Vanguard Reviews

I have been a client for many many years. Last week I could not access my online account. Many calls. Long waits. Nothing. Called three different phone numbers, including that of my designated representative. Finally reached a person at technical support. After a long call and guiding me through to my account, I was informed my account was blocked. Why, I asked. He did not know. Tried several more times to access my account. Zilch. Nada. Obviously time to say goodbye to Vanguard.

It is really hard to talk to the customer service staff! Sometimes some reason, the phone is hung up! They never call me back! I had to start it from the beginning, waiting, explaining, and holding!! It is very frustrating for unprofessional services especially since this is a super big well-known company!

The mutual funds are fine. Low fees. The Website for investors is horrible and nearly impossible to find anything, e.g., individual performance of your investments. By far the worst aspect of Vanguard is their inability to interact with customers in a timely or professional manner. Wait times are 1 hour plus if you call in, and you will likely be transferred to the wrong person or department and waste a colossal amount of time again. I have sent checks for rollovers to the company and they just send them back with nonsensical explanations--like what account to deposit in when it's written on the check. I literally just destroyed 3 checks because the trouble to deposit them wasn't worth the amount on the checks. Finding simple information for a rollover is nearly impossible and don't even try to speak with anyone. They highly discourage it once you call in, and then make you wait for, what so far, seems to be an unlimited amount of time.

Please think carefully before investing your money into Vanguard. The call wait times are terrible, week after week, any day of the week. I regret establishing our money with them. Sometimes when you do finally get a human being they may or may not be knowledgeable.

We trust Clark ** and he recommended Vanguard for money management. We have a live advisor verses a robo advisor. The management fee is only .03%! After answering his questionnaire he put us in 60/40 stocks/bonds. After one year we are up 15%. However, the market has been going north and to me the true test will be during the downturns. We are in our '70s and feel comfortable having our retirement fund with Vanguard.

I called to open 3 accounts, one for me, my mother, and my daughter. Because I had an old account from 25 years ago through a previous employer and could not remember the address I lived at they would not open an account for me. At the time I was young and it was an employer-sponsored account. Now I'm older and I have a trust account and they wouldn't even open a trust account. They just turned away so much business.

They are impossible to get ahold of. I spent two hours waiting on a callback. After finally getting ahold of somebody they said they need to transfer me to somebody else and that it would be another 2 hour hold. Then they promptly hung up on me. I've been trying for days to get ahold of somebody that can answer my questions. If you ever have a question you will need to take a day off work and dedicate that day to being on telephone hold.

I have had a Vanguard account for thirty years. They have gone from the best of my five brokerage accounts to the worst. Wait time is absurd any time of the day. Customer service reps cannot answer simple questions. Mr ** would not recognize the company he built. Performance is fine but maybe Vanguard should consider hiring more and more competent staff.

Waited on hold for 40 minutes until I gave up. Keep in mind the recorded message says "Your Hold Time will be more than 9 min" - That can mean hours/ Days? Zero customer support. Will remove all my funds and find another option. Terrible.

I have used Vanguard for my former employer’s 401K and subsequently rolled that 401K into an IRA. They have been easy to work with and the choices for investments have been great. They work with you to create a portfolio tailored to your individual investment goals and stage in life. The funds I have invested in have generally have exceeded my expectations on performance while the fees have been minimal.

Clear and precise statement. Good customer service. Have always resolved our questions with one phone call. Great dividends on their investment strategies. Several options for investing monies. As mentioned before, great return on investments.

I have previously sent in my concerns to the SEC via the online form but am happy to retell my concern and frustration; Horrible customer service. They eliminated personal advisors, prevent reps from speaking on the phone, and jerk you around by waiting days to respond to emails which say they will get back to you but they never do. Since September 30, October 1, 4 & 5th. At the beginning of the year I had 4 set meetings, scheduled quarterly reviews of the investment adjustments Vanguard's Advisory team administers and get a preview of the upcoming quarter. In each case the advisor fumbles through and has to date been able to give me a clear picture of where my money goes and why.

I had over 20,000$ with Vanguard when they sent me emails discussing my options once I switched employers. I chose to close one of my accounts and agreed to a one time 25$ rollover fee. Vanguard only completed a partial rollover and left a portion of my balance in the 401k. They then told me I had to pay an additional rollover fee in excess of 17% on the remaining balance if I wanted it transferred. When I called in no one in customer service could solve the problem and they continually told me the only way to get the money rolled over was to pay the 17% fee. Make sure to be careful when receiving correspondence from Vanguard as it can be deceptive if you do not do prior research on their suggestions. For reference my Vanguard Case number related to this was **.

Their customer service says that shortest wait times are between 8-10am and 5-8pm EST. I called at 5pm and have been on hold for almost 2 hours. I plan to hang up at 7pm, so who knows if there's anyone answering phones on the other end of this call.

I have attempted 7-8 times to get my online account open and functioning. I get the run around no results, just excuses. This cost me money as I could not make trades when I wanted to. I have spent hours on the phone trying to fix this with 6 different customer service agents and a manager, who is rarely available.

In 2008 Vanguard sent me a check for approx. $400 when they owed me $500. This is a legal trick that insurance companies use to cheat people out of their money. They failed to send me the check for the full amount after numerous calls. After waiting years for the check in 2017 I called them and asked them, where is my money? They said they don't have it and it's not listed on file. After two years, dozens of hours on hold and getting the run around, they FINALLY admitted that the money existed. Then they sent me forms and stalled the payment in every way possible. Finally the $500 check was in hand. They offered no interest, no fees to compensate me for a decade late payment. For 10 years they loaned out my money, collected interest on it and never gave me a penny. Do not trust vanguard.

I have been investing in stocks and mutual funds since 1977. I bought my first Vanguard fund in 1984. Right now I am in about 20 mutual funds (regular accounts, IRAs, Roth IRAs). About ½ of my funds are Vanguard funds. I am happy with the performance of the Vanguard funds I am in. I am VERY UNhappy with Vanguard’s customer service. In the last six months I have done two simple things (wire money, rollover a Roth IRA to Vanguard from a non-Vanguard account) and both times there have been problems requiring several calls.

It helps me manage my investments very easily from any one of my electronic devices. It consolidate accounts into one place and is easy to navigate and understand. It works to help me avoid financial risks.

Vanguard released a new Android App called Beacon. It is garbage. I am unable to see positions, or trade on it. Vanguard help makes no specific commitment to fix this. The prior app at least somewhat works - the new one is USELESS.

Vanguard is a trusted leader whom I depended on over five years. The have mutual fund which I invested in was fantastic. Their charges are moderate and have excellent website. They never disappoint. Their slogan is Vanguard is the best.

Vanguard caused me to have a big problem when they told me that "after tax" money is not really "after tax" money in my pension fund. After a withdrawal I got a big hit on my taxes and spent several weeks trying to resolve it. I had to liquidate several Roth IRAs to pay it back. After 2 weeks waiting, they dragged their feet on this, saying that they were "very busy." Fortunately, I called the pension fund administrator; he apparently read the Riot Act to them and they restored the account as it was when all this started several months ago within 2 days.

We have been trying to withdrawal from my 401k for 32 days for a house down payment with my plan allows for. We have overnighted paperwork to them multiple times. We have spent countless hours on the phone with them. Each time getting told different answers. It feels like they are trying to gate keep the funds until you give up. When asked to put a supervisor on the phone, there are none available. The documentation they send in response to requests are vague and unhelpful form letters. Calls mysteriously hang up when you are talking to them. So because of their inability to provide actual customer support, and their dragging of their feet with my requests, I may lose my first home. Stay away from this company.

