Fidelity Investments
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514 Fidelity Investments Consumer Reviews and Complaints
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I am now 4 for 4 - misinformation conversations with Fidelity agents. It seems they are not training their agents well enough, or their system is too complex, or they have a high turn over. Was advised I could only take a distribution from my 401K ONCE a year, (this is not true.) I moved 1/3 of my 401K into an IRA so I could access it more often than the misinformed agent advised.
Was told years later that I CAN move IRA back into 401K (to have it all in 1 place for mandatory withdrawals each year.) Then was told no, I could not. Then, after asking for a supervisor I was told - YES I can. Was told a letter to move the funds back would arrive within 1 day of check, it did not. They cannot tell me if it was sent out or not. They are sending another letter to send with check back to 401K. Now they are sending another $4.21 check... because the first one is not right.
I want my $$$ to be with people who can advise me correctly. Based on my experiences I would NEVER take their advice on how to invest funds. To their credit, their agents are always pleasant. If you question what they say, be SURE to ask for a supervisor - as that is how I resolved my issues, thank God! We all make mistakes, myself included - but this is a string of them.
I've had my children's Fidelity account since 1999. Each one of them had over $850 at the end of 2018. When they transferred your money over to a new account due to Destiny closing, they only transferred over a couple of hundred dollars. They stated that it was because of past due fees that were not being taken out since 99 so they took over $433 out of one account and took over $500 out of another account, stating that this was all for back fees. I told them to send me a summary. The guy was really a bully over the phone.
Unfortunately the account that my company had went with was also with Fidelity. I requested I did not want my money taken out for any purpose to go into Fidelity. They ignored my request and still took out money. My best advice is to transfer it over to another account in another company. They did not send me any statement stating that they were going to be taking this amount of money out of any of the accounts to me. This is considered as fraud. I will be trying to transfer my money for my son into another account with another company and I can only hope that you do the same. Just think if they'll steal from children they've been stealing from you.
Phone call after phone call to attempt opening an account and moving an initial amount of $50K. Their online system continually did not allow me to log in instead requesting I call. Each and every time I spoke with a rep they assured me all was fine and I could transfer funds and begin trading. This never happened. Fortunately their system had yet another glitch and my funds were never transferred. The last person I spoke with stated the account had been closed with no reason or explanation. "We do not have to give a reason and can close an account anytime with no notification". Be forewarned and do business elsewhere.
Do not trust what this company says. They are pukes. I moved and wanted my funds. I told them to send it to my new address. They sent me a confirmation email for my new address then sent it to the wrong address 4 states away. This was two checks one for 8 dollars the other for 5k. Then they said for their mistake they would overnight the big check to me. Instead they send me a check for 40 dollars. Spent 30+ to send me 40. I said, "That's not even suppose to be one of my checks anyways what are you folks doing over there?" If they cant get something right after 20 days do you trust them with your money?? No I'm telling everyone dont invest with Fidelity. They are incompetent.
After retiring in 2013 I began to consider alternatives for management of my 401K account. I had self managed the account for nearly 30 years with good results averaging a little over 7% annual return, but felt a professional management firm could do much better. My company used Fidelity to manage our 401K so I was comfortable with the financial advisor who managed our relationship. On his advice I chose Fidelity's Strategic Advisers to handle management of my 401K. In the first year annual review I was displeased with the return which was about 3% and expressed that in the review. The Strategic Adviser's team assured me that it was unfair to judge them based on a year's performance and I should give it a full market cycle which they said was 5 years.
From the beginning of my relationship with Strategic Advisers the market was on a steady incline, had I simply invested in index funds that reflected market growth I would have been up over 10% per year. The Dow Industrial Average was 15,192 on 10/31/2013 and when I withdrew my 401K from Strategic Advisers on 12/31/2018 the Dow was at 23,962 After 5 years and paying Fidelity in excess of $41,000 I averaged less than 2% annual return over that 5 year period which is at or below the annual inflation rate. I was really disappointed, not to mention wasting 5 years of growth in my account at an age when I cannot possibly make it up. Fidelity's explanation was this was not really a market cycle but had no real defense of why they could not grow with the market and they certainly offered no repayment of my fees.
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My automatic RMD withdrawal failed, and it took 22 days for Fidelity to finally get me my withdrawal manually (they outright lied about when the check was sent). I decided to take all money out and move 401K to Chase because of withdrawal difficult with Fidelity. They have been sitting on my money since finally finishing the withdrawal on 1/10/2019 and I still haven't gotten the rollover check.
