Complain about a product or service

Fidelity Investments

John of Clarksville, TN June 4, 2009

Bottom Line my car was totaled and the Insurance I have Sentry Insurance paid Fidelity bank 13000+ dollars and my Gap insurance Plateau Group paid them the remaining balance quoted to them by V. McGlasker of 8872.19. Which according to the records sent to the Plateau Group paid the vehicle off I called V. Mcglasker today 06/04/09 to make sure everything was taken care of and now she is quoting me a higher payoff of 9200+ dollars meaning the car is not paid off.

I asked why this ballance was more and she then tried to say it was late fees and interest. My payment has never been late and the records to the Plateau group by V. Mcglasker show the payments were never behind. I need help as they are trying to rip me off for an additional almost 1000 that is not owed to them.

Robert of Newtown, CT June 5, 2009

I retired in 2006 at the age of 56. I had several 401-K plans with Fidelity Investments. Since I retired, Fidelity, through its local Fairfield, CT office representative has been trying to persuade me to roll over the Fidelity 401-K plans to a Fidelity IRA. I was told by the representative that I could seamlessly transfer all investment balances from the 401-K's to a new IRA. The only thing that would change would be the form of tax-deferred vehicle, i.e. 401-K to an IRA. On April 2, after three years of pressure from Fidelity by the rep. in Fairfield, I agreed to transfer 2 of the Fidelity 401-K's to a new IRA set up on that date, April 2, 2009. To validate the transfer, in the rep's office in Fairfield, they made a recorded phone call to the main office to take information from me and finalize the new IRA. I made it absolutely clear at multiple times on the recorded call that I wanted to transfer all investment share balances intact to the new IRA from the 2 401-K's. I had over 535K being transferred. They assured me that it would be done immediately. I had a portion of my 401-K money in 6 stock mutual funds, some in a PIMCO bond fund, and about 1/2 of the total in a guaranteed return fund managed by Dwight Investments. I felt good about the consolidation. On June 4, I got a monthly statement from Fidelity for my IRA. Since the establishment of the IRA, I have tracked the investment performance weekly on my computer and over the April-May period where several of the the stock funds appreciated over 20% in value. I was expecting unrealized gains of 25K over the two month IRA period. It turns out that Fidelity was only able to transfer one mutual fund from a 401-K to the new IRA. They dumped the remainder (over (500K) in the "Fidelity Cash Reserves" fund which yields virtually nothing. I had hoped to withdraw the 25K of gains from the 401-K since I am now 59 1/2. It turns out there were no gains to withdraw because Fidelity did not transfer the funds on April 2. they were never transferred. After reviewing my statement yesterday I phoned the Fidelity Fairfield office to complain. They said they needed to check the recorded phonecon that occurred with me, the Fairfield rep. and the head office of Fidelity on April 2. Today, June 5 I received a call from the head office of Fidelity saying that they had reviewed the recorded phone call. They indicated that I stated clearly that I wanted the 401-K investments to stay 100% intact. They also stated that nobody on the call explained that some of the funds were not transferable to the IRA. Fidelity agreed that the transfer would be seamless and the call ended. In today's June 5 phone conversation with Fidelity the head office call center apologized to me that nobody told me the funds could not be transferred. They also told me the IRA could not be reversed to revert to the original 2 401-K's. They also told me they could not "make me whole" financially for the unrealized loss I incurred due to their error and omission to tell me about the lack of transferability of funds. They essentially told be I am out of luck and there is nothing they can do for me even though they were in error. They told me to do some research and try to get some funds that are similar to the ones I had originally. The Fairfield Fidelity Office could help do this, if I wished. Just what I need! I am incensed beyond words and need to consider my options. I thought I was beginning to recover my substantial market losses from late 2008 and earlier this year. I never would have rolled over the 2 401-K's to the IRA had I known the old investments were not available. If I did not check my IRA statement, this error could have gone unnoticed and my losses could be much larger. I am concerned that if I buy similar funds and the market drops again, I could be a 2 time loser, once late last year and once again. Does anybody have any advice for me? Do I have grounds for a lawsuit? How should I proceed? Is a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor worthwhile. I'd like to get the securities license revoked of the rep. as he is incompetent. I may file a complaint with the Attorney General of CT. Any help would be appreciated.

Naveen of San Diego, CA June 12, 2009

I have submitted IRA transfer form via their website on 4/22/2009 to transfer my funds from Vanguard IRA to Fidelity IRA Account. And on 5/18/2009 I chat with customer representative and found out that vanguard was asking my W-9 form. I filled up the form and sent it to them on 5/18/2009 including chat discussion. And I have not heard anything back from them and I called them on 06/02/2009 to find out the status, and Customer Representative said, they had all documents and should be done very quickly with in this week.

I did not get any response until today, that 6/12/2009, then I called and talked about 30 minutes with two persons, one of them is supervisor and his name is Nate C. Finally he said that, the asset transfer department left the ball and they did not feel this is as a priority. Due this delay, I have sold my assets in vanguard, and as per Fidelity transfer schedules I had investigated and planned to invest in to other assets. Due to this delay I have lost lot of money. I really appreciate your help in this regards. Because of this delay I have lost almost couple of thousands dollars as I planned to invest into stocks which went up 200% to 300%.

