American Heritage Credit Union — Attraction in Philadelphia

Meeting with banker (Dorreen I believe was her name) was extremely discriminatory and filled with micro-aggressions and felt extremely racist. From the moment I stepped into her office it was as if she didn’t want to be bothered. This is super disappointing as my close family members referred me to this credit union to shop resources for my growing business.

I came in for an appointment to apply for small business loan and learn more about the credit unions requirements and opportunities as a small business owner. Instead of taking a moment to ask me any questions about my business history, goals or if I was prepared to proceed with opening the required accounts (which I was) she was extremely condescending and super unhelpful. It’s as if she assumed that I was just some random colored woman coming in to beg for money without credentials or structure. It was giving racist vibes. Meanwhile, my business is established and growing and I’m just trying to keep up with the growth.

Instead of assisting me, she pushed for me to do it online, and while I’m technically savvy I was already there for my appointment with business documents in tow ready to sign up for the personal and business accounts. I asked a lot of questions ranging from account requirements to merchant services and most of her responses were pushed to reading a brochure or seeking another department. Again, she was giving the energy that she did not want to be bothered.

I repeatedly told her I wasn’t worried about the credit score portion of the application and that I did NOT want a credit card but rather a small business loan for lower interest rates than a credit card that she was pushing. If she took time to ask questions rather than being judgmental the interaction would have been more fruitful and pleasant.

When she offered me her card to come back for an appointment with her I told her that I didn’t want it because I didn’t appreciate the negativity of the interaction. She shrugged it off and giggled.

Her behavior surely didn’t make me feel like American Heritage would be a place where my business would...

If you want access to your money 24/7 don’t even bother joining this place. As soon as I can Monday morning I’m removing my money. It’s 2024 and I still can’t even get my paycheck on a Saturday like every other institution. You would think they would be moving forward. The last straw is the incompetence of their banking system. I have more than enough money in my account to get a $30 meal, instead for the 100th time I’m embarrassed because they decided to turn my card off for “fraud” and it keeps getting declined. Last time it was for $7 at a Dunkin Donuts, that I go to ALL the time. You call in and all they do is recite what they’re been told to say. No text message asking if this is fraud to respond even though I’ve signed up for this multiple times. On top of it all they do this on weekend days when no one is available to help. Apparently their system is down tonight. Does it say that on their online site beforehand? No they let you try and sign in, only the same mess about not being able to send us statements lol it’s ridiculous. Did we get an email about maintenance being done? No. Should I call into their after hours automatic teller? Their automatic system is down. At this point I can’t even see how much is in my accounts, I don’t know if someone has scammed me cleared my account, I dont know if they turned my card off for whatever reason. You know why? Because they’re not even capable of communicating something that simple. Instead I’m left with not being able to purchase my dinner tonight and will have to wait two more days to even speak to a real person. They turn it on you to try and make it seem like it’s for your own good so they can try to stop fraud, so how about you use a system that actually works because every time my card has been compromised, those purchases went through over and over....

If I could give 0 stars I would. Working with American Heritage Credit Union has been the worst experience I have ever had with a business. Since the day we got our car loan it has been a nightmare. Their systems are broken, setting up auto pay to effectively draft from our account took months and hours of conversations to get it done and it still didn’t work correctly. No one is able to appropriately support the customer. Once we did get things processing with the automated withdrawal, which they claimed would be permanently in place, they then stopped it again and said that it shuts off after six months and you need to go back in and set it up again. Then they start emailing and calling that the payment is late. In addition they commit to fixing the problem and tell you it won't impact your credit only to turn around and report it. This is just for a car loan where really there is not normally a need to interact with the lending institution. I've spent more hours trying get them paid on time and work through their system issues than I've spent with any other organization I've ever done business with. They have made it nearly impossible to pay them on time via their sub par systems and then they state "It is our responsibility to report a late payment to the credit bureau." We had a car loan with them for less than two years. Before dealing with them I've had a stellar credit score and they have caused damage to it because of their poor business practices. I will never do business with them again and I'd highly recommend to stay away from American Heritage Credit Union...