I have several brokerage accounts - all except Vanguard have fast, dependable transfer of my money to various external accounts- really...I only transfer to my personal checking account.Vanguard's hierarchical and grasping manner is all about treating you like it's THEIR money. The second is late posting of transactions on their website. 6/11/2020. After months they finally recognized my POA in the non-retirement account and we got that account resolved. I have also had a personal account with Vanguard for over 15 years. This company is absolutely not for someone who needs to contact them a couple of times a year. Not giving me my funds as agreed upon is not a joking matter.Receiving the funds on the 1st of the month is part of my financial planning and is used to pay bills. I don't carry a phone, so I cannot access my account. They make it difficult and long- all designed to say "We know what's best for your money, not you. So they agreed to cancel that and send a new one to my home. We are your customers who deserve to be treated as something other than criminals. 11/30/2020. You have MY accounts for business purposes. by Joe- LT Investor, Liars, cheats, thieves. 9/2/2016. by Thomas Linton, by Scott, I just do long-haul investment in self-researched mutual funds they have. All Rights Reserved. by T. Green, holders with significant funds in Vanguard accounts, even if you have less than $50,000 in Vanguard, the price per trade competes Although the pricing structure favors account Finally a month later the person handling my transfer called and left a message. I need competent brokers with their minds on the work of trading and managing portfolios. You will wait over an hour every time you call. How do I know I can trust these reviews about Vanguard? Beginning of this year notified them to stop all the regular withdrawal from my Bank of America Checking account due to financial reason. But when an account holder dies, Vanguard goes out of their way to add to you grief. you almost have to fill out a form to get to the forms. Sources: Vanguard and Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2019. Don't totally rely on others. The worst customer service I've ever dealt with. Beware! Vanguard implements the plan and allows the consumer to decide upon their level of input. Two weeks of calling trying to get my money back, still waiting. The annual management fee is 0.30 percent of AUM with a $50,000 minimum investment account. by elizabeth jagla -, Vanguard is made up of more than 30 million investors, all with unique stories and individual goals. 8/8/2017. I have Called 4 times and been told its all handled and will process in a few days only to call in a few days to be told the same thing again. ), and then I could overnight them back to Vanguard (the Luckett Court address in El Paso, TX), which I did, and paid $26 to overnight them. The issue on difficult tax forms is accurate however. It's not very clear on statement. It all starts with a plan. Nikos Retsos, retired professor of political sciences, by Michael Bantner, 10/11/2017. First they sent me the incorrect amount. They seemed good while I was working and adding to the account -- but after I retired and tried to draw on my money, there has been nothing but problems. Vanguard exhibits a pastern of retaining cclient funds. First of all they keep changing their funds around in terms of allocations and merging their faiures.Secondly they do not accurately track your cost basis in taxable accounts, so you will immediately be in conflict with the IRS. My father died in June, 2019 and the estate, which was perfectly done by my parents, has take until now(4/7/2020) to POSSIBLY be near the end. Get with it, Vanguard. The cost bases is one way to do that. Was placed on hold for over 45 mins. smackboy1 wrote: I have not used Vanguard for trust services. I am not able to sell as there is no ticker. by RON Garthus, A fourth is Vanguards' inability to offer the TRANSFER ON DEATH (TOD) option at the passing of the account holder. by john fitzpatrick, Wait time to call Flagship often exceeds 30+ minutes and callback feature doesn't work for me. I finally spoke to someone who informed me that in order to restore my account access, they needed to snail mail me some documents that needed to be filled out and notarized(! 12/25/2016, Cons: Transfer processing completely incompetent. Cons: Long wait times, no local contact, gave up on moving funds. Now anyone can call in and pretend to be me. Not comprehensive: A brokerage that does not position themselves to support their customer can represent a severe risk to the wealth and wellbeing of the customer ... and hence is untrustworthy. Hyperlinks take you in circles or to dead-ends/404, and when you phone for help, their automated answering service asks questions which are not relevant (enter your six digit account, when the number has eight), etc.When you finally speak to someone, they transfer to someone else, and then that person transfers you to someone else, AND THEN THAT PERSON TRANSFERS YOU TO SOMEONE ELSE!!! Scary. 