| 5 star: | (1) | |
| 4 star: | (2) | |
| 3 star: | (0) | |
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| 1 star: | (28) |
We discovered a "pending" amount on our checkbook that we did not order. Called the support line and was assured it would be taken care of. They could see it was bogus. They even cancelled husband's debit card, which was what this person used. But, they did NOT remove it, instead they PAID IT!! took money out of our savings to do so! After we told them NOT to pay it. So, we now have zero in checking account. isn't that just wonderful!! We are so mad about this. If it is not solved very soon, we are taking our banking business elsewhere.
I was just at a Sound Credit Union branch to be added to my 85 year old Mom's account. We provided our ID and required information and then I was informed that in order to be added to my Mom's existing account they were going to pull a "HARD credit report" om me! Really?? I did not open an account, my Mom did. All we wanted to do was to add me. Additionally, my husband and I are in the process of purchasing property and building a new home. A HARD credit report would affect my credit score and possibly increase our mortgage percentage rate. There are OTHER OPTIONS, how about a "soft credit report"???? That won't affect my FICO score and still give you the information you need. Maybe Creditxpert?? They also provide credit information with affecting a FICO score. Get with it Sound Credit Union!
I do not recommend Sound Credit Union. I've been in good standing with them for over 20 years. I recently had a situation where I was not informed about the going into arrears, due to divorce decree stating my ex was responsible for the balance. The statements went to my ex's address. I was not notified by mail, email or phone. I didn't know about the situation until it was almost into collections, I was alerted by credit karma. I contacted Sound immediately to come to a resolution. I was told that if I paid off the amount my credit would recover. I then started the process of paying them off. Thinking everything was resolved I moved on.Then I received another alert saying I was late. I called them asap thinking the monies were applied elsewhere. I was told that they would report this as bad credit for 7 years even though I paid off the account. They are capable of fixing, but refuse to do so. I borrowed money I didn't have to fix this. The people were rude and unsympathetic.
Don't trust what Sound Credit Union representatives say over the phone. Anytime you talk to them over the phone get their name/info etc. and better yet get it in WRITING!
Applied for a checking account and representative said at the time I would qualify for the $100 promotion bonus for the recurring rent deposits made by my tenant. Now after the fact they have dishonored this promotion promise saying that does not qualify, even though that is what the representative told me at the time. Even though THEY RECORD their conversations, without the name of the representative that promised me the $100 bonus, they now will not credit me that promotional incentive. DONT TRUST THEM! STEER CLEAR OF SOUND CREDIT UNION.
after 25 years of banking with Seattle Telco/Watermark now Sound Credit Union I am calling it quits. Their system of holds renders mobile banking and online banking balances useless. I have never had deposits take so long to clear (7 - 10 days) and I have never had holds on pre-authorizations stay so long ( a week at least). This has resulted in a shower of fees and vague explanations from Sound that never matches up to the amounts shown in my account.
I need accurate and timely banking and Sound is a complete failure on both counts.
I don't complain much but this bank has me seething with anger.
I believe the bank is manipulative in posting transactions to it's depositors accounts in order to create a situation where they will collect numerous non sufficient funds fee.
The whole of this week I have been fighting them after noticing an overdraft of almost $180, all in their fees! Upon going through my account, I noticed that I have been penalized while in the same line there's a balance to my credit. On calling them, they're telling me I have courtesy pay (which I believe I have never signed up for), which again would have enabled my payments to go through then if it was so.
My car insurance did not go through, the bank denies that my insurance company tried to pull money from my account. I spoke to the insurance guys and they proved to me that they did. It took almost 40 minutes for the customer service representative to finally locate that figure. Now the story is that I didn't have money in the account on that day yet I can prove there was money to cover my insurance then. I checked, I even verified before I went to bed!!
I never thought I will have a fight like this with a credit union. Watermark was a great bank with happy and understanding people, bring it back!!!
The greatest insult is when they offer to reverse one of the charges ($29), like it's going to help.
I am moving to another bank before you greedy unSound WaMu-like bank even notify whoever you do to block me from doing it. None of my money is coming into this bank ever, however small it might be.
