First Entertainment Credit Union

I have been with FECU since 2000! Being in the entertainment business, this is the ONLY bank that has ever helped me obtain loans as a background singer. The Culver City Branch is always AMAZING & always has fast service! I have seen a few negative reviews from a few other members. Let me say, that has not been my personal experience. Their debit cards have been hit with fraud, I can’t lie there… but prior to the CHIP being implemented (FECU is working on implementation this year) onto most cards at the end of 2015, it has happened to MANY financial institutions, not just FECU. It has happened to me 3 times in a 3 year period and my money was instantly returned to me. Hours are also always communicated on their website and call center when you call in.
Need a LOAN? Megen Armstrong has been absolutely AMAZING! I know FECU now has a new program where they can help members with damaged credit and even help you with a loan! If Megen CAN help you. She will do everything in her power to do so!
I love this bank, my money IS protected and I love the services they offer their members!

I have been with them since 2001. They are very down to earth as far as PEOPLE answer the phone and help!
Cody Marks

First Entertainment’s Member Solutions Department was simply amazing. They really helped with rebuilding my credit. Megan and Lisa were the most professional and informative agents I’ve dealt with. its only been a week, but I am impressed with them already. Keep up the good work!

I banked with the big banks for years and finally smartened up and made the switch to First Entertainment. You should too! They treat you like family. FIVE STARS!!!

I honestly can say that I really enjoy banking with this credit union. Everybody is really nice and willing to help you out in any way. When I got my car loan from them they also went ahead and help my clean my credit for free. I definitely recommend this credit union to anybody who reads this.

i have been a member for many years and have also had good and bad experiences.
But i am here to tell you that they DO have some intelligent and caring employees in the loan dept. I just finished a refi with them and have only wonderful things to say about the process. Hats off to Dori, Lillian and Dino. Dori took the time to talk to me, answer all my questions and run many numbers — with great expertise and good humor. The refi was complicated by the fact that my husband was working in New York and I was in California, so we had to have a back up plan to get the papers signed in both places if he couldn’t get home in time. They guided me through the process and kept me calm and everything went down as it should — right down to the last minute. I could tell they were busy but they always responded in a timely fashion — i really think they went above and beyond and can’t recommend them highly enough.

I just really like them. They have always worked with me and I feel like they are my community bank/​credit union. Every branch, every employee I have had contact with has always been accommodating and helpful to me. Pretty terrific.
Deborah

Wow! This bank went above an beyond to approve me for a credit card! I am so grateful for their friendliness and their willingness to trust someone with low credit in order to build up their credit! Thank you!

This branch (6735 Forest Lawn Drive
Hollywood, CA 90 068) is listed as open on Saturdays from 9am-​2pm. I drove all the way from Culver City so that my son could cash-​in all of the change that he has been saving for years only to discover that this branch is no longer open on Saturday’s. This was devastating to my 6 years old as he had been looking forward to putting his coins into the large change machine & making a deposit into his account.
I checked both the 1^st ECU website and phone message to verify hours before taking my son on a long car drive on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. To say the least, I am super disappointed in 1^st ECU for their inability to keep the website and phone message current… this would have saved tears of disappointment.

I had a great experience yesterday when I had to run into the Santa Clarita branch location on a lunch break to open an account. Kasha Reed was professional, prompt and friendly. I really enjoyed her customer service and fun personality. Thanks Kasha!

This was truly the best experience. I was in a tight circumstance, a single parent and needed some money to help with my son’s school; He has a neurological disease. They were able to work with me not my place on the average graph and get me a loan based on me. I have never had this happen. When I’ve been turned down help by every bank, they stepped up to the plate to help me. They were easy to work with and not judgmental and creative in a way I didn’t realize finance could be done. I am so happy with what they were able to do for me. Megan Armstrong and everyone she had work on this were great to work with.