I had an account with Vanguard for over 20 years. After adding a large amount to my account received from the sale of my home they triggered a new security requirement without informing me. When I had desired to move the money to avoid a certain stock market conditions, I was not allowed to do so without completing this additional procedure. I lost about $10,000 as a result. I will never forgive this company. I will be moving the money to another brokerage house ASAP.

I been with Vanguard over 10 years. I have have seen my 401k lose 20k at one time and that's the market game but trying calling or discussing your investment or try to move your funds or get fund these are the most incompetent people I have ever encountered. Lost paperwork not notes. Just a bunch of children playing with my investment and can't explain anything. I know that when I retire from this company or leave I am taking every cent to a different company. Don't trust them with your money..

Vanguard is the WORST investment group our employer has ever contracted with. I can't get access to my funds for hardship withdrawal to catch up on bills as a result of the COVID-19 pandemics. Vanguard will easily take your money but is impossible to get it back unless you leave your employer. Absolutely the worst company. Horrible experience!!

I've been working with Vanguard for over a month to resolve an issue and every time I call, I get a different answer on the situation. The issue is still ongoing. First off, every call took forever to get a hold of a representative, there is no point-of-contact to communicate with. They transfer me from one person to another with no one giving me a concrete answer on what's going on. One person told me they will give me a call back to update me but that never happened. I made a mistake on the application because of the way it was structured and contact Vanguard to try and fix the issue, each person assures me the issue would be resolved but I haven't gotten any updates.

Vanguard is well known for their low fees, but should also be known for their atrocious customer service. During the last month, I have contacted their customer service line 6 times attempting to get a simple tax form. They refuse to send this form to my secured Vanguard email box and when I paid to receive it via FedEx overnight, they still haven’t even processed the request 5 days later! I have close to $1 million dollars in Vanguard accounts and plan to take my business elsewhere after my terrible experience.

I transferred my ira over to Vanguard. 3 months later and it’s still pending. Customer service is terrible and long waits and still have no damn clue as to where my $ is. Very bad company to deal with.

We have an brokerage acct and investment accounts. Their help has been dismal and in accommodating. We are currently looking to move our money to some who seems to realize on the other end of the phone is not clients a b or c.

I have been a Vanguard client for probably 20 years. They used to be fabulous. If I ever had a question, I could call and reach a representative (of any sort) within a minute or two, no matter when I called. Now, as others have noted, the hold time - no matter what day or what time you call - is AT LEAST 30 minutes, and often much more.

I created 529 account and I can't access it online. It writes 'password is disabled'. No way to reset password online. Need to wait forever on the call and anyway they can't help. They promise to transfer me and drop the call. Worst support experience in my life (I'm 47).

One star is grossly overrated. I have been kept on hold over 70 minutes on two different occasions with NO HELP. I have asked electronically to have someone call me. The response is “we are sorry for this poor service but we don’t have the manpower to call you, please give us a call”! I will close my account and move to a company with customer service. AVOID Vanguard. TERRIBLE company. DEPLORABLE.

Over the past two years Vanguard customer support has declined and when doing any transaction more complicated than buying or selling you can expect errors. My mother had IRAs with Vanguard for 25 years. When she started doing her RMDs Vanguard said they could automatically do the calculation and withdrawals. First they left one Vanguard account out of the calculation. My mother had a brokerage and mutual fund account. After calling customer support I was told it was my problem not their problem.

2/23/21 tues opened a new brokerage account. After opening, cannot access online. I have an existing 401k account from work. Called customer service and said they will email me in 30 mins for the instruction on how to register again bec they have to merge my accounts. 2/24/21 wed. Nothing happened. No email received. Now I cannot access my 401k account. Called again the customer service. Spoke to another person. Said it will be fix at the end of the day thursday. 2/26/21 friday. Nothing happened. Received an email saying "it's in the process" and Talon **- customer service is handling my case. 3/2 /21 tues. Received an email from TALON **. Customer service said there's a technical issue needed to resolve. 

I am a non- sexual person. I have a sex, but I do not have relationships or any of the above. Two of the three security questions require answers that make me uncomfortable.

I tried to open a new account but had difficulties matching the address on record. I understand this is a security concern, but I genuinely had no idea which address it was and none of the options I tried worked. I imagine this isn't the first time this has happened, but the customer service "professional" who answered (name is James C.) reacted in such a rude manner that I was left speechless.

I have been on hold for almost 2 hours trying to speak with a person. Last two days they said they would call me back and save my place in line, no they don't. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. They do not respect their clients or care about customer service. If your time is remotely important do not waste your time with Vanguard.

Every time I've called, I've had to wait on hold at least 30 minutes to get an actual person. And when I do get someone on the line, it is always a rude, condescending, incompetent person. When I try to log into my account, it says that I have to get call Vanguard for assistance. This seems to be a very common problem reading through these reviews which is kind of scary if that's where your money is kept. The rep that I spoke to concluded that I could not log in due to my computer security settings, not true. I tried on 3 other devices and same problem. The whole time, he was just rude, trying to get me off the line. I initially called to roll my 401k plan to my new one. The rep mumbled the whole time. I could not understand a word he was saying. Every time I asked him to repeat himself, he got agitated. So glad I don't have to deal with this company anymore although I would like to be able to log into my account.

It is Friday around 2:10PM, and I am waiting for Vanguard customer service to pick up my call. I am on hold for 1Hr and 7 mins. This is not the first time. DO NOT OPEN ACCOUNT WITH VANGUARD. When you have more than 200K in account have to wait for hours for someone to help you, it's pathetic. Vanguard software removed the ticker of my stock which I have in my account that I am trying to sell. I am not able to sell as there is no ticker. I have been waiting for more than 1 hour and 11 mins for help. This glitch and pathetic service hold will cost me $700. And this is not the first time. So often verification text messages don't come on time so you try to wait to log in to account. I am moving to Charles today.

I was pretty happy with Vanguard until recently their wait times have been incredibly long. I had a simple request which took multiple phone calls and a wait time upwards of an hour. This is ridiculous. When I called the first time, they gave me the option to get a call back once someone was available. But once I got that call, they verified me AND THEN they transferred me again to another department..that wait time took 45 min. Seriously? Hire more people on your customer service team. You guys are trash.

It is extremely difficult to comprehend how a company can be so outdated and understaffed. To open a new account, multiple phones calls ranging between 40 - 60 minutes are necessary each time. I am on my fourth attempt in two weeks. When you receive an email to call back to provide new information, the number provided in the email is never the correct department. Of course, the first operator needs to verify all of your information just to tell you that you have called the wrong department. Then, they cannot directly transfer you, but rather, you are on hold again for at least 20 minutes. This company is absolutely not for someone who needs to contact them a couple of times a year. They need to add more staff to answer the phones. And no this is not covid related. It was like this before covid.

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. I have also had a personal account with Vanguard for over 15 years. About 2 weeks ago, I got locked out of my Small Business Account, and it indicated I needed to contact the Small Business Dept at Vanguard, which I did- and they were not able to help me get back into my account, so they transferred me to another department who were not able to help me, and they transferred me to another department... you know how this goes.

