Philadelphia Federal Credit Union

Poor Customer Service

I’ve been a member at Philadelphia Federal Credit Union for about 5 years, and never really had a complaint.

They’ve made a few mistakes, and their customer service is relatively poor, but I’m not picky.

However, I just had a horrendous experience that compelled me to comment, and will probably result in closing my accounts with Philadelphia Federal Credit Union.

I recently made a large check deposit into my checking account.

As usual, there’s a 3-day hold on check deposits, and so the money should have been put into my account a few days later.

I wrote my landlord a check for the rent. Six days later, I get a call from my landlord informing me that he couldn’t cash the check due to insufficient funds.

Now I know that PFCU’s servers have been down for a few days (I haven’t been able to check my accounts online), so I chock it up to some internal error on the part of the credit union.

I apologize profusely and immediately call Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, expecting that it shouldn’t be a problem to clear up the confusion.

After speaking with three different people who are increasingly rude, they tell me that they’re holding my money and refusing to give it to me.

They keep grilling me: “What was the check for?” “Do you know the person who wrote it?” “Can you have her call us?” “Can you prove that she has the money in her account?”

Now, NONE of this is relevant to the issue at hand: that PFCU is holding that money and refusing to release it to my account (even though my “balance” registers the full amount as being in my account).

So, not that I should have to, but I explain: It’s for work, I am a contractor and the check is for labor on a current project.

Yes, I know the person who wrote it (they’re my employer), and no, I’m not going to ask her to contact you to prove that she has the money she’s written the check for.

That’s embarrassing and ridiculous, I shouldn’t have to do that.

Now, they’ve made it clear to me, at this point, that the money is available and “probably” has cleared, but that they (PFCU) have put a 10-day hold on that money.

After much hassle, I finally get them to release $1000 of that money to my account, so that I can at least pay my rent.

I make sure to tell them that I have been a solid, mostly more-than-happy member for 5 years, but this experience — particularly the way they’ve been talking to me — is encouraging me to question if I should continue banking with PFCU, the woman doesn’t acknowledge my statements at all. “Have a nice day.” Click.

I’m sorry, but I expect more. I expect better service from an institution that’s supposed to be community-oriented.

Essentially, I learned that my own bank was refusing to give out my own money when I needed it, which is probably the single scariest situation I can imagine when dealing with your bank.

If I can’t access the money I’ve deposited into my own accounts, then what’s the point of having a bank at all?

I could chock all this up to weird bureaucratic policies, but that doesn’t excuse the manner in which I was treated.

The woman I was speaking to was terse, rude, and condescending.

I hated the way I was being questioned as if I was a criminal — as if the hold was intended for my own good to tease out illegal behavior.

By the end of the call, I felt ashamed, belittled, frustrated, and sad.

Until this experience, I would generally have encouraged others to join PFCU.

However, in good conscience, I feel as if I have to now warn people of their insane policies and disrespectful approach.

My story may be a fluke, but it’s not one I’d encourage others to risk.

Is Philadelphia Federal Credit Union a legit?

Philadelphia Federal Credit Union is not running a legit business. They are not aggressive towards customer satisfaction and complaint grievance redressal, Hence 13 consumer[s] submitted negative ratings, and only a few left positive feedback.

Where is Philadelphia Federal Credit Union located?

Philadelphia Federal Credit Union is headquarted at 1108 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19107. You can contact Philadelphia Federal Credit Union by dialing (215) 934-3500 or visit their website pfcu.com.

How much monetary loss is incurred by Philadelphia Federal Credit Union’s customers?

According to Philadelphia Federal Credit Union’s customers, a monetary loss of US $3521 has been reported. The severity of entire incident reports is high.

