Golden 1 Credit Union

Worst experience ever. I came in to complete an auto financing process, and have since gone through a logistical nightmare, thanks to the lack of attention to detail by the banker who «helped» me. I recommend any other branch location, or rather just a different credit union or bank entirely.

Useless. Came here for a mortgage. Referred to Anthony Navvaro. I submitted my application and paperwork. Got no response from anyone. Then sent a followup email and same results. Rude and unprofessional. Give it zero stars if possible. Waste of time.

Good Lord, where do I begin?
I believe in credit unions over banks, but this credit union just sucks.
Credit unions offer better rates than banks. And they are about bringing people together to help each other. (whereas banks are about profiting off of you).
But between credit unions, the difference is pretty much just in service. And I’ve never been so frustrated with the service of a bank/​credit union in my life.
At the end of the day, It’s hard to understand how they get away with such bad service. My only guess is that they essentially have a captive customer base created by California state employees. So, there is no real incentive for them to operate efficiently.
Anyhoo, I’m going to move my direct deposit over to another institution. It’s such a hassle with all the automatic payments I’ve set up (something else maybe Golden1 is counting to keep customers tied to them). But its been such a long string of bad service (and even lost money when they completely screwed up a home appraisal) that I’m going to pull the plug.
If you’re thinking about where to centralize your banking, don’t do it here.

Golden1 fraud prevention blocked my card without any notification because of a few transactions out of state, like no one shops online for goodness sakes.
Then I called to turn my card back on, at lunch time when I found out, waited 10 minutes just to talk to someone, for them to tell me their computer was not working and to call back in an hour, so I went hungry.
Called back after work, waited 15 minutes before someone answered this time, took another 20 minutes and a whole bunch of hoop jumping to turn my card back on.
Almost an hour wasted on hold, no lunch, ruined what would have been a great day.
Closing my account this week and moving to another bank.

Usually short staff, unless its a state employee payday, Staff friendly. Staff is not is a hurry most of the time. If there is a line, expect the line to move slowly. This also may be because they are paying the up-​most attention to their client at the window, but i think they are a bit slower than average, compared to other Golden 1’s and other banks.
Avoid going in at lunch, or the end of the day.
Only one ATM outside, usually occupied at peek hours

Small branch, but it’s nice. The customer service is on point. You can get in and out quickly without much waiting and they still do shared credit union services.

The Golden 1 Credit Union and The Golden1 are the one and same credit union. My review and check-​ins are listed in The Golden1. Somehow while I was doing a check-​in on my Samsung cellphone, my fat finger hit the Golden 1 Credit Union… yikes. I’m thinking to myself (dang, did I do that… my bad.) Then, I kinda wanted to kick myself in the a** for committing such an error and knowing that I would have to write another review. (Can one just imagine that my heel is trying to hit my a**?)
Well, the drawback to this credit union is the parking — hellacious and difficult in this area. The Clay Street garage, which is directly across the street from the credit union, is usually full all day.
I have been a member of this credit union for quite some time (over 10 years). Their San Francisco branch was very convenient and close to my job (I’m retired now) in the San Francisco State Building on Golden Gate Avenue.
I opened a checking account with Golden1 about 4−½ months ago, and I mentioned to them that there would be a gradual change from my banking with Chase to the credit union. My debit card and checks arrived within two weeks. (That was quick.) A little over a month ago, I finally made the complete transition from bank to credit union. Thanks to Ester, Deana and Randal for helping me these past few months — it was a smooth transition and now I have direct deposit with the credit union. There’s no more worry about whether the retirement check will be in my mailbox.
Another thing I like is the fact that this credit union is opened on Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM. I’ve come down to this credit union on a Saturday and it was quiet with a parking space in front of the credit union.
P. S. If Unilocal decides to filter this review as a duplicate, I’m okay with it… I mean it’s all good and it’s no sweat off of my back.

Have only been to this small branch a few times but overall was very pleased with the service and friendliness of the staff
Never much of a wait on weekdays. As with any place in downtown Oakland, during the week parking is always a challenge.