This is the worst credit union I have ever experienced. I would recommend any other credit union than this one. The customer service is poor. The staff do not understand banking. The staff will contradict other staff members, such as procedures and processes. The bank does not understand legal terms such as power of attorney and what to do with one. If you want a poor credit union, that would be Sound Credit Union.
They put a hold on my direct deposit payroll funds? I never heard of such a thing. Nor have they done this to me before. Since there was a hold on my funds, they started transferring money from my savings at $5.00 each. Previously, I also had a problem with a $29 overdraft fee when there were sufficient funds in my account. This created a cascade of fees before I noticed the problem. I was charged nearly $150 in overdraft fees. If they hadn't removed the initial $29 when there were available funds, none of the rest of the charges would have ensued.
I will be moving all of my money out of there. I don't have time to keep a constant watch on my shrinking account and all of their fees. Go anywhere else and keep your money.
She hang up on me cause of asking a question on my credit report. very un professional and don't care attitude.
disappointed customer.
Worst customer service ever, she was yelling on the phone and then hang up on me.
Disappointed client.
After almost 20 years with Watermark CU, formerly Seattle Telco. I have recently pulled all of my money out of this inferior bank. Their website is ineffective and very frustrating to use. Also, after the transition, and unbeknownst to me, all of my recurring transactions didn't transfer over. So, for a couple of paychecks, funds had not been moving into the correct accounts. All history is gone as well! I've been through transitions before, but have to say this has been the worst banking experience in my life. As soon as I can confirm my direct deposit has been successfully transitioned to my new bank, I will close my account and discontinue any relationship I had with this credit union. I am not someone who enjoys "change" so this saddens me deeply. As others have stated, one star is not deserving but in order to provide feedback, it is required.
I have been a customer with Watermark since 2007. Recently with the merger, everything has just gone to hell. First of all, they kept sending brochures and pamphlets in the mail that were no help at all. None of the information made any sense nor was it user friendly. I found out only when my account was overdrawn that they had taken out the 25 dollars that was placed in my savings account back when I first opened the account. That money was supposed to stay untouched in the account in order to keep it open. They did not notify me that they were taking the money off hold or allowing it to be removed so I spent it unknowingly and I was dumbfounded to find that my both accounts were overdrawn. When I tried to call and see what was going on, the representatives did not mention anything of use. Nor did they explain that they would be taking out five dollars every quarter or whatever it is. They took the money out even with it making my account overdrawn and when I tried to transfer the money that my mobile banking app said I had in order to fix the overdraw, they saiid I didnot have enough money. So my account lay in overdraft for a while. I had to talk to five different people on the call line and at a branch in order to figure out what the overdraft/courtesy fee really was about. Turns out that either way you are going to be charged the 29 dollar fee and you are charged per transaction that doesnt go through. I kept asking if I could get the hold back and I got mixed messages from every person I talked to. Some said yes, some said no. Fast forward to now, when I got paid from my new job and took the check to a shared atm branch at 7 eleven, which I always did with Watermark. The check was for 275. They did not tell me that they would hold the check for 6 DAYS! After I deposited the money and checked the balance, it showed I had a balance of 275. I went to the store and then I so happened to check online to see that my I had a zero balance in both accounts. It did not show that I had any holds--it just said 0.00 and plus I had two overdraft fees. I called in to the 253 number (another crazy change) and talked to someone who said that because they "Didnt know where the money was from" and because "a teller hadnt seen the actual check", they couldnt just approve the check or the transactions. She kept saying that this is how it is at all banks and that even though it was a shared atm, they still didnt know if it was a fake check. I had got the check from my job which is a multimillion dollar retail company down the street from the bank. I was outraged and told her I would close my account. She promised to talk to someone and call back which took about five hours to hear back from her. After that, she said that they were going to put a note on my account so I couldnt complain anymore about the fees. Immediately I went to try to close my account but I have to wait until next week when the second hold on my 275 dollar check comes clear. Run while you still can!!!!!
I also would have voted no on the merger with Sound if I had known that this company treats their members with such disdain. And the website is terrible, are you kidding me? You are based in Puget Sound, could you not find programmers here? I will be moving my accounts to another credit union since I don't want to be a member of something so fourth string.
