Consumer complaint received 2025-09-25 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Complaint Against : Navy Federal Credit Union ( NFCU ) Complainant : XXXX XXXX XXXX Date : XX/XX/XXXX Consumer Narrative I am filing this complaint because Navy Federal Credit Union has repeatedly issued arbitrary and meritless denials of my XXXX  credit card application, followed by scripted, dismissive replies from its senior lending team. These actions are inconsistent with my actual creditworthiness and have caused me severe distress. 

I originally joined Navy Federal in XXXX, and I recently re-engaged my membership and accounts because I wanted to avoid the big bank culture where members are treated as numbers, not people. I specifically trusted Navy Federal for its reputation of cooperative, member-focused service. Unfortunately, my recent experience has been the opposite. 

Despite my XXXX  XXXX score now above XXXX with XXXX, high income as a private duty XXXX XXXX, very low debt-to-income ratio, and a long, positive credit history with no derogatory accounts, I was declined for the XXXX card. After submitting an appeal, I was declined again with no meaningful explanation. 

Following the second decline, I submitted a secure message asking specifically about PERSONAL EXPENSE LOANS. I had been advised that these are weighed more heavily for XXXX scoring and general credit history as opposed to NFCU " Internal score '', and I wanted to responsibly build a stronger internal history with Navy Federal by pursuing this product instead of a credit card. 

Instead of receiving a substantive response to my inquiry, I was sent a copy-and-paste reply that had nothing to do with my request. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the following response from Navy Federal : XX/XX/XXXX Response from Navy Federal * Thank you for your follow up message ( s ). We understand your concerns regarding the credit limit approved for your credit card. We have conducted a final review of the assigned credit limit recently approved for your card, including any additional information you provided. Based on our final review, no changes will be made to your card 's credit limit at this time. We are unable to provide further assistance regarding our decision. Please let us know if we can assist you with another matter by sending us a message or calling us toll free at XXXX ( XXXX ). 

This response is illogical for several reasons : I was not approved for any card, so there is no credit limit to review. 

I did not request a credit line increase, so the reply was irrelevant. 

My secure message specifically asked about applying for a PERSONAL EXPENSE LOAN, which was completely ignored. 

To date, I have managed my NFCU Secured Cash Rewards card exceptionally, pushing multiple large-scale payments per month commensurate with my spending habits and high income. 

The reply appears to be entirely scripted and automated, rather than a genuine review of my message or circumstances. 

The effect of this is that my legitimate inquiries are being dismissed without any human consideration. I feel I am being treated exactly like I would be at a large commercial bank, which is precisely what I came to Navy Federal to avoid. 

I do want to note that I have been contacted by XXXX in Navy Federals XXXX XXXX, who has been courteous, professional, and has attempted to escalate my concerns internally. She has been wonderful to work with. However, even with her assistance, the core issue remains unresolved : I am still being arbitrarily denied for credit despite my excellent profile, and my loan inquiries are being ignored or met with irrelevant, boilerplate responses. 

This situation has caused me notable and undue distress, particularly given that I rely on credit products to responsibly manage expenses as a XXXX XXXX moving between assignments. The lack of transparency and accountability in Navy Federals decision-making process undermines my confidence in the institution and leaves me without clear options for building credit history within NFCU.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation