Complain about a product or service

Fidelity Investments

Melissa of Rising Sun MD (05/13/08)
We purchased a new 2005 Ford Taurus in December of 2005. At the time we opted to purchase the 100,000 mile mechanical failure warranty at a cost of $2000. We never expected to use it but this month we had to. The transmission went up on the car. I was suprised to find out that the contract allows the Fiedlity to put used part in the vehicle.

Yes, I signed the contract without reading it so BEWARE of this company! We are not getting a used transmission with 12000 miles on it, we do not know where it came from or what happened to the car it came from. Find another company to purchase your warranty!

Michael of Lancaster PA (05/07/08)
A yaw sensor, part of the Electronic Stability Control System (ESC) on my 02 Audi S6 went bad. It is a $700 part. My Gold Plus coverage specifically covers ESC System. Fidelity denied the claim because according to them ESC means electronic spark control. However to the SAE (Society for Automotive Engineers), it is the accepted generic term for electronic STABILITY control systems that appeared on US cars in 1995.

The person at Fidelity said he never heard ESC referred to as anything other than electronic SPARK control. So now, it appears that when they run out of even ambiguous valid options, they can worm out of a claim by making up their own terms. ESC according to Wikipedia and also the SAE means STABILITY, not spark control. To get out of a contractual commitment by redefining industry standard terms to suit themselves seems to be fraud.

Joseph of Chicago IL (03/21/08)
I bought a used car warranty from Fidelity 8 months ago, and they have been fantastic. It is a 2000 Mercedes S430; they have already spent $13,000.00 to repair my vehicle and have been unbelievable. I would use them again in heart beat.

Art of Tucson AZ (03/15/08)
I purchased a 2006 Chysler Pacifica in February of 2007. In January of 2008, the engine started making a light noise. I figured that it was probably a filter. I went to the KIA dealer here in Tucson, who is in partnership with Budget Car Sales where I bought the car. I told Tony, the KIA Service Rep, that I had oil changes done every 3000 miles at Wal-Mart. Because of my work schedule, I was not able to go to the KIA Dealership for maintenance every 3000 miles, I was working 7 days a week. The KIA Service Rep, Tony, told me that the filters used at Wal-Mart were not good enough, that I should have gone for oil changes with them. When the service department got into the engine, they found that the engine was obviously very well maintained. This was on Thursday and that they would have to take the vehicle to Jim Click Dodge for repair work. The Claims Rep for Fidelity went to the Click Dealership on the following Monday.

Meanwhile, I rented a truck from National Car Rentals. The rental period turned out to be 19 days. The maximum that Fidelity will pay is 10 days, according to the contract. When I submitted my paperwork for my car rental, which was $700, I was told by the Service Rep from Fidelity, that the repairs should have only taken 3 hours to do, not over 10 days. Jim Click Dodge Rep told me that there was a dispute in the numbers of hours it took to do the work. The dealership lost days of work because of them trying to work out the correct number of hours required to do the work, with Fidelity. The work hours required for the job was close to 10 hours, which I got verification from other shop owners that I know. Fidelity only paid for 3 hours labor and parts

The Dealer lost out on approximately $800, with which they tried to bill me for, but because of the information I had received, I avoided. My outlay on the rental was $700, of which Fidelity only sent a check for $175. Fidelity, never again will I purchase their plans. CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP... but their plans aren't. It is too bad that companies like this do business and get away with it. Technicalities and Legalities keep them in business.

Rayya of Cleveland OH (03/06/08)
Fidelity distributed funds from my ex-husband's retirement account for court ordered child support and incorrectly identified me on the 1099-Rs submitted to the IRS creating a tax liability for me. The 1099-R should have been reported to the IRS with my ex-husbands SSN as it is his tax liability. Fidelity in effect has reduced the court ordered amount of child support money I received by the amount of taxes I had to pay on the distributions even though it is not my retirement account. Could this be tax fraud? Fidelity is completely unresponsive, telling me I should seek advice from a tax adviser. I am in the process of filing a grievance with Fidelity and I am in the process of seeking advocacy from the IRS and the state of Ohio.

I have paid over $5000 in taxes that I am not liable for. Fidelity has deep pockets and this is litigatable for the taxes paid, legal fees, damages for Fidelity causing my daughter's child support to be reduced by $5000. The child support order has ceased. I have not received a penny for 2007 tax season but I just got a 1099-R for 2007 from Fidelity. The retirement distributions continue to be sent to the child support agency who forwards the money to my ex-husband and Fidelity causes me to pay the IRS the taxes on the distributions.

