SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Laguna Niguel - Laguna Niguel, California

Cal Poly

At first, everything was great, and all the staff welcomed me with smiles. They even told me that if I was late on a payment for a month, there wouldn’t be any issues. But later, the lies became evident. Before the end of the month, I started getting bombarded with letters, texts, and calls to urgently pay my installment.

Last month, I went to see Maria, and she told me to pay for September, and that from October onwards, the payments would be automatically withdrawn from my bank account. I asked Maria if there was anything else I needed to do, and she said, “No, everything’s good.” She even suggested setting the withdrawal date for the end of the month, which I agreed to.

Then, in mid-October, I received a letter stating that the October payment hadn’t been made. I kept receiving texts and calls telling me to come and pay. I went to the bank to see Maria and ask what happened, only to find, to my surprise, that Maria denied her previous statements and placed the blame on me. Unfortunately, her manager, instead of supporting me, backed her up and tried to brush it off with an empty apology. I’m a professor who is helping to build the future of this country, and I didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.

Ray Pad

I had an outstanding experience with the front desk and personal banker Eliana at School First in Laguna Niguel. She provided invaluable information about account management. Her extensive knowledge and expertise in the field were impressive, and she went above and beyond to ensure that I understood everything clearly. Many thanks.

John Noland

My visit was on a Saturday for the purpose of sending a wire transfer. The receptionist said the wait could be 25 minutes, it was much shorter.

While taking g a seat in the waiting area an older man came in and inquired about an international wire transfer. It sounded like he was expecting the transfer to be sent that day. And wanted to order the wire online. The receptionist patiently explained that international wires could only be sent on weekdays by visiting or calling. They didn't support ordering wires from the app or website.

This exchange continued for several minutes with the receptionist remaining calm and re-explaining what the credit union could do and offered suggestions, including checking with the Wells Fargo branch a couple of door down. Eventually the man realized he was at the wrong place and thought he was at the Wells Fargo branch all along!

As for my transaction, I was able to order my wire transfer with no problem. Additionally, my banker was able to open a checking account and printed "temporary" checks for my new checking account and HELOC. I quoted temporary because the checks look like regular checks with my info as if received from a check order.

Julio Mendez

Yaneth Saucedo

Cathy Hohneker (CathyH)

Sean Johnson

Sandra Ortiz