HELP! Challenges with Treasury Direct

[Safire]

Upfront -- a lot of this is our fault.

My husband purchased a bond (he doesn't recall which one it was) for $500 when our son was born 12 years ago. We moved 5 years later, we forgot all about it and we remembered when we tried to open a new a/c on TD to buy an iBond in his (husband's) name as the website claimed there is already an a/c in his name. He's been trying to call & email them and neither option works because the phone number on file is no longer accepting customer phone calls and no emails will be responded to unless we have a PRIOR case number with them. GREAT.

I then tried to open an a/c in my name, and MOST UNFORTUNATELY, entered it wrong. This has NEVER happened in the past - this is our most frequently used number and I remember double / triple checking it before entering it but it shows a different number. OK, MAYBE I did screw this up. Problem is, I cannot change or remove this a/c online and had to get account verification done by my bank. I did it and sent in the paperwork 2 weeks ago and still the wrong a/c info shows and I am unable to purchase any bonds.

I understand that this is the govt I'm dealing with here, but this is SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Has anyone else gone through this? How can my husband retrieve his a/c info and when will my a/c info be corrected on the website? We just wanted to buy a bond. Thanks, Uncle Sam.

 

[MissMolly]

There is phone number on the TD website you can call. It's my understanding that there is a very long hold time before you get a person on the line, so be prepared. Or, there is also a link for recovering account numbers. From the TD website: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/email.htm

TreasuryDirect customers:
We are currently experiencing higher than usual call volumes. We sincerely apologize for the long wait times and are working to support our customers as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Our current call center hours are Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm ET. You may reach us at 844-284-2676.

If you open an account and are asked to send us an Account Authorization form, you must submit the form before you can access your account.
If you've had trouble accessing your account, please try again. Recent changes we made may enable you to log in now.

Web help:
How do I . . . ?
Instructional videos
To recover account number
To reset password
Due to heavy volume, we are temporarily limiting communication by e-mail. For us to respond to your e-mail, it must concern a pending case and it must state your case number in the subject line of your e-mail.

 

[Chuckanut]

Everything you do with TD direct takes a very long time. While I was waiting my 3 hours and 20 minutes to talk to a person about my locked account, I must have heard a message over a dozen time about getting a reply by mail to some issue. The total time was 13 weeks. It's very possible the paperwork you sent in may not be processed for a long time.

I understand getting I-bonds converted to electronic form is now a multi-month wait.

They simply were not ready to handle their new popularity.

 

[NW-Bound]

I only needed to call their phone line once several years ago. It was for a password reset when I remembered it wrong and kept trying different ones until I was locked out.

The wait was not excessive as I recall. Apparently, there are so many people opening account that their service personnel are swamped.

 

[Al18]

I remember reading Treasury Direct has sold more iBonds in the past 12 months than the previous 15 years combined. Sorry, I can’t find that link.

 

[swakyaby]

In The Wall Street Journal today, there was an article discussing the frustrations of many who tried purchasing I Bonds through TreasuryDirect.gov and ran into difficulty. Some called it “cruel and unusual punishment.” The WSJ stated that through mid-June, the government sold $14.4 billion in I bonds, roughly 40 times as much in all of 2020, treasury data show. More than 1.5 million accounts have been opened since November, whereas less than a million existed prior. There’s no doubt, they are swamped.

 

[DuluthGA]

I opened an account for my wife and bought bonds in a couple of days in May. My account was flagged for the paper bank guarantee form (probably because I used an online bank for mine and big, brick and mortar for hers). It’s been in three weeks so far. I check back every couple of days. Anticipating 2-3 months.

 

[steelyman]

I wonder when (if?) the backlog at Treasury Direct will ease up. I’ve made my I bond purchases for 2022 already and will have some flexibility for 2023.

It’s good to get anecdotal updates here. It seems that most difficulties have related to establishing new accounts.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I understand that this is the govt I'm dealing with here, but this is SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Has anyone else gone through this? How can my husband retrieve his a/c info and when will my a/c info be corrected on the website? We just wanted to buy a bond. Thanks, Uncle Sam.

I haven't gone through problems opening a new account, but the Treasury Direct website is like, "Welcome to the year 2000" as far as website design, functionality, and security is concerned. However, since my bank was bought by another bank my routing number and checking account number information was outdated so when I wanted to cash out some old bonds I had to get a signed authorized statement confirming this information from my bank and MAIL IT IN. Then Treasury Direct would allow me to update my routing information. This was about a three week turnaround, IIRC.