I have mixed feelings about writing this review. I’ve experienced excellent customer service from many employees of this bank and my parents have been with this bank for decades and have never had a problem. Perhaps it’s the location and when I move to Sacramento I’ll get better service.
When I signed up for my account, it took four months for me to receive my debit card. FOUR. MONTHS. I was asked to fill out a credit application (for a debit card?) more than once even though I explained over and over again that I did not need a line of credit, I just wanted to be able to access the money already in my account. As a broke student, I predictably was declined. It took months of calls and complaints from both me and my parents for them to straighten it out.
It took around the same length of time to get even my account number. The employee kept confusing my account with my parents’. As I did not have a debit card or a checkbook it was a huge pain in the you-​know-​where every time I needed to go into the bank to get cash out (which was every time I wanted to eat, pay a bill, rent, etc as I did not have a debit card or a checkbook).
Employees refused to cash checks from the same bank and instead put a 30-​day hold on them. I understand this is standard when new accounts deposit checks from other banks but the same exact bank? I ended up having to go to a check cashing place and losing $ 100 of my paycheck in fees so I could pay rent and not end up on the street. (That’s about 16 hours of work for free.)
My landlord offered me a discount on my rent if I set up electronic transfers each month to his account which I gladly attempted to take advantage of. I explained what I wanted to a Golden 1 employee who assured me that they could set up a recurring electronic transfer. However, recurring electronic transfers are only available within the Golden 1 network. The service that I got was a paper check mailed to my landlord each month, which did not qualify me for the discount and put me on bad terms with my landlord. The worst part was that it took over a year for the bank to stop sending him checks every month. Every month I went into the bank in person and begged for help and was continually given the runaround. Told to call customer service, where I was told to use the online chat assistance tool, which doesn’t exist soooo back to the bank I go… luckily my old landlord was a trustworthy person and didn’t cash a single one of the $ 1200 checks made out to him that were sent to him for over a year. He even called multiple times and begged for the checks to stop. I was so fed up that I sent yet another email to customer service threatening to close my account if the issue was not taken care of that day. Obviously that solved the problem.
Golden 1 claims that you can use any ATM in the star network to withdraw cash without fees. Maybe this is another location-​specific service as I’ve been charged up to a $ 5 convenience fee at star atms around the bay area, costing me probably thousands by now.
The hours suck. Many locations close at 4 pm and none are open on Saturdays. As it’s nearly impossible to get a checkbook or debit card, this is a huge problem. Better make sure you have plenty in your fridge before the weekend hits!
Last but not least, if you ever lose or need to replace your debit card, be prepared to wait for months. Oftentimes they’ll send you a pin number and no card, or a card but no pin, or a card and then a pin a month or so later… they seem to get lost in the mail a lot.
I hate to say it but this is why big banks are still succeeding despite the push to switch to credit unions. I wish the problems weren’t so many because, as I said, my parents have been with Golden 1 for decades and are more than happy with the service they’ve received over the years. I’ll see if the service miraculously improves when I move to Sacramento where they are based but if it stays the same I’m going back to Chase or Wells Fargo. :/

Its hard to find parking. There’s a lot across the street that charges a minimal fee and if I could remember it I would tell you. Usually this place has ONE REP working and the lines can get a little long. I wish they would employ some more people to help out. Otherwise I always see the same friendly faces and that’s nice!

This one is small but it’s 1) easy to find, 2) within ridiculous walking distance from Bart and 3) they’re OPEN Saturdays!
My peeve is that since it’s small there’s not a lot of tellers so on Saturdays the wait may be long as the line gets a little longer. But they’re super nice and friendly and you can ask them anything without them getting annoyed.
Parking might also be a challenge but bring quarters and you should be just fine.

Esther was great and walked me through opening a new checking account for a class reunion.
Downside is finding street parking. Overall, a clean facility and located next to the State of California building (I think).

Everyone that I have talked to here is very nice and helpful. They are able to answer all my questions and offer great customer service.