Watermark board members, you should be ashamed. I hope that the great Watermark employees find jobs at an institution that actually cares about their members.
I dont normally write reviews. I left for vacation out of state, had a friend make a deposit for me. The bank wanted to place a ten day hold on my check. I tried to call a branch about a hold on a deposit. I just wanted help or understanding and they refused to talk to me, refused me talking to a manager and they hung up on me. I was very polite with them and I could not understand why the rep at the branch was so rude. As soon as I get back from vacation I cant wait to transfer my account to a new bank. Watermark would of never refused help to anyone. If I could of, I would of given them zero stars!
I was with Watermark CU from when it was Seattle Telco. Always helpful and there for you. I got a home equity line of credit with Watermark. By the time I was finished with the first batch of renovations, I needed a bit more than the original home equity line and Sound had taken over. When I requested an extension, it was no-way and we wouldn't have given you that much to begin with. Checking around, my visa was also a lot higher interest rate than other CU's. I moved accounts. My home equity line was doubled so I could continue with renovations (and it is still a lot lower than the value of my house). And the visa interest is 4 points lower.
We were also members of Watermark...which we LOVED. Their website was NEVER down. If we didn't have funds in our account to use our debit card, they wouldn't let a charge go through regardless if it was a debit or "charge" and when they did pull from our savings they pulled enough to cover a few lattes not one at time which Sound does so each Latte not only cost $4...it cost an additional $5 each time they moved $4 out of our savings account. SERIOUSLY we HATE Sound Credit Union.
With Watermark's online banking I could see real-time transactions. The woman with whom I spoke to about SC online banking told me I was wrong and that I did not see real-time transactions. Umm yeah I did...I was able to go onto my *smartphone* pull up my account and see a charge as soon as it happened....as I did when confirming a payment at the sprint store. Oh and it wasn't a debit -it was rang in as a credit. I don't know what bothered me more the fact that the customer service person told me what I knew to be true...wasn't, or that Sound Credit Union seems to be 10 years behind in regards to technology. Oh and the customer service person had this awful holier-than-thou attitude when I was explaining that I need to be able to see how much is in my account since my husband and I both use our debit cards for everything...saying well don't you keep a register of your charges? Register...really does anyone do that?And unless I was attached to my husband every moment of the day...how would I know what he was spending. It should be simple of you have $500 in you account then you should only be able to buy $500 worth of stuff...period. God I really hate them.
Their customer service does not even come close to Watermark.
Oh and on top of it I didn't get my new debit card until 2 weeks after my Watermark one was shut-off due to the merger. Arrrggh. They didn't even give me an option of overnighting it.
I am another unfortunate customer who was absorbed by the takeover of Watermark credit Union. SoundCU is terrible. Absolute opposite of Watermark. Feels like a big corporate bank. CS agents are much less educated, more scripted, and very patronizing, might as well be BofA. Hold times are much longer, IVR makes it much harder to get a person, and the icing on the cake with these fools, online banking has been down for over a week now and as I write this review it is still down.
The Mobile access still works so here is a trick to use it on your PC. Download and install the google chrome web browser if you don't have it. Then install this UA switcher which will trick sound CU into thinking you are using an iphone or android phone. Here is the link for the UA switcher add-on for chrome: https://chrome.google.co…
Now at least I can check my balance from my PC like I could do way back in 1995 at BofA with this work around for these pathetic losers.
Also, transactions now take days to post so your available balance is always out of sync with your transaction balance, simple stuff like debits at Albertsons takes days with these losers....soooo annoying, I am shopping for a new CU, this is just beyond any level of incompetence I have ever seen in a bank. Even the big evil banks that screw you on fees have their s*** together more than this.
I almost forget, this is a big issue, their online billpay - it takes 10 days!!! My rent was actually late after being 3 to 4 days early to my landlord for 14 months straight since I starting the billpay account after renting the house. Now I have to mail a paper check to pay rent, pathetic.
After having been with Watermark CU (formerly TELCO) for 15 years, we were shuffled over to this poor excuse for a credit union.
I have a number of complaints about them, but the primary one that is currently driving me crazy is the accounts and billpay function.
Watermark had an elegant, easy to use interface. When you logged in, you could immediately see your accounts, what your balances were, who you had paid recently, and how much.
