BECU

After reaching out to the contact given privately received zero contact (no call, no email, nothing).
Of note, clearly BECU mortgage department uses seriously flawed tools. A house across the street (on a busy main road corner lot instead of ours off the main road) which is bigger Sq ft house (but same #br/​barh), much smaller lot, built earlier than ours and in much worse condition (we went inside) taxable value 31k less than ours just sold for $ 100k OVER taxable value. So how BECU can say in our house was barely worth over the taxable amount I have no clue. Disappointing.
When we look to buy a new house in 2 years when we need more space for the kids we won’t be using BECU as our first choice lender that’s for sure.

Having to wait super long to try to get anything done is annoying. Every time I come to this location. It’s takes around 20−30mins to talk to someone. It might just be my luck.

I agree with the previous posters about the problems with no ²⁴⁄₇ customer service. My daughter and I both have BECU accounts and have both encountered problems where we have adequate funds in our accounts (these were at different times) but the card would not work. It said transaction error. This is extremely frustrating. It is time to start looking for a different place to bank.

BECU you rock! I’ve had the same account since I was a teenager stashing away my babysitting money. I’ve been impressed with their customer service and graciousness as an institution. I recently was disorganized with my banking and received some hefty fees. One quick and easy phone call later, the money was deposited back into my account, fees reversed and no questions asked. I couldn’t be more grateful with how simple and convenient BECU makes banking.

Man, I’ve always had a great experience with BECU until this morning.
Allow me to elaborate:
I was looking over my Visa bill and noticed my available credit was showing as «NONE», which surprises me, as I’ve always kept up with my payments and been responsive to phone calls when it’s inadvertently trickled past the due date.
I called the main customer service number and after ending up at the wrong place a couple of times, I was finally directed to a member care representative, who I must say was extremely helpful and friendly. She reached out to a team called «Loss Management» to inquire about this and said they were indicating I’d been sent a letter and never responded to it. I had no recollection of this, so I asked to be transferred over, upon which I was disconnected.
Whatever, not a big deal; a quick Google search turned up a number for the team. Upon calling back, I got through to a lady who started out pleasant enough. She took my basic account information and looked up my account. Things deteriorated pretty rapidly from there.
I explained that I was calling to find out what’s going on with my card (I really don’t use it these days, but I still wanted to know why it was showing I had no available credit despite being well below my limit.) She told me I’d been unresponsive to communications on BECU’s part back in October of 2014. I told her I’m not sure what she’s talking about; that I had gone late on a payment then due to some confusion over an auto payment I thought I’d set up but upon returning to town (I’d been traveling internationally, which I’d notified BECU of prior to leaving) but I’d explained this to the first person who called me and took care of it immediately upon returning to town.
She told me my account was ‘delinquent’ and that it had been automatically suspended. I asked her how long the suspension was for and was told it was permanent. I told her that’s funny, my credit report has no derogatory marks, and the person I’d spoken to when I took care of the payment had told me I was in good standing and made no mention of my account being ‘delinquent’ or suspended, so I was a little surprised. She was silent on the other line.
«So, how do I go about getting this cleared up?»
«You can pay off your full Visa bill and reapply.»
«Uh, that seems a little extreme. This was all due to a simple miscommunication, and I really have no recollection of receiving these letters.»
«I can assure you the letters were sent.»
«OK, well, I don’t recall receiving any.»
*silence*
«So, I mean, is there nobody else I can talk to about this? I really feel like this must be stemming from some confusion on your end. I’m taking responsibility for being late, but as I’d explained at the time of payment, it was really just due to a simple misunderstanding about the auto-​pay feature.»
«I can talk to a manager, but it’s probably not going to make a difference.»
«Uh, OK. I mean, it’s not a huge deal since I really don’t use this card anyway, but I’d still like to get this cleared up. I really like BECU, but there are other banking options I guess I can turn to as well.»
«OK.»
“So, I guess that’s it.”
«OK. I’ll get back to you with a decision.»
I guess my issue is two-​fold. 1) I don’t feel like I did anything to warrant my Visa bill being suspended. I fell behind on one payment due to a simple miscommunication but I’ve been otherwise very good about keeping up with my payments every month, and I’ve been a cardholder for a couple of years now. As soon as it was brought to my attention that my payment was past due, I took care of the outstanding balance on the spot. I never ignored you guys, as I was accused of doing. 2) I really didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone from the Loss Management agent I spoke with. I’m not a ‘delinquent’, and while I realize she may deal with a fair number of people each day who are irresponsible with their finances, I’m really not one of them. I work hard and try to use my credit responsibly. If I owe a debt, I pay it, with interest in the case of this credit card.
BECU was the first credit union I opened an account with, and the service was second to none at the time. I had no credit history at the time of opening my account, and a member care representative took the time to sit down with me, look over my credit report, and hash out an action plan to develop good credit. The service felt personal and customized to my needs.
The experience I had today felt like something that would’ve occurred with Bank of America. It felt like I was the victim of beaureaucracy, and the person on the other end of the line was more interested in reading from a script at me than listening to what I was actually saying. I’ll update my post when I hear back from her with a final decision, but I’m really not expecting much.