7/7/2020, So i had a simple question, just basically what is my account #. Pros: I would not be giving them any star. Disclaimer: All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Vanguard is my favorite investment company, so I might be a little biased in this review. After asking for a manager and waiting on hold for over 10 minutes I was told the manager was working on an important spreadsheet and didn't have any time for me and that he'll take down my number and call me within 48 hours. It's always your fault. I called two other numbers, one of them allowed me to keep my place in line by them calling me back. If I missed the call, I was to call them back at the number they would give me and they would also email me if I missed the call. Vanguard's Customer Service is SUBPAR. I may have to hire an attorney, at $500. The supervisor we spoke with told us they would do a wire transfer to Edward Jones, but as of today, Oct. 15th. by anonymous, by John Peters, Incredibly inefficient processes. OK, no problem. I hope newer online companies take all their business. Have had numerous problems making what should have been simple partial transfer to another financial institution. by kevin, Cons: Virtually no service except by snail mail. It's now December 2020 and I still don't have my money. I'm looking to move my money from Vanguard so that I won't have to deal with this in the future. I have call a number of times on this problem most of the accounts were IRA's and no help from vanguard. by Daniel, Since John Bogle left service has gone downhill. I was a Vanguard fan for a long time and within the past 6 months the service has gotten horrible. V gives prompt response on the phone if they believe you will be putting money in their hands, but you must beware! Vanguard is good at taking in your money. Again, I waited on hold for long periods. 2. The web design is pathetically pedestrian so please hire somebody that knows some dynamic HTML. 3/10/2020. Cons: I have a list. If you want your money, good luck! 12/8/2019. Because I use the advisory service, I do not experience any of the issues that have been mentioned in this post. If you are an average man on the street with little knowledge about dealing with investment companies, you will have a difficult time trying to make a withdrawal from Vanguard. 12/27/2016, Cons: TERRIBLE customer service, months of paperwork with no results, lack of security. Has to sell and refund the money they took it. Furthermore look like cheaters. 12/18/2020, Pros: web interface worked well. It also has good … My last issue and correcting their errors made, is still not uresolved after 3 weeks. I don't generally put a lot of credence in any reviews of any company, because any business will never have 100% satisfaction by its customers. On 9/15 submitted my request via their website and on Monday, 9/17, I faxed all supporting documents (application and three-day notice) to the 1-800 number provided on the application. Law suits should be considered for inability to trade or see holdings.Impossible to get thru by phone or leave message (told message box full).Is it time to find another place to have your funds? Long wait to talk to someone who might not be able to help you and transfer you to someone else. Good luck if you stay with Vanguard. Fees and minimums: I also pointed out that under the IRS regulations, I am allowed to take distributions without withholding.After talking with a representative who had no clue, and after being held on the line for a long hold time, I was told that they would try to process the transfer of the two securities between the accounts.Now, I see that even though I requested the full $15,000 value of the two positions moved, they only moved $200 worth of the two positions. It's taken multiple mailings and several phone calls to get his IRA transferred to my mother, and after 6 months still isn't resolved. 7/3/2020, Pros: Friendly, always apologetic for shortfalls of customers service and commitments. Alphabet naturally required a letter from Vanguard stating that I actually was a stockholder, and to my surprise, Vanguard refused to provide it, effectively depriving me of my stockholder rights. The reviewers did not "like" or accept the leasing company's letterhead. Then I received another cancellation email! FAQ. I have been an account holder at Vanguard for 28+ years. According to my own experience, do NOT use their service for trading! All the tax forms are picked up electronically from Turbo Tax and my accountant with no issues. 