Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union 3rd Degree

[Anonymous]

Hey you all,

Continuing on my Credit Repair Journey, I decided to try to join a local Credit Union today, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union.  I wanted to gain a checking account with a 24/7 available physical ATM machine, that I didn't have to pay any fees for.  Right now I pay $10 a month for my checking account.  Just wanted to warn you - the application process isn't like a Bank.  You go in there expecting to get maybe a few questions like a regular Bank, but instead you are walking into a 30 minute "interview" style intake appointment in which you are asked where you work and for how long, what your job is, the exact month you started working there, your job's address and phone number, your citizenship to other countries and about family in other countries, where you live and for how long, your credit is pulled with a soft pull, if you are a political figure, if you are dating or are close to any political figures, and a bunch of other stuff.  So if you go this route, expect the 3rd Degree. I wish I knew about this before I went in there.  

On the Plus side, with the Credit Union, you can get a "buffer" $500 worth of Overdraft Protection that can be seen on your Credit Report and will pump up your amount of available credit and therefore raise your score - and get it with their Soft Pull.  You can also be granted Credit Cards through them with their Soft Pull as well,  that can positively impact your score.  I told them yes, I want them.  Any time you can get credit with a Soft Pull, that is good.  And the APR is low.  I'll post about it when I get it.  

[jaxstraw]

Any update on HHFCU and your experience ?

[Anonymous]

Hi Jaxstraw,

They gave me the account.  I had to pay $20 for my checks for the checking account, that was lame.  They were free at my previous bank Wells Fargo.  I got denied the Overdraft protection of $500 that they applied me for, on the basis of Escalating Credit Debt!  I guess they didn't like the amount I have on my credit cards, and it isn't much. I have one $1000 limit card that had around $300 on it, and another $1500 card that had I think a couple hundred on it - not much.  So when you apply for their overdraft protection, make sure your credit cards are all payed down or they won't give it to you.  I deposited some money in the savings account they gave me along with the checking account, and that is my overdraft protection.   My credit score is 679 for Experian which is what they were using to make these decicions.  they also applied for a $2500 limit credit card with them, which I was denied for, I received the denial letters in the mail about a month after I got the account.  Same reason, escalating credit. The only bad marks I have on my credit are from when I defaulted on my Sallie Mae school loan in 2013, that's it, all the rest of them are removed.  Also I have only been using credit again for about a year and a half so that could have been the basis for the denial too.  Oh well.  I have some credit to work with now, and I have this checking and savings from HHFCU that I'm not paying any fees for, so I can work with this in the next year to keep raising my score.  Membership in a credit union is pretty good, over time I can build a good rapport with them and I can get good rates on loans, etc.   Since I got the account, it's fine.  Their ATM is actually nicer than  Wells Fargo and is available 24/7.  I will say that they are very likely not to know the answer to whatever question you are asking them on the phone, and you have to go in there and confront them face to face to make them work to answer your question.  They also like to waste a lot of time talking, I think it's part of their "small town" vibe that they try to give off.  I'm still trying to figure out what ATMS I can use to deposit into my account when I'm not in the area, I live near NYC and sometimes work there, need to deposit at the end of the night but it's been a nightmare to get any information from them.  Soon I will go in there and wrestle the info from them.  This sounds crazy but it's true, I dare anyone to call HHFCU and get a straight answer to any question you are trying to ask about thier products or services, you will see what I mean.

[gdale6]

If that SL isnt paid off or being paid on that is the reason you were denied.

[Anonymous]

Hi Gdale6, I had the Student Loan since 2006.  I defaulted on it in 2013 due to being sick and not being able to work.  It was a bad oversight on my part, I should have done anything in my power to keep up that payment because at that time it was only about $65 a month.  I could have done it, but I was distraught, thought my life may be over. It happens sometimes.  Turns out that wasn't the case, so I got back up.  So, flash forward - I was financially "dead in the water" from 2013-2016.  Dave Ramseyed after that, payed all my medical bills, got them up off of me.  Became a Credit user again Jan 2018, rehabbed my loan and have made about 5 payments on it so far.  So, I knew that getting a credit card and overdraft protection was a long shot.  I told them of the situation but they still applied me for it - to them, a 679 Experian score is good.  I was told they used a soft pull for that.  It's ok, within a couple years I will have a good history and all will be well.  I'm just glad I was given another shot at life and hey - I pulled out of it with a job, AND a couple credit cards that I can build on?  Great.  But yeah, the HHFCU Credit Union will not give someone like this a credit card or overdraft protection, the history is not long enough and has some dirt on it.