Credit Unions - experience?

[81MC]

I’m looking to get out of supporting major banks (record profits when the government is having to hand out money...gtfo).

Anyone have experience with either Connect First (formerly First Calgary?) or Servus. I’ve stayed away for a CU because of all the what if’s, like I need a debit card while on holidays or something. Haven’t figured out that piece, other than relying on a backup credit card.

Don’t need a mortgage or anything, just a bank account that doesn’t support TD or RBC. But are the drawbacks worth it?

Thanks!

[Calgary14]

I have an account with Servus and I dont use it much but their customer service is really good. I opened the account for the same reasons. Way better service than any big bank

[bizaro86]

My father in law had a chequebook stolen out of his truck.

He reported the cheques stolen, but servus still honored them when the thief used them to drain his account.

Then he had his account number changed. Servus gave the thief a book of replacement cheques (with no ID presented and a fraud alert on the account/cheques) after they showed up at a branch with the book of stolen cheques. Then they drained his accounts again.

The attitude from them was that it's his responsibility to secure his accounts and they refused to reimburse. The second one especially I felt was 100% their fault - how can anyone secure their account from a teller giving all their money to someone else with no ID.

Tl;dr I would never use Servus.

[TorqueDog]

What about ATB?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I got an account with First Calgary when they had free banking. I'm now grandfathered as I believe they got rid of it when they completed their merger and changed banking software. On the plus side, they are now province wide since they merged w/ Chinook/Mountainview and then changed their name. That's a bonus. Still SOL if you need a debit card while visiting Toronto or something though. Reach of the big banks does have some benefits.

I think the drawbacks are definitely worth it, even if I had to pay. I hate the big banks with a passion. CUs are still crooks in a lot of ways but they're less scummy, nicer crooks than the big banks.

And unlike other free or discounted banking services, they at least have branches. Service fees tend to be lower too. Not just for accounts but for many other things.

They offer comparable services if you wanted more than a bank account but sometimes do it via partners since they don't own their own insurance, credit card, investment platform etc.

Overall though, I have zero issues. To be honest though, I'm a low maintenance customer. I find a lot of people are not though, so your milelage may vary depending on your expectations.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

What about ATB?

ATB is the worst company in the history of mankind. I would just assume put all my money in a pile and burn it rather than deal with them. You literally could not pay me to bank with them.

[Gravitykillr]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

ATB is the worst company in the history of mankind. I would just assume put all my money in a pile and burn it rather than deal with them. You literally could not pay me to bank with them.

Care to elaborate? I bank with them and find zero issue's.

[Fuzz]

If you want to feel better about bank fees and the profits they make, stop feeling angry, and buy some stock and get in on it. I've got some Royal Bank paying 3.42% dividend, and up 33% this year. More than covers any fees.

I've decided to stop fighting with companies that I feel like they are ripping me off, and just buy their stock at the same time. The government doesn't seem interested in fixing it, so may as well be in the game.

[MoneyGuy]

If changing banks wasn’t such a PITA, I’d probably move over to Canadian Western Bank. All other banks are horrid, in my opinion.

[flamingred89]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

ATB is the worst company in the history of mankind. I would just assume put all my money in a pile and burn it rather than deal with them. You literally could not pay me to bank with them.

I don't have any direct dealings with ATB personally but I assume this to be the case. We bought our place 10 years ago and are still receiving bank statements from ATB mailed to us from the previous owners. Despite numerous moved, return to sender's and even connecting with the previous owner, who explained the account was closed in 2010(!?) we still receive them every month. I don't know what postage goes for these days but I would assume it costs ATB $15 a year to send out bank statements to a closed account, to the wrong person, every year. Makes me chuckle.

[GordonBlue]

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Servus.
Been with them since before they became Servus.

[lazypucker]

If you are going to go for a credit union, watch out for the Servus promotion (happens a couple times a year) that you get $500 bonus if you open an account and put $1000 in RRSP or GICs (I forgot what the investment was). You won't get a better return than 50%.

