Beginnings Credit Union - Meadow Street Branch - Ithaca John Gorczyk: Had CFCU while I was a grad student in Ithaca and for a few years after. Wasnt great while in school, since leaving has been terrible. Had my account constantly locked while traveling abroad, even though I informed them of where I was going and made almost daily calls to tell them that I was indeed, making purchases in that location. They also frequently, randomly deny charges that I routinely make. For instance, my rent payments through CashApp. I make them every month, but for some reason, they sometimes get rejected, and my account is locked.
Worse still is the customer service, which is horrendous. When you call, the people sound miserable and pissed off that you called them. You leave message after message for a loan officer or someone else to call you back, and they never do. Youll wait for an hour or more on hold, only to have the phone ring and then just hang up on you.
Their online baking sucks too. They spent years working on a new app, CFCU more, and when it finally rolled out recently, it looks like a 2012-era banking app designed by a 12 year old. Confusing interfaces, and just depressing overall, like the credit union itself.
CFCU is the largest game in town and they know it. They act like you have no other choices in central NYS and they can treat you like garbage. Once you leave and get into the "real world", you realize how petty and small they are, and how much better other financial institutions, including other credit unions, can be. I only learned too late about Alternatives Federal Credit Union. If you are a student or new resident of Ithaca, use them instead. Friendly staff, great products, and a lot of free services for Cornell and (maybe) IC students.
