Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies

  200 Vanguard Boulevard Mail Stop G 15 Malvern, PA 19355

• 

  Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies

  PO Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600

• 

  Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies

  PO Box 1103 Valley Forge, PA 19482-1103

• 

  Vanguard Investments

  P.O. Box 3009 Monroe, WI 53566

• 

  Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies

  PO Box 7800 Philadelphia, PA 19101-7800

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/17/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I left ******* in October 2021 and have asked Vanguard 3X in 2022, directly to people by phone, to CLOSE THIS ACCOUNT. Vanguard has assured me it would but continues to keep the account open and just sent me the attached statement received in today's mail. Investment firms ignore customers and keep accounts open for 2 reasons: [1] hoping customers will invest more someday; [2] as a way to hit those still-open accounts for annual fees. Not going to happen on my watch. WHAT I WANT: This account closed immediately and a printed statement just like this one from Vanguard confirming it is closed. Within two (2) weeks. DO NOT CALL. Do not send messages. Close the account and notify me in writing. Period. TO CLARIFY: I have a 401K account with Vanguard. With my NEW company who I joined in October 2021: ***********. This is NOT a request to close THAT *********** 401K account. That would be ridiculous and probably illegal. Vanguard is to close the no-longer-viable MongoDB 401K account it should have closed long ago..

  Business Response

  Date: 10/31/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 18, 2022, regarding a complaint from ***************************** (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to ***************************** directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/31/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Vanguard has not reached out to me in any way as it alleged in its response. No call, no email, no mail. Nothing. So now in addition to harassing us and leaving our account open so it can try to hit us with fees, it has lied to the BBB and to us.

  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated November 3, 2022, regarding a follow-up complaint from ***************************** (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded directly to ***************************;regarding this issue via First Class U.S. Mail, and we consider the matter closed.

  If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I’ve been a client over 20 yrs. Vanguard is misleading, actually deceitfully, trying to move their clients from their older, mutual fund platform to their VBA platform. I received a form letter that said very little except that if I do not move then Vanguard will charge an annual administrative fee. The letter and their customer services!p’ representatives state THAT NOTHING WILL CHANGE. NO SERVICES WILL BE LOST. NO COST TO CLIENT. NOT TRUE INFORMATION!!! VBA DOES NOT ALLOW ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT VIA VANGUARDS AUTOMATED SYSTEM KNOW AS “TELE ACCOUNT” @ 800-662-6273 PLEASE GIVE THIS COMPLAINT TO CEO, TIM BUCKLEY. LYING AND DECEIT IS NO WAY TO RUNNA BUSINESS!!! PENALIZING CLIENTS WITH FEES IF THEY DON’T OPEN A VBA, BROKERAGE ACCOUNT IS WRONG!!!

  Business Response

  Date: 10/31/2022

  October 25, 2022  
  

   

  Dear *** *******:  
  

   

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Marketing Corporation (“Vanguard”) in response to your letter  dated October 20, 2022 regarding a complaint from ***** ** *******. For your reference, we have  enclosed a copy of your letter as Exhibit A.  
  

   

  Vanguard has responded to ***** ** ******* directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we  can be of further assistance, feel free to respond to this email.  
  

   

  Sincerely,  
  Vanguard Retail Investor Group  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  We have previously responded to BBB Complaint ******** and addressed these concerns, we consider this matter closed. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Retail Investor Group

   

  Monique B**********|Executive Correspondent

  Executive ***************** (ECS)

  Research & Resolution Service|Client Care|NC

  X*****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/10/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and their response is not satisfactory.

  I accept closing this complaint but Vanguard has not satisfied my need to access Tele Account. Hopefully Vanguards powers to be will provide

  access to Tele Account for ALL clients ASAP!

