EastRise Credit Union

Do not consider using EastRise, formerly the Vermont Employees State Credit Union. They are flat-out terrible. As a member for 43 years, they have repeatedly provided poor customer service. I mistakenly believed each incident was an anomaly but eventually realized this was not the case. They refused to offer better rates for loans, would not listen to explanations regarding credit ratings, suggested we borrow from our own money, and the list goes on. Their service is consistently poorly-delivered,most notably when we were seeking a competitive rate for the half a million dollars we had and wanted to invest in a Certificate of Deposit (CD). They have a reputation for customer service that simply does not exist. They clearly told us that being a customer for 43 years did not influence their decision-making process, even going so far as to accuse us of seeking special treatment because of our long-standing relationship. Recently, when we applied for a car loan, they ignored the fact that we had always promptly and fully repaid our previous loans. Neither did owning our home outright, mortgage-free, matter to them. It just goes on and on.

Even after our most recent experience, which involved an inquiry about a CD and after we sent them a detailed letter explaining our numerous negative experiences and expressing our desire to close our accounts, no one bothered to call us. They immediately terminated our online account access, sent us a final check, and didn't even take the time to thank us for our 43 years as customers. In summary, their service is inadequate, and I would never recommend them to anyone for banking needs. The cooperative mantra of friendly, personalized, and community-centered banking is simply not true. Especially after their ill-fated merger and rebranding to EastRise, they have become just another large bank with terrible customer service focused solely on their bottom line. It would be best to look elsewhere.

Reviews prior to the November/October 2023 merger with VSECU are dated and inaccurate.

I have been an account holder since the IBM Credit Union days, more than 30 years. Up until October/November 2023, I would have highly recommended this credit union. Since the merger with VSECU, the experience and service at this institution have plummeted. The web interface could be argued to have improved, but loan servicing has become impersonal, rigid, and frustrating. Even when you visit in person to see a teller, you have to navigate through a wall of automation. Asking a teller for assistance results in having to enter all the information on your own anyway.

Another notable experience involved attempting to withdraw cash after hours from an ATM with a newly issued card due to the merger. The machine gave an error as if the card did not work. The following day, during business hours, I was informed that the error occurred because the ATM was out of cash and would not be replenished until the following day. She then told be the ATM next to it had cash available. I suggested they put up a sign on the empty one since it was a known problem, only to be told again that it would be filled tomorrow.

This is not the same credit union as just a few months ago. Shop around.

A great credit union for perfect people w/perfect credit. They are hypocrites! They try to tell themselves that they are so generous w/the community. You would be better off @ a local bank-seriously!!!

It is a great bank that considers other factors too. It managed to Give me a loan without any credit score while other just rejected it

Reworked my loan with me during rough times. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. I would recommend VSECU to my friends and family. Been a member for years

Best bank in New England, great rates, great people and easy loan process! Everything from the comfort of your home! They are open 7 days week!

NEFCU have been excellent in all of my dealings with them. They have always been helpful and quick to respond to questions and issues.

My time with this Credit Union has been great. Not a lot of my friends know that using NEFCU is risk free and has no hidden fees, so they are stuck using big-time banks that charge them out of the blue! They have complete online access to your accounts where you can transfer funds and pay bills among other life style necessities.

When I lost my check book a while back they were quick to help me, even gave me the advice I needed to keep my funds safe. The staff is extremely friendly both in person and over the phone and they keep all of their ATM locations in good order, always working! I have always liked that they are local in my area and cater to us personally. Definitely a great bank, with a lot of locations in my area.

In a small state like VT, finding a flexible credit union was a task. My sister recommended this bank to me and I couldn't be happier! Every visit or phone call is personal, comfortable, and easy. I'm never on hold for longer than 3 minutes, and when I visit my branch in person, at least two tellers recognize me. I travel a lot, and VSECU has always been friendly and flexible about me using my ATM card in other states. Definitely a great bank!

I have been doing banking with New England Federal Credit Union for 30 years. The tellers treat everyone with respect and are very helpful. On the very rare occasion that I have had an issue they responded in a timely and effective manner. I have applied for many loans over the phone and their website and have not had any problems and prompt action.

NEFCU is also a very community minded credit union, this is very important to me. The activities they sponsor have helped raised thousands for the organizations being sponsored, which in turns helped many people in the community.

I have been a member of NEFCU for a couple of years now, but I use their online banking primarily. My account is set up so that I have no fees as long as I do all of my banking through ATMs or through their website. The website is easy to navigate and has clear instructions on how to do what you need to. I love that when I deposit a check, $200 is immediately available. That has been pretty helpful since I don't go in to see a teller. The actual banking locations are a bit of a pain to get to, but there are ATMs in most areas, including at the hospital, which is pretty centrally located. I would have to pay a fee if I went to see a teller, and I haven't had to do that yet, so I don't have a lot of experience with the customer service, but the one time I was in (to get an account) it was pretty easy. Not a long wait, and the Williston location is really clean, large, and the people were all friendly. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with this bank, and if my needs ever change (they're pretty minimal right now, as the majority of my banking is done with an out-of-state bank), I'll be totally confident that staying with NEFCU is the right thing to do.

I must say that New England Federal Credit Union is one of the best credits unions in the New England area. They have always taken care of me in my times of need. The only gripe that I have with them involves this one experience when my account was stolen from identity thieves. They took a really long time to decide that I was the original owner of the account and I was also forced to go to a branch to resolve it. It took even longer to get the money that was taken from me. So I decided to give them one star off on customer service and problem resolution. Other than that, NEFCU is a favored credit union by a lot of my friends and family and I couldn't be happier with them.

These guys offer great classes on an ongoing basis and really care about educating their members on finances. There are no smoke and mirrors tricks, everything is upfront and made clear immediately. They offer free checking, free overdraft protection. When I signed up they even deposited cash into my account. I was signed up for an early credit builder class and program, so I was given a credit card at 16, earlier than is normally done. They really worked hard to make sure we understood how to properly build good credit. The only odd part about the particular checking program I signed up for was that it was e-checking, and we were charged a fee to see a live teller. That being said, their online banking was plenty robust that I never once felt the need to see a teller.