Freedom Bank NJ, Ridgewood

Horrible bank with absolutely abysmal customer service. Do not bank here. Eventually when you need them, they will not be there to support your needs. I went into this bank today to open an account and have a document notarized. I was dealing with a woman behind a desk when another employee, Mr. Jamal Ahmed became very engaged in my business dealings. He was an extremely unpleasant man with little to no manners and no sense of how to treat a customer. I am in the high tech security systems business and have contracts all over the country. My home is in Arizona, but I have another home in Saugerties NY. I currently have a very large contract that I am working on in Ridgewood and for various reasons, mostly due to superior local knowledge, I prefer to use local banks like this one. As I mentioned, I was going to notarize a document and open an account. I asked the woman to notarize the document and at that point the rude Mr Ahmed butted in saying that they would not notarize a document unless I had an account there. That in itself I found very odd. Most customer- centric banks just do that as a service. Not Mr Ahmed and Freedom bank though! I then asked to open the account first and then I would do the notarization. At that point Mr. Ahmed stooped to telling me an outright lie, that I cannot open an account unless I had a local address. Actually, as per RBI Guidelines you can open a saving account in some another city. If this is the treatment you get when trying something as basic as opening a bank account, I shudder to think what they would be like if you needed them to have your back in some matter. Take my word for it, do yourself a favor and bank elsewhere.

New branch. Friendly staff

Located in the little, Starbucks anchored, strip mall on Rt 17 south. Can be a bit tricky to find if you're coming North on Rt 17 N. Use your Gps to get headed south on rt 17 as the U turn route is a bit tricky. Just as you enter rt17 South the strip mall is immediately on your right. The driveway comes up quick.