The worst customer service I've ever dealt with. It's always your fault. Incredibly inefficient processes. Have received zero support. They will not contact you to tell you ANYTHING. 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. My fault. In trying to roll over my funds to another lender, the funds have now been tied up for almost 2 months. My fault. I've been lied to about checks being mailed. I've been held on the phone for dozens of hours. I still don't have my funds. I have incurred more than $20k in losses due to these funds being tied up. I have no recourse.

I am a Vanguard customer for 25 plus years. Used to have regular direct deposit to IRA - Rollover account. Beginning of this year notified them to stop all the regular withdrawal from my Bank of America Checking account due to financial reason. Yesterday they took $7000 from Bank of America with out any notification. They have stupid excuse "we were trying to help you to save more in your IRA". Called on the same day. Bank of America notification came at 4 am, called Vanguard at 8.00 am to cancel their action and put money back in my checking account. However, they can't cancel their mistake. Has to sell and refund the money they took it. The loss is close to $175.00. Very hard to deal.

I've been a client of Vanguard for about 10 or 12 years. 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.

Vanguard's old system was fairly efficient and they’ve just upgraded. Excited and expect the new system to set the bar as to the standard of service. Have used at least 2 other major brokerage cos and this was the best.

Very open and accessible to inquiry. Vanguard provides great account maintenance and customer service without obfuscations I have experienced with other brokers. Of course their low brokerage costs are a big plus.

Easy to work with. Understand not everyone talks tech and don’t mind explaining the technical parts. Not pushy or upset if more time is needed to decide. Don’t overwhelm with phone calls and messages. Polite and respectful. Remembers names and important dates.

I like that transitioning to a competitor was relatively easy. Also, they gave me time to make the change. When I had an emergency it was fairly easy to get my money. My portfolio was very diversified and I was able to keep abreast of any changes, trends, losses and gains. All in all Vanguard was very easy to deal with. The people I spoke to were knowledgeable and very helpful. When I changed employers I wasn’t able to keep them. Otherwise I would not have switched companies.

So far it has been a smooth sign up. It is been a free service and has many helpful tools for learning. They offer various calculators and shows an idea what earning can be. Whatever you want to invest in by utilizing the calculators it help to decide how much you should be investing over time.

Vanguard makes it pretty easy to put your money in a money market which is much higher yield than a typical savings account. It also has good analytics so you can see your personal performance including how much money you've put in and how much you've made.

Typical online broker; very helpful when they are trying to get your business, but after getting the business they are not helpful. They are easy to access, but not always responsive. Easy to use online site.

I have been using them for several years now. The website is very easy to use and is very informative for those looking to find new investments or to find information on current investments. Fees are very low to purchase stocks and if you want you can get an advisor at Vanguard to help you invest.

Low expenses. Courteous reps. Wide range of services. Reports monthly. Available for a wide range of time frames to call and discuss one's portfolio. They don't suggest any investments, and the online tools can be a lot easier to use.

Vanguard representatives are knowledgeable regarding financial strategies that you should consider to meet your financial goals. What I really liked was their patience on making sure I understood all options.

Great variety of good performing mutual funds and ETF - no upfront charges, low fees on both index funds and ETFs - easy to use website, in transferring money from outside accounts and making fund purchases and great customer service.

I have an 401k through my employer with Vanguard. Through recent events of my child becoming sick and extra cost to keep her well and my father passing, I feel substantially behind on my financial responsibilities. I tried my best to manage all that I could and submitted a request for a hardship withdrawal to cover my rent. I was denied twice because I did not meet the minimum threshold to make a withdrawal. How in the world in the middle of a pandemic can you have the audacity to deny a hardship withdrawal because I am not asking for enough? I am now facing eviction and will be removed at the end of the month. I guess once I lose my residence and then my job, I can then take all of my money out and take the tax penalty. Will never nor would I recommend anyone ever do business with Vanguard.

My stepdad had a 401k with them. My mom was the beneficiary. He passed away. My mom passed the next day. I was appointed the personal representative of my Mom’s estate. I have been trying for months to get the proceeds from my stepdad’s 401k moved into the estate account. I have asked for a signed copy of the contract my Stepdad had with Vanguard. They persist in sending the same forms over and over not what I asked for. Their position is that my mother predecessors my stepdad which in fact she didn’t. I still haven’t received a copy of the agreement. Every time I call I get a different representative and I have to start over. They are unprofessional and will do anything to rip people off. Stay away!!!

My Father has an account with Vanguard, unfortunately he now has dementia. I have POA and have been trying to change the address and submit my POA for over a year!! I am still getting the ring around, wrong forms, wrong information. This company is unorganized, rude and unprofessional. Not a place you want to put your money with when they cant handle a simple change or address and adding a POA. Stay away.

So- I had a relative pass away and leave me some Vanguard investments in their will. Okay fine- I called Vanguard and after 30 minutes(!) on hold because they have terrible customer service I was able to get the paperwork online. Okay, fine...so I filled out the paperwork and emailed it back to them. That was TWO MONTHS AGO. They went quiet. Nothing. Nada. So I call back again. 45(!) minute hold this time! FORTY FIVE MINUTES after the automated voice said fifteen minutes. What do I find out? Nothing. They had NO IDEA about the paperwork I'd filled out. They couldn't locate it! I mean...the unprofessionalism is...well....it's mind blowing!

Vanguard's customer service that I had always believed to be the model for the industry, is now horrible and probably the worst in the industry. Current wait times to speak with an agent are in excess of 15 minutes (even before COVID). Vanguard should not offer options trading, if basic functions cannot be completed online. Requiring a customer to call the options trading desk to create a basic spread is circa 1980. The level of customer service is even worse at the Options Desk, if and when you can reach them.

I tried to enroll in their Personal Adviser Services with a "Thomas **" for myself and my mother, and explained that my mother was competent enough to manage her affairs, but needed some extra phone help because she has trouble using the Internet, and I asked if they could make a Reasonable Accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. ** said they would "look into it" and we proceeded with the startup authorization.

I went to a promoted seminar by Vanguard in February 2018. They charged me $8000 to relinquish both of my timeshares. That was their business. They felt they could finish by the end of the year but in some cases my take until the beginning of the next year. I have talked to them many times but now they won't return emails or calls. They have done nothing for me in 2 1/2 years. They are a rip off and DO NOT USE THEM FOR ANYTHING! THEY ARE CROOKS!

I transferred my accounts from Chase to Vanguard and it took weeks with zero communication until I followed up several times to find out that they could not transfer an account but did not tell me. None of the customer service or transfer department reps talk to each other so they don't know what's going on and one rep Khalif ** (clueless!!) just called me to ask how things are going after over a month of silence. I told him, "You don't know? Talk to your transfer department, you shouldn't have to ask me what's going on with my account and why it wasn't transferred, ask your colleagues, they're the ones that didn't do it." Unless you are doing your own investing, DO NOT USE Vanguard and even then, you may not be able to transfer funds or it could take months.

I have been trying for 30+ days to get the distribution check from my 401K after retiring. The website for self service was very confusing. It appeared as though the check would be sent to my home. 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. So they agreed to cancel that and send a new one to my home. Called today (another 15 days later) and turns out that check was also to the custodian of my IRA. I would have to pay to change the address. So the replacement check was never going to go to my home in the first place. No customer service, no taking responsibility, just wanting more of my money.