I tried to contact Fidelity Customer Service today (1-10-2019) because a transaction appeared on my IRA account that I had not authorized. Fidelity's phone system had me on hold for 15 minutes until I hung up. Their Customer Service is horrible. I am transferring my assets to another brokerage firm.
I finally decided to make my first big decision and open a brokerage account. I can say that the process was not easy and the online application was giving me so much trouble. When I did try to call in to get help the customer service rep was no help. The identity verification questions were ridiculous, how in the world am I suppose to know/keep up with My uncle's Ex wife and new Wife's Date of Birth? And if I tell the customer representative that I do not know that answers to the questions, why in the world would you try to ask me again? And then have the nerve to tell me that "I am not here to tell you what to know or keep up with, we can skip this question but this will be counted against you."
Yes I know that I could easily call or text my Family members to get the information but no one wants that hassle to explain why you need this information or go through the embarrassment of asking for your date of birth, letting know that you did not care enough to remember. Last I checked FIDELITY!!! that I was putting in my hard earned money, not the other way around. I have a very bad taste in my mouth from you guys.
Fidelity handles our 401k. I requested an emergency withdraw. Received an email that it was approved and that the funds were on the way. 4 days later, they had sent over a thousand less than requested. I called and was told that they had a system issue and it's been worked on. I ask to redo the withdraw and was told, "No. Just give it a couple of days and it will be fixed or a new withdraw will be rushed out." No call. No email. How can a company who manages millions not be able to inform a customer of an issue and not even try to resolve the issue. Their customer service has no concept of an emergency withdraw. I had to argue with the CSR to have her redo the withdraw and sure enough, a week later, the funds are still not here and I'm now in serious trouble facing hundred in late fees and could possibly lose my home.
I am the caretaker for my elder uncle who is a disabled veteran. He had money in Fidelity account for many years. He requested a transfer out of Fidelity for another investment. Fidelity froze his account and continues to hold his money even after sending him a letter demanding that he close the account!!! At this point the account is unable to be closed and account frozen - Today we will file a civil suit in small claims court in an attempt to retrieve funds. AVOID FIDELITY and use Vanguard!!! I believe Fidelity is (making it hard) punishing my uncle for removing funds.
I have been trying for over 1 1/2 hours to get a human on the phone so that I can get them to stop mailing material to my physical address instead of my mailing address. Was # 91 in the chat queue! Never do business with this firm. Do yourself a favor and look at their overall star rating. On a 1-5 they are rated 1 1/2 stars, only because you have to give at least 1 star in order to have your review processed. Otherwise, I'm sure they would be rated less than 1 star cumulatively.
I have tried two times now to report the death of a relative who was a policy holder. Both times I was instructed to call inheritors services or some such department and I have yet to get through. Fidelity has billions of dollars in investments and they can't hire more phone representatives? Not everything can be done online! And what about those people who don't use the internet - plenty of elderly people are in that position. It seems to me that once they get your money, good luck getting it disbursed.
I have been a Fidelity customer 20 years. I don't know what happened. Worst service ever!!! I am trying to open account for my mother and every time I call they waste my time disconnect. Do not open an account here???
1 hour and waiting. First call got disconnected after asked to be put on hold and 30 minutes in!! This is the worst service ever... They are just able to survive because most companies work with them for workers' benefits. Stay away from them if you can!
How could this happen? My account history shows the amount and the date for disbursement of my required minimum distribution from my retirement account. I relied upon Fidelity to accomplish their promised disbursement, but it did not happen. If I had not decided to check online I would not have discovered that my disbursement fell short by $2800 and my husband's disbursement by over $600.
Four "associates" and three hours later on a Saturday afternoon I had received no answer, waited on hold for over two hours, had the disbursements made improperly and missed a beautiful day outdoors because the representatives could not handle the task that is their responsibility to accomplish properly and without error. Considering that the federal government penalizes retirees 50% of the un-dispersed retirement funds I feel fortunate that I checked on this, albeit at the last possible opportunity before the clock struck 12 on the New Year. Thanks Fidelity for your awesome customer service!
I have several accounts with them and will be moving them all as soon as I can. Been in the market for over fifty years and never had a brokerage company this unreachable. Tried to call them for three days and waited over thirty minutes each time without ever reaching a human. When I logon there is no send button in the message center. There is no phone number given to me that reaches a human and their automated system is trash.
At the end of the year they modified the automated system to announce that it is a busy time and go to the online system. The online system tells me to call that number for what I am trying to do. Frustrating to realize that their refusal to hire low level personnel to work the phones at maybe $15/hr is holding up your transactions worth thousands or millions of dollars. I had several distribution checks lost in the mail while abroad but the Fidelity staff told me there were no previous distributions. I had to have my company representative work with them to fix that problem in the retirement account. I am moving all my retirement accounts with Fidelity because my regular broker has a special phone number that is always answered immediately by a human.
