ATST: Are there any other Credit Union's in your area? Most are excellent but not all are created equal as you have experienced first hand. If there are any others you may want to check them out. CU's are definitely the way to go and I am very happy with mine. Late payment and NSF fees are low. And they offer checking, check cards, online banking, cashiers checks, and many other services for free.

Rates are very low as well right now. I have a couple loans out at 4%, and my CU Visa Card is fixed at 8% with a $5000 limit.

I always get great service too, although it probably helps that my grandpa was the President of the CU for 20 years. Alot of the tellers, loan officers etc were hired by him.