UFB Direct Reviews 154

Never did get my savings account application completed last year. Per an 11/21/22 email: "A Customer Service Representative will contact you within two business days to discuss the next steps for your account." No one ever contacted me.

After waiting 40 minutes (after calling 888-502-2967) yesterday (3/20/23), I finally got to speak with "Simone" in customer service, though I could hardly understand her because of her thick accent & the poor sound quality of HER phone (mine is a landline). I told her I got an error message, "Synchrony Bank doesn’t support moving money..." when I tried to link my Synchrony Savings Acct. with UFB Direct, although I have no problem moving money between my Synchrony and my other bank accounts. Simone said she had no suggestions, nor could she locate my new application confirmation number. I doubt if I'll be able to set up a UFB Direct account, so I'm giving up on them. Worst bank and worst customer service ever.

The Bank platform was glitchy. After completing the forms they indicated that a review was needed by a person. They never reached out and declined application for a savings account, which is not a credit line, with no explanation or further review. As a client of multiple banks and 22 credit cards, this is not what is expected for a good customer service or application processing. It is substandard.

I joined UFB/Axos bank about a month ago. They offer excellent rates on savings accounts but their customer service is THE WORST I've EVER dealt with. The automated system suggests using live chat but nobody is ever online. It takes forever to get through to a live person on the phone. When they finally answer, they don't tell you their name and it sounds like they are in the middle of Grand Central Station. They don't help at all and make you keep repeating yourself and then hang up on you. When you call back it's another 45-minute hold time to get another rep. I've emailed asking for managers to call me and all they do is close out my request as if it's been completed when nobody has called me. I'm starting to think the higher interest isn't worth the higher stress.

I Have done well with the bank up until now Unfortunately I am encountering similar issues that others have complained about. I have a 6 figure account and although the rate is great, I spoke with ASH (from AXOS) in San diego this morning and he came right out and said he could not offer any more assistance. I wont go into the details.

I will recommend this as many are not aware of how this industry works. If you are having any issues, dont accept the futile canned response that that you will get from UFB/AXOS on your review. Contact the CFPB and also contact the OCC. The CFPB will get you an answer in 15 days - OCC will take longer but many OCC complaints do not reflect favorably on a bank.

And then , as soon as you can, depending on your issue, get your money out of there and settle for a slightly lower rate with a different bank. All of the on line banks have shortcomings. In fact, that is what we are all settling for - their poor service in favor of a high rate. But some online banks are better than others. Thats about all I got. Good Luck if you choose to remain with them

WARNING: DO NOT DEPOSIT MONEY IN A UFB SAVINGS ACCOUNT

In September 2022, I used the ‘bankrate.com’ website to search for a high-yield savings account. UFB Direct ‘Rewards Savings’ variable rate account was listed with a 2.61% APY. This was a competitive rate at the time, so, I opened an account on the UFB Direct website.

I became suspicious that something wasn’t right with the UFB Direct ‘Rewards Savings’ account because my September through December 2022 monthly statements indicated that I received a 2.61% APY on my savings for each of those months while the APY on other banks’ high-yield variable rate savings accounts had risen to between 3.00% and 4.00% by December 2022.

Finally, when I received my January 2023 monthly statement indicating that I again received a 2.61% APY on my UFB Direct ‘Rewards Savings’ account, I stumbled upon an article on the apyguy website which indicated that UFB Direct launched their high-yield ‘Rewards Savings’ account in August 2022, but changed its name to ‘Elite Savings’ shortly after launching. Furthermore, their ‘Elite Savings’ account earned 3.83% in November 2022, 4.11% in December 2022 and 4.21% in January 2023.

UFB DIRECT NEVER SENT A LETTER TO THEIR CUSTOMER BASE INFORMING THEM OF THE NAME CHANGE FROM ‘REWARDS SAVINGS’ TO ‘ELITE SAVINGS’ AND ANY RAMIFICATIONS THAT THE NAME CHANGE ENTAILED.

After I received my January 2023 monthly statement and I read the apyguy website article about the UFB Direct 'Rewards Savings' account, I contacted the UFB Direct customer support desk (Ms. Krismoo?) to: (1) determine why my monthly statements still used the name ‘Rewards Savings’ instead of ‘Elite Savings’; and (2) request the unpaid interest earned on my ‘Rewards (a.k.a. Elite) Savings’ account for October 2022 through January 2023.

UFB DIRECT CUSTOMER SUPPORT (Ms. Krismoo?) DISMISSED MY REQUESTS AND REFUSED TO CONNECT ME WITH A MANAGER.

After my frustrating experience with UFB Direct Customer Support, I closed my account.

WARNING: SOMETIME BETWEEN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY OF 2023, UFB DIRECT CHANGED THE NAME OF THEIR ‘ELITE SAVINGS’ TO ‘BEST SAVINGS’.

I have been with UFB since 2017 every time there interests rates go up I have to call them and ask them to give me the current rate!! I have to switch my current money market account to a different money market account to get the best rate!! Very Poor Customer Service!!! They are currently the best rate but it will change and so will I!!!

May have lost half my life savings to this group. I have been unable to access my account online and their customer service is useless. I am now left to only assume that this is a fraudulent company. I am out $130,000 and have no recourse. As an added note; customer service (if you can call it that) is off-shored and communication was next to impossible as their English is limited. Also, they disconnected the call and never followed up. Sad to say I read about UFB in the Wall Street Journal and they are generally a good resource. Apparently not this time. Avoid UFB and find a safer parking spot for your money.

UFB Direct Bank, along with it's parent bank Axos should be put out of business by Banking regulators. I opened a savings account with them several weeks ago and there has been nothing but trouble with them since. Within three weeks after I opened the account I tried to log on and received a message that my account had been suspended! I had no notice of that so I started to call Customer Service. That was a complete joke. I was on the phone for several hours for the next two days but no one could give me an explanation. I could barely understand the foreign representatives and I continually was disconnected. After three days, and again without explanation, I received an email stating my account was reactivated. I spent the next two days trying to close my account and ended up losing several hundred dollars to them in the process. I am hopefully awaiting the arrival of their check refunding my funds. Don't make the mistake that I did-STAY AWAY.
ADDED: After wasting much more time trying to correspond with UFB agents who plainly did not understand the English language I received a check for the funds in the closed account. There is absolutely no way correspond intelligently with the people employed by UFB.

Axos' UFB Direct's customer service is a bit slow to respond (a business day or two) and they seem to be poorly trained. They provided incorrect and inconsistent information, and could not cite sensible reasons or any deposit agreement terms for their poorly explained rules which limited transfer amounts. Some of their responses are almost funny, if not scary coming from a bank. Some of their responses are at least in part canned boilerplate. I have not encountered such similar, relatively low daily and monthly dollar transfer threshholds at any of the many banks, including several other (solely) online US banks I have accounts. They also made mistakes or had unclear direction which caused me to at first open an unintended money market account when I just wanted the savings account. They then inexplicably de-linked my external account for transfers. I re-linked it but the process can take several days for verification. While their interest rate/APY is relatively good, the problems with UFB Direct make banking with them less convenient than it should be, undermining some benefits of online/app-based banking. Ultimately I closed my savings account and we are parting ways. If you decide to go forward with UFB Direct, I suggest doing so cautiously.

someone wanted to transfer money from the united states to my Dutch bank account. I had to pay a total of more than €370 (7x different amounts) so that they could put the money in my account. now i paid more than $370, they keep coming up with excuses and lies why the money is still not there and why i have to pay a certain amount again.

if you want to transfer or receive money don't use this because they will heavily scam you.