UPDATE: Once I reached the knowledgable personnel within Vanguard my issues were quickly resolved. It wasn't easy to find the right personnel. I had to do a little corporate research and invent about ten name iterations for email once I found the person I wanted to email. As luck would have it, one of those email address was correct and I received an immediate reply and things turned for the better in a week's time. In the end, it still took approximately four and one-half months to find the right people and get my transfers complete. Now that my assets are there, I'm enjoying going through all of the tolls and information Vanguard offers its account holders.

My wife's traditional IRA and Roth IRA Vanguard mutual funds have been converted to the brokerage accounts. Explanation was that Vanguard moves funds to a new platform. I don’t know about advantages of such innovation however for now I just get confused with the statement of 03/31/20. As a customer of Vanguard I want to see the statement with the same format as a mutual fund statement. I’m not a professional in investment industry and I need the information presented with user friendly approach. Actually I prefer my money returned back to the mutual funds.

I have been a Vanguard customer for many years. In fact I was about to have them manage my retirement for me. Vanguard thinks it's unimportant to help customers; they do not trust that their relationships will produce revenue for them; they act like kids out of college trying to get money for relatives and not a firm once dedicated to the consumer. STAY AWAY.

I needed help with a very recent investment that had a minimum investment of $3000/- purchased two days ago. On trying to change the investment balance I was informed that it dropped by 6/- dollars below 3000/- dollars and needed to wait till the end of the day as my investment would probably drop more and needed to add more dollars to be able to change the investment mix and received no advice on investment for a beginner. Very disappointing experience. My experience with Ally, Discover and Fidelity was really great especially Ally.

When I left FOX Broadcasting Company twenty-three years ago, I took my IRA and invested it with Vanguard, in Admiral accounts, which included an investment advisor. I repeatedly called for twenty-three years, to speak to an advisor, and was left on hold. Never spoke to anyone. Now at almost sixty-four, I watched $100,000 evaporate from my account. The worst of it was that I wrote two checks to cover my property tax. Then I receive a return check notice from Bank of America-- both checks bounced from my fully funded IRA account.

Started working with Vanguard trying to set up a high wealth account two months ago. Was informed by vanguard that an investment between 1M- 5M qualified me to be part of the flagship group with a team of professionals handling my account and access. After two month dealing and waiting for personal service I receive a message on the site of what my account should look like. Not only did they have all the income sources incorrect but they put in place a cookie cutter plan that you would get in a handbook. Vanguard is great if you desire to purchase your own stocks but they have no concierge service for your wealth planning.

The Vanguard website hides its telephone number in a maze of Q&A topics that drive the consumer to distraction. Its app does not allow for operations without confirmation by phone. If you’re lucky enough to find the phone number, a recording informs that they can not attend to you because of “a high volume of calls”, and summarily hangs up on the caller.

I've tried for over an hour to create open a new Trust account. For details, see below. To summarize, the enrollment forms end up giving errors. It doesn't work. Maybe someday when Vanguard turns into a professional company they'll actually make a functional website. For now, you can plan on wasting your time going through their enrollment process that doesn't work. Don't waste your time here. Go to Fidelity.

I understand that Vanguard has a good reputation however when I decided to open a new account their system was completely inadequate. I spend hours on the phone with at least 7 persons trying to open an account and because I had a very old retirements account with 0 balance there appeared to be a problem that I identified not the Vanguard representative. In the end after spending a ridiculous amount of time when my scheduled advisor said she could not help me either I gave up. I have investment accounts with several other organizations and I have never encountered such difficulty. Needless to say I will not trust my investments with an organization that can't even open a new account. Beware of incompetence!!

This is one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. With a large number of their products they can only be updated through the mail. They are always fast to respond over the phone but the core of operations is stuck in the '80s...not the 1980s but the 1880s. Did you want to change something on your account? Mail it in. Did you get a new phone number so you can no longer access your account?? I hope you didn't need to access your account for a while....mail it in. They were recommended to me. I wish I had never heard of them. Horrible!!!

I called customer service recently (January 2020) and asked about brokerage accounts. I have questions to ask and the customer service representative is especially impatient with me. He also explained in a way that I couldn't understand, and I had to ask him to repeat and I still didn't understand, then I gave up. Later, I needed to ask questions about my child 529 plan and he transferred me there. This time, it was even worse. The customer service representative was not only impatient but also condescending. I hated it. Later I wrote an email to Vanguard and complained about the customer service. They replied in a form letter and said they forwarded this to the management team. However, I haven't heard from the management either through email or over the phone. Therefore, I found this site and would like to post this for everyone to see, especially for Vanguard people, that they should fix this problem.

I retired from the federal government and wanted to transfer my 401k to Vanguard. After sending me an email that stated all my paperwork had been processed and mailed to TSP, I received an email that my transfer was cancelled. The person handling my transfer was in training and nobody could help me. Finally a week later I received a call that my paperwork had been sent? The woman on the phone said I received the confirmation email and the cancellation email by mistake. I pushed it up the ladder and never heard back. Then I received another cancellation email!

I am in the process of rolling over an IRA from another institution to Vanguard. Vanguard's representatives have made what is really a relatively simple transaction very complicated and have provided wrong information over and over. Long telephone waits, transfers to other departments, more long waits, all so I can talk to some snide and condescending person who misinforms me about the process. Not sure how this is going to end but all I can say is I am extremely disappointed to see how poorly Vanguard treats its customers lately.

I have been with Vanguard for more than 11 years and never had an issue probably because I did not any help. Recently requested a direct transfer of an IRA out and was trying a direct transfer to another IRA in. They got the check for this transfer in about 2 weeks ago and did not deposit it because they have put a "restriction" in the account. Refusing a deposit does not seem like a smart business practice. They told me several times that the restriction would be lifted. Today I was informed that the check was returned to the sender. This poor handling of accounts suggests that this is not a reliable company. Getting all my money out of Vanguard.

I am extremely disappointed that I have to begin writing reviews on Vanguard. I opened accounts here because I thought "How bad can it be?" I am shocked to find out that in the four months since I opened accounts there, I have not been able to find or speak to one person that seems to have even an average knowledge on the subject of investments. They have wasted hours and hours of my time on the phone and in email. After asking to have a manager contact me, someone emailed me letting me know that I was not making their employees feel good! I guess I am not making them feel good because of the horrible advice I received. If I had followed the advice of one person who was assigned to sell me funds, I would have lost almost $100,000 during the last three months. It is clear from the simple questions that I have asked, they are either not educated in the field or they just don't understand what is best for the individual customer.

If you have a relative who has money with them and are nearing the end of their life, get them out of Vanguard.

I am in the midst of two harrowing incidents with Personal Advisors Services and the Annuities Group with inherited assets. Annuities group sent me forms and received them and said all was well mid-November. Nothing happens by early December (first annuitized payment fails to send out.) The first representative spoken to yesterday researches, puts on hold, etc., consults, and says should have letter in three weeks confirming everything is fine with first disbursement now in early January which I pointed out was past the one year IRS deadline on inheritance. They held their ground and asked for manager. They stated one would call back in 1-2 hours (and of course they did not, never ever gotten a call back from a Vanguard manager to date.)

They try to be helpful when you call and I think the major issue is their website which is very inconvenient. The security locks in place are ridiculous as far as accessing your account is concerned. So I switched my phone number and ever since I have been unable to log in since I need a code send to my old phone number to log in. I have called and they have updated my phone number in the system and even at one point they walked me through the steps to update my phone number and banking information, but strangely the phone number is still stuck in their system after several attempts.