Also, if you cash out any bonds they don't mail out 1099 statements. It's up to you to remember to go onto the website, go through their byzantine method of logging in, and then download the 1099 statement, which is in some sort of a text document and not in the form of a .pdf file. Oh yeah, they didn't have our 1099 available until almost April 15th.

 

[Helen]

My account was flagged for the paper bank guarantee form (probably because I used an online bank for mine and big, brick and mortar for hers).

How were you able to get a medallion signature? I set up an account linked to my credit union back in the early 2000s. I want now to link the TD account to our main bank. We went to the bank yesterday and they said they can't do medallion signatures to treasury direct. Last week I talked to a Fido rep and he didn't think they could do it either.

We will try a credit union today to see if they will do a medallion to link our main bank. I'm baffled why little credit unions can do medallion signatures, but Fido and our bank cannot.

 

[JoeWras]

I wonder when (if?) the backlog at Treasury Direct will ease up. I’ve made my I bond purchases for 2022 already and will have some flexibility for 2023.

It’s good to get anecdotal updates here. It seems that most difficulties have related to establishing new accounts.

The backlog will ease when the automobile dealer lots refill.

Just kidding. Seems like every dang thing that is good right now is in a shortage crisis.

 

[big8pointer]

I opened an account in TD in order to purchase an I-Bond. I swear that when I entered all the bank information and it was correct. So after the account was established, I placed my order for the $10K I-Bond. The order failed. The issue was the account.

So when I checked, they had the account # in the field for bank name and the routing # in the field for the account #. I decided to call and after a couple of attempts and then finally getting through one morning after a 30 minute wait, the rep was unable to help. She said I had to submit the form with the certification from the bank. Unbelievable... just switch the data in the two fields she could not do.

So now it's been 30 days and the email I received that they got my form says that it could take up to 13 weeks! Cannot make this up, really.

 

[COcheesehead]

How were you able to get a medallion signature? I set up an account linked to my credit union back in the early 2000s. I want now to link the TD account to our main bank. We went to the bank yesterday and they said they can't do medallion signatures to treasury direct. Last week I talked to a Fido rep and he didn't think they could do it either.

We will try a credit union today to see if they will do a medallion to link our main bank. I'm baffled why little credit unions can do medallion signatures, but Fido and our bank cannot.

Medallion guarantees are purchased like an insurance policy at the granting location. You have to find a location with the proper amount of “insurance” for your level of guarantee.
I had to drive 2 hours to Aspen to get our medallion since no local bank could handle it.

 

[DuluthGA]

How were you able to get a medallion signature? I set up an account linked to my credit union back in the early 2000s. I want now to link the TD account to our main bank. We went to the bank yesterday and they said they can't do medallion signatures to treasury direct. Last week I talked to a Fido rep and he didn't think they could do it either.



We will try a credit union today to see if they will do a medallion to link our main bank. I'm baffled why little credit unions can do medallion signatures, but Fido and our bank cannot.

My bank (wells) did the signature guarantee side of the form. They said they stopped doing medallions a year or so ago.

 

[Midpack]

Upfront -- a lot of this is our fault.

My husband purchased a bond (he doesn't recall which one it was) for $500 when our son was born 12 years ago. We moved 5 years later, we forgot all about it and we remembered when we tried to open a new a/c on TD to buy an iBond in his (husband's) name as the website claimed there is already an a/c in his name. He's been trying to call & email them and neither option works because the phone number on file is no longer accepting customer phone calls and no emails will be responded to unless we have a PRIOR case number with them. GREAT.

I then tried to open an a/c in my name, and MOST UNFORTUNATELY, entered it wrong. I sold iBonds in 2019 and wanted to buy some treasuries today. This has NEVER happened in the past - this is our most frequently used number and I remember double / triple checking it before entering it but it shows a different number. OK, MAYBE I did screw this up. Problem is, I cannot change or remove this a/c online and had to get account verification done by my bank. I did it and sent in the paperwork 2 weeks ago and still the wrong a/c info shows and I am unable to purchase any bonds.

I understand that this is the govt I'm dealing with here, but this is SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Has anyone else gone through this? How can my husband retrieve his a/c info and when will my a/c info be corrected on the website? We just wanted to buy a bond. Thanks, Uncle Sam.

