Pentagon Federal Credit Union Reviews

I had an account for 12 years. They are too restrictive. Please try NFCU or Andrews FCU or State Department FCU. The Fraud department is over cautious and needs training on type of customers and services. The Fraud department is arrogant and likes to freeze accounts even with a slightest hint without investigating. Good riddance is all I will say. I am happy with Andrews FCU.

This was the absolute worst experience I have ever had with a credit union auto loan. The payment process was unnecessarily difficult, and it was extremely hard to make payments on time because of the obstacles involved. The lack of convenience and customer-friendly options made what should have been a simple process very frustrating. I would not recommend this credit union for an auto loan.

This company purchased my credit card company back in 2018. I had and maintained a 2k (limit) balance on the card adding and subtracting for 8 years. With very exceptions my payment was 2 weeks early. I had paid the balance off 2 or 3 months ago. Last month I used the card again, as I had not used it, I forgot to pay the $15 due. I started to receive calls from them daily for the last week. I tried to use my card and it was decline for over limit. I was/am well below my limit of 2K. So pulled up my account to see they dropped my credit limit substantially, by over half. Now I am retired and on a fixed income and am running a little low this month.

Bankers are extremely rude and disrespectful; they yell and scream too much, they are beyond rude to dealership agents. They refused to help me because they said they're tired and need to rest. I asked if there was a customer restroom, and I was told to go pee outside in the bushes.

Feb 2026: Recently upgraded their bill pay set up (it's a poor downgrade) so now you get to delete your auto-pay bill and then add the same bill back in order to just change the dollar amount. Lately each upgrade seems like a downgrade. They just keep downgrading the quality of online banking here which really makes me question why am I still banking with them. SMH!

I had a great experience opening a new account with PenFed Credit Union. Ms Cheryl ** was professional, attentive, and truly went above and beyond to make the process easy and stress-free. Everything was clearly explained, and I felt genuinely supported the entire time. I highly recommend you ask for Cheryl at PenFed Credit Union to anyone looking for outstanding banking support. Thank You Cheryl!

On October 20, a valid $25 transaction from my NYC OMNY transit card was flagged as a fraud and declined. I posted the following PenFed review: I have been using my NYC transit card for about a year. It auto loads $25 from my penfed credit card account when more funds are needed. The last auto reload was rejected by penfed and I was sent a Fraud Alert email. Not only could penfed not tell me why it was rejected but could not tell me it would not happen again and in fact every time. I asked the supervisor if he considered this good service and he answered 'yes'. If you don't have enough aggravation in your life do business with penfed. The same thing happened on November 21 and was again told that penfed could not tell me it would not happen again.

I had a terrible experience with PenFed. Had a credit card they cancelled because, they say, I didn’t use it enough. I called to reactivate and they said I needed to reapply. I did so and the process was ridiculous. Required multiple applications, submission of documents, endless calls, etc. Was repeatedly told that their system doesn’t work much of the time. One estimate was 90%! Could never get a straight answer and I finally gave up. What a colossal waste of time.

I applied for a car loan under $10,000 with PenFed to purchase a vehicle for my father. On the application form, I clearly selected that I had not yet chosen a car, yet PenFed proceeded to run my credit and request sensitive personal details. Afterward, I was told I needed to provide a VIN and photos of the vehicle—information that should have been disclosed upfront. When I contacted customer service, the representative was unable to provide clear or accurate guidance, offering only repeated apologies. This experience was misleading and frustrating, particularly for someone with excellent credit and a simple loan request. Consumers deserve transparency and consistency from a financial institution. I’m filing this review to encourage clearer communication and honest disclosure in the application process.

I have had Penfed credit union for 3 yrs on a auto loan. This company is the worst that I ever had. Haven't been late on any payments. When you talk to them they say haven't received a payment or send you certified letter for repo or a letter saying your'e late. I would advise anyone dealing with them to find another way to get rid of them. They are a sorry credit union.

What a Disaster. From the over 6 week process to complete the application because of repeated and repeated and repeated requests for the same information already provided, to the mailing of the very first statement to the WRONG address (which included the payment instructions), to the post closing repeated requests for CCR information that was provided by Title Insurance company (which I had to mail them because their incompetent or untrained staff could read the information right in front of them.), to the repeated calls after payment was made. What a Disaster. Recommend picking anyone else by PenFed.

Stupid sales representatives. Underwriter team is deficit of brain cells. Half their sales rep need to be taught how to speak. Underwriters do a horrible job at underwriting and won't be spoken to. Don't go go with the garbage company.

Please DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT do business with this company. It is the worst. There are NO helpful options for payments, they call you 10 times day, text messages, and voicemails throughout the day even if you're 3 days late on monthly payments like you're 30 days late. I have to call every month to let them know that I work and have a life and don't have times for this ten calls a day. Even if promise to pay, they still call you .like you're their significant other. May even call me more than my boyfriend. Their staff have NO CUSTOMER SERVICE at all. I regret choosing this company for my car loan and there were other options.

