Community CPS wins credit union of the year

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

Some of these things very much depend on your circumstances, I suspect.

Yes, agree. I had a look at ME bank, but wasn’t really convinced. I rarely come close to CPS’s “free” fee allowance anyway, so the only things I pay for are extras, like Bpay. Auto-payments (like the one for my credit card) are free.

When I’m finally in the fortunate position of getting a home loan, being an ancient member means you don’t pay a loan application fee and some other fees.. i’d have to look at the opposition though to gauge whether that’s a big win or not.

The only major fail for CPS at this stage is they have no good products for spending your money overseas. Their Visa access card, the citibank credit card, and their Travel Money card (through that TravelEx mob) are not good, big transaction fees on the domestic cards and TravelEx is not a good option, I was underwhelmed. Next trip I’ll get a 28 Degrees card I think.

I’ll add another vote for ME Bank, which I moved to. Cheaper fees and better service.

Having said that, a few data points:

Both housemate and I left CPS because of the larger fees, poor service and lack of products (that we wanted). My mother is still with them and has had no problems at all.

Both housemate and I are now with ME Bank. She’s had a few hassles with them, I haven’t. On the other hand, she believes they’re still better than CPS.

Some of these things very much depend on your circumstances, I suspect.

EvanJames said :

I’m starting to wonder if I should start looking at alternatives… I just seldom pay fees to CPS, although $1 for a Bpay is bloody annoying.

You get $20 or $40 “free” fee allowance every month, and since moving to the credit card, I don’t rack up very many.

Might check out that ME bank though, ta.

How ironic that a post about them winning an award would prompt some to leave.

I am just too lazy to do the paperwork. Though I do know that Choice magazine has a kit on their website to make the process easier.

I’m starting to wonder if I should start looking at alternatives… I just seldom pay fees to CPS, although $1 for a Bpay is bloody annoying. You get $20 or $40 “free” fee allowance every month, and since moving to the credit card, I don’t rack up very many.

Might check out that ME bank though, ta.

I ditched CPS 18 months ago after enduring the massive increase in fees since the merger with SA.
I swirched to ME Bank – no fees if you are a member of a union or industry super fund!!!
Can’t recommend ME highly enough. http://www.mebank.com.au/

EvanJames said :

Watson said :

Really? I think their customer service is fantastic. Only, their outrageous fees don’t really justify staying with them for that one interaction a year. I don’t find the fees easy to avoid at all because I hate carrying cash, don’t have a credit card and rarely go anywhere where there is a Rediteller. Which is why I have been wanting to leave for a bank too. But I will do it reluctantly.

You can use NAB machines for free, too.

The CPS re-badged Citbank credit cards are a pretty good deal. I have a Qantas points one, it’s 1:1 (and it’s a mastercard, not an american express), and you re-coup the $80 fee (or most of it) with the promos they run usually late in the year, where you get a big Coles or Myer gift card if you spend X, and if you cycle all your bills through the card you easily qualify.

You lost me in the third sentence… I only want an EFTPOS/debit card to deal with and I want to be able to pay with my card at the shop whenever I want to. I rarely go anywhere where there is more than 1 ATM and I don’t see why I would use one anyway when I can just get cash out at the shop.

Most banks don’t charge half the transaction fees CPS charges.

Reprobate said :

More like a South Australian based institution with a token Canberra sub-office since 2006. Most of the processing is done in SA (even online banking is based on Central Standard time rather than EST) and non-13/1800 contact phone numbers are 08 prefix.

As a 25 year “life member” of CPS who is in the process of changing over to a bank for the first time, their win is surely more a reflection of the weak state of Australia’s credit union network rather than an endorsement of CPS in it’s current guise.

.

+1 as a former employee.
Hit the button!

Watson said :

Really? I think their customer service is fantastic. Only, their outrageous fees don’t really justify staying with them for that one interaction a year. I don’t find the fees easy to avoid at all because I hate carrying cash, don’t have a credit card and rarely go anywhere where there is a Rediteller. Which is why I have been wanting to leave for a bank too. But I will do it reluctantly.

You can use NAB machines for free, too.

The CPS re-badged Citbank credit cards are a pretty good deal. I have a Qantas points one, it’s 1:1 (and it’s a mastercard, not an american express), and you re-coup the $80 fee (or most of it) with the promos they run usually late in the year, where you get a big Coles or Myer gift card if you spend X, and if you cycle all your bills through the card you easily qualify.

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

Reprobate said :

More like a South Australian based institution with a token Canberra sub-office since 2006. Most of the processing is done in SA (even online banking is based on Central Standard time rather than EST) and non-13/1800 contact phone numbers are 08 prefix.

As a 25 year “life member” of CPS who is in the process of changing over to a bank for the first time, their win is surely more a reflection of the weak state of Australia’s credit union network rather than an endorsement of CPS in it’s current guise.

.

I was thinking the same thing. Prior to their takeover (sorry, sorry, merger), I was very happy with the CPS, and extolled their virtues to anyone who couldn’t shut me up. A couple of years ago I finally gave up and moved back to a bank – something I never thought I’d do. In terms of offerings and customer service, they became worse than the banks I tried to avoid.

I’m now wondering how bad the worst is, if the CPS are the “best”.

Really? I think their customer service is fantastic. Only, their outrageous fees don’t really justify staying with them for that one interaction a year. I don’t find the fees easy to avoid at all because I hate carrying cash, don’t have a credit card and rarely go anywhere where there is a Rediteller. Which is why I have been wanting to leave for a bank too. But I will do it reluctantly.

I’ve been a member since it was Belconnen United? Or the earlier entity. Early 70s I think it was. Always been happy with them, although I don’t have much contact with them these days, it’s all done by internet and stuff. I have noticed that they offer a lot of standard retail products and package them up as though they’re special. But it’s fairly easy to avoid fees. Still prefer them to a bank, when I see how banks operate with friends and workmates, I wonder why they stay with them.