Astera Credit Union

As a longtime customer I am very disappointed in the service I have received from the loan department. I have had loans that I have paid off including a car loan. I tried to borrow $2000 for car repairs and they have given me the runaround for a week. They will lie instead of just saying we don't want to lend you money. They also change the dates of charges on my debit card to maximize the fees they can take for overdrafts. They use to be a really good credit union but something has changed. If you join don't count on much from them.

Astera is a great credit union. I applied to it about a year ago and got accepted immediately. They set up my checking account in no time at all. I have not had any problems whatsoever with depositing my checks. The tellers are usually very kind and genuinely care about the customers. It took less than a day for them to fix my problem of losing my debit card and had a new one before I needed to use it again. I am always up to going to deposit checks in person rather than using an ATM just because of the service I get.

I started banking with Astera Credit Union late in 2005. I have been a loyal member of this credit union ever since. I mostly use them for their great rates their savings accounts have. Astera Credit Union is known in my neighborhood and the credit union you need to be a member of if customer service is important to you. I have had nothing but positive experiences with Astera Credit Union. The people who work at Astera are very friendly and they can answer any questions you might have. I would recommend Astera Credit Union to anyone who needs a reliable credit union. The application process is very easy too.

Here is my expierence with Astera:

They bought out my loan from another company after I bought my car in 2008. Sometime in 2009 I believe. I recieved a form letter stating they now owned my loan. No personal information was included with the letter. Just "keep sending your payments" and a toll free number.

A couple of years later (2012), I received my second piece of correspondance. Another form letter with no personal information stating they needed insurance records. They should have all the original information from my original loan, as I still have the same insurance to this day, however I figured they needed an update. I was told I could do this process online, which I liked since I am disabled and leaving the house is difficult. Only, in order to login, I needed an account number.

I called Astera. I explained I had the documents they wanted and wanted to upload it online, but I didn't know my account number. The person on the phone could not tell me my account number, but assured me she would send a letter with that information on it that day. I updated my address with her before I hung up, as I had just moved, and awaited the letter.

It never came.

I emailed Astera asking for more informaiton and the account number. No reponse. I tried to contact Astera several times trying to obtain an account number, or short of that, what exactly they needed in the insurance documentation that I could copy and mail in. I was advised not to mail it in, to upload it online. And I would get my account number in the mail.

It never, ever came.

Then I was penalized. Fined, I don't even know how much because without that account number I have absolutly no access to my account information. They had blinded me and then fined me while keeping from me the one vital piece of information I needed to avoid the whole scene in the first place. I was threatened and my credit report was attacked when they sent me to collections, although I did pay faithfully every month the amount I believed I owed because the only communication I recieved was form letters or ignornace.

Now I am fighting to get back money that is rightfully mine. I was able to thankfully pay off the loan and walk away from this terrible experience, but I did not ever receive my account number and while they state they are refunding me the full amount, I will never know. I cannot access statements or billing information without my account number. I am being raped, and Astera's response so far has been "So?"

I am now considering legal action in order to get my account number in order to verify that they are not cheating me out of more money. If you do not want this heartache and headache, don't use Astera. It has be an awful nightmare, and all for an account number that is leagally mine to know by right.

I started banking with Astera Credit Union around 2004 (when they were formally Auto Body Credit Union) thanks to my parents. At that time, I had a steady job, and not only needed somewhere to hold my money, but to find a loan for a new car.

I set up a quick appointment with a representative and spoke with them about the loan I needed. Since I had been banking with the company for over 6 months, they approved my very first line of credit at $1,500 without a co-signer. The only stipulation was a small lean on the car, but I had the loan paid off in less than a year.

To be able to grab a loan for anything more than a few hundred bucks around the age of 19 is a pretty big deal. Astera trusted me enough to pay the loan back and since that point I have never had another issue trying to get a loan.

On top of the loaning process, their website is intuitive and easy to use. Their customer service is fantastic; I had a quick issue trying to get a letter saying I had paid off my loan (after I moved out of state) and a representative helped me with ease. I had my letter faxed to me the same day!

I keep an account open with Astera just for the perks of being in a credit union. I would urge everyone to put their money with this team!