BTW, have you considered virtual banks like Simplii and Tangerine? I know they are backed by the Big 5, but they have no fees as well....

[timun]

Originally Posted by Gravitykillr

Care to elaborate? I bank with them and find zero issue's.

Me too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I've never done business with a credit union, but based on the experiences of friends who have ATB seems a lot closer to "Big 5 Bank" than a credit union, with respect to the services offered and (unfortunately) the fees involved.

I've been banking with ATB since I was a kid; never ever had a problem. But then again I'm a pretty simple, easy-to-please client.

[Deelow]

Originally Posted by Gravitykillr

Care to elaborate? I bank with them and find zero issue's.

30 years ago there was a mix-up at the branch. He was overcharged $0.10 on a transaction and he hasn't forgotten it.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Deelow

30 years ago there was a mix-up at the branch. He was overcharged $0.10 on a transaction and he hasn't forgotten it.

Hey now, that's $0.37 after inflation.

[Deegee]

I work at Servus and can tell you the company culture is quite strong at Servus as far as a commitment to serve our members and do the right thing. We don't always get it right, but it's not for a lack of trying. I know many of the senior management at Connect First as many came from Mountain View CU and I worked there for a number of years prior to Servus. I think they mean well, too, but the profit share program is different than ours. Many people at the Credit Union are very cognizant we are using our member's money to fund operations as a cooperative and are careful with expenses.

I can tell you right now most of the branch team are exhausted right now, not just as Servus, but across the board.

[GomerPile]

I do alot of my business banking through a ConnectFirst Branch. The online functions aren't as good as the big banks, its the customer service that puts it over the top. I can email my contacts for anything, they get back me within a day and get done what I need. Its more then I can say about the big banks, and I am debating moving my personal accounts over.

[ken0042]

I was with First Calgary, and the technical issues they had as well as customer service issues were terrible. Like all financial institutions, they are good when you are just doing some regular banking. However when a problem comes up- you are SOL.

One example, their online system is often down. Last fall I was buying something from a CPer. I went to send an Interac transfer from First Calgary/ Connect First and the system said it failed, try again later. I ended up sending the transfer from another bank. Turns out the transfer went through via email; however I wasn't informed nor my account debited for an entire week. Fortunately the CPer was honest and didn't cash both transfers. However if they had auto-deposit, I would have been in trouble.

Another time my wife's debit M/C had a charge from some place in Florida. She went to dispute the charge, and was told they would look into it and we'd have to wait. It took them 2 weeks to credit her account back. It was around $2000. I know it wasn't that long ago for me where missing that amount of money for that length of time would have killed me financially.

I now pay my $16 per month with a real bank. Considering all the things that I spend money on in a month, having that peace of mind is worth $16.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I was with First Calgary, and the technical issues they had as well as customer service issues were terrible. Like all financial institutions, they are good when you are just doing some regular banking. However when a problem comes up- you are SOL.

One example, their online system is often down. Last fall I was buying something from a CPer. I went to send an Interac transfer from First Calgary/ Connect First and the system said it failed, try again later. I ended up sending the transfer from another bank. Turns out the transfer went through via email; however I wasn't informed nor my account debited for an entire week. Fortunately the CPer was honest and didn't cash both transfers. However if they had auto-deposit, I would have been in trouble.

Another time my wife's debit M/C had a charge from some place in Florida. She went to dispute the charge, and was told they would look into it and we'd have to wait. It took them 2 weeks to credit her account back. It was around $2000. I know it wasn't that long ago for me where missing that amount of money for that length of time would have killed me financially.

I now pay my $16 per month with a real bank. Considering all the things that I spend money on in a month, having that peace of mind is worth $16.

$16 a month??? Mine is $4, but I get it rebated by having 3 services with them(RBC), so it's free.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Gravitykillr

Care to elaborate? I bank with them and find zero issue's.

IIRC Cecil worked for them at one time. A strong opinion and not much willingness to elaborate would fit that scenario as well