TreasuryDirect Painfully Slow

[Rosie]

Oh for cryin' out loud.

I emailed Treasury Direct to ask about the status of my I-bonds conversion.

Here is the response I received:

Quote:

Hi, Thank you for contacting Treasury Retail Securities. Please know that we are experiencing unusual delays averaging 15 to 20 weeks from the date we originally received your materials. We apologize for the delay. Treasury Services

Up from 12 weeks, now it's 15-20 weeks?!? WTH?!?

[Rosie]

Well well well.

I just logged into my Treasury Direct account, and lo & behold, my I-bonds are listed in the conversion account.

TD was supposed to email me when my bonds were converted, but of course that never happened. Eh, whatever, they're there now.

To recap:

I mailed the bonds plus the signed manifest to Parkersburg WV on Nov 17, they arrived in WV on Nov 20, at which point they were forwarded to Minneapolis (via rickshaw?) where they arrived on Dec 7. Then between Dec 7 and mid-Feb they languished in some bureaucratic black hole.

All told, converting my I-bonds from paper to electronic form took about 13 weeks.

... oh, wait, I may have spoken too soon. Their status is listed as "Restricted Securities". I guess that means they're still in the black hole, but at least they exist.

They won't mature for another dozen years or so, hopefully the process will be completed by then.

[Radicalfil]

Well this is all so familiar. I wish I was following this thread when Jan 25 I decided to place my Ibonds in the custody of the USPS via certified mail. Arrived in Parkersburg W.V. PO on Jan 28 the forwarded and on Feb 6 returned to Parkersburg. Then sat for 7 days and off again onto a forwarded address and finally to Minneapolis on Fed. 13. In 23 days I could of drove them there several times. The pisser was when I printed the manifest that stated Parkersburg, but when I went back to the TreasuryDirect website it showed an address of Minneapolis,WTF! I tried to find out what happened to my shipment at the USPS and all I got "it don't work like that at the P/O", "but Mister Postman I got a tracking number". So my guess is that I should not expect to see any acknowledgement for TREASURYDIRECT until early May. The way I see it this is like double jeopardy when you send document through the USPS to the US Treasury. It is simply a miracle if anything get done with our current governmental systems. I sent a package to Vanguard and it arrived on time with a receiving signature and the financial matter completed within 48 hours as a comparison. Whew! I thought I was the only one this happened to and now I know I am in good company.

[easysurfer]

The 13 weeks sounds about right . That's about how long the escaping the black hole took for me when I sent in my EE bonds for conversion. My theory is the re-routing from WV to MN is on purpose as a stall tactic .

[powerplay]

These stories are not comforting. I have some bonds that mature in October so I do need to get an account set up with TD. Perhaps I better do it soon so hopefully it will be ready when the bonds mature. I wonder if any banks or credit unions still redeem bonds?

[Ian S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerplay These stories are not comforting. I have some bonds that mature in October so I do need to get an account set up with TD. Perhaps I better do it soon so hopefully it will be ready when the bonds mature. I wonder if any banks or credit unions still redeem bonds?

They certainly do redeem EE savings bonds. Other bonds I don't know. One or two bonds at the bank is easy. A whole raft of bonds would take some time especially if the teller is not familiar with how to do it.

The key thing to remember with TD is that the bonds do eventually wind up in your account. It just takes time.

[lhamo]

I sent in two requests to Treasury Direct last fall:

1) I had lost some of the paper bonds I purchased back in 2001, and sent in a report of loss and request to cash them out on September 1. The money for those appeared in my checking account in early January.

2) I had a few additional paper bonds that did not have my full last name due to a typing error when I bought on-line. I sent in the paperwork and the physical bonds for those in early October. They still have not been cashed.

I think one of the reasons the delay for processing is so long is that I bonds (and maybe EE bonds, not sure because I don't have any of those) have recently been at 0% interest. In my case, I originally purchased the bonds as a backup college savings route, but it now looks like we will have enough to fully fund kids college with their 529s, so at 0% interest it doesn't make sense to hang onto them any longer. I also needed the cash for living expenses/a car purchase while we wait to sell our apartment in China. I am bummed that they didn't pay out in 2015, though, because now we will likely take a significant tax hit -- would have been under taxable limits if they cashed in 2015. I did cash out the majority of the I bonds we had at the credit union in 2015, though, so not a total wipeout.

[powerplay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian S They certainly do redeem EE savings bonds. Other bonds I don't know. One or two bonds at the bank is easy. A whole raft of bonds would take some time especially if the teller is not familiar with how to do it. The key thing to remember with TD is that the bonds do eventually wind up in your account. It just takes time.

Yes, the maturing bonds are EE. I will check with my CU this week as a backup plan. Although once the bonds go in the mail it is a one way street with no U turns.

[lhamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhamo I sent in two requests to Treasury Direct last fall: 1) I had lost some of the paper bonds I purchased back in 2001, and sent in a report of loss and request to cash them out on September 1. The money for those appeared in my checking account in early January. 2) I had a few additional paper bonds that did not have my full last name due to a typing error when I bought on-line. I sent in the paperwork and the physical bonds for those in early October. They still have not been cashed. I think one of the reasons the delay for processing is so long is that I bonds (and maybe EE bonds, not sure because I don't have any of those) have recently been at 0% interest. In my case, I originally purchased the bonds as a backup college savings route, but it now looks like we will have enough to fully fund kids college with their 529s, so at 0% interest it doesn't make sense to hang onto them any longer. I also needed the cash for living expenses/a car purchase while we wait to sell our apartment in China. I am bummed that they didn't pay out in 2015, though, because now we will likely take a significant tax hit -- would have been under taxable limits if they cashed in 2015. I did cash out the majority of the I bonds we had at the credit union in 2015, though, so not a total wipeout.

Anyone waiting for bonds to be processed by Treasury Direct might want to try posting on this thread -- my second transaction hit my checking account on February 24th, two days after I posted here. Probably just a coincidence, but worth a try to move things along!

[manerac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian S The key thing to remember with TD is that the bonds do eventually wind up in your account. It just takes time.

This is another reminder of the third-world level of performance that we have come to expect of our federal government. No other investment institution could get away with telling you to wait 20+ weeks to get your money out.

John
(patiently waiting for any acknowledgement of bonds I mailed for redemption last November)

[mouthwalsh]

I sent in a manifest early January. Last week, concerned after the long delay, I used the contact link on treasurydirect.gov and provided my manifest number. Today, they responded and told me they received the manifest. However as another poster indicated above, the wait was quoted at 20 weeks for processing.

In case it helps others, if you didn't use tracking or certified mail to send your bonds and you are concerned they haven't received your manifest, contact them and provide the manifest number. It seems they can at least verify receipt for you that way.