Sound Credit Union

I don’t even know if I can adequately describe how horrid my experience was here, but I will try. First, bear with me as I give you some history.
I have been a member since 2010, maybe 2009. Back then, my local branches were Watermark Credit Union. I used my checking account as a holiday account. I was getting great service, so in 2011 I used them to get a car loan. I had emptied my account of all but $ 20 and then promptly forgot all about it. Fast forward to 2013. I got a new job and therefore wanted to update my automatic payment schedule for the car. Watermark is now Sound Credit Union. Come to find out that the car loan was fine, but they closed my checking/​savings account. Apparently I needed $ 25 to keep it open. I didn’t so they charged me a $ 5 low balance fee every single month until I hit zero dollars. Then they closed it. I don’t use it anyway, so it was fine.
Present day: this week I went into a local branch to change my name on my car loan (recently married). The teller couldn’t help me, so she asked me to sit in the two chairs in the huge, sparse lobby and said she would be back. She goes to talk to one of the personal bankers, Vanessa, and then comes back to say that they can’t change my name unless I deposit $ 25 and reopen my account. Say what? My husband and I asked to talk to Vanessa directly at that point. Vanessa tried to say the same thing: car loans are a benefit offered to members. Since I didn’t have money in my account, it closed, and I’m not «technically» a member anymore. She wouldn’t change my name unless I gave them money to reopen my account. Period.
This was ridiculous on several levels:
1. No one said this when I spoke with them last year on the phone, where they told me not to worry about my account being closed.
2. I had also talked to customer service on the phone earlier in the day.
3. If I hadn’t gone in there to change my name, nothing would change. I would just keep paying and they wouldn’t hassel me about reopening an account I have no intention on using.
My husband brought up that last point, which left Vanessa rather speechless for a moment. She then agreed he was right, and let me sign the forms to change my name and move on. I’m so happy I only have two years left on this car loan. I will never use SCU again.
PS. She was IM’ing someone (I think she said it was her boss), the ENTIRE time we were there. Who does that?

Like the other reviewers of this credit union with its other branches around the Seattle Metro area I am also a dissatisfied customer. This might as well be a BoFA. The service is subpar and lacking. It took me over TWO WEEKS to close an account with them. Meanwhile I was told I could go in the same day and close the account and get my money. I had a total of over $ 30,000 with Sound Credit Union in Savings. I had $ 10,000 in an interest bearing account. Sound’s regular savings yields around 0.02% interest or basically the same or similar to big banks. It isn’t even ran like a credit union.
They fee charged me as much as they could bleeding me some months of $ 20-​$ 50+ They linked the checking and savings but disallowed internet transfers between the accounts. I had to continually drive across town to get access to my money. It was atrocious. Derek with the one interest savings took over 2 weeks to get my $ 10,000 to me and he pinched out around $ 250 stating the bank charges fees to close savings accounts in the tune of $ 100. He took long spans to get back to me and never even verified my name, DOB, or social in speaking. I closed a $ 10,000 account via e-​mail!
This was the worse experience bar none I have had with a bank. I have banked with the big guys too. BoFA is slightly better because you can check your balance and make transfers easier, they are also more easily accessible. I would NEVER recommend Sound to a customer. Please check out their other branches around Unilocal and see the low star ratings. It will save you a lot of time and hard earned money. Now with over $ 500+ gone in fees to this bank that has set me back on my house savings. Never go here they ruin your dreams by stealing from you. My money is safer in my home under a pillow!