My 98-year-old mother, who has dementia, moved into a nursing home about 3-4 years ago. Recently, Vanguard sent her a letter requesting verification of her new address. I called Vanguard to explain the situation, as I am her power of attorney, and they assured me they would send the necessary forms. After completing the forms, having them notarized as instructed, and providing copies of the power of attorney and a doctor’s letter confirming her incapacity, I sent everything back to Vanguard. However, today they informed me that I had filled out the wrong forms the forms they had sent me. I pointed out that the mistake was theirs, not mine, and asked them to send the correct forms. Instead, I just received an email from Vanguard with the exact same forms again. I am frustrated and eager to resolve this issue so I can transfer her assets to another investment company.
I am dealing with similar issues with my grandpa at the banks. It’s as if they completely disregard the estate documents, making it feel like he might as well have died without a will or never created those documents at all.
With a little contribution, I recently started a Vanguard 529 for my child. I intended to include a second, smaller 529 into my Vanguard plan from somewhere else. As directed, I turned in the Vanguard paperwork. A few weeks later, when I checked in, my Vanguard money was gone. Rather than asking the other company to send them to them, they sent them to them. They were also on their own form. I am not even sure how it is possible.
When it comes to bureaucracy, Hanlon’s razor should be used in reverse malice is the willful incompetence.
You are focusing your frustration in the wrong direction. If it is a self-directed account, they actually prefer for you to leave. With an advised account, your advisor would take care of this for you. The verifications you are experiencing are a result of KYC and AML regulations, and those calls are just for upselling. Instead of wasting time being angry, try to stay focused. Good luck.
I believe it is a widespread issue for companies now that many people are suddenly showing interest in investing. Just look at the posts. I opened a Roth account ten years ago but didn’t realize I needed to buy stocks. Which stock should I choose? There are people in these threads who don’t even know how to open an account. They need step-by-step instructions, like going to the website and clicking open account. Just think about how overwhelmed their phone lines must be, with someone taking an hour to buy just $5 worth of stock.
Interestingly, the youngest generation isn’t as tech-savvy as one might expect. While they consume content on various devices, they struggle to use computers effectively as tools. Even simple tasks like googling can be a challenge for many of them.
It’s interesting that younger people are not as tech-savvy. Although they are not very adept at using computers as tools, they are consumers of content from devices. For many people, even searching on Google might be difficult.
The fact that many banking and financial apps have cut down their features doesn’t help. Yes, you can perform some simple buying, selling, and trading, but anything more complicated usually involves accessing their desktop website on a laptop or PC, which is not something that the under-30 community is especially adept at.
Instead of waiting for paperwork by email or mail, the person in question might have completed their chores on the website.
The Vanguard web interface is terrible, and the app is even worse. However, I have been with them for ten years and have not encountered any issues so far. I do use Robinhood for checking stocks, but the buying process with Vanguard is frustrating. I should probably switch to Fidelity, but I suppose if it’s not broken, why fix it?
This is a similar experience. Try asking anyone there to explain the margin calculation. On a recorded line, one individual informed me that you will not receive a margin call until your margin is negative. Neither did the six other persons I spoke with. Vanguard is no longer something I would suggest to others.
Honestly, Vanguard is probably the last place I would consider for margin trading. That is just not their business model, the whole company is built around a buy-and-hold strategy. Seeking margin at Vanguard is like going to a Mexican restaurant and ordering a cheeseburger. Sure, it might be on the menu, but if that’s what you want, why are you there in the first place?
Have you have a counselor? If so, give them a call and ask them to help you complete the form. Naturally, you cannot sign until you are in front of a notary, but ask them to assist you with filling out the full form until it is signed or notarized. Look for an 800 number on your statements if you don’t have an advisor. Give them a call and ask them to assist you with the same issue.
Their corporate headquarters is close to me, and they don’t pay well while being very office-centric. It seems like they are really scraping the bottom of the talent pool.
For me, they botched up the cost basis on an outgoing and an incoming ACATS transfer. To really straighten everything out, I have to give them a call.
Vanguard is trash. Fidelity is actually a lot better.