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Business Profile

Financial Services

Alterna Savings and Credit Union

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Alterna Savings and Credit Union's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Alterna Savings and Credit Union has 4 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 8 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 1 complaint closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/02/2024

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Alterna took over **** ****** ***** recently. They did not honour the seamless transition they said they would and now I am paying big fees for my chequing account that I never had to with ****. Also, their daily savings accounts offer zero interest unless you have 5,000 on deposit in the account. Their website doesn't mention the 5,000 minimum deposit so it is FALSE advertising. And, in what lifetime has a bank NEVER paid interest on a savings account no matter what you have on deposit whether it's $20 or $5,000??? It's absolutely insulting and should be illegal. Maybe it is and the public, who I postulate they must see as 'sheep', don't know. I am taking my banking elsewhere.

      Business Response

      Date: 08/02/2024

      We acknowledge receipt of this complaint, ID #21259946.  Alterna recommends the individual contact our Resolution Centre to further assist per our escalation process. ***********************************************************************
      Alterna takes complaints seriously and each complaint is thoroughly investigated in an effort to come to a fair resolution. 

      If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

      Best regards,

      ******* ***** ******** ******* ********** * ***** ****** **** ******** ******* *** *** ** ************** 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/02/2024


      Complaint: 21259946

      I am rejecting this response because: I have already talked to customer service about the issues and I went higher up in escalation to do it. No one has any solution to offer about the two issues I have talked about in the complaint. This doesn't need to proceed further because I am going to go with another institution instead. Your blanket response is not helpful with this type of complaint because normally when people post on *** it means they have already exhausted your complaints department and have already gone higher up the chain to no avail.

      Sincerely,

      ** ***

      Business Response

      Date: 09/02/2024

      As per the initiators response, no further *** action is required.

      Alterna still recommends the individual contacts our Resolution Centre to further assist per our escalation process as no escalation can be found. ***********************************************************************

      Alterna takes complaints seriously and each complaint is thoroughly investigated in an effort to come to a fair resolution. 

      If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

      Best regards,

      ******* ***** ******** ******* ********** * ***** ****** **** ******** ******* *** *** ** ************** 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/02/2024


      ****** ******** *******

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 21259946, and find that the resolution suggested by them has already been tried; however, moving on...the case can be closed and I hope the complaint will be noted for future people to read. Customer service has told me that there is nothing further they can do to help with either of the two issues stated. So I move to another credit union who I will have a better relationship with since being a member means owning shares and having a 'say'.


      Sincerely,

      ** ***

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:15/07/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Im unable to recieve etranfers when it says successful deposit. Then it shows 0 dollars in my checkings. This is two weekends in a row and chat services said its because my address was wrong on there files. But then my money qent threw on monday..now same problem again so i went into my bank and manually changed my addresss and they said they cant give me my money until head office reviews my account... this is crazy and unacceptable . People move all the time its no reason to not give them there hard worked for money. I have no money for my only 2 days off to get groceries or pay bills and am very stressed cuz i have kids too. And feel like i cant provide for my family :( its unacceptable to withhold my money and 3 checks now im tired of this new bank.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/04/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Preapproved Mortgage ,bought a house and 2 days later ,Alterna refused the Mortgage,Sellers kept a $10000 down payment.Lawyer fee to sue the Credit Union,starts at $10000.I demand the Credit Union repay my $10000,they caused me to lose..

      Business Response

      Date: 08/05/2023

      We acknowledge receipt of this complaint, ID # 19910896.  Alterna recommends the individual contact our Resolution Centre to further assist per our escalation process. ***********************************************************************
      To date, this individual has not contacted our Resolution Centre. Alterna takes complaints seriously and each complaint is thoroughly investigated in an effort to come to a fair resolution. 

      If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

      Best regards,

      ******* ***** ******** ******* ********** * ***** ****** **** ******** ******* *** *** ** ************** 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 15/05/2023


      Complaint: 19910896

      I am rejecting this response because:No response from thier resolution centre,I only have 10 days ,so thats the 18th of May.

