South Carolina Community Loan Fund

"The experience with this institution is subpar. Over 120 days into this process and still hearing excuses and repeated promises. No closing date has been given but our rates have gone up because they are taking their sweet precious time. Our loan officer is Joseph Dukes. The lack of communication is appalling for such a profession. The one person who was very communicative and got the process moving quicker was fired. We have involved the CEO to hopefully get things finalized. Our loan is incredibly small for such a long timeline there’s no excuse for this institution. Avoid at all cost. We will never use them again."

"It seems to be a hit or miss with this organization. In order to apply for a business loan, you must fill out and submit a two-to-three-page questionnaire. From there, a loan office is supposed to reach out to you within two weeks. It's nearing three months, and I have not heard from anyone yet. We have decided to seek funding elsewhere."

"Joseph Dukes has been absolutely AMAZING to work with. He is very accessible, friendly & helpful! I highly recommend him and will definitely use him again in the future for our loan needs!!"

"In the interest of full transparency, I will share that I tend to be a very demanding person with high expectations when it comes to client service. I am that nightmare person who will go out of my way to escalate a matter and complain to management if I'm ever mistreated or if I feel that a situation has been handled poorly or if I've been given substandard service. And while I will be the first one to bring a problem to the attention of leadership, I also like to be just as quick to speak up when I have been blessed with a positive experience as well. This is one such instance. I am submitting this review not about the organization generally, but instead this review is being submitted to offer praise for LOAN OFFICER JOSEPH DUKES. I am writing to extend a strong commendation of Mr. Dukes because he was so instrumental to me having a very positive experience with the organization he represents. It seems that these days most people are always rushing to complete interactions with others as quickly as possible simply to get on to 'what's next'. I was greatly impressed and appreciative of the fact that Mr. Dukes was consistently responsive to me, and he always made himself available to me promptly to address my MANY questions and to walk me through things. I never felt rushed away. I would frequently get calls from Joseph well after closing time (even if I'd left an email or voice message very late in the workday). I remember commenting that I would not have expected to have heard from him until another day soon and he would say that he always likes to make sure his borrowers have what they need. I could tell from early on that Joseph truly enjoys what he does by the way he invested time to make sure not only that I understood what my deliverables were, but also 'why' they were important and how they fit into a bigger picture. Joseph was always prompt and took extra time to explain things and concepts to me as a first time SCCLF borrower, and it was meaningful. I found Joseph's always calm and pleasant disposition to be refreshing and I noticed that nothing seems to rattle him. But probably the one thing I appreciated most about my interactions with Mr. Dukes is that despite whatever his workload was he was willing to set up a regular standing brief check-in meeting with me that I requested to help me make sure that my loan processing stayed on target and that I knew status. Joseph never missed and was never late. Joseph is also an excellent teacher. He took lots of time with me over the entire loan processing time frame. And it means a lot in this day and age when someone is as focused on someone else's success as they are on their own success. That meant a lot to me. I am grateful for the experience I had, and I attribute it solely to the efforts of Joseph Dukes. I don't know whether the organization he works for recognizes the value he brings, but I can say with confidence (based on my experience with him) that I would consider him an asset to any service organization, and I'd be thrilled to be on the same team with him. With kindest regards, Lisa Robinson"

"This organization seems to have good programs, but there systems and employees are terribly flawed. I needed a business loan and was told to reach out to the loan officer for my area (Joseph). I reached out over 5 times through email (documented) and many more times over the phone. I even wrote their Facebook page out of desperation and was told them same thing, “Leave him a message and he will call you back”. Nobody ever followed up even after I complained to the operator(only person I could get on the phone), about their broken system. I finally gave up and searched for other institutions that could help me. I ended up going with United Bank in Summerville and I’m closing on my business loan in December. If you aren’t getting a response out of them, my advice is to find an institution that will value you as a customer and treat you will respect and dignity."