I had a problem with my account verification. Nicholas ** was very helpful and patient with me. He went out of his way to provide a step by step walkthrough of how to access my account. Issue was fixed. =)

Vanguard seems to have reduced the number of index funds and other options. Also, we have been underway on a transaction for my wife for a month without resolutions. They seem to be stepping on their own two feet. Finally, they seem to be pushing more their new “advisory” service more than effectively providing existing services. I plan to abandon ship.

Called Vanguard recently with three simple questions regarding my retirement account. The rep. placed me on hold three separate times for a lengthy delay each time. I was on the phone with them for forty-two minutes and for thirty-eight of them I was on hold. Their reps. are inept and extremely poorly trained. They knew nothing. After all the BS, they still could not answer my questions and advised me that they had to research the questions and send me the answers via snail mail in five days. PATHETIC!!!! In contrast, I called Merrill Lynch regarding a separate retirement account regarding the same three questions and was on the line less than five minutes and never placed on hold. Stay clear of Vanguard!

I'm an American living in Germany, and today I found myself locked out of my account because I no longer have access to my US phone number and therefore Vanguard can't text me a security code. Thinking I could easily get this rectified (PayPal fixed the same issue for me in 3 minutes), I called their help line. The rep told me the ONLY way to remove this added layer of security, and thus to get into my own account, is to fill out a paper form that must be NOTARIZED and then mailed to the US. The kicker is, I can't just use any old German notary. I have to use a US-certified notary, meaning I have to make an appointment at the closest US embassy (4 hours away by train), then pay $50 for the notarization on top of shipping costs.

Originally I thought a company like Vanguard should have an easy to navigate website for retirement plan participant to use. However, it took me very looonnng time to find the right link for investment option changes. The company purposely designed the web to make investor confused so finally they have to click the company's "advise service" to choose the funds. By the way, the link I found worked for the first two time, I could not be open for the third time.

I've been with Vanguard for over 25 years, and have been extremely good to me. In questions, recommendations, and lately, a banking issue. I had a few of my accounts linked to my bank and even though it took a while, the resolution center/group added my other accounts to my bank so I could do transactions. My other alternative would have been to get a notarized application for each account and mail it in. Great company.

I would not recommend Vanguard under any circumstance. July 18, 2019 I tried to transfer $10K of stock in-kind out of Vanguard to a different company. I gave an incorrect acct # causing the receiving firm to immediately send Vanguard a rejection notice--which they claimed over the course of 5 calls with my investment firm to NEVER have received...until we provided them with a tracking number from the receiving firm. So, they were generally lying for convenience. Also, Aug 13 Vanguard called me to say the transaction "settled"--BLATANT lie #1.

I have had an account, though sure not the largest, with Vanguard for many years. I have never had an issue until this summer. Briefly, I made an online international wire transfer of Euro 20K from my bank in Spain using the instructions on the Vanguard website. The account number is not correct for international transactions by some banks as it is a sorting code for US funds transfers only. Therefore my transaction was rejected by HSBC, NY. I began phoning both my bank and Vanguard. A man in Arizona was assigned to research the matter.

Every time I call Vanguard, I get a different answer. Today, I spoke with a woman who seemed as if she was really trying to help me only for her to hang up on me in the end. This has been an ongoing issue since September 5th, so this is my 4th phone call and still to no resolve. Anyway, after the debacle with the representative that pretended to assist me, I called back and got the rudest and most condescending csr I have ever spoken to. I was asking specific questions about the letter I’d received and instead of her answering my questions, she kept reading the letter to me. Why is vanguard so difficult to deal with? And how do they get away with subpar customer service? And for so many years, at that. I’ve had an account with them for 15+ years and I can honestly say, it’s always been horrific.

If you trade stocks or options do not USE Vanguard. One they will rape you on the commissions for Options tell you its because they keep COSTS low??? (Mind blowing). Each employee I talked to had no idea about the fee schedule and then just said oh well buyer beware. The arrogance of its employees is mind blowing. It’s almost like you have no shot. The technology for a company so big is well criminal in my opinion. I am thinking about suing over lack of clarity of fee schedules and lack of technology. DONT USE VANGUARD.

I've been a Vanguard client for over 20 years. 18 months ago the new CEO Buckley came in and changes happened quickly. Their platforms are the worst in the industry, slow, not the relevant info an investor wants, no understanding of good client relations and their claim to fame of low priced funds has been matched by every other fund company. Personnel are only saluting the hierarchy in the ivory tower. Suggest getting out ASAP!

Vanguard sucks. The way they run their business is horrible. They might as well take the hardship withdrawal option away because even if you meet the requirements for this it won’t be approved. What the ** is it there for? Thanks for wasting my time and providing misleading information regarding your requirements for this service. Do your ** job lames. I would smack all of you if I could. In conclusion they suck. And I would like to say ** for wasting my time with this scam.

I have been using Vanguard for 8 months now. No matter which browser or device I am using the website is incredibly slow. There are some options you can't get to work at all. Today was the last straw when the site wouldn't load for up to five minutes, then told me I had a zero balance. I called their 800 number and was told they were undergoing maintenance. What investment company undergoes maintenance during stock market hours? The person in the phone asked me if I wanted to make a trade or do something with my account. How the heck would I know? I can't see anything. Then I was totally stonewalled. Poor management. Pulling my money out as soon as I can. Anything would be better than this.

I am trying to enroll a new account to manage my retirement/401K with my new employer. Vanguard won't let me because their systems shows an old account from years ago. The issue is that I have two names (my maiden and married name) under the same SSN. They won't allow me to show proof of who I am by providing a copy of my ID or marriage certificate. They want me to guess which home address was used when the old account was setup. Because I've been working for several years, for different companies and have moved several times and I am playing a guessing game that's become very annoying and inconvenient. They will not provide any hints like year or employer name. I have to call customer service and provide 2 possible addresses. If neither address matches, I have to call back and try again. They need another process to verify old accounts. I have not had a good customer experience so far.

I was denied a hardship withdrawal for a pending eviction! I received an email from the company after 9pm (after business hours, so there is no way I could address the issue by phone the same day); stating I needed a signed eviction notice on company letterhead with my place of residence. I provided this by fax (the only way they will accept the documents and most antiquated form of transmitting business documents). I've had 2 strokes in 3 months and am on short term disability. My patience for clerical errors, incompetency to operate by guidelines the company has communicated to its clients is paper thin.

After the new president Mr Tim Buckley, was installed Dec 2018, and man who started Vanguard died about Nov 2018, I was not happy with all Buckley changes, so I started to transfer my accounts to Schwab on July 1, 2019 via electronic transfer. But Vanguard did not transfer my cash mutual funds nor permit me to sell them as I have done in the last 10 years.

Vanguard broker lied to me about there being no fees for transferring to another fund; the next day I looked at my Vanguard page and I had been charged $5,100.00. I immediately filed with the SEC online and then, I called and I got a girl broker who said the fund I was put into made less money than the fund I was in. The SEC==Security and Exchange Commission--helped me get "whole" the way I was before the broker lied to me. I had to call Vanguard every day to make sure they were restoring me to "whole" because it took a few minutes for that transaction but 7 days with me calling the manager every day to put back my account the way it was before the lying broker screwed me. I was told Vanguard had to "hand post" every entry. Never trust anyone with your money especially a so-called investment broker because they get paid to churn your money; this is how they make a living.