Carl of Benson, AZ May 27, 2009

For the past several years, Fidelity has been changing their various rules and policies AFTER THE FACT, while simultaneously insisting they have changed nothing (despite demonstrable proof that they have). For example: A few years ago, they began insisting that funds be transferred into the customer's "core account" BEFORE allowing an online transaction to take place, rather than on or before the settlement date (which is 1-4 business days AFTER the transaction). Conversely, Fidelity (now) won't transfer funds OUT of a customer's account (e.g. to his bank) until AFTER the settlement date of any and all transactions, even if the available funds are not required to settle the transactions (e.g. the customer has more in his/her "cash account" than his/her outstanding transactions. Despite the above, Fidelity representatives continue to promise to transfer funds on a given day, and then (when the customer complains that the transfer was not made) claim they cannot transfer any funds until after settlement days (even if available funds are in excess of the settlement obligations). More recently, Fidelity's online system stopped recognizing as available funds that were transferred in, until 4 business days after the transfer has been made. Thus, after transferring funds to Fidelity, the customer has to wait another 4 business days before he/she can use them to make a purchase online! Until very recently, Fidelity's representatives would manually put through the transaction at the online commission rate (to compensate for their online system's failure), but as of 5/27/2009 (or perhaps earlier) they now charge the "broker-assisted" rate for such transactions, and have the audacity to insist that it has never been done differently! Perhaps less importantly, Fidelity prints nonsensical and non-applicable "cost basis" information on the statements they send out. Their own representatives have no idea what this gobbledygook represents, and it takes hours on the telephone to find someone who can explain it -- while insisting they introduced this error in cost accounting "at the request of their [other] customers'. Most of this is fraudulent, of course, but Fidelity doesn't care about the small investor (who is the only victim, as they make special "concessions" for their larger customers). Complaints to their CEO are answered by non-responsive and insulting form letters from personnel unknown by others in the company (in other words, the names are fictitious). So, why don't I use another broker? Because Fidelity charges a fortune to transfer assets to another broker, and probably would mess up the transaction. Delayed transactions, resulting in different (sometimes higher) purchase price. Higher commissions, loss of interest, loss of many hours for each transaction.

Sean of Corvallis, OR May 5, 2009

I have been attempting to roll several investment accounts into a single account for several months now. These transactions should never have been an issue with the correct preliminary paperwork. Upon initiating the requests I was informed that my accounts would go onto a holding period until correct paperwork was received by Fidelity. When I received the initial forms I filled them out and mailed them the following day. On these forms I have to indicate and verify that I am in fact not married nor have ever been married as Fidelity has me displayed as filing jointly with my non-existent wife. I expected a notice the following week approving my transaction, this was not the case. My transaction was denied and instructed me to contact a representative. Upon enquiring to the representative I was told that the correct paperwork had not been filled. I asked how this could be as it was the paperwork that they had sent me, quickly being informed by the representative that a further investigative work order would be required. Upon contacting Fidelity a week later I am informed that the initial work order filed the previous week had been lost, and that a new work order would be required. Upon further investigation Fidelity decides that they had in fact sent me the correct paperwork and approves the transaction.

The second account seems more troublesome. Upon rolling this second account over I am also required to fill out paperwork that never arrives. Curious as to why I never receive paperwork for this account I contact Fidelity and am informed that they do not have my address correct. I do not know why my address would be incorrect as I am receiving massive amounts of paper from them on a daily basis at this point. Upon updating my address so that SW now reads South West my account goes onto a 15 day holding period. Two weeks later I receive the correct paperwork. Upon filling out and notarizing I mail back to Fidelity using their envelope. I contact them a week and half later and am informed that my transaction has been lost and was never uploaded into the system. This whereby requires a new time sensitive transaction to be initiated. Needless to say, three months later, I am still waiting for Fidelity to send me the correct paperwork so that I can access my accounts which remain on perpetual holds.

Debra of Pullman, WA May 4, 2009

On April 15 of this year when we realized that it would behoove us to make a contribution to my husband's traditional ira, my husband called Fidelity to find out how to get the funds to them and into his existing account, since we don't live in a town with a Fidelity location. The rep he spoke with told him that he could send a check to Fidelity just as long as it was postmarked on April 15 and received by April 22. So, we wrote a check, filled out their deposit slipped which we accessed online, put it in an envelope, addressed it, attached postage, and dropped it off at the post office, well before the last pickup time on April 15. No, we didn't get proof of postmark date, but I believe that the post office picks up mail every day up until the last pick up time indicated on their drop off boxes, and especially on tax day!

As an important aside, the Fidelity website indicates the various ways to contribute to an existing ira: one of the options is to mail a check postmarked by April 15, 2009. Nowhere does it say what date it needs to be received. So, if you live in Ohio, your check will probably get there in a day or two. I mailed my check from the state of Washington, and it supposedly arrived on April 22. (Imagine the situation the poor folks who live in Alaska find themselves in with Fidelity.)The funds were taken from our checking account on April 22.

