SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

I got there right at 9am on a Saturday and was glad I did! The place definitely seemed to fill up as the morning went on. My brother needed to make a cash withdrawal with the teller so naturally, I grabbed some free coffee and took a seat: D The line he was in moved quickly and there were more than enough tellers working.
He needed to replace his debit card and was able to do so at this location — they just printed out a new one! It took 5 minutes max and also gave me time to notice the free CoinStar machine they had as well.
Parking is not an issue here since it’s part of a big plaza and it’s a very convenient location to stop by since it’s next to a market, restaurants, gas station and freeway entrances. Although I live within walking distance to the location on the UCI campus, I will definitely be back here for the friendly and efficient staff!

Just wanted to give a quick thank you to Marisella this afternoon for the great job you did for me.
Thank you SFFCU for hiring smart problem solvers like her!

Extremely helpful and friendly staff. Made me really comfortable with depositing a large check and took a great interest in my business.

I’ll up this by one tentative star for service after the fact. I was contacted by a VP in their real estate department, who apologized profusely on the phone and in writing and offered to deposit $ 300 in my savings as a token gesture. That amounts to a discount on closing costs, which I think is appropriate. I say «tentative» because I’m waiting to see if anything goes wrong from this point on. It might. I received a letter saying that my automatic draft had been updated and that my next payment would be automatically drawn from my checking account. But the weird thing is the first payment had already been automatically drawn from my checking account, and this letter was dated after that. So I don’t know what that’s all about. (On a related note, previously I had simultaneously received two letters, one saying I had been enrolled in automatic payments, one saying I still needed to enroll. My first auto-​payment did go through; now we’ll see what happens with the second in a couple weeks.)

I have been a member at this branch over 14 years. I have always received exceptional service and loan rates. They remodeled the office too and I find it very inviting. Recently bought a new car using their in house autoland contractor and their financing program. Everything was seamless and convenient. Didn’t have to deal with dealership at all. Saved me grief and time and got below invoice price for the car. Great package.

I always go here in the mornings because I know it’s not as busy! Very nice staff and helpful!

I am so glad to have opened an account here 14 years ago. Have never had a bad experience since — only bad or unhelpful experiences were before I started doing all my banking and loan needs here.
Both the reps I’ve utilized by phone for home mortgage services and the reps in the branch have always been courteous, friendly and helpful.
When my dad moved in with me years ago they were there to help get accounts set up for him and always took the time to explain and assist him any way they could.
Now that my mom is living with me she too is experiencing that same level of service and assistance.
Have never had the occasion to ask for anything more from this credit union or its employees than what they readily already offer.
Best banking find for me Ever!

I’ve been with Schools First since I first started teaching. It has grown very much since those days, but I still find it to be a comfortable place to do my banking. The idea of the Credit Union is not to make a lot of money for some anonymous owners, but rather to provide financial service for the members. They do this with courtesy and professionalism. I have complete confidence in the fact that they are on my side and looking out for my best interests whether dealing with loans, credit card issues, security issues or any question I might have.

This is a long overdue review in a series of reviews I need to post. I apologize for not posting any reviews for a while… we moved a couple of months ago and on top of that, we recently added a new boy to the family, so we now have two little guys. Besides that, no excuses for not posting.
So — we have a blemish on our credit report related to a house we owned in Tucson (2006 – 2010) and in 2010, we were upside down on big time. We decided to bite the bullet and let B of A and Wells take the loss on the amount due. While we saved a lot of money, our credit took a hit. Feddie Mac and Fannie Mae wouldn’t touch us for a few more years (even though we’ve never defaulted on any other obligations ever).
So Schools First heard our case and decided to give us a loan — special cheers to Josh Chamness (Tustin main office), Johny Ly (main office), and Kim (Irvine Alton branch). Rate was competitive with bank
or similar market rates. They also got me a cheaper quote on homeowners insurance than my auto insurance company got me. And BTW, they have a change counting machine which I believe is free for members.
I still bank with Chase for my personal banking and I’m thinking about consolidating all of my family’s banking with Schools First. Thanks Schools First — for making my family’s dreams a reality. I really owe you Josh and Johnny. Thanks guys!

Extremely unhappy with their home mortgage department. As a longtime teacher, I went to them to apply for a mortgage. I was assured that I met all the requirements and supplied every document they required. After waiting a month, I was declined. What a waste of time. I am now getting my mortgage with EMortgage Solutions. Try them!!!

I have never received such awesome customer service at a banking institution! I recently applied for a loan online and received a call back within 12 hours. I was told I was approved and to fill out the paperwork at the bank ~ everyone there was over the top friendly ~ and I was dressed like a ragamuffin too. I was in and out in about 15 minutes with four other people in front of me doing transactions like mine. Fast, friendly and a great rate ~ what more can I say! Oh ~ THANK YOU!

Schools First is what a banking institution is supposed to be. The service you receive is genuine and all the employees take pride in their work. The banking rates are compatible if not better than other banks. I’m glad I became a member. If you have coins around the house, bring them here. They have a coin counting machine without the fees of coinstar.