Where do I begin with this credit union. From the get-go, when approved for a loan by this CU, they regular mailed a cashier's check and never offered express delivery. This led me to having to work with the dealership to extend my hold on the car and almost lost purchase, several times waiting for a paper check. Funds should be sent via direct deposit!

PenFed has the worst customer service. I deeply regret wasting a credit pull on this company. They ask for an obnoxious amount of personal information and do not provide any feedback on the status of your loan application until you call. I had to make repeated calls to check on the status of my loan application only to be told repeatedly that the uploads were not able to be viewed or that they were rejected. The application was not reviewed in time do to their lack of communication and delay in reviewing uploaded documents. Their own representatives acknowledged their poor communication with customers. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, the rep responded by asking me 3 times if I wanted to speak with a supervisor! Make it make sense! Do NOT choose this company for your financial needs.

Pen Fed's new security system is a mess. I repeatedly tried to change my ACH bank account. It appeared to have eventually worked but it apparently did not. Since I closed my previous bank account, when the bill came due, it bounced and I was charge interest on the amount. Even though the failure was by Pen Fed, they would not remove the interest. I would have been happy to pay the bills by electronic transfer monthly but they do not accept such so I then began to try to provide for ACH payments. The process required thirty-five steps, the last being Pen Fed making micro deposits in my account that they never did. I won't be dealing with them anymore!

Difficult to get things done, with slow response. I really think the majority of the customer service reps need to be retrained on customer service and operations of the credit union. Very disappointed

My father died in May. He had a car loan. Family didn't want the car. Called PenFed around the end of May regarding voluntary repo. They just took the car on July 17th but they also took a loan payment the same day. They also took a loan payment in June. They procrastinated through the whole process. Never called us back when they said they would. I was being told "there is no paperwork in the file", "nothing was processed." Then I get someone telling me "this is an attempt to collect a debt". They were taking payments! Finally, someone processed the paperwork, but I want the payment back they took the day they picked up the car. I called, and I'm getting the runaround again! I'll never use PenFed.

Zero stars. We’ve reached out multiple times under extremely stressful circumstances following the death of my father-in-law, simply trying to obtain account statements. During our first call, a representative assured us the request would be processed without issue. A few days passed, nothing in the mail. We called again and were told everything was in progress and to just wait.

PenFed Sucks. I have around 60 banks accounts that I manage. I also have an accounting degree and am retired and all I do is play with money, moving from account to account. Out of all my accounts PenFed is my least favorite, right behind Wells Fargo. My favorite is Navy Federal. Great rates and customer service. In April 2025, PenFed moved their credit card payment processing, or account management to a new vendor. PenFed told no one what they were doing. Customer service reps did not know it happened. The only way to tell what happened was to look at a credit card statement. I had not used my account for 6 months so I had not received a statement.

Hello! I just logged into my account to print the statement for my credit cards and I saw that Pentagon Federal Credit Union made an additional payment this month, May 13, 2025, on my credit card. I made the payment at the beginning of the month and it shows the payment. No one emailed me or called me to be sure this would not cause any budget problem; they just sent the payment! This is why I don't sign up for autopay! I have had this happen with other companies (utilities) take payments twice without correcting or crediting for the next month. This is outrageous!

PenFed, on the surface, appears to be a reputable organization. However, borrowers, federal employees, and veterans should be wary. When applying for a car loan, it is challenging to connect with a human representative; messages often get mixed up, and using emails and online portals can be awkward and time-consuming. After securing the car loan, things may seem fine, and they might even offer you a credit card. Imagine responsibly using this credit card and consistently paying both your car loan and credit card on time for four years, especially as a senior citizen working full-time as a federal employee for the United States of America.

I recently opened a new savings and checking account. By no fault of my own, they locked me out of my account due to their flawed system. Now they refuse to refund my funds. I should of listened to others and not dealt with these people. Good riddance!

PenFed is the absolute worse! I am disabled and my income was dramatically reduced and I am struggling to make payments! They denied me and said I am able to make my payments and that is just not so! I have tried numerous times and they deny me to restructure my loan and make it affordable for me during these difficult times! Don’t waste your time! They are a joke!!

These incompetents blocked my account just for adding an external Synchrony Bank account and making a second money transfer of $13,000. The sad thing is that their supposed security system is not secure at all since it allowed me to link both accounts and then to make a first money transfer of $30,000. If that transaction had been fraudulent, then I would have lost all that money. I've been on the phone with these individuals four times, and they still refuse to unblock my Premium Online Savings Account.

My husband has been a member for years, but when we suffered a hardship and our credit scores went down, PenFed makes it impossible to open another checking account. They suggested I open my own checking account, which took weeks to upload all the documents they require and wait for the response. I called multiple times and they always needed more documentation. They told me it would be “smooth sailing” after I submitted everything. It wasn’t. They knew from the beginning I had a bad credit score, and instead of telling me it wouldn’t work out from the get go, they strung me along for weeks with the false hope that everything would work out, just to ultimately decline my application. Additionally, when a store made a duplicate charge, and I notified them about it, I was told it takes 10 days for the transaction to be corrected. I’ve had this happen with other banks, and it was handled immediately.