Multiple phone calls and all different answers each time I call. Then this was exacerbated with a lack of communication that resulted in my VISA being closed and my LOC suspended, when I have excellent history with you and no missed payments EVER!!! I reached out with a letter after it happened and it was ignored. I called and received the rudest customer service ever! I was assigned to the manager of the loans, Lori, and she was to call me the next day and had her staff member, Jamie, call me and say she was looking into it and would call me back in the next two days. That was a MONTH ago!!! I wrote a personal letter to the VP of their loan department and he has not responded or his staff. This is HORRIBLE! I have never had such disrespect, such trashing to my good credit, and a lack of care to even respond.
DO NOT even think about this bank as an option. They don’t care about their members and they won’t care about you. Sad to see such negative changes to what used to be a good institution.

The employees are passive aggressive, in a bad mood, or just flat out unclear and difficult to talk to. The app is the worst. You have to jump through several extra hoops, which are surprisingly confusing to navigate just to use bill pay and «activate» your online account. Forget about even trying to do anything on their website, it isn’t mobile friendly at all. It’s not desktop friendly either as everything is way more convoluted to navigate compared to other banks I’ve used.
The BECU ATM machines eat your credit/​debit cards and don’t spit them back out until the VERY end of the transaction, which means the likelihood of people grabbing their cash and receipt, then forgetting their card must be very high.
They close early too.
I could go on, but all you need to know is DO NOT BANK HERE.

Tried to pay for our vacation and the transaction was not authorized and yes of course I picked one of the only banks that does not have 24 – 7 customer service. This is completely idiotic in this day and age not to provide 24 hour customer service. What happens if we have an emergency and need those funds outside of their «normal» business hours? Switching on Tuesday to a bank that provides customer service when the customer needs it. Wish I could give no stars!

Really disappointing experience, my pay cheques takes forever to be processed and updates on credit card applications not provided on time. Had to call in to ask where it was at and was then informed if you dont come to the bank and give us a copy of your SSN in 2 days your application will be declined, a little heads up would have been helpful if you wanted some information from me…

Great location.

I was really looking forward to using BECU as my primary bank account, however, the amount of time it takes BECU to post a money transfer is ridiculous. Here is an example of my latest issue. Another BECU member transferred money to me using BECU’s POPmoney, he made the transfer Saturday 6-​14-​2014 but I will not receive the money until Wednesday 6÷18÷2014, every other bank I have used posts the money the next business day… why does BECU need so many days to transfer money from one BECU account to another?

This is not just a review for this location but the entire organization. I only wish big banks functioned like BECU.
BECU is not your average credit union with poor IT infrastructure and service. They are pretty high-​tech, on-​time and excellent in their customer service. I have a saving, checking, credit card and auto loan with them and every single time they have met or exceeded my expectations. Recently, I bought a car and they bettered my dealership’s financing. Their branch representatives are always cheerful and very helpful.
There are a ton of other credit unions like Salal and Alaska Federal where you can go and access your account as if you were doing it at your organization. All the 7-​Eleven ATMs are free for credit unions too. With all these perks, low fees and amazing customer service, I don’t understand why someone would still bank with Chase or Bank of America.

I’m a new member and I already love BECU!
Thank you Mark for setting up my accounts so quickly and the fun conversation. I banked with one of the big banks for over a decade and like most consumers you have to wonder why you’re giving certain banks your business. Is it worth it? Do they even care you’re there? When you walk in what’s the service like? Do they invest in technology to keep up with the rest of the world?
BECU invests where it should: straightforward products with higher interest rates on deposit accounts and not having tellers because they’re not necessary. They support local organizations and are community involved. I’m so glad I joined a Washington credit union and I will recommend switching over to anyone who is tired of their bank.
I called beforehand to see what the opening deposit requirements were, etc. They were so friendly and made me feel comfortable and wanted even though I said I wouldn’t be starting with a big balance right away and that I wanted to begin the process of transferring everything over from my old accounts. You really only need $ 5 to put in a savings to start and the checking has no requirement. That’s perfect for me since I’m transitioning into a new job and will be setting up direct deposit soon but tight on funds at the moment. I hope to be a lifetime member here and when the time comes for auto or home loans, additional accounts, etc. it will be done here. The downtown location especially was so friendly to me and anxious to help me right as I walked in!

So Becu got ahold of me and is reimbursing me for my overdraft charges and have took responsibility for there mistake. I gave them a ⁴⁄₅ because if it was taken care of appropriately initially then this would not have been needed. I guess there is always room for improvement.