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13 Reviews on Philadelphia Federal Credit Union

  1. Disputed charge that got reversed despite my proof

    I authorized a purchase for a few hundred dollars a few months back. Was told by the company over the phone snd via message that I could cancel for whatever reason as long as it was done before the product was shipped. So i did about 3 days later before anything was shipped. The company took no losses. I was told my refund would come within 20-30 business days. After that timeframe passed, i tried contacting the company and they went ghost. Noone responded to my calls or messages. I then filed a dispute through pffcu. They immediately gave me the money back but continued their investigation. They took a statement from me but never asked for my proof. When the merchant responded they told the bank i forfeited my monies when I canceled the order which was completely untrue. Despite having proof of being told I could cancel and get a full refund in my possession, pffcu never asked for it. pffcu decided to allow the company to steal the money back and reversed the charge about 3 months later. Only taking into account what the merchant said but nothing i said and nothing I had proof of. They dont protect or support their customers. Dont think for a second they care about doing the right thing at all!!!!! I advise all to be aware and dont give this bank your money at all. When you need them they will look you in face, shrug their shoulders and turn a blind eye.

  2. Great

    first off to the miserable bit “joanna” there is a 10 dollar fee for non members no matter what goes for everyone dont like it dont go there. how pathetic are you to complain haha and the employees are very nice. your just ,mad bc they wouldnt cash your check. get over it or pay the fee! boo who on you!

  3. Very good place to deal with overall, not perfect, but ok.

    Can’t beat the benefits of a credit union over a bank. Very good place to deal with overall, not perfect, but ok.

  4. I have had the bad fortune to have some issues about the PFCU credit card services.

    I have had the bad fortune to have some issues about the PFCU credit card services. They have sold their card service to BANK OF AMERICA and the name of the card is FIA Credit Services. The card is based in Delaware so usury is allowed.

    I ran into a rough patch last year when I had less work that in the past, and as a result I could not pay the full amount due on my FIA card. They raised my APR from 12% to 29%, and ruined my credit rating. Other credit card companies were involved but none was more viscous than this card!

    I had this problem for two months and then caught up, and during this process they then cut my credit in half, and when I nearly paid them everything in full they close my account. Now this is not what I expected from a Union affiliate!

    So when I questioned this practice the only response was that I should contact the nasty FIA company, and if you check on line they have a long history of similar complaints. I TRUSTED the credit UNION to offer the correct tools so that I could understand the process and they gave very little except notice of the change.

  5. very rinky dink.

    The main problem with this credit union is its connection to FIA CREDIT SERVICE. This so-called service raises one’s APR and when it goes up it is impossible to get it down. Mine was close to 30%. They will lower your credit limit without contacting you so they can charge outrageous fees. When you pay them down they close your account.

    They are a nasty predatory business connected to an otherwise decent service. I also find that I have difficulty getting into their online system, like tonight, the reason why I am writing this review. Their online system tends to get stuck and many times does not function effectively – very rinky dink.

  6. I explicitly said the year of the vehicle during my first phone call.

    I was contacted by the loan officer who asked the year of the vehicle, and because it was older than 7 years, he said the vehicle is ineligible for 1.99% and I must take a 9.5% personal loan instead. Even after I was told by their call center I was getting the 1.99%.

    Had I known this before getting a credit check for a loan, I would have said no thank you. I was under the impression would be 1.99% or close to it. The Loan Officer Manager, Amy, explained that the rates are determined during the process. I explicitly said the year of the vehicle during my first phone call.

  7. We already have a lower rate with another bank....

    I want to start with saying that I am already a member of a non-local credit union and thought it would be good to choose this credit union for a new car loan to keep business local. After 2 weeks of waiting for the car loan to process, I’ve given up!

    I had to keep calling into customer service to check on the status of the loan, and each time (at least 3 times) I was told they were waiting on information they had requested. When I would ask them whom they requested the information to,

    they couldn’t even give me a straight answer. I have closed this loan, and will be closing the entire bank accounts as well, and proceeding with my non-local credit union that is over 2 hours away. Even though the non-local credit union is over 2 hours away,

    I have NEVER had a problem nor waited this long for a car loan! And STAY CLEAR of the promotional ads they run, stating “as low as” 1.99%. We have excellent credit and always get the lowest rate for loans, and PFCU stated we were approved for 2.74%. We already have a lower rate with another bank….