Sherri of Riverside CA (02/28/08)
I purchased a extended warranty on a vehicle I have only had for 1 year. The oil pump and tubing recently needed to be replaced. I was told due to silicone components leaking into the pump causing blockage (the silicone is used when the engine is assembled), Fidelity would not cover the replacement, saying it was not due to mechanical failure. Silicone leakage is mechanical failure.

I had to pay out over $900.00 to have this problem fixed.

Kevin of Corinna ME (02/03/08)
Where do I start with fidelity? Fidelity took over our benefits when the company I work for was bought out. The first indication we had that there were going to be problems was when I noticed that I was has money taken out of my paycheck for dependent child insurance, which would be fine except for the fact that I have no children. I notified fidelity of this on several occasions; the problem was never resolved, and the company refuses to refund any of the money saying that it's up to me to prove I have no children! The next thing that happened was that someone mis-keyed my benefits info and canceled my wife's health insurance. This one could have been serious; we went to pick up a prescription and were told she wasn't covered. Fortunately our pharmacist knew us and gave enough medicine to get us through the week.

Finally, the last straw, I called Fidelity and requested instructions about how to pay off a 401k loan and take out a new one. I made my plans 100% clear to the representative. After the conversation I took $800.00, got a money order, and sent it to Fidelity. Only after they got the money did I find out that I didn't have a loan available. Fidelity was no help what so ever; they refused to reverse the loan pay off or assist me in any way. In fact, they basically said it was my fault because the rep never said I could take out another loan. Again my intentions were made totally clear: if I wasn't able to take another loan shouldn't the rep have notified me of that before I sent in the 800.00? A reasonable, responsible person would say so, however it seems that those are two adjectives which simply don't apply to fidelity, as I told them if they were my bank or my car insurance company, or my cable company I would fire them for their horrible service. Unfortunately, I am stuck with them, in a word, Fidelity service is terrible.

The economic damage that occurred was that we sent in the $800 that was our mortgage payment fully intending to pay the mortgage when the new loan arrived. This caused the first 30 day mark ever on our credit.

Joseph of North Miam Beach FL (01/17/08)
I purchased a New Suzuki Grand Vitara in 2002. At the time of my purchased I purchases a Gold Premium for 60 Months or 60,000 Miles. In January of 2007, the engine had 50+ miles and less than 5 years on my automobile and needed a new engine. I contacted Fidelity Warranty and notified them of the problem. I was asked to take the Automobile to the dealership. I followed instructions. One week later, Fidelity refused to honor the cost of a replacement engine. I contacted the Better Business Bureau servicing the area. I also contacted the Consumer Protection Agency. Finally, they agreed to have my vehicle repaired. Part of the contract was for Auto Rental. I was denied my money I spent for rental for about one month. A used engine was replaced, but I was told that it was a new engine. Less than 9 Months later the engine was saturated with a mixture of oil and water. I called the Warranty Company, again I was bounced around from one person to the other. I was told to take the vehicle to the Dealership and have them call. I received a call from the Dealership who stated that Fidelity refused to honor the repairs.I am stuck with no car. How can big Cooperation take advantage of a small consumer in America?

I have suffered economic hardship without a vehicle to go back and forth to work. I get rides to work sometimes but it is a burden getting back home. My daily functions and activities with my family is very limited and is a burden on my entire family. I am on the brink of breaking down. Please help.

Kamran of Sunnyvale CA (01/02/08)
I was charged $50.00 for a job that wasn't performed on 10/30/2007. I called my insurance company, Fidelity National, to send service provider to fix the furnace heater. The heater pushed cold air at all times which is not sufficient to warm the apartment. The service provider, TGR Mechanical, spent less than 2 minutes in my apartment and hasn't fixed anything. He mentioned the heater is working properly, but in fact is not. Therefore there was no job performed. Why should I pay for a job that wasn't performed?

Gary of San Pedro CA (12/18/07)
I had a million dollar account with Fidelity Investments and they sold me over $300,000.00 worth of securities that went into bankruptcy. I lost over $300,000.00. I complained to them and they just said that there is risk to investing and futher stated that they would take the positions out of my account for free so the statement did not look so bad. Then they have the nerve to advertise that moving your money to Fidelity Investments is a smart move !!.

My retirement was ruined and I had to sell most of my Real Estate to survive.