Don’t go to this branch. Poor customer service. I have been a member of US Bank for years and decided to try out this credit union. After getting stuck in traffic because of a collision right outside their branch, I made it into the bank 5 minutes before their stated closing time. They told us they could not help us because it would put then beyond their closing time. US Bank has never treated me this way.

I think SchoolsFirst is a very nice federal credit union. Too bad I’ve been banking primarily with Bank of America before I was able to join this credit union. This branch in particular is good with professional and very friendly employees. I’ve always received friendly and pleasant service from the tellers. I one thing I hate about this location is the parking lot. It seems to be always jammed with a bunch of angry Irvine drivers getting stressed out in the rat race of life. That’s obviously not the fault of this credit union, so watch out for those road-​raged drivers and you’ll be fine at this location.

I’m reviewing my bank, and if there is anyway you can join this bank, do it.
The atmosphere is friendly and clean. People are there to help you not sell
something to you. Over the years, I’ve had accounts at Wells Fargo and
Bank of America. These banks try to sell you services that you don’t need
and then take more of your money by charging you interest and service
fees. Schools First Credit Union does not do this. They have excellent
deals on car loans.

THIEVES! I thought I was elgiblie to join the credit union, so I applied, but was later denied membership. I sent in my paystub showing that I am a school employee, but after weeks of going back and forth, they decided not to grant me membership… Ok, no biggie, I’ll bank elsewhere.
However, I later log online to check my current bank account and noticed that a withdrawl occured from Schools First Credit Union for the amount that I wanted to transfer over to my new Schools First account. I initally thought, «Cool, they finally opened my account.» I go online and try logging in with the member ID number and password I was provided, but it was saying that the information was invalid. Tried a couple more times, same result. So I call the customer service, and after a long conversation, they basically tell me that they have no record of me, but the transfer usually happens for new accounts and it should be just a couple days before it’s opened… it’s been almost 2 weeks, and no new account, still no record of me, no refund. I really wanted a bank account with them, but I guess they’re just another «bank», — thieves.

I’ve been banking with SchoolsFirst FCU since it used to be OCTFCU back in the day. I’ve never had any issues and staff at every bank location have always been very friendly and approachable like they enjoy their jobs. It’s always easy to get a hold of a live person on the phone even and they’re very good about helping you out or answering any questions you may have.
This branch is nice because it has a coin counting machine which you can use with no fee if you’re a member. Also, it’s one of the larger branches so it seems like there are more people staffed at any given time so usually the wait isn’t so bad, though it can be a bit slower around lunch or after work times because of the high customer traffic.

Schools First Federal Credit Union has almost everything I want in a neighborhood bank. The staff at this place is super nice and quite competent. On the hand full of occasions I’ve actually gone into the bank, it was always a good experience.
I’ll rated them 4 stars because of their technology. I’ll up that to five stars when they update their ATMs. Since ATM-​ing is 80% of my interaction — online banking being the other 20% — I have some issues:
1. deposit slip envelops required (an extra step, not always in stock, litters the area).
2. only dispenses 20s. A choice for 50s and 100s would be a plus.
3. a couple of extra button entries required if multiple accounts exists. Would be nice if you could set defaults so deposits could be made faster.
After 25+ years with Bank of America, we left them for Schools First about one year ago. Glad we did!

Ummmm… WOW???
Formerly the Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union organization, Schools First is their new, shiny, broader market tag. Superbly great service is the only thing I can say about this place and its staff. In this day and age of tightening our belts, it’s nice to know that the people holding your hard earned/​saved money are actually polite and respectful towards you. What a concept huh???
Aside from the soapbox speech we’ve all heard about the benefits of keeping your assets with a credit union versus a bank, there are obviously some unavoidable drawbacks. With a smaller number of locations compared to the big banks, you may not have access to your cash via ATMs if you are not close to one of the branches. Oh wait! A good portion of credit unions everywhere have banded together to create an uberly awesome ATM network. And not just for withdrawals, but for deposits too! Wow ok, so nix that earlier drawback. ^_​^
So the next drawback. Umm… Well… Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… Wow I can’t think of any, oh well! You’ll probably get better rates on auto loans and such at a credit union. Oh wait that’s a benefit, not a drawback. Ok I give up, this is going nowhere.
Yes, there really is a difference between the services and treatment you will get at a credit union vs a bank. Check it out you won’t be disappointed!

I have been a member of this credit union since 1987… and I have had some issues with them — but NOT at this location, so I will not base my review here on those issues, as that wouldnt be fair :)
I have had mostly good luck with this location… minus the extremely frustrating parking lot — it seems no matter the time of day, this parking lot is insane.
I did a 401K rollover at this location — an old job cashed out my account without me knowing and gave me a check… the credit union explained my options here, and helped me decide what I needed to do to get everything handled properly — and where it would not cause me to have a penalty charged.
The staff has generally been very nice and helpful, as well :)