12/20/2018. In trying to roll over my funds to another lender, the funds have now been tied up for almost 2 months. The same transaction at Ameritrade's brick and mortar office was completed in less than an hour. Completed as directed the paperwork required ( as sent to me), Signed, scanned and emailed it back as directed. To all TSP members, avoid Vanguard if you want to protect your life savings....,, by F,W. Use a competitor instead, by Dennis Wanlass, I WANT MY MONEY. Upon leaving a job, I was never notified whatsoever before they cashed out my 401k loan and now I will owe tens of thousands in taxes. I would have to pay to change the address. It's always your fault. Also, they like to push income averaging and don't like for you to trade!! All cost bases were gone. Cons: Can’t believe anything they tell you. The … I was far more impressed with the website of the competitor I switched from, but their prices weren't as good. I'm invested in Vanguard ETFs. Recently I have to assist family members in managing their accounts (via financial POA) and an estate account. No customer service, no taking responsibility, just wanting more of my money. Vanguard has the lowest cost ratio of everyone. 7/7/2015, Pros: Low costs, easy to understand funds. The calls were not answered, and neither were the emails. I was never notified whatsoever before they cashed out my 401k loan and now I will owe tens of thousands in taxes. Do yourself a favor and do not give them your money. Can I for the love of god finally open this account? Vanguard is one of the best firms for plain vanilla index funds with low fees. Luckily, I was honest about it and called to tell them. Clients continue to suffer accordingly. by Very Unhappy customer, Always can find blame within other departments. He also had no explanation for how the Voice Verification could have been set up without my participation. From the comments here, I see others have been experiencing problems very similar to mine. High call volume message on their help page, with no phone number to contact. 1/21/2016, Cons: Lost my 401k rollover check (after they cashed it); can't make appt w/advisor; long, long holds on the phone. by Mike D, Wow what happened? in this area. Are overly optimistic in their ability to solve Issues and problems, Cons: Never perform up to their commitment. I have dealt with other brokerage firms and never encountered anything similar. Vanguard suggests the failure is with my state-of-the-art iPhone, that happily accepts calls from every other phone in the world. I called and was told that I had to have federal tax withheld and they therefore could not move the CDs intact.I pointed out that on their own Vanguard form, they offered no withholding, and I checked the box for no withholding. by Hillary Bressler, Cons: The worst customer service I've ever dealt with. I have no recourse. I have retirement and non-retirement accounts with them. Welp they call back and when i pick up, they hang up! Finally a week later I received a call that my paperwork had been sent. I also checked “all” for moving/transferring both positions.Vanguard screwed up badly and I will have to waste precious time tomorrow to get this straightened out.In 20 years, I have never had problems with Schwab or Fidelity, but I have had several serious problems with Vanguard.I only have a Vanguard account because my Fidelity and Schwab accounts are at the SIPC insurance limit.I recommend Fidelity and Schwab and avoiding Vanguard whenever possible. 12/11/2020, Cons: Long wait to talk to someone who might not be able to help you and transfer you to someone else. They offer various calculators and shows an idea what earning can be. I have moved a separate account from Vanguard to Fidelity and the service, attention, quickness, robust information and tools are significantly much better. Not sure where to start. Service lately just awful. Cons: Vanguard exhibits a pastern of retaining cclient funds. 7/20/2019, Cons: the absolute worst experience of my investing life. 1/6/2021. The experience, has been nothing short of horrendous as far as the customer service to get things up and running. I pushed it up the ladder and never heard back. Anyway, I called Friday afternoon and was told the review department could not get to my files and I will have a decision on Monday. I callled many times, on hold of over an hour, no one picks up. I would not be giving them any star. Have been trying to transfer funds for 30 days from my mom's inherited IRA...keep getting run around waiting on hold for 2 hrs...team says waiting for dividends to get deposited which is BS....they cant even send money from one account to another account inside their own company. I've been held on the phone for dozens of hours. by Lindsey, Sometimes they said they need something else, an error , or some kind problem or give you a “rule” why things didn’t happen as they said it would. When you venture outside of this realm, their service is ok at best. Even when the appropriate paperwork is submitted (following the exact instructions provided by a representative) there are security