      Sincerely,

      ***** ********

      Business Response

      Date: 26/05/2023

      We acknowledge receipt of this complaint, ID # 19910896. The customer followed the escalation process as suggested in the initial response. Alterna acknowledged the customer concern within 48 hours of receipt. The customer was advised that an investigation would take place.
      A full investigation was completed, and a detailed outline of the findings was provided to the customer.
      The customer was provided with next steps should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation. 

      Best regards,
      ******* *****
      ******** ******* **********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 26/05/2023


      Complaint: 19910896

      I am rejecting this response because:It is totally unreasonable and caused me to loose the money,POSITIVELY NOT ACCEPTABLE

      Sincerely,

      ***** ********

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:21/02/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I have accessed Alterna Bank online in order to open a savings account with this bank on Feb. 18th, 2023, I have completed all steps in the online application process, including providing personal information such as date of birth, SIN number, then asked to provide ID access number and Password to my accounts with ** ****** ***** in order to link my accounts with my new Alterna account. In the end of the process I have received an email stating that the application is complete but additional information is missing and they would investigate. I started being worried about not getting the new account while providing Alterna Bank with all my personal including financial information. I Asked ** **** if I there is anything that could be considered as fraudulent access to my accounts, they confirmed that so far no flags have been raised but that I should have not provided access to my accounts to a third party online. I have contacted today Feb. 21, 2023 and requested that my application be closed and complained about their application process and collecting sensitive personal information. I believe that Alterna Bank has infringed on multiple levels of good business practices, security of personal information handling and basic rules in managing the business relationship with new customers.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:13/10/2022

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      For a credit union of their size, Alterna offers shockingly bad service as well as outdated, unsecure banking portals. There is no two step authentication or security questions protecting your online banking, and your username to log-in is the same as the account number displayed on your cheques - talk about security! Their new banking portal has a flashy new skin, but is slow, not user friendly and even less secure than the decade old one which at least asked a security question before letting you in. I thought they would be a feasible alternative to the big banks, but they honestly don't offer anything competitive enough to be that. If your account password is revealed to someone, you are out of luck and your money is gone; their client agreement also says they are not responsible and will not reimburse you even if you are NOT at fault (something that many even smaller credit unions offer as a basic service). As a final complaint, their fees are high and not different from a big bank, but without all the extra service and security a big bank offers. They also will not waive the fee for carrying a minimum balance and offer no proper digital banking package. Terrible organization to do business with if you care about your money.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/11/2022

      ***** ********** ****** ****************************** ***** ********** ******** ** **** **** ** *** ***** ******* ********************** *** ********** ****** ****************************** ******** ******** ********* *********
       

       

      My name is ***** ******, I am the ****** ********** ******* here at Alterna Savings and Credit Union.

       

       

      We acknowledge receipt of this complaint, ID # 18207135.  Alterna has offered the opportunity for the individual to contact our Resolution Centre to further assist. To date, this individual has not responded nor contacted our Resolution Centre. Alterna takes the privacy and security of personal information seriously, and members’ information is protected by Alterna’s privacy policy which can be referenced at https://www.alterna.ca/en/privacy-and-security/. Alterna also follows the Online Access Agreement and compensates customers who have been a victim of theft or fraud. Every fraudulent transaction reported is investigated to determine if the funds can be compensated.

       

      If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

       

      Best regards,

       

      *****

      ***** ******
      ****** ********** *******

      2 Bloor Street East Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
      T. +1416.213.7900,,7603 C. +1416.371.5494   

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/11/2022


      ****** ******** *******

       

      Alterna Savings has not taken the opportunity to reach out to me personally, the communication they are speaking of in question is related to a separate account inquiry and not a security concern. As I have chosen to no longer use the services of the business, I consider the matter closed and simply wanted to share feedback for other customers to read. Thank you.

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to ********* ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

      Sincerely,

      *********** ******

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