I don’t feel safe leaving my money in the hands of FECU.
A week and a half ago I was awakened by a call saying my account had been compromised and my card was been shut off. I called to resolve the issue and all they could tell me was to go into a branch and get a new card. The first branch I went into (Studio City) had me sit and wait for 15 minutes while I filled out forms which ended up being unnecessary before they told me their card machine was broken and I had to go to another branch.
A week after going to another branch and getting a new card it happened again. Except this time I wasn’t notified of fraudulent activity. Instead, I woke up to a bank account containing $ 1.27. Someone had withdrawn almost all my money from a couple atms. I called FECU and all they could tell me was that I needed to go into a branch. So I went into a branch and after filling out paperwork I was told that someone would get back to me in 7 – 10 business days. Are you kidding me? I have to wait 7 – 10 BUSINESS DAYS just to find out if I will get my money back? With $ 1.27 in my account? What do they expect me to do for a week and a half without any money?
When I asked what I can do to prevent this, since it’s happened twice in the last week and a half, I was told that it probably happened at a gas station and that I should just use cash at gas stations from now on. Wow. Great advice FECU.

Who would think I would ever write a review for a credit union? I walked in and was greeted right away and shown where I can go to apply for a new bank account and loan. I sat down with David who showed me what my options are. He was very thorough, patient and walked me through everything. Usually you walk into a bank wait 40 mins to see someone to discuss a loan and you get people who are in a bad mood. Fortunately, when I walked in I felt like I was treated like family! I was happy leaving that I immediately told my husband that we’re through with BOFA! Great staff, customer friendly and no long bank lines!!! Plus, you can withdraw cash from any cvs or 7 – 11!

Let me start this off by saying I’m likely not a bank’s target customer. I don’t have millions to put into savings with them, nor do I have any debt for them to make interest and service fees off of. I make an average salary, have it deposited each week, and then proceed to hemorrhage out the money to all the bills that must be paid each month. At the end of the day, there’s not much left, and I wouldn’t expect a bank to really care too much about a customer such as myself. They are too busy with other «higher profile» clients — or so I thought.
A few years ago I became so frustrated with my bank at the time, Wells Fargo, that I started looking around for a new bank. I recall my dad extolling the virtues of credit unions, and since there was a FECU very close to me (at my workplace, actually) I approached them. While I had expected a headache and paperwork hassle to get setup — I was fully operational within minutes of stepping foot within the branch. Further to that, I was able to discuss the divorce I had gone through a few years earlier, how it had negatively affected my credit, and the member services rep at the time (Athena — she’s the bomb!) immediately had suggestions for me on how to start improving my situation that day. It was amazingly empowering. I had been dealing with my poor credit situation for years, having simply been told I just needed to «let the time pass» before my credit righted itself. But FECU not only told me how to take a more proactive approach — they helped me!
I’ve now been a member for a few years, and while I’m definitely on the path to improved credit and finances — I’m not quite there yet (as, unfortunately, you do simply have to let some time pass also — even while taking a proactive approach to credit repair). I haven’t had any credit lines or credit cards since the divorce, and while I enjoy being debt free, it has been nerve wracking when an emergency comes up to be able to pull together any funds required to deal with the situation. There was always an anxiety of «what if something happens» hanging in the air. But I knew my credit rating was still not high enough to warrant receiving a credit line. Or, again, so I thought! I was contacted by Cheryl in the FECU Member Services Department a few weeks ago to let me know I had been pre-​approved for a FECU Platinum Visa. I’ll be honest, at first I thought it was a scam or phishing email, as I knew my credit history and figured there was NO WAY this was a legit offer. But I called their 1 – 800 # (really just to report an attempt to phish my details so they could warn other members) to then find out the offer WAS valid (and that Cheryl was indeed a real person and FECU employee. hah). So I gave her a call and she explained what their member services department does (help folks like myself that are trying to get back on the right track) and a bit more about the specific Visa offer (including explaining how best to use the card in order to improve my credit) and I ended up saying YES to the offer.
For a company to so proactively seek an average client such as myself out … to offer me some help when I really thought I could not and would not ever qualify for help … was so amazing. It made me feel valued and it made me feel like someone was in my corner, believed in me and had my back. In the world of finances … especially with finances such as mine … this is a very foreign feeling … but oh man … it feels SO GOOD!
Thank-​you Cheryl, Athena and the entire team at FECU for caring about us «normal people» too!