I called to process a forced 401K pension plan rollover. A prior employer, CVS, forced the rollover. Upon contacting Vanguard I was inaccurately provided information on payout options. I set-up a rollover IRA, per Vanguard's instructions, to be processed by electronic payment. Turns out they can't process as they stated. Hey, mistakes are made, I get it. But Joe ** of Vanguard on the return call was so grossly incompetent and rude in addressing the problem (that they created) that it was unconscionable. He argued, yelled and refused my multiple requests to be transferred to another representative, preferably a manager.

Have been on the phone with this company several times in ten days to inquire about cash out process. Not only was I told I never "registered" when setting up the acct., but that is humorous, since you have to do do ANYTHING online. *So, first mistake on their part. *New phone number was never entered as requested, so I am being told there is a & DAY WAIT Time for access. *Second mistake on their part. Three options were given for cashing out. FEDEX account would expedite one night delivery, but FEDEX website is down. Sending a check by mail takes up to ten days, which is ridiculous. Plus, changing your address makes it another seven days. *I have moved, so I can't help that.

Fell on hard times after getting out of a 20+ year toxic marriage where his “injury” led to falling behind on our mortgage. Requested a hardship withdrawal with all necessary paperwork included. Initial request was approved but I resubmitted with a revised amount because the previous one had expired. Now for some reason it’s been denied. The lender and attorney for the lender have never seen anything like what Vanguard is asking for in the way they need it. Not to mention the legal document they said I could request to have modified to satisfy them specifically excludes what they are requesting to protect my privacy. They don’t care and they’re rude. They won’t let you speak with anyone else, not even the “reviewer” making the decision! So I may be on the street in just a few weeks because I’m not able to get my own money! With three children as a single mom. There is something seriously wrong with this company.

I had employer sponsored 401K Plan with Vanguard for 5 months and terrible experience, they charged administrative fees $59 per year without any disclosure. I had rollover funds from my previous employer to Vanguard,I contributed 6% in order to get employer matching 3.5%, but they said I cannot get matching benefit because I did not stay with the employer long enough, it was not mentioned in any disclosure. When I changed my new job and requested Rollover Check from Vanguard, my funds were missing. When I call customer service, wasted time for over 30 minutes waiting and they said market dropped, that's why I received less. Please be aware of that, better save in your saving account.

Something I’ve never seen discussed is what I take to be Vanguard’s extreme risk aversion. I’ve had significant retirement assets invested with Vanguard and here are two of my experiences:

I am rolling over my previous employer 401K (Voya) plan to my current employer. Voya sent check to Vanguard a week ago and it was cached by Vanguard couple days ago. Vanguard has no records of my funds whatsoever. Vanguard is refusing to investigate why/how my retirement was lost. All info I gave (check #, tracking #, etc) was not enough for them. They keep telling that they cannot do anything on their end. It is amazing that financial institution like that cannot guarantee a safe fund transfer (paper check, really?)... But refusal to do anything on behalf of Vanguard is simply astonishing.

Vanguard site is frequently excessively slow or unresponsive. This has continued for months without resolution. Further, the site kept on loading a page pushing paperless after every transaction even though our account was already signed up for paperless. This went on for over a year - found out that we were supposed to call them to turn this off!

We sent our 2018 IRA contribution on April 15 2019. We have proof of the postmark. The mail must have been slow that week, because Vanguard got the check on April 23 (or so they say). They said since the mail was slow, they would not apply our IRA contribution to the prior tax year (?) We spoke to a number of other institutions as well as the IRS, and they all said the contribution should be accepted for the prior tax year. Vanguard thinks they can arbitrarily assign contributions to any tax year they want to, regardless of tax laws and regulations. We are filing complaints against them with both the IRS and the SEC and moving all of our families' funds out of these accounts to a more responsible and less incompetent institution.

Vanguard is the leader in providing low-cost index funds that have revolutionized and simplified investments for average people. However, Vanguard's service is quite poor and service investment advice can be remarkably poor. My impression is that Vanguard is staffed by rather green young professionals who have been taught to provide "The Vanguard Response" that is a curt and seemingly "definitive" advice... but without any understanding for or concern of the clients they are interacting with. And then, if you subscribe to their paid advisory service you get to pay $30,000 or more every year for their advice that does not fit the circumstances of your own unique life. My guess is that they don't have enough life experience to realize how naive and inappropriate they are. I don't think they are purposefully rude: they just don't know.

Timeshare Exit. When I was a young man, I went to one of those free lunch deals and got trapped into a timeshare. I gave up trying to get out of it and kept it for many years giving away my timeslot to family and friends. I thought all hope was lost until I talked to John. He assured me every step of the way, until I was finally free. Again, thank you guys so much. Now that I got some extra cash in my pocket, maybe I should buy another timeshare... Just kidding! Haha.

My father passed away and every single one of the three people I spoke to were absolutely horrendous. No sensitivity whatsoever. I can't even believe how rude they were to me. If they could only imagine losing both parents by 28 years old. I don't want to have to deal with this anymore than anyone else. But be sensitive, they essentially even asked me why I was calling, just to inform them that he passed away? Wow. I am so disgusted.

I was enrolled for many years in a retirement plan with Vanguard through my employer. For the most part, I did not reach out to them for assistance with anything and managed my decisions on my own. However, when I left my employer I decided to transfer my retirement funds to a new service provider. That is when I learned just how terrible this company is when it comes to providing customer service.

Working for TJX TJMAXX of Port Jefferson. I was automatically enrolled with Vanguard since start date I have created a platform for life benefits. Vanguard website & customer service has been a great experience. I love the options & extensive foundation for future service... Vanguard is definitely the way to go!!! Absolutely love working with them.

I applied for a Hardship Medical Withdrawal on March 26th, 2019. They asked for a detailed bill on letterhead to be included for processing my request. After spending 25.00 dollars to overnight the information, They waited three full days before posting that my request had been denied because now they needed an explanation of benefits to process the request and it would take another three days. It was suggested that I fax the information. I faxed the information as requested and after two days, they claim that they hadn't received the fax. I wasted 11.00 dollars on faxing the information that they claimed they never received, and that faxed went through on April 2nd,2019. After speaking to yet another customer service agent, I was told that it would be better to mail it rather than fax it. So I spent another 25.00 dollars to overnight express the information that was dated and received by Vanguard on 4/9/19.

Very professional and always willing to answer questions about how they invest your money. They give you wise advice on which way to get the most for the money invested. One of the best retirement investors.

I have had to push back my closing THREE times because of Vanguard's outdated and unrealistic processing. Firstly, I called every single day to make sure there was nothing else needed after having all my documents mailed overnight. Every employee told me everything was received, I then get an email at 10pm on a Tuesday that they were sure enough missing supporting documentation but didn't say what they were missing. So I did my own digging and sent what I thought they may have been missing. Whenever you send new documentation your processing time starts over another THREE business days, and you better believe they wait til the 3rd business day and hour. These employees don't care about the clients either, Jennifer ** and John **, rude and out of line. Moving my money to another Roth!

I have been a flagship client of Vanguard for many years but I am pulling all my money out. I used their filled-in deposit slip to deposit 3 checks in to my Vanguard Prime Money Market account. They "honored" two of the three checks and credited my account. They could not "honor" the third check which was identical to one of the other checks BUT THEY WOULD NOT DISCLOSE WHY. After numerous phone calls talking to numerous different customer service reps, they still could not tell me why they would not honor the check. They also could not tell me why it took over two weeks to return the check to me.