It has been an awful experience. I have all property paperwork and they will tell me nothing that I need or have I received anything saying there was a beneficiary or to his estate. I think they should follow my dad's will and I was informed today that no one will tell me anything SO I WONDER WHY A WILL WAS EVEN written. I have made several calls and complaints with no resolved issues and on top of his death and this I think was extremely unacceptable. I do plan on filing a complaint with the BBB concerning this. I thank God my money is not with this company. Advice think twice before investing with Fidelity.
I called earlier today, waited 23 minutes for an advisor. I noticed that charged me an additional $50.00 to place a trade. I have been on hold for 45 minutes now. Here is the problem; I did not have enough funds to make that trade. Any other time I didn't have enough funds, it was rejected. And, I would have to change my order. Only after seeing the 54.95 charge for a 320.00 transaction, and realizing there was not enough to cover that trade, WHY WAS IT EXECUTED!!?? It is now 47 minutes on hold. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH A COMPANY THAT IS SO ARROGANT AND GREEDY.
Fidelity consistently proves to be noncaring of its customers and unaware of the tax implications of closing a 401K plan. After following their customer services instruction, completing all the forms, including one that limits the withholding tax, they still managed to get it wrong. Like many other complainants, after several months of inquiries, a formal complaint issued and support from the company 401K plan administrator, Fidelity still stands by their position that the withholding tax was correct and was not willing to make any restoration for withholding double the amount of tax than they should have.
Even after I provided Fidelity the tax treaty, with completed forms and the Treasury Board Regulation that covers the reduction in withholding tax, Fidelity still insisted that their interpretation was correct and refused to make any correction. These are typical approaches and tactics of large financial intuitions and insurance companies, who have unlimited resources, to never admit they made a mistake and wait out the little guy, till he goes away. I find it unbelievable that a large financial institution with almost unlimited resources, that is responsible for billions of dollars of customer’s money, has such poor knowledge of the tax codes and little regard for their customers and their money.
If I owned a company and had chosen to trust the employee’s pensions (401K) to Fidelity and learned how Fidelity treats the employees and cares for the employees’ retirement funds, I would surely move the plan to another institution. Fidelity obviously doesn’t have a working, certified quality system as demonstrated by poor customer service, lack of knowledge of the tax codes and the lack of a customer friendly complaints mechanism. Fidelity does not seem to welcome any feedback, positive or negative from customers. Fidelity would rather cover up a mistake then correct it. Anyone dealing with Fidelity should review their arrangements to determine if Fidelity is the type of company that they should continue to do business with. Fidelity has peoples’ futures in their hands and they have shown time and time again that the only thing they are worried about is their profits and not the people.
I was terminated from my job on 11/29/2018 due to a chronic illness that prohibits me from performing my duties. An outside vendor denied my FMLA and short-term disability, so without an approved leave, I was let go since I have been unable to work for four months. My former employer requires a 21 day waiting period to withdraw 401K funds to make sure all payroll and contributions are correct before a lump sum payout. Because I have not worked in four months and am in dire financial need, they contacted Fidelity and waived the waiting period. This process started 12/02/2018.
My account was set up for direct deposit of the funds, but on 12/10/2018 I got an email saying my withdrawal was processed and my check was on its way via first class mail. I called Fidelity as soon as I received the email and explained this was supposed to be a direct deposit. The representative said my former employer did not specify direct deposit and since they didn't specify it went to default delivery, which is snail mail. The Fidelity representative said I would have to call my former employer and they would have to contact Fidelity and specify that the funds be directly deposited. I called my former employer and they requested the direct deposit.
On 12/12/2018 my former employer called me and said Fidelity contacted them and said they could not direct deposit the funds because my checking account doesn't accept Fedwire deposits, but I would have my money soon because the check was actually already mailed out on 12/10/2018. I watched the mail and waited. On Monday 12/17/2018 I called Fidelity because I haven't received the check. I had checked with my local post office who assured me that even with the holiday rush I should have received the check. The representative I spoke with stated that the check hasn't actually been mailed. He said they realized that the check had been coded incorrectly so they put a stop-pay on the check and did NOT mail it. I explained that I am facing eviction along with having my electricity cut off and I need this money. I was told it was mailed on 12/10/2018.
He apologized and said they will reprocess the check, but since it is a stop-pay and reissue it will take 5 business days to recreate the check and another 2-3 business days to get the check so I will have it by 12/27/2018. I explained that no one had contacted me about stopping the check and they should have started the process of recreating the check the day they stopped the payment on the incorrect check. He said, that was their mistake but there's nothing they can do about it.