  8. Bad Service Provide.

    I’m calling to dispute the charge because I don’t want to spend any extra money period! I get paid bi-weekly, and I expect to have my acct balance left in tact until I get my next paycheck.

    The credit card merchant has agreed to refund the $129.50 charge, but you won’t place an immediate block to prevent another auto debit of funds out of the acct unless I pay an additional $15!? Whose the scam artist here!? They have a policy, if you caused the issue, they say there is nothing more we can do. I have worked at First Union,

    Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo through all of those bank mergers for 8 years and the first thing that I’ve learned is that there is always something you can do, and to always try to go above and beyond for your customer. In this case I DID NOT cause the issue,

    but providing the highest level of customer service to protect my account was not even a priority unless I paid them. 🙁 After my loans are paid off I am closing my accounts. I am posting this on every pfcu listing because that is how angry I still am!

  9. very dishonest person.

    I have a checking account, a savings account, a line of credit and a loan. I have been a customer with this bank for over 10 years and I deeply regret all of the time that I have wasted with investing my money in this terrible financial institution.

    I have a tight budget and pay my bills down to the last dollar. I live paycheck to pay check so I cannot afford for any miscellaneous charges to hit my account. Beware! This bank does not like to waive their bank fees, so you’re on your own if your account ever goes negative.

    I had an unauthorized charge to my account because a credit card payment tried to hit my account twice. I called PFCU customer service and they wanted to charge me $15 to place a stop payment on the charge but wouldn’t budge when I asked to have it waived because I am the one being inconvenienced!

  10. Horrible service

    Horrible service. Both me and my girlfriend switched to them and have had nothing but trash from them. Leaving their service.

  11. Never Again

    Their response is, if it’s your fault, we can’t do anything about it. After I pay off my loans I do plan to close out my account. I had 2 transactions charged accidentily to my bank card which is linked to my paypal card instead being charged to my paypal credit account, due to a processing error made over the phone.

    This caused my payments for my credit card bills to get rejected and that caused 7 overdraft fees of $28. The manager was only willing to reverse 1 fee. What!? Smh!

  12. I am posting this on every pfcu listing because that is how angry I still am!

    Whose the scam artist here!? They have a policy, if you caused the issue, they say there is nothing more we can do. I have worked at First Union, Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo through all of those bank mergers for 8 years and the first thing that I’ve learned is that there is always something you can do, and to always try to go above and beyond for your customer.

    In this case I DID NOT cause the issue, but providing the highest level of customer service to protect my account was not even a priority unless I paid them. 🙁 After my loans are paid off I am closing my accounts. I am posting this on every pfcu listing because that is how angry I still am!

  13. won't place an immediate block to prevent

    I have a checking account, a savings account, a line of credit and a loan. I have been a customer with this bank for over 10 years and I deeply regret all of the time that I have wasted with investing my money in this terrible financial institution. I have a tight budget and pay my bills down to the last dollar.

    I live paycheck to pay check so I cannot afford for any miscellaneous charges to hit my account. Beware! This bank does not like to waive their bank fees, so you’re on your own if your account ever goes negative. I had an unauthorized charge to my account because a credit card payment tried to hit my account twice.

    I called PFCU customer service and they wanted to charge me $15 to place a stop payment on the charge but wouldn’t budge when I asked to have it waived because I am the one being inconvenienced! You want to charge me to protect my account from a transaction that I didn’t authorize!?

    I’m calling to dispute the charge because I don’t want to spend any extra money period! I get paid bi-weekly, and I expect to have my acct balance left in tact until I get my next paycheck.

    The credit card merchant has agreed to refund the $129.50 charge, but you won’t place an immediate block to prevent another auto debit of funds out of the acct unless I pay an additional $15!?

Reviews: 13
Reported Loss : 3521 $
Severity : High
Reported by : Anonymous
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