I was given incorrect information concerning using my IRA to make a service purchase from my state retirement. Vanguard made out the check incorrectly. Now I must pay taxes and an early withdrawal fee or get a new quote from the state which will increase my purchase price $5000 to $7000. Stunning incompetence for a financial company.

I would probably used all the expletives in the dictionary as to how frustrating it is to get them to process a loan following their own timeline. I started this loan request on March 8th, and today is March 20th and the transaction is still pending!! I am at day 12 of a request for a loan, the last piece of information they needed was sent 8 days ago, and they still have not wired the money. It took me 3 days to be on the phone with them constantly because they kept saying they didn't receive the paperwork, even though I submitted it, they kept saying I did not fax it.

Despite being a Flagship investor for over 10 years, Vanguard service has been the worst ever in my 30 years dealing with multiple financial institutions. They do not really care at all about personal investors. I am moving all my money elsewhere. Now that most Vanguard funds can be purchased elsewhere, I do not need to put up with their terrible service.

I have a Vanguard account through my work and my husband does not have any account. He wanted to do individual investment on opening traditional IRA account with Vanguard and we started the process online but had few questions before we started. With my husband's busy schedule he had asked me to call Vanguard to just get few simple questions answered before we open his account. I called Vanguard when my husband was at work. Customer service agent asked to talk to my husband and I told her he's no available and before even listening to my questions she said she can't answer any of my questions without talking to my husband. I wasn't asking any questions related to his or my account. Questions were just general and she would even listen to my question. They have clearly lost our business.

Some of the most incompetent people I have ever dealt with. Called about withdrawal information on multiple occasions. Got different answers from many different people. All give you the runaround. Finally someone condescendingly gave me the correct info. The ones that originally answer that never know anything anyway or normally friendly. The ones they have to get to actually try to answer you are always unfriendly and talk to you like you are stupid for asking.

It is pretty sad when you see so many people complain about one of the largest IRA holders in America. Did you know that when the market went down in Oct. 2018, people tried to get a hold of their account with Vanguard, and Vanguard froze all accounts for 3 whole days!! They blamed it on a computer glitch!!! No, it was because people were scared of the market and tried to cash out and Vanguard was blocking people from doing so. That is scary people!!! I have helped thousands of Americans protect their IRA over the last 12 years. My clients didn't lose in 2008 like most did. It is very simple to do. You have to look at all the warning signs right now!! Experts once again are warning us of social unrest and a financial crisis on the horizon. Are we going to ignore the same experts that warned us before the 08' crash again, or are we going to listen this time and protect our hard earned money?!!

Having been a Vanguard fan all these years I decided to open an account there and move some assets in. Long story short: 6 weeks into the process I still don't have my assets in Vanguard, thanks to the ineptitude and bureaucracy of Vanguard. Now for long story: I needed to open a revocable trust account. To open an account I had to establish an online ID, for which I had to call, talk to a rep and got that done. Did that, submitted the docs needed and waited. A couple of weeks later, got notified that account was open.

I recently tired of the stock market up & downs. I decided to transfer my Vanguard fund to TIAA bank money market. I did the transfer paperwork thru TIAA on January 10th to start the process. It's February 12th and I still don't have Vanguard's money yet. They say they still have nothing from TIAA. TIAA says they sent it to Vanguard on February 1st. Who's at fault; I don't know????

Vanguard failed to execute a stock order. When notified of their error, I was asked to submit proof which was promptly faxed to them. They then refused to rectify the error after several weeks of lengthy calls with often incompetent arrogant reps and "supervisors". This is not the first time I had a problem with timely execution with Vanguard, but it was certainly the most blatant as that same heavily traded stock was filled within that exact time frame at another brokerage house I had placed an order with. My family has been with Vanguard since it first started in the 1970's. I am at the helm now and I have sizable assets with them.

I recently scheduled a transaction to move my 401k from another financial institution to Vanguard. First of all the process is frustrating because it has to be done through a paper check in the mail. Really unbelievable in the XXI century. Second - When Vanguard received the check in the mail I was out of the country. Although I had call Vanguard prior to ensure they had all the required information, they were missing some information. They sent me an email asking me to get in touch with them. The only phone number provided was an 800 number I can not dial from abroad.

I'm working with my financial advisor to consolidate my 401k's and contacted Vanguard to have my 401k rolled over to another company. They tell me the company put two security questions on my account that only they have the answer to. How does that keep my money secure if the company is the only one with access? They refuse any other forms of proof of identification. Even after speaking with a supervisor they tell me if I cannot answer the questions I cannot access my 401k. Unbelievable. My financial advisor is as astounded as I am. I'm attempting contact with my former employer, but I may have to hire a lawyer to access my funds.

For at least five years I have had to write a check and transfer the money by iPhone. I have been sent the wrong forms, given conflicting advice and incurred unnecessary notary and attorney's fees. If they would look at their records, they would see a consistent transfer of the interest on a monthly basis for five years. The latest thing is no one notified me that they were changing checks which rendered a check I wrote to charity invalid. Now I will have lots of fees and stress trying to straighten this out. There is plenty of money to cover the check in the account. Once the craziness of the season is past, I am going to try to transfer to USAA. The attorney and the notary both stated and commented in a negative way about the absurdness of the situation.

The last 11 months of dealing with #Vanguard have been THE WORST experience I have had with ANY company. I’m not a dramatic person, I’m telling you the truth. We have received no information and then wrong information on numerous occasions, as well as paperwork that has been lost. After continued incompetence by a number of Vanguard reps my brother and I now risk losing 50% of our late father’s IRA. So frustrating and infuriating.

I want to advise I find that Vanguard to be the least customer focused investment company you could find. I deal with several and they do not hold a candle to the others. Their staff is not trained at all, takes multiple calls, errors are high and they do not value their client. Ease of doing business is horrible, like dealing with the government. Error after error after error even when you call to confirm it is wrong. Also Vanguard just doesn't care. A horrible company. Use someone else such as Fidelity.

Fellow consumers, do not ever use Vanguard. They made major and highly problematic - unauthorized changes to my account, refused to reinstate the prior account settings, and insist they didn't. Made no meaningful effort to correct their errors. Frequently offered forms of sympathy in response to my protests, took no responsibility.

I have been trying to request a loan from my 401k since 11/29/18. It is now 12/11/18 & Vanguard is still dragging their feet with this! There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to access my money at this time!

I came upon hard times and after using all of my resources I got the bright idea to apply for a hardship loan. On 11-15-18 I applied for the loan. Today is 12-6-18 and I still haven't received it. Upon calling Vanguard after waiting 5 days for a deposit. I was told my bank rejected the deposit. No-one reached out to me to let me know there would be a delay. Guess I can read minds. I was told it would take 3-5 days to process and an additional 7-10 days to receive in the mail. My thing is this. If I am applying for a HARDSHIP LOAN that means times are hard. I literally can't afford to wait all of these extra days.

Via online, I requested a "sell" and transfer of funds to me via postal service via check. A full 28 days later and check has not arrived. In the meantime, I "connected" my Vanguard account to my bank as I anticipated that they would either have to resend a check else electronically transfer. Their procedure for "connecting" Vanguard to one's bank includes two "microtransactions". After one views the transactions at one's bank, they are to go back online with Vanguard and enter the two transaction amounts. Vanguard then retrieves those two microtransaction deposits. A FULL two days after Vanguard retrieved those deposits, Vanguard STILL does not allow me to transfer funds electronically to my bank. So I merely asked them to send me a replacement check via snail mail. I hope it arrives. Vanguard's customer service is absolutely pathetic. In the New Year, I will be moving my IRA far, far away from Vanguard.

