Another Reader
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2013
- Messages
- 3,413
About a month ago, I decided to transfer some money at another firm to Vanguard. I downloaded the Vanguard forms, filled them out, and mailed them off to Vanguard. Three weeks later with no change in either account, I called Vanguard to inquire about the transfer. Per the CSR, there was no record of the request. No concern expressed, no effort to locate it, just we haven't received it. Sorry!
I called the other company to notify them the transfer request was pending but the request was apparently lost in the mail and to be vigilant about anyone attempting to access the account. They were concerned, and added additional security procedures to the account access and notes in the record about the missing transfer form.
Yesterday, about a month after I mailed the request, I logged on to Personal Capital and discovered the money had left the other company but had not shown up at Vanguard. I logged on to Vanguard and found an inbound transfer notice from the other company to the proper account, with no details. Guess I will look again Tuesday and call Vanguard if the money does not appear.
My guess is they received the forms but did not process them timely. A more alarming possibility is Vanguard not have a system to track these transfer requests throughout the process and they mysteriously appear when they are completed.
I don't get the feeling from this experience with Vanguard that they would make much effort to resolve a serious problem on my behalf or that they are even capable of doing it. I'm seriously concerned about their account management software and practices if they can't track a transfer request. As a result, I am not inclined to put a large percentage of my investments with them, certainly not seven figures. I will continue to invest with them, but only a portion of my money will be held there.
I called the other company to notify them the transfer request was pending but the request was apparently lost in the mail and to be vigilant about anyone attempting to access the account. They were concerned, and added additional security procedures to the account access and notes in the record about the missing transfer form.
Yesterday, about a month after I mailed the request, I logged on to Personal Capital and discovered the money had left the other company but had not shown up at Vanguard. I logged on to Vanguard and found an inbound transfer notice from the other company to the proper account, with no details. Guess I will look again Tuesday and call Vanguard if the money does not appear.
My guess is they received the forms but did not process them timely. A more alarming possibility is Vanguard not have a system to track these transfer requests throughout the process and they mysteriously appear when they are completed.
I don't get the feeling from this experience with Vanguard that they would make much effort to resolve a serious problem on my behalf or that they are even capable of doing it. I'm seriously concerned about their account management software and practices if they can't track a transfer request. As a result, I am not inclined to put a large percentage of my investments with them, certainly not seven figures. I will continue to invest with them, but only a portion of my money will be held there.