If you haven’t recovered your TD account yet, I went through it today. My problem was we’ve moved and I wasn’t sure which state was in my account info. I sold all my iBonds in 2019 and wanted to buy treasuries today. I didn’t keep any of my account info, and when I went to create a new account, like you it wouldn’t let me - said there’s already an account with that info. I went back to the 1099-INT I got when I sold off my iBonds in 2019, and the TD account number was right there. So I entered that and clicked on forgot my password, and after verifying my SSN and answers to security questions (thank goodness I remembered) - TD let me set a new password. So I’m in, with access to anything I need in TD. Hope this helps?

 

[JoeWras]

It's really important to know your security question answers. Glad it worked for you Midpack.

For everyone, you will get the security question when you want to look at your 1099. So get those questions right. I save the answers in my password manager.

If you screw up, you're locked out. Be careful.

 

[misanman]

We had to get medallion guarantees for both of our accounts. The local bank handled it but they seemed nervous about it.

 

[Koolau]

Everything you do with TD direct takes a very long time. While I was waiting my 3 hours and 20 minutes to talk to a person about my locked account, I must have heard a message over a dozen time about getting a reply by mail to some issue. The total time was 13 weeks. It's very possible the paperwork you sent in may not be processed for a long time.

I understand getting I-bonds converted to electronic form is now a multi-month wait.

They simply were not ready to handle their new popularity.

Anyone wanna be the first to say they are surprised?

 

[Surewhitey]

We opened 2 accounts a few months ago with absolutely no problems. We both max'd our yearly I-bonds, then a while after (to make sure no problems) I bought a "gift" I bond for wifey & delivered it. Again, so far so good.

Then a few weeks later set up a series of monthly 52 weeks notes... Seems all good.

Just in case anyone is scared off from the doom and gloom.

I linked to an online bank account I've had for years...

Side note, I am NOT a unicorn...

 

[wmc1000]

We opened 2 accounts a few months ago with absolutely no problems. We both max'd our yearly I-bonds, then a while after (to make sure no problems) I bought a "gift" I bond for wifey & delivered it. Again, so far so good.

Then a few weeks later set up a series of monthly 52 weeks notes... Seems all good.

Just in case anyone is scared off from the doom and gloom.

I linked to an online bank account I've had for years...

Side note, I am NOT a unicorn...

Just a note, if you and DW max'd your individual purchases and then bought a gift Bond, you can't deliver it until next year without issues as that would put her over the $10k annual limit.

 

[Helen]

We were finally able to get a medallion signature from my spouse's credit union to link Treasury Direct to our main bank account. Our main bank does medallion signatures but for some reason they won't do it to Treasury Direct.

Once TD confirms the new link, I can close the old credit union account I used back in the 2000s for the initial purchases of I-bonds.

I also just moved all the money from the no penalty CD at Ally to Fido and will buy T-bills instead. I can then close the Ally account as well.

 

[JoeWras]

We opened 2 accounts a few months ago with absolutely no problems. We both max'd our yearly I-bonds, then a while after (to make sure no problems) I bought a "gift" I bond for wifey & delivered it. Again, so far so good.

Then a few weeks later set up a series of monthly 52 weeks notes... Seems all good.

Just in case anyone is scared off from the doom and gloom.

I linked to an online bank account I've had for years...

Side note, I am NOT a unicorn...

No you are not. I've been successfully using TD since 2005. Perhaps that makes me a unicorn since I was in TD doing iBonds when they were not cool. I've never had a lock out. I survived their move from "secret decoder card" to "virtual keyboard." All good.

I am going to do my future T-Bill and Note work on Vanguard simply because it is easier to sell, should I need to sell. Transferring treasuries from TD to a brokerage is not easy. Might as well start in the brokerage. Keep TD for iBonds.

 

[Surewhitey]

Just a note, if you and DW max'd your individual purchases and then bought a gift Bond, you can't deliver it until next year without issues as that would put her over the $10k annual limit.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking that would be the case. I haven't heard from them, so somewhat of a test to see what would happen.

 

[DuluthGA]

I sent my form in June 1. Recd email today saying they had got it (6 weeks to open mail) and to expect it could take 13 weeks to complete. So roughly 5 months!

 

[DuluthGA]

I sent my form in June 1. Recd email today saying they had got it (6 weeks to open mail) and to expect it could take 13 weeks to complete. So roughly 5 months!

Rec’d email today (Aug 1) the hold was lifted. I was able to login. Total of two months from mailing to hold lifted. Lot faster than they warned me it could be