Lo and behold, on May 2, my husband receives a letter from Fidelity indicating that because his check arrived after April 15, the contribution was applied to 2009. One of the Fidelity representatives we spoke with after receiving the letter said that the check needed to arrive by April 18, 2009 to be credited to tax year 2008. (Again, my husband was told by a phone rep on April 15 that the date was April 22, and the website says NOTHING about the date the check needed to arrive at Fidelity.)When we asked where on the website the April 18 date is referenced, the rep could not answer. (Because it's not there!!) Another Fidelity rep indicated that they scan the envelopes when they come in but they didn't scan ours...? We were told that the post office didn't put a postmark on the envelope but they may have put a barcode on the envelope...? And, of course, the envelope has been destroyed.

They admitted that they had heard from others with the same complaint but they were not going to do anything about it.

Adolpho of West Covina, CA April 9, 2009

Received a letter, from Fidelity, dated1/31/2008 advising, that Fidelity Investments failed to process the minimum required distribution from Peerless Pump 401(k)plan for the year 2007 due to administrative error. That they were providing me a letter,that I should attach to file with my 2008 tax return. They apologized for the inconvenience and that it would waive any excise tax penalty from the IRS on the late distribution. I have the letter referring to I.R.C. sections and justifying their actions and taking the blame for what happened and that it beyond my control.

They requested that the excise Tax assessed under section 4974 (a) e waived. I am not that familiar with sections and it sounded good, However, I am in the process of filing my Income tax for 2008 and this error has impacted my return. I was informed that they could not help, but that I could file a complaint to Fidelity Investments, ECM-Client Services, Covington, Ky 41015. I was not able to talk to Mr. Milton, only to some intermediate people.

My Tax Advisor has informed me that due to this error of late check that was received in January of 2008, My Tax would be higher. Normally, I would be refunded 391 because of my witholding amounts of 2,238.00. Now,I would have to add another 2627.00 to my Tax burden which would be 4865.00 tax. Apparently this check pushed me into a higher tax bracked. I seek some recourse, I do not feel that this added burden is mine. Please advise, thank you.

Gene of Providence, RI April 7, 2009

In Dec08 I purchased a 250k cd with fidelity and my wife purchased a similar cd for her acct. This was confirmed on the phone by the rep and the funds were transferred from a cash acct at fidelity to cover the purchse. We went away for several months and returned to file our taxes-and the fidelity records showed that my wife's transaction occured but mine had not occured. I called and fidelity confirmed that they did not complete my transfer because they had a system wide problem and some trades were not completed and others were. They never informed anyone of this problem-they waited for customers to call them. I asked them to reinstate the trade as of whch means do it over. The rep on the phone said he could not do that but could offer me 100.00 as compensation for their error.

I said it was unacceptable so he told me it would be submitted to the dispute reconciliation group! I said there was no dispute since they admitted that they had a problem-not me. Boy was I wrong! Their take was that I was supposed to inform them of the mistake within a certain amount of time otherwise it was my problem and not theirs. Read the fine print of the customer agreement! This rep then offered me 500.00 to solve the problem but no reinstatement of the cd which would over its life probably return close to 5000.00.

So the cost of a 30 year customer is 500.00-I guess I'm glad I didn't take the first 100.00 offer. This is not a customer friendly operation like it was when they first started and they have their but covered with plenty of legal talent to suppress dissent. Ill be moving on to another company and praying that they are more ethical than these guys.

loss of a long term customer

John of Phladelphia, PA April 5, 2009

Well on Friday April 3rd 2009. I went in to my Bank Trumark Federal Credit Union set up an IRA with them. We filled out all the proper paper and they explained all my options. when we called fidelity to find out how they wanted us to procede they told me I could not roll my money over, mind you its not company matched money its all mine and they told me its not an option for me. but I could take a loan out. Im out on workmans Comp and there is no way i could pay a loan back without a payroll deductions. they told me then I would suffer penalties. I said wow I'm not taking a loan. I want to roll over MY MONEY I worked for and saved. Thats when I hung up on them

I am going to contact my attorney.

Pat of Brier, WA March 12, 2009

In 1996 when I left my job, I was advised to roll over my IRA into Fidelity Funds (now Fidelity Investments)for safety, security and growth.I put 169,588 into two funds.(FSELX and FSPTX) On December 31,2008 they were worth 40,000.They are about 37,000 now. I requested that they be transferred to my local account before they were eaten up completely because they were going down every day. I entrusted that money to them and they failed me miserably.

If I had put the money into a savings account, I would have about 218,000 if it had paid 2% a year, instead of being down almost 80%.They couldn't even do as well as a 2% savings account! Don't they have a responsibility to manage money better than that? Then to rub salt in the wound, they are claiming the funds are down only 6% this year. Today a Fidelity agent called me and wanted me to put the remains into another Fidelity Fund. I told him that I preferred to keep the last 37,000 for myself.So much for safety, security and growth.

169,588-37,000=132,588 for their careless money management or 218,000- 37,000 = 181,000 less than a 2% savings account would have done in 13 years.

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