That is the time frame and it CANNOT be done any quicker. I insisted that the time frame is not acceptable that I've already been waiting on this money for over a week. I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor came on the phone after an extended hold and stated that they acknowledge they made a mistake but their policy about a stop-pay and reissue is five days to recreate the check and another 2-3 days to send the check UPS, and no one can do anything to speed up the process. I will just have to wait and it's too bad if I get evicted or my electricity gets disconnected.
On Tuesday, 12/18/2018 I received the check that they DID NOT mail, it was actually mailed out on 12/22/2018. I called Fidelity to see if the check was good. The representative stated the check had been stopped but my new check was ready and I would have it soon. On Wednesday, 12/19/2018, I received an email stating my check was processed and on its way via US mail. I again called Fidelity and stated that this check is supposed to be sent UPS. The representative put me on a long hold and then came back and stated that it was being sent UPS, the email was wrong because a tracking number hadn't generated yet. He said the tracking number would generate between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm Eastern time. To check the website later for the tracking number so I could track my check.
I checked the website several times between 11:30 am and 3:00 pm, still no tracking number. So once again, I called Fidelity. I asked the representative for the tracking number. She put me on a long hold. When she came back to the phone she stated that the tracking number for a stop-pay and reissue would not generate until the day of delivery which would be 12/27/2018. I explained that I received an email stating the check was on its way; I had spoken to a representative earlier who said the tracking number would generate between 11-1, and it's now after 3, and if it's being set UPS Express, why will I not receive it before 12/27/2018, and what good is a tracking number if you do not get it until you've already received the check?? Again she put me on a long hold. When she came back to the phone she stated she had made a mistake and the tracking number would generate on 12/24/2018 and the check would deliver that day.
Again I asked if it is being sent UPS Express, why will it take until 12/24/2018 and WHY will I not get a tracking number PRIOR to delivery? Again another hold. She's comes back to the phone and gives me the same information... The check is done, I'll receive the check 12/24 and I'll get the tracking number 12/24. Again, why will delivery take so long if it was sent UPS Express today? So I asked her to verify that the check had been sent or will be sent today, 12/19/2018. Another long hold, then she came back and stated that the check would physically leave their facility on Friday, 12/21/2018.
The check is completed but it's their policy to hold it. I asked if it's ready why is it not being sent out today? She stated it is the policy for a stop-pay and reissue to hold it. I again reiterated that I need the money now and asked why they sent me an email that it is on its way if that's not the case? She again stated that's their policy. So if I ever get my money, I will NEVER do business with Fidelity again. They are shady and underhanded and lie to their clients.
I'm moving my portfolio to Vanguard due to Fidelity's abysmal customer service. Fidelity's inability (or unwillingness) to properly investigate and correct their $6,000 error on my 401(k) just cost them my entire portfolio. Fidelity's customer service folks appear to be either that uncaring or that unprofessional. I realize that $6,000 on a larger account is tiny, but I expect, as should you, that financial services companies be accountable, and deliver on their FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to properly investigate and correct their errors, no matter how small.
To rudely dismiss their error simply because it was such a "small amount" doesn't cut it with me. It's MY money, not theirs. I think they forget that. I'd urge anyone with a Fidelity 401(k) account to consider their options (check out Vanguard) instead of moving into a Fidelity Rollover account. It's YOUR money. You should expect NO errors. And when Fidelity makes a mistake, they should CORRECT it. You worked too hard to settle for anything less.
I've had accounts with Fidelity for over 20 years simply because this is the company my employer chose to use for our 401ks and pension. Over the years I've opened other accounts with Fidelity as well -- but I have learned to never trust any information given to me by Fidelity employees because they are often wrong and uninformed. On several occasions, I have had to inform the Fidelity employee about Federal rules and regulations that affect IRAs and 401ks because he/she was unaware.
More recently a Fidelity employee told me one of my accounts was not being funded properly and half the money was missing but she could not tell me why or how it happened or how to remedy the problem. I then sat on hold for 30 minutes waiting to speak to someone about it but nobody ever picked up. Subsequent phone calls also left me sitting on hold for 30 minutes without speaking to a human. An online customer service forum is "out of service". I'm left worried and unable to get an answer with Fidelity. I don't know how a company can operate this way.
Compared with opening an IRA with Vanguard, Fidelity is terrible. Poorly organized webpages and cumbersome process. Just unfortunate that Vanguard still has a 3K minimum to open a Roth. I would think that Fidelity would have this process much more user friendly.