I may have picked wrong bank for my first purchase of a home. I am purchasing a short sale so thought my hardest problems were behind me. Through loan process I kept asking if they had all my paperwork prior to getting short sale approval from the seller bank. After getting confirmation BECU had what they needed for now, they just needed paperwork from seller bank. After sending in the paperwork they needed for closing, I get a new person asking again for some of the paperwork I already sent in. (Prior person admitted she misplaced some of my paper work).
Now they are concerned about a permit so my loan is on hold. When did BECU become a home inspector? I don’t know if I will have my first purchase but after spending $ 450 on appraisal and $ 350 on inspection and over a year searching for the right home, hope my loan is approved.
I will know 3÷25÷14.
Oh yeah, if you don’t have to, never do a short sale!
I’ve been banking with BECU for over a decade but seriously considering changing banks now. I really don’t feel confident with them through this home loan process.
03/​18/​2014
Follow up:
I have enjoyed banking with BECU. They seem to be always ahead of there competition on technology. I enjoyed check deposits without envelopes. Can’t wait to try using phone deposits.
I was upset when I wrote this review. Looks like BECU will come through at the end to get my loan processed. Thank you for coming through. You really do care about your members.
THANK YOU BECU!

I came into this location to get a new card printed off. I liked that they had a sign in sheet instead of numbers, it made it seem more personal. Although the wait was about 20minutes, it wasn’t too bad. While I was waiting a lot of people had problems with the inside ATM, it restarted and was not in use. This could have been because it was after 1pm and the bank was supposed to close at one.
It was very nice that they stayed open past their posted time and helped all the costumers who were in there. There are no tellers, which I like because this also made it seem more personal. The man who helped me was Asian and very enthusiastic! He was so helpful and showed sympathy towards my situation. With moderate conversation and him printing my card I was helped within 5 minutes! It was so helpful and fast!

No cash for me.
My debit card stopped working on Saturday, (BECU ATM tells me they can’t process my card and to contact customer service… on Monday I guess.) so my plans to go out that evening, buy groceries and watch the Seahawks game at the local bar (no TV at home) on Sunday are not happening.
Customer Service is closed after 1pm on Saturday, not open on Sunday.
I logged onto my account, there are no alerts, all my money is there, everything looks fine.
I sure hope I get one of those canned responses from BECU in a week telling me they are sorry, I should contact customer service, and if it should be signed by some random so as to personalize the message. That would make everything better.

I have attempted to switch to BECU from Wells Fargo since bank transfer day during the occupy movement. At the time I had just moved and they needed proof of residency. I didn’t have time during bank hours to go into the bank and I didn’t have access to a fax machine at home or at work. I tried on my phone, and it would say it uploaded those documents, but nothing ever happened and the application just expired. I would then forget and go through the process again. About a year later I finally buckled down and signed up for an account.
I heard a lot of wonderful things about BECU, that is why I switched. The back end of things I have been happy. I have had some issues transferring everything everything over to the new bank account. I have had some insufficient funds charges. They weren’t able to get rid of all them because they were my fault, but they did take away some. They also allow external transfers which will make it easy to transfer all of my money from the other account into this one once I am ready to officially close my Wells Fargo account.
What I am finding extremely frustrating though, is their lack of actual tellers. I live and work downtown. The closest full service branch is in Tukwilla, the other one is in Everett. You can withdraw and deposit cash and checks at their ATMs, but anything else dealing with actual money you have to go to a partner credit union. There is also only two in the small doorway, on busy days, especially after work, it gets really crowded.
Not having a full branch wasn’t so much of an issue for me until I tried depositing money, the machine ripped a $ 20 in half. I went inside to get a print out list of nearby banks. I walked in the rain to a part of downtown I never venture to, only to find out the bank was closed and I had to wait till morning. I also don’t like the idea of having to go to another bank to get quarters on laundry day.
This is my first time using a credit union and I love that I get dividends on my checking account. I will update this review if anything else sticks out!

I have only ever used the cash machine here. I do like the fact that it is located in an indoor lobby and, while not entirely secured, does seem like its a little more safe for people to use than if it was located on the outside of the building.
BECU machines seem to be faster at processing transactions than other bank’s ATM’s so the line here moves quickly when there is one.

It was about 7:30pm on a Friday night.
I swiped my little BECU debit card and got into the room with the ATM machine (and a garbage can — useful!).
I deposited a couple of checks and the funds appeared instantly (as always). I love those Snapshot ATM’S! I also withdrew a $ 20 because I figured I might want to have cash on hand for my plans that evening. (Not as cool as the BECU ATM in the UW HUB that usually lets me withdraw $ 5’s… but still good and useful.)
It was easy, convenient, and perfect. I heart BECU and each ATM location that proves to be a convenient one for me.