I have been a customer for 3+ years. very poor customer service. Very inconsistent with Deposits. They do not care about their customers. Every week it's a guessing game as to when my deposits would be available. Forget about trying to get to a representative. I had to go through applying for a loan to finally get someone on the phone. Every time I inquire about my deposit they claim their policy had changed for mobile deposits. Very very unethical practices.

I was pre-approved to refinance my car with a no impact on my credit option, but then they declined my application, leaving a hard inquiry on my credit report for nothing. This is one of the worst credit unions; stay away.

Most incompetent FCU I've ever dealt with. Gave them a photo of my REAL ID compliant license and social security card but they want a utility bill too to "verify address", which is something on the ID. I don't have any utility bill. Run away, don't walk, from this comedy of errors.

Spoke with customer service rep Borisis who was unhelpful and did nothing to resolve the issue I called about, as well, she continued to make notes while ignoring my request to have a manager call me back, which they never did, after she said they would within an hour. All I called about was to ask for them to reverse a fee, as I have been trying to get all of my autopays set up for the last couple of months and they keep depositing my government widow's pension on a different day so I never know when to tell people it is okay to cash a check and the businesses you set up autopay with also end up sending them through days before you told them to, which does not work when you only get paid one time a month and are not wealthy so don't have extra money just sitting in your account all of the time!!!

I am extremely dissatisfied with this credit union. I have both a checking account and a car loan with them. My car loan is fully paid through next month, and while I have been late a few times in the past, it is currently up to date. Despite this, PenFed took it upon themselves to withdraw all the money from my checking account and apply it to my car loan—without notice or permission. This caused a separate payment I had scheduled for another bill to bounce twice, resulting in two overdraft fees of $30 each.

8/2 went to my usual ATM to withdraw funds. Before the screen asking if I want a receipt was loaded the machine shut down. I grabbed my phone and took pictures. Then I called the number on the machine and PenFed. A provisional credit was issued to my account. A month later they took the money out for the 2nd time. Went to their NYC branch office where the manager checked my account and said they investigated the wrong date.

Purchaser beware. This company is horrible to do business with. My mother had the misfortune of having a loan. When she died very suddenly, they demanded all Loaded which I had no problem with, but then they put a lien on my mother’s estate because they felt that they didn’t get the money fast enough. I happen to overpay. Do you think I get a refund? No, they put it in my deceased savings account that I didn’t even know she had. I tried to retrieve and they don’t have a certificate sent over five weeks ago For them to turn around and say they don’t have it. So did they release the car illegally?

They wasted over a week of my time applying for a loan before denying me with no notice. I had to hound them every step of the way, and they weren't even planning on letting me know they denied me. Was approved same day at my bank so not sure why they did this. Will never ever use this joke of a bank for anything again.

Had issues early on when a week before closing, our closing attorney was not able to get in touch with our lender to finalize the numbers. Then after a year, we were paying double of what we needed to in escrow, now we just received notice that our escrow will be increasing by $968 a month because not enough has been being taken out and to cover for the shortage. This is absolutely absurd. This clearly has been going on for over a year and someone made a mistake and does not know how to do their job. Now we are expected to pay nearly $1000 extra per month because of someone's incompetence. Their fees are low, which is why we went with them, but you get what you pay for. Technology is also completely outdated. Use a reputable lender that will give you honest accurate numbers from the start. Horrible.

Penfed is dishonest bank. I recently applied for an auto loan through their website. I was approved for an interest rate of around 9%. My credit score was 789 at the time of approval. I filled out another loan application the next day through a company called Autopay whom got a loan through Penfed for 6.49%. How is that possible???

The online banking system doesn't link to Chase accounts properly and PenFed knows this. I had made 4 months of payments through the online banking system and 3 failed. Pen fed never notified me and proceeded to destroy my credit and hit me with fees rather than email or call me to sort the issue. After logging into the account to make my car payment I noticed myself and contacted pen fed. I had to argue with them for 2.5 hours on the phone to remove the fees. There are absolutely no guidelines when setting up your account for online payment and this issue is completely unknown to the customer.

Military families deserve better. On September 27, 2023, Pentagon Federal Credit Union Supervisor, Lindsey, called me a grieving black widow of a military veteran of 24 years, interrogated and badgered me about a vehicle Lindsey knew law enforcement had in their custody due to a traumatic incident that involved the death of my husband on September 06, 2023. My late husband’s body had not made it to the coroner’s office in our state when she called and verbally attacked me on our home telephone.

Penfed is dishonest with police reports and FTC reports when you had your identity stolen. Penfed sucks period so does their investigation. They try to stick you with the debt. They don't care who they hurt or walk all over to get money from people.

Worst bank I've ever dealt with. I have accounts with BSB, SDFCU, and credit cards with a score over 700. Yet, for some reason, PenFed "identified me as a risk" and placed a hold on my account. When I asked what my options for accessing my money were, they informed me there "weren't any" and I would need to wait 5 months for the hold to expire. It seems like they're scam artists. I would not trust these incompetents with your money. They make up any excuse under the sun to deny access to your funds. Your money is not safe with PenFed. You're better off keeping your funds under your mattress.