way to make purchases. Terrible customer service!

I really wish no stars could have been selected. Long hold times, then when you get through to someone you're given inaccurate information. Spoke with the supervisor Teresa Taylor who couldn't give a straight answer if the correct answer was looking her straight in the face. And all I wanted to do was skip a payment, an option that was offered. Never missed a payment and not to mention payments are always on time. I hate doing business with companies like this and I'll be so glad once my loan is paid off and I'm outta their debt.

I tried many times to pay this vehicle off for 3000 dollars less than owed. They refused. Incompetent accounting. Volunteer Surrender

ALCU service is awful. Today for the 3rd time in little over a month I sat on hold on the telephone for over 30 minutes and still no one ever answered. I had to just leave work to go to a branch. It's sad that you can NEVER get a person on the telephone. I do have pics showing how long I was on hold. It was never like this when it was Tuscaloosa CU, which I was a member of for over 20 years. Using the drive thru at certain locations takes 10 to 15 minutes for a transaction of a few hundred dollars. I worked in banking for over a decade and it just didn't take us that long to count a few hundred/thousand dollars. I'm a very un-happy customer and will be on the hunt for another financial institution.