Warning Travis Credit Union

Travis Credit Union - Worst Customer Service Award

I have banked with Travis Credit Union for many years. I am retired Air Force and a proud Vet. I would expect a Credit Union that was built, backed and paid for by military personnel to be more service oriented to military personnel and their unique situations. This is not the case with Travis Credit Union.

Here is copy of the email I sent to the President of Travis Credit Union

Dear Pasty Van Ouwerkerk,

I am retired Military and have been a member of the CU for many years. Recently I have had nothing but problems when dealing with or asking for help from two different branches, the Base Branch and the Vacaville Branch on Peabody.

Just to list a few of issues, I wanted a home loan and I was appalled that a military CU refused to do VA loans. Then I wanted a loan for property in Texas, guess what, Travis CU refused to give loans in Texas. Then I try and take out $5000 in cash and was told I can't withdraw my own money without giving a day notice. Then I take a government issued Federal check to the Peabody Branch and just want to deposit it in my account. The teller wants to know why I got this check and what was it for? Why in the hell does she need to know that? Then she has to go show it to a manager. Of course the Manager is too lazy to walk over to the teller, so the teller has to lock her drawer, secure her area and bring the check to Manager sitting on her butt 10 steps away. Then the two of them have a private conversation for several minutes while I have to wait. Now please remember, I just want to deposit this Gov issued check, which is only for $480.00 and I have a balance in my account of over $50,000.00. I am just a simple guy, but just maybe you could deposit the check and put a hold on it and let me get on with my day, on the off chance that my balance would cover the check?

But wait, on this same pleasurable visit, I wanted to withdraw $3500.00 and was told I needed manager approval. From my prior issues in this area, I asked, "I thought it had to be $5000.00?" No answer and I am waiting again. While this is going on, I walk away from the teller window and ask the guy sitting at the front door, a Wal-Mart Greeter I guess, and ask who the Manger is. He tells me her name and I ask if she is available, are ready for the this, he replies "I don't know". Again, being a simple guy, if anyone cared about customer service, do you think he could have said, I will check, let me get her, is there a problem I can help with, anyone of several responses and I get "I don't know". Just another lovely pleasurable visit to Travis CU.

Wait, it gets better. Today I call the Manager to give notice I will be making a withdraw tomorrow and would like $15,000 cash available. Of course she does not answer her phone so I leave a message, probably busy checking a quarter to see if it is real or something, but she does call me back. I tell her that I would like my cash tomorrow so I can put it in my checking account but do not want a check so there will be no hold on "my" money. She tells me, she needs THREE days notice. That's it, I am done playing lets see how hard we can make it for our customers to get their money.

I tell the Manager in that case I will be closing my account and would like a check ready and I will be in tomorrow. Here we go, this is where all your great management training comes in, she then starts quoting that in the rule book it clearly states that I must give 3 days for any cash...bla bla bla. No help, just wants to preach about her rule book. I repeated that I am closing my account. This is just a few of the distasteful events at TCU, if I listed them all I would have to charge you for publishing review cost.

So, not to put to fine a point on it, it is my opinion that your policies and service is unreasonable, inflexible and not intended to help or assist your members. I also think your customer service relations and service has as much appeal as the south end of a north bound mule. I will not recommending your CU and in fact will do whatever I can to ensure others are aware of the deplorable service which seems to be the standard for TCU. I will be adding a link to my "Remembering a Vet" page on my web site, it you care to check it out here is a link.

Good reddens and Happy Trails,

Rick Gore
Soon to be Ex- TCU Member


After the Email - The Rest of the Story

So, the next morning I go in close my account. I tell the "Wal-Mart Greeter" I need to close my account and asked if I go to the teller or some where else. He tells me to have a seat and some one will call me. So there he is doing nothing, there are two other employees doing nothing behind him and in a couple of minutes one of the three come out and ask me to come back with them. I think his name Roland, a nice young guy who was pleasant and professional. While he entered keys into his computer, as much as he was typing you would think I was buying a plane ticket and he was looking for a flight with a window seat, but he was doing his job.

As I sat there, the branch manager came over and suggested that if I still wanted to withdraw my money, I could drive to different branches and get money at each branch. OK people, this is a bank that can't get money from one branch to another and wants the customer to drive around collecting bits and pieces of his money. I hope I am not the only one that sees this a piss poor customer service. But read on, there are still bonus points for lack of service.

I close my account and I asked for a Cashier Check so there not be a hold on my money since your bank will not give me my money in cash. I am told no problem they will give me a Cashier Check.

So I get my check and exit that bank, like the place was on fire, hoping to never look back. Not so fast speedy. I take the check to Bank of America and was going to deposit it and asked if there would be a hold on the money since it was a Cashier check? Yes, a 8 day hold. Perfect, Travis won't give me money in cash, they give me a check that another bank will not honor or trust so the check will have a hold placed on it.

Now I am a little upset, I called the President's Executive Assistance and ask for someone that can get me my money so I can make a purchase tomorrow. I happen to tell this lady that Bank Of America did not think too highly of their so called cashier check and they required a hold placed on the check. Her response was classical and ironic to me. She said something like, you see we are not that bad. Great analogy, we compare our poor service to other poor service and lay claim that our poor service is better. Am I in the twilight zone here?

A short time later a district manager contacts me. I explain that I closed my account for lack of service and since Travis Credit Union has way too many rules and reason on why not to give a customer their money. I tell him I get a cashiers check from their bank to avoid a hold and Bank of America does not think to highly of their check and put a hold on it. I suggest that he wire the money directly from my account to my Back of America Account to avoid any holds on their worthless cashier check.

So I summarized my issues and tell him you won't give me my cash, you give me a cashier check that other banks won't accept and your bank won't cash your own check that you just issued. How do I get my money? He finally solves the problem. He arranges to meet me at their main vault at one of the branches and makes special considerations to cash their own cashier check.

A day in the life as a customer of Travis Credit Union. So is there any confusion on why I am not and will not ever be a member of the worst credit union in California? So that's why my opinion of the Travis Credit Union still stands as the south end of a north bound mule.

Customer beware, read every rule, get everything thing in writing and if you want you money from Travis Credit Union, you better be willing to fight hard, because they will sure fight hard to keep it.

My advice, avoid Travis Credit Union and advise others to do the same


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The horse you get off of is not the same horse you got on; it is your job to make sure the change is for the better. -- Feeling down, saddle up. -- Good horses make short miles

It is never the Horse's fault! -- Rick Gore Horsemanship