Sound's website is just a mess. First of all, everything is grayed out--there is no color, and everything is triple-spaced so that you have to scroll or page through to find an account. Watermark showed you everything, right up front. I don't know who the idiots were who designed the site, but they sure aren't people who know anything about creating user-friendly websites. Within our family, there are four people who are going to BECU tomorrow to open accounts and leave this horrendous excuse for a credit union.
I've heard that they're layering on ungodly fees--this from some other disgruntled customers.
If we wanted a regular bank's high level of disservice, we could always get our butts kicked by BOA. Credit unions are supposed to be better than this!
I have had such a problem with sound. I was charged over draft or "courtesy draft fees" as they call them even though i had more than enough money in my account. There reasoning was that the charges were held because i used my debit card as a credit card. As i went back and calculated all the charges i had done on the account, i had more than enough money to cover them. When i called and explanded this, the "costemer service" agent just kept repeating her self and could not explain to me why they were there. She rather sit there and argue with me than actually do the math. After argueing for about a half hour, i said "screw you", took the loss, withdrew the rest of my money and went else where.
I used to love Watermark CU, was a member there for years; and bragged about them to everyone.
I have since been moved to SOUND and have hated it from the moment they started doing away with services and being more "bank oriented" and less "customer oriented".
I'm pulling my money out; and moving to another CU, or Chase bank...because if you're going to act like a Bank, you should have ATMS on every corner.
I'm unfortunately a member of Sound Credit Union by virtue of the Watermark Credit Union merger a few months ago. The new standard for customer service is awful, the new fee structure is abhorrent and I can't wait until I have a few hours in a business day to switch to BECU. If there was a 0 star rating, this is what they would get from me.
My old credit union (Watermark) just merged with Sound Credit Union; if I had known what was going to happen to the combined operation, I would have voted no! The local tellers and officers are the same as ever and are just as individually kind and helpful as they have ever been, but the newly centralized main office operation is confused, incompetent, and callous (as I believe someone else has pointed out).
I'm not delinquent on anything so I am not griping about that, and there are some people I have talked to at the main office who are decent people, but others seem to just not care about customers or customer service and it's difficult to get consistent and understandable answers out of them.
As long as I can just deal with my local branch I'll still use the credit union, for now, but I'm looking for something better and would encourage anyone needing loans or any extra services to look elsewhere.
Their cold customer service reminds me of some banks that I have been in. I cannot stand being a member of Sound Credit Union (member by default due to a merger my prior Credit Union went through back in 2009). I am in the process of refinancing a loan so I can transfer my account to a better Credit Union. This Credit Union doesn't even deserve a 1 star rating, but the website won't allow me to post my frustrations without it.
My bank of 10 years was bought out by by Sound Credit Union 2 weeks ago. Since then, they have charged me an obsurd fee, incorrectly setup my card 3 times, and held a payroll check for 5 days. I loved my old credit union, but my account with Sound Credit Union will be the shortest lived account of my life. save yourself the hassle and potential loss of money and go with another Credit Union. I know I will.
I was perfectly happy with Watermark CU. Ever since the merge with Sound, I've been having nothing but problems. Proud to say I am now a member of BECU and won't have to worry about this pathetic nonsense any longer.
I had a very bad experience with this institution. I paid for my car payment and after month received a past due notice for my car.
Called customer service and received a very bad service. Just heads up, you cannot pay your mortgage with master card. Do not associate yourself with this institution.
NEVER had such a bad time with a financial institution in my life! God help you if your spouse passes away unexpectedly and your accounts are at sound. They freeze all accounts so you have NO access to ANY of your money until they are PAID IN FULL. They could care less you have just had a tragic loss in your life. Nope...they freeze your checking account so you cannot possibly pay your bills. Then they charge you late fees for not paying! They finally took their loan payment out of my account and charged me a late fee the same day! Way to go Sound!
This credit union used to be a "home town" credit union. It has recently changed its policy of understanding to one of strong-arm collection tactics. Fair warning: if you get behind on your payments, they stop accepting payments, turn your account over to Merchant's Credit, who will tack on 25% to the debt. Steer clear.