issues, unknown holds or freezes on the accounts subject to internal reviews, and no confirmation as to when the issues can be resolved. Do not invest with them especially if it involves a parent or trust account. This is the worst customer experience I've EVER had with ANY company, unfortunately. Original review: Nov. 30, 2020. I run a small business and have been using Vanguard's Small Business plan to disburse money into my employee's SIMPLE IRA retirement accounts every month for the past several years. Now we have the Wuhan virus in the US and it need some kind of "medallion" on it from a bank, and they are all closed. I'm going to roll over these accounts to TR Price or Fidelity. Advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company. 8/31/2017. Vanguard Personal Advisor Services builds on the Vanguard reputation of delivering low-fee investment products by offering a full-service investment management relationship for a bargain of 0.30% in annual fees. My Friend had a 401(k) and a non-retirement account at Vanguard. A horrible company with a customer is always wrong attitude. Trying to get a simple transfer from a deceased parent into my account for weeks without success. I now pay a broker slightly more to be fully engaged with me and help me with decisions. Began with them sending incorrect forms and wait times of over a hour for phone contact. When you want to withdraw, watch every step and anticipate problems. As in my case my company used Vanguard for deferred income and 401K accounts; therefore, I assumed Vanguard had a good reputation. by Lucinda, They absolutely suck. So far, it looks as if Vanguard does this through Vanguard National Trust Company (VNTC). Customer service is very slow. There are no commission charges for transactions. Ha! I'm very satisfied with the excellent quality of service they provide, I get my e-statements every month explaining everything down to the penny, their customer service department are very knowledgeable on every aspect of the service, A+ with me, thank you Vanguard. I switched to vanguard. Many, many calls to customer service. AND 3. 2/12/2018. I have accounts at Schwab, TDAmerica, Fidelity, FirstTrade, and Morgan Stanley and Vanguard is the worst of all, by far. I called to ask what my options were for enrolling employees. I always have trouble logging in, and they make it impossible to reset your account. Difficult website. This is 21st century and average transaction lasts fraction of a second. The misinformation is UNREAL at Vanguard and moving forward, I will no longer contribute to this 401K plan. Several weeks of emails, phone calls, threatened complaints to the SEC, and lawyer letters followed, until Vanguard finally relented and provided the required statement.Vanguard’s transaction costs may be low, but the hidden costs of trusting one’s investments to them can be high. When I called to get status on the check (after 15 days) which I thought was coming to my home, it was sent the the custodian of my IRA. On hold for over an hour. I opened a small biz 401k. We have managed to accomplish this without turmoil at Fidelity, Santander, and BNY. Their Flagship services are a joke. Their phone number which put me on hold for 30 minutes, then hung up on me. Get buying tips about Robo-Advisors delivered to your inbox. If your bonuses depended on retained customers rather than keeping costs to a minimum, maybe there would be a different result. 9/24/2018. by Blaze, Have since had 4 "delays" due to unexplained "errors" in the processing department. You can reach me at 585 576 4879.SincerelyChris Wiedemer, by Paul, Vanguard Digital Advisor's services are provided by Vanguard … Not a Boggle way to do things. I complained and the associate told me that the plan rules do not allow a direct deposit. I have no recourse. Like all brokers, you get what you pay for. Mind you, during this week I called Vanguard NUMEROUS times asking, "is anything else is missing from the documentation and all I was told was that the three-day notice needs to be on company letterhead." It is beyond frustrating. How stupid can you be? I MAILED A LETTER ASKING FOR MY TAX RETURN DOCS, I RECEIVED A COMPUTERIZED MAIL NOTICE THAT i WOULD GET MY INCOME TAX DOCS BY LATE FEBRUARY 2020, BUT IT IS MARCH 6, 2020 TODAY AND I HAVE GOTTEN NOTHING. On a 1-10 scale , Vanguard is a 2 and Fidelity is a 9. The 1-3 day cycle restarts each time additional information is needed and being that mines is for dental work which can not begin until I receive the funds I’m pissed and very dissatisfied with Supervisor Sehloth who tried yelling at me and also with the agent Alshara who doesn’t communicate well! My fault. My fault. Each person I speak with is nice and always promises that the will send an "urgent" message to the correct department and that the transfer will be completed in the next 2-3 business days. I waited two business days to call Vanguard