My father passed away September 27, 2018. It's going on 3 months since the day. I've spent the last two months having to deal with the miscommunication and incorrect information given by several representatives. It's taken 9 calls and diligence on my behalf to (maybe come to a resolve). I was told there was no time requirement once a claim for payout was submitted. (Wrong.) There's 30 days to complete the necessary forms. I asked for the form to be mailed; 2 weeks later, 3 calls - no form. Come to find out the form could have been printed from their site. This alone delayed the filing process over 2 weeks. Nonetheless, the claim was received Nov. 21, 2018.
Received a email confirmation stating it would take 3-10 business days. There was no further communication; which would inform me the date of issue. I follow up,12-6-2018, representative states to cancel check (that was never sent out) it would be a $25 charge from my deceased father's account. After several calls afterward, the attempt to reissue the check was done incorrectly. I found this mistake by following up and calling and waiting on hold for 45 minutes on 12-7-2018. It goes without saying the very last thing anyone wants to be dealing with is incompetence, a lack of professionalism, and no accountability especially during a grieving process. I strongly encourage anyone who reads this to reconsider having Fidelity in any form.
There is no direct line of communication to file a complaint directly to Fidelity. BBB and Consumer Affairs is the only method-odd? There should be a deep consideration and oversight of this organization and its tactics. I truly feel, if I had paid to receive the check, there would be no issue. However, it's a way to almost "strong arm you" into paying something rather than nothing. To some $25 isn't a lot but times that by the hundreds of thousands? Fidelity is the closest thing to a scam. Stay away!!!
I sent in a properly filled out pension lump sum request on 11/7. I requested a rollover to an existing Fidelity IRA and included the account number. There should have been no tax withheld. I received a check at the end of November with 20 percent tax withheld. I called, Fidelity admitted the error and said it would be fixed. Yesterday I received another check for the full amount with no instructions on what to do with it.
I called again last night and was on the phone for an hour. I was on hold for over half an hour while the agent tried to find the form for me to send the check back to them for deposit. I asked the agent why the check was sent out with no instructions because the only thing on the check that indicated I had to endorse it was an account number above my name in the to field that the agent pointed out to me. I was told it was because "Pensions were old fashioned and Fidelity did not invest in updating the webpage or instructions on how to do a rollover."
Also, I would NEVER request a paper check to be sent to my home of any kind, especially not one of this size. They sent not one check but two. I was told it would not be able to be cashed with the account number on it. I have serious doubts about that. Not sure yet where I will put this money but It won't be with Fidelity. I will eventually move my original IRA as well. This has been very eyeopening.
Call hold for an hour 12/4/18. What is the problem? Need human beings to answer calls not machines!! Got through twice after long wait and none of them can answer my questions! Still have to wait and don't know how long to it takes to resolve. I have been long term customer with Fidelity but I guess I have to think it again.
Followed several "blind alleys" before giving up on the website. I was directed three time to options which then popped up as Not Available At This Time. Finally after enduring over half an hour of atrocious scratchy "on hold" music, (They should send this to the CIA, waterboarding would be immediately obsolete!) I finally was transferred to someone who seemed to know what they were talking about. A lot of time was wasted.
I am furious!!! I was clearly advised approximately two weeks ago that in order to open a Roth IRA as intended, I would have to roll-over my existing State retirement account funds into my 401K plan with my current employer first. Now that that has occurred, their representatives tell me that those funds are inaccessible and cannot be rolled over into a Roth IRA because they've been rolled over into my current 401K? I did precisely... PRECISELY what I was advised to do to ensure that I have access to those funds and now they tell me that those funds are cannot be made available to me because I did exactly what they advised me to do. All "Charlie" could do is offer an apology.
This is unbelievable! This level of incompetence or dishonesty is unacceptable!!! I intend on being relentless in getting this situation rectified. This is ** believable! I can't even guarantee that this ill-advice was not offered intentionally! How could a trained, licensed representative advise me in such a way to accomplish the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I was trying to accomplish.
They keep giving me the runaround. I gave them my address 3 times and they still sent it to Kentucky. I give them a 0. I have never had this type of problem with any company. They're just not professional. They lie on the phone over and over again.
For starters, there is not enough employees so wait times are too long. There is no ability to look at multiple accounts on your account so you have to be transferred everywhere. Some representatives are unscrupulous so document your entire conversation. You won't get the conversation in e-mail and even though they say they record the conversations, they won't bother to go back to the date and time that you called. Their mistakes and total disregard for timely communications will make you lose money. You can only get your records by mail. My last letter from them to me took seventeen days. Use another brokerage.
Fidelity Investments Company Information
- Company Name:
- Fidelity
- Website:
- www.fidelity.com