So my younger sister died from metastatic breast cancer, she had an IRA with Vanguard. Vanguard's last statement to her said it was worth $1785. That's not much, but she paid into it what she could. She suffered for five years with the cancer before she left us. We started the process to close the account and cash it out. They told me that my Durable power of attorney was no good as it pertained to their company, it would hold no water and we'd have to use their paperwork. They sent the wrong paperwork to fill out and return, questioned my sisters state of mind when she signed the power of attorney and questioned the notary that handled the power of attorney. Delaying the process at every step. My sister passes and it goes into a lawyer's hands at this point. They claim the value of the IRA to be $1100 now and after three times before a judge, the final payout was $600.

I am writing pertaining to a Hardship Withdrawal I recently made. My request was for $2000.00 to cover my “Hardship” but when all said and done, the amount I received was $1500.00. I understand the $200.00 Federal Withholding amount and the $50.00 fee to process from Vanguard but I don’t understand where the other $250.00 went? I am aware of the so called fluctuation in the market that you listed that could affect the withdrawal but I did not see any proof of this fluctuation listed anywhere. So I am to assume that the “market” just fluctuated as Vanguard stated, so I am out $250.00? When I request a certain amount, that is the amount I need. So I need to request more than the amount I need so I can get the amount I need? No. Also what if the “Market” fluctuates up? Then you are going to give me more than I requested? I think not.

I am Trustee for my brother and have tried unsuccessfully to establish an IRA and an additional fund for the RMD and then be able to invest this money in other accounts. In order to have the forms notarized with two additional signatures I have to take my handicapped brother from his assisted living facility to an accessible lawyer’s office. First attempt, "Fill out this form for the IRA." Second attempt, "Wrong form, fill out this one." Third attempt. "We need the first form but you need to redo it." Fourth attempt. "Fill out this form for the other account on retirement account." Filled out the form and mailed it in their prepaid envelope. They lost it. If there was a no star rating, I would give it. This process has spanned months and taken hours of time. I have been a client for over ten years and not had problems. Anything that involve me as a Trustee will be handled by local professionals going forward. I just pulled the money from Vanguard.

My sister and I are trustees and executor of our deceased parents' estate. We have been attempting to establish access to my parents' investments for about 9 months now. Each time we file paperwork, Vanguard says that is not the correct paperwork, or it is not filled out correctly, or it is now expired, or additional paperwork is needed. We get a different story every time we call. We fill out the exact paperwork they send, and put in exactly what the Vanguard person tells us to enter, then weeks later an entirely different person tells us that is not correct. They act like they don't have any idea why we were given those forms or those directions.

I recently put in for hardship withdrawal. First I mailed my application with supporting documents. It was going on one week. And no one call me to tell me that I downloaded the wrong application. No email. Nothing. Then I went to fax over the application. Another week goes by. The fax was not right. I had to fax another one over. Every time I called not one told me that when my application is terminated all the documents. I am thinking they still have my letter from the landlord. Another week goes by. Getting stressed as ever. So I finally get my application over. Waited 2 days and gets deny again. The very first rep should have told me that would happened. Not fair. I just want my money.

Unfortunately, my husband and I fell on hard times about two weeks ago and we were behind on the rent. We received a three-day notice on our door, and after exhausting all our resources, I decided to take a withdrawal from my 401K with Vanguard. 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. I waited about 2-3 days on the decision of my withdrawal request. I decided to call on Wednesday and I was told my documentation would not suffice as it was not on company letterhead. OK, no problem. Our leasing office reprinted the letter on their letterhead and I re-faxed the document on 9/20.

I have been dealing with Vanguard to do a hardship withdrawal since August 15th and they keep telling me they need more information. They have asked for more information at least twice a week at this point, and now our closing is next week and we still cannot get the money because once again they need more and different information! This is the most ridiculous company to deal with. They do not even know what they are looking at when they get the information from you. I was on hold for 45 mins while 2 associates looked at the information I sent them because they couldn't figure it out either - so they make up more excuses. I believe they try to not make the deadline of the request. Nobody should use this company. Unfortunately that is who our company uses for 401k. I will be informing them of the issue I had with this as well - because I am sure there are more people in our company that have had issues.

I spent a total of 12 hours this summer on the phone with Vanguard filling out paperwork to switch my accounts to Vanguard, explaining in each conversation that I am a US citizen who lives and works abroad. In my last conversation with a Rep, (before sending in my paperwork), the man even asked me for my foreign address, and I gave it to him. I sent in all my paperwork, being reassured that I could open accounts with them, and then I get the letter saying my accounts cannot be open because I live and work abroad!

I started a rollover request with Vanguard on July 20th. They liquidated my account that same day and supposedly mailed out my check the next day. It has been over a month, and still no check received by my bank. We are in a new millennium yet they don't have the means to do a direct transfer to my bank. They use snail mail on purpose, so that they can claim that the check is LOST, and then they get to sit on YOUR money for months, before you can get the money into a bank and start investing on it.

Vanguard is all smiles until you are in need of your money for an emergency. The nice act goes out the window! They will tell you anything you give is not good enough. They ask for letters they know apartments are not willing to give. They are sly and they take 3 days to review paperwork every time you send in something new. They won’t call you with updates. You have to harass them and find out what’s going on. Me and my family are about to be homeless because of Vanguard!

Extremely bad customer service from Corey ** that, he should be fired. Very irresponsible, immature worker. Never helps, always round and round. Please help me seek my letter which I had sent last Tuesday, July 31st, it has court letter and death certificate. Never ever use this worst institutions again.

Vanguard has some of the best index funds in the Markets. Expense Ratio are very good, though the competition is catching up. The quality of service, their website are VERY POOR. Their first level service staff are the most incompetent and this is US based service. If they sent this service to India or the Philippines, I am sure that the technical content would be better.

Started roll over procedure month ago, got the paperwork confirming the transaction almost the next day, but still no check. Each time I call there: "We will resend the check. Please allow 10 business days."

We have been trying to transfer 4 small IRAs to Vanguard and keep getting nowhere (2 at US Bank & 2 at Reliance Bank MO). It's like they don't realize they win by accomplishing successful transfers to themselves??? We have lots more money to invest...why wouldn't they want an opportunity??? They tell us we supplied wrong account numbers (which isn't true) or the wrong paperwork (which they specifically supplied). It feels like they must do very little transactions successfully and have no good foundation for completing them.

During my divorce Vanguard showed preferential treatment to my spouse in joint brokerage and money market accounts. Although there was supposed to be a freeze on all our assets, Vanguard allowed my former husband to make unauthorized withdrawals without the court’s permission to the tune of ~ $140K. Vanguard then also froze all accounts joint and in my name only, because of a garnishment from corrupt guardian ad litem (GAL). The requested garnishment amount was over 10 times less than the value of the assets frozen. This caused extreme hardship on me and my children even after the divorce litigation was over. Also, since Vanguard’s office is in Pennsylvania and I live in a different state, the GAL could not settle the garnishment without opening a separate case in a Pennsylvania court. To say Vanguard did NOT have a client’s best interest at heart would be an understatement.