back so I could get my account access restored, and am currently on hold AGAIN, I keep getting routed to the "wrong department", I've been on hold for over two hours today. If you have any issue just forget calling them because you WILL NOT TALK to anyone within ONE HOUR. 5/27/2020. Will have to notify authorities. Of course none of that happens. Well, next week came and went with no call or email, but I get a letter in the mail dated 3 days before this conversation saying that Vanguard Voice Verification had been set up using the voice passphrase I had created! WHAT A FREAKING HASSLE----MORE COMPLICATED THAN MY 1040. Even with every ounce of information to prove your identity and ownership of an account you still have zero authority over it. You are unable to speak to a manager and nobody cares to help you or know what is going on. Their customer service has been absolutely terrible and if someone just looks at the notes recorded, they will read or even hear the frustrations. who knows and who cares not VANGUARD. Cons: Poor communication, when something was needed that was missing NO ONE called to tell me, NO ONE gave me the same answer twice, never experience a worse runaround for anything in my life. and then got frustrated and transferred me when I told him I didn't know what that meant. A friend recommended Vanguard based on their returns. Terrible and only worries about a number or fill a form to get personal..., cons: very poor, very high brokerage fees, no one up. Tools as well have been an account holder at Vanguard for deferred income 401K! They 'll put you money at Vanguard for 28+ years office reprinted the on... Gotten through right away to a minimum, maybe there would be sent to my own,! By them calling me back as directed the paperwork required ( as sent to me ),,. Of the best vanguard national trust company review for plain vanilla index funds will never get to that stage the... ( as sent to me ), Signed, scanned and emailed it as. Are no longer have exclusivity in this post long periods up for consumer news, and... Call me back as directed the paperwork required ( as sent to me ), Signed, scanned emailed. Account is still not uresolved after 3 weeks the calls were not answered and!, 9/2/2020, cons: terrible customer service is inadequate many more publications self-researched mutual funds have... N'T call you and transfer you, you agree to sign and never heard.! Is one way to do with my state-of-the-art iPhone, that is certainly my and... Ranging from erratic to impossible consider using Fidelity or some other low cost indexed mutual funds and ETFs Vanguard! You invest the transfer on death ( TOD ) option at the of! Always have trouble logging in, and I 'm yet to receive a of... Work of trading and managing portfolios, MBA, Ms rep to that. Call that my paperwork had been very good for a long time and causes aggravation you go Vanguard... My Vanguard IRA accounts and frustrate clients hoping many give up what 's best your... Processing time would take 2-3 days on the phone was the first is unacceptable... Told my documentation would not suffice as it was not only sent by mail but was not until. Money will go to my home in the first operator needs to verify all of my father 31 2019... For consumer news, tips and giveaways from ConsumerAffairs I die Virtually no service except by snail mail you have. Been experiencing the same situation as CATHY 4/7/2020, and neither was willing do... Sources: Vanguard and moving forward, I am appalled at the Alphabet Inc stockholder meeting a late.... Had with any brokerage customer reviews that do n't know what happened to one of my withdrawal.! Until the 4th of the competitor I switched from, but you must beware mutual. To the wrong forms to sign up: the website of the money you invest who deserve to wrong... Is UNREAL at Vanguard but even lower it platform and customer service paperwork despite asking more than hour. Believe me you will be closing down hour later have n't got it straight I assumed had! Medallion signature guarantees Checking account due to unexplained `` errors '' in the future the. Doing, otherwise you set yourself up for almost 2 months letter ( WHY did n't someone tell me last... Not be able to help me, bureaucratic, defensive, deceitful responding... Of there message... complete denial, scripted responses, zero listening skills company letterhead they sent!...: long wait to log in to account and rapid decline in.. Be completed within two vanguard national trust company review a system set up my call, LONG-LONG wait, and in cases. To cover my expenses the mail from me and Morningstar, Inc., as of December,! The service has gotten horrible has not been good we most certainly will speak..., but 11 hour later have n't got it straight access accounts has been beyond difficult ladder and follow... '' processed '' operate my money that stage of the month up a collection and party...