Jane of Forest Hills NY (10/24/07)
I am a 73-year old senior citizen. To state briefly, Fidelity failed to withdraw an automatic year end distribution from my IRA account for the year ending 2006. As a result of their default I was required to pay a substantial penalty to the IRS. Fidelity has never disputed their default and, in fact, suggested that I have a memorandum prepared by an accounting firm with respect to the extra costs incurred and will incur in the filing of taxes for the years 2006 and 2007. I complied with their request. All expenses itemized was a direct result of Fidelity's default. Fidelity has never disputed any of the charges in that memorandum or the preparation of it. I have complete documentation and exhibits supporting this claim against Fidelity and would be more than willing to send copies to anyone who would take up this cause on my behalf. Fidelity has failed to meet its obligations to reimburse me for the costs and expenses I have incurred as a result of their default. My complaint has been registered with Fidelity.

As a result of Fidelity's failure to effect an automatic deduction from my IRA account for the 2006 Minimum Required Distribution I have suffered total expenses in the amount of $19,193.00. Fidelity is ignoring this entire matter knowing that I do not have the means to bring litigation against them in order to resolve this dispute. I implore that someone will take up this cause on my behalf.

Jennifer of Montrose MI (03/09/07)
I work for General Motors, which uses Fidelity to manages its retirements, life insurance, health benefits etc. When I transfered from Delphi to GM in June 06. It took Fidelity five months and numerous phone calls to get my health insurance active. Every time you call you talk to someone different and you get different answers from everyone. My benefit rep. at work was calling and so was I. Until I got upset this problem did not get corrected. I had to call everyday for a couple of weeks and keep calling doctors about unpaid bills.

Now on Jan. 26, 2007 they have succeeded in cancelling my health benefits. Which was discovered when my daug. tried to go to the doctors this morning. I called Blue Cross and was told Fidelity cancelled on the 26th. Fidelity can't figure out what happened. Who knows how long it will take to get corrected.

This causes doctor bills to be paid late not to mention the frustration of dealing with such an incompetent company.

Numerous people all over are having difficulty with this company. Benefits being cancelled, years of service records incorrect, people told they can retire then called back to work because of Fidelitys inadequate records or negligence. One guy waiting for disability pay was told on different occasions that needed papers where sent in the mail which never arrived and the next person he talked to tells him nothing was sent because they need more records from him. So who do you believe? They sound sincere and knowledgable when you talk to them but the results never pan out.

No one at this company seems to be on the same page. It is extremely frustrating to deal with them because you never know whats real and what isn't. The information and benefits this company manages are important and alot of peoples livelihoods depend on accurate records and timely service.

James R. Brown of Wheaton IL (12/28/05)
On https:/fidelity.billpay.com, it defines date sent as This is the date that the payment was actually sent to the payee. This is not true. I had a payment from online bill pay with the date sent listed as 12/23/2005. It was actually sent on 12/27/2005. The Web site lies.

This will cause my end of year HSA insurance contribution to arrive too late for disbursements to be made before the end of the year

Doug of Anthem AZ (08/27/01)
Fidelity Investments is changing their fee structure effective September 10, 2001. Included with this change is a new minimum balance fee for any Fidelity mutual fund with a valuation of under $2,000. The fee is only $12/year, but there's an important principle here. The minimum investment (for non-retirement accounts) is typically $2,500. Some funds - like all of the sector funds which I invest in - charge a 3% load on the initial investment.

The value of the fund depends on how well Fidelity invests the customer's money. To charge a fee for losing over 20% of their customer's investment is outrageous. In the summer of 2001, I invested in 5 different sector funds, with the minimum $2500 each. As the market deteriorated, most of those slipped below the $2000 minimum. The fee will be assessed in November. If the market does not improve, I may have to pay $12 for each fund, as a result of Fidelity's losing so much of my money. My choices are limited: I can increase my investments, to get the valuations over $2000 each. I can liquidate my investments, and maybe consolidate some together. Or I can do nothing and pay the fees. I am outraged, and I am closing my Fidelity accounts.

Linda Folsom Jackson of Clarksville MD (08/07/01)
As a former employee of corporation with a Fidelity 401K, I contacted Fidelity on June 20, 2001 to have my 401K rolled over into a Fidelity Rollover IRA. With the help of the Fidelity representative, I completed an application, setup the above referenced account, a note was put onto my account to transfer it to the Rollover department and was assured that the 401K was resolved at this point. I received an Investment Report in the mail with a $0.00 balance. On August 6, 2001, I received a check with the federal and state taxes removed from my Fidelity 401K. The Fidelity 401K had not been rolled over into the Fidelity Rollover IRA. I called Fidelity and spoke with Troy Vanderburg, who very matter-of-factly told me that there was nothing he could do and that I should call another department (after being transferred twice to talk with him).

I had to pay federal and state taxes on my 401K. I wasted my time with the phone calls, applications, setting up accounts, etc. with Fidelity. I could have just waited to receive a check from my 401K and deposited it.

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