I highly recommend First Entertainment Credit Union.
The Member Solutions Department is excellent and helped expedite my credit card application. Cristina Lajkowicz and Melissa Laing were especially helpful.
If you work in entertainment, I strongly suggest joining First Entertainment Credit Union to take advantage of the services and great customer service.

My first branch. Great. All I can say is 25 years later 2 car loans and a home loan, I love my Credit Union.
If you are with a bank for profit? Drop them like a bad habit and go where your money can work for you.
I have never. EVER had a charge from FECU in 25 years. Can you say that about your bank?

I have been a member of the the First Entertainment Credit Union since 1988. Over the years I have moved all my banking including credit card and checking account to this credit Union. I also have my mortgage account here. The service has always been excellent. I cannot remember any issues that were not taken care of with an email. I am now in the Foreign Service the last eight years and must do my banking from various overseas locations. Again, customer service has always been there and all issues are still resolved quickly.

This bank is… well… not awesome. I hate to say it, it’s harsh, but that’s how it is. The staff all have been really polite and wonderful though. That’s the one star rating.
I just, seriously, JUST, opened an account and already I’m thinking of closing it. We’re weighing the hassles.
Here’s the deal…
I can’t automatically DEPOSIT INTO my account from my other bank.
I can not make one time DEPOSITS INTO my account from another bank.
I can not even DEPOSIT INTO my own f*cking account… by ATM!
I was told I must wait 6 months, 6 months!!, to be able to deposit money into my account like any other freaking bank!
How do I get money into my own godd*m account??! Well… I have to wait until they are open, drive my ass over there in traffic, and then have a desk clerk do it!
Welcome back Mr. Kotter!!!

Once our daughter broke into the entertainment industry, we were required by California law, a California Child Actor’s Bill, to open a Coogan account to protect her earnings. This type of account basically safeguards a portion of her earnings until she enters adulthood. The law requires the child’s employer to set aside a portion of the child’s earnings into this specific trust fund.
After doing our research, we decided to open our daughter’s Coogan account with First Entertainment Credit Union because of their competitive rates and recommendations by her agency. It was a pretty convenient process where we could just take care of all the paperwork by mail and e-​mail, not having to drive down to their branch. All deposits have been handled electronically and by mail, which makes it very convenient for us. They send us a paper statement every couple of months, which gets filed away, and all is good.
As long as their rates remain very competitive with other banks and the process remains convenient for us, we will continue to do business with them!
#82 /​100
Unilocal 100 Review Challenge 2014

It is a little disconcerting as the reviews for this FECU is certainly a mix bag of «the new, the old, dried-​up and stale old nuts» you know what I mean? but for now I am reviewing based on the service we received, as the account executive who helped us was really nice and helped us get everything squared and ready before all the signatures had to be signed digitally.
This Credit Union is not that hard to find (134 Fwy, exit on Forrest Lawn Drive, first major building after the WB parking lots), an ATM machine is available outside or you could go inside for a more personalized teller assisted deposit or withdrawal. (check business hours if you need teller assistance)
For now since the initial sign-​up was pretty painless and we received great service, I’ll give credit where it is due…4 stars, However, I wish they had a much better way of seamlessly handling direct deposit from our company to their bank, instead of asking the customers you have to call your «so& so» and give them «such & such» to get «this & that», since upon initial sign up, we don’t get a checking direct deposit slip immediately, maybe you guys could provide something like an official document to present to our accounting payroll department for a seamless no hassle direct deposit instruction. JMHO