  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My approved loan from Vanguard was electronically sent to my bank with the incorrect routing number. I was corrected the routing number in my Vanguard Profile and called them to advise them of the error and let them know that my bank did not receive the loan payment nor were they able to track it. My bank told me to call Vanguard and see if they received a rejection notice and or If the had a tracking number. Per ** **** all accepted electronic transfers will generate a tracking number. When I called Vanguard, I was mistreated and dismissed on multiple occasions. I was told the issue would be escalated but it never was. Vanguard gave me a transaction number to give to ** **** but the number was incorrect as ** **** could not track the deposit with the number provided. Vanguard insist that the money was deposited and there is nothing they can do. I had both the bank and Vanguard on a 3 way call and Vanguard was told directly from ** **** that they need the transaction code, and if they don't have one then money was never deposited. ** **** stated that if the routing number was incorrect they would not have accepted the transaction. Despite the back and forth communication, Vanguard has yet to resolve the issue, and it has been over 3 months. I am currently paying for a loan that I do not have access to. The customer service reps for Vanguard have been very rude and dismissive and whenever I ask to speak to a manager they disregard my request and argue back and forth with me that this is a Bank issue and not a Vanguard issue. Still, Vanguard does not have the appropriate transaction code needed to verify the electronic loan deposit. This has been a miserable experience, and I still have no idea where the money is or how to gain access to it. I was told by Vanguard that this would be escalated to a department that had more access to the transactions and that they would contact the bank directly to resolve.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 18, 2022, regarding a complaint from ************************* (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to ************************* directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In late August early September, I contacted Vanguard to inform them of my partners passing, he passed on August 15 2022, I am the named beneficiary on his account. After 6 calls that day to them, I kept getting disconnected, I was told that someone from the Life Events team would contact me, a few days later Gloria J****** contacted me she closed out my partners account and said she was going to send me forms to fill out and to call her if I had any questions about the forms when they arrived. Two weeks later the forms arrived with a letter saying to fill out the proper forms get them notarized and send the death certificate. I opened the letter to find 3 application type booklets in it no indication on which one I need to fill out so I called Gloria her phone went right to voice mail saying to leave a message and she would get back to me in 4 business days I waited and no call, so I called again waited another 4 business days and still no call, so I called again and spoke to a customer support rep who was unfortunately not able to help me because the case was being handled by life events and said I have to speak to them I told her that I have been calling Gloria J****** but she wasn't returning my calls the rep then tried to get ahold of her Gloria told her to call her and leave a message, which seems to be useless as she never returned my previous calls. Not knowing what form to fill out I sent her two of the booklets that seemed to pertain to getting a check from them and got them notarized and sent her the death certificate they were mailed sometime the second week of September. I haven't heard from them until yesterday 10/13/2022 by mail welcoming to Vanguard and instructions on how to set up my account nowhere on those forms was anything about setting up an account I indicated I wanted a cash dispersant. called them the service rep was really rude and said she had to open a new case file or to Call Gloria J****** again here number is ********** ext *****

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 18, 2022, regarding a complaint from ********* *********** (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to ******* ********* directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/13/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been unable to sign into my Vanguard retirement account for four months without resolution. At a minimum, I have called into "customer service" on 10/13, 10/6, 9/22, 7/6, and 7/1 of 2022 trying to address this issue. I have spent more than 3 hours and 45 minutes on the phone and encountered mass confusion, incorrect information, and constant call transfers. Case ******* was opened after several calls and my sign in access was supposedly blocked due to fraud. I have never had a Vanguard account prior to this, and as instructed, sent in a notarized form with all the information requested of me to unlock the block on signing into my retirement account. Vanguard has been in receipt of my notarized ID verification letter for more than one month. I can not get an update regarding when I will have access to my retirement account, and can not even change my contribution percentage over the phone! When I try and get an update, I get conflicting information and general unawareness of what is going on, even when I provide my case number. I need access to my retirement account through work in a timely manner.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  October 20, 2022  
  

   

  Dear *** *******:  
  

   

  I am responding on Vanguard’s behalf in response to your request for information concerning complaint ID ********. The complaint concerns an employer-sponsored retirement plan account. For your reference,  I have enclosed a copy of the complaint as Exhibit A.  
  

   

  Vanguard will be responding directly to the complainant regarding this issue, and we consider the matter  closed. We ask that the complainant please allow at least three business days to receive Vanguard's  response via secure email.  
  

   

  If you have any additional questions, or if I can be of any further assistance, please contact me by phone at 800-523-1188. 
  

   

  Sincerely,  
  Vanguard Compliance Department  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/13/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Initiated transfer of my IRA from Vanguard to Fidelity on 9/28/2022. They have yet to transfer just over $6,000 in cash and are not responding to emails on their internal account site, I have sent 4 emails beginning on 10/6/2022 with no response. I am losing money daily in uninvested cash by their delay.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 21, 2022, regarding a complaint from ************************* (BBB Case No.********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to *********** ******** directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/14/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  In September, 2022 I requested a transfer of my IRA from Vanguard to ********.  The majority of my investment holdings were transferred by Vanguard and received by ******** on 10/4/2022 with the exception of just over $6,000 due to the maturity of a CD and US treasury bond, the most recent  of which was the treasury bond on 10/4/2022 in the amount of $4,000. I wrote several follow up emails to them beginning on 10/6/2022 on their internal message center asking why they had not yet transferred the remaining balance to ********.  The first response from Vanguard was not until 10/17/2022 in which they made an apology for the delay and stated:

  I contacted our processing department and there were residual blocks preventing the remaining balance from sweeping over to ********. Our Processing team has removed the blocks and asked to allow three to four business days for the transfer to complete.  

  The transfer was completed on 10/19/2022, however they did not credit any interest for the delayed transfer caused by their internal system issue.  I again followed up with them on 10/20/2022 asking when the interest for their delayed transfer would be calculated and moved to ********.  I did not receive a response to that email until 11/02/2022 in which they stated: 
  We Understand this is not the outcome for which you were hoping; however, your concerns have been thoroughly reviewed and at this time we do consider this issue resolved. Any response to future communication regarding this issue will be at our discretion.
  On 11/05/2022 I sent  a follow up email to them based on their response stating:
  You may consider this closed but I do not,and your statement regarding "Any response to future communication regarding this issue will be at our discretion" is totally out of line.  You already admitted in a prior email you had an internal issue preventing the timely transfer and that is your issue not mine. Please re-review this and transfer the interest credit for your delay to ******** or I will escalate to other government authorities beyond what I already reported to the BBB and ask them to investigate how many other customers have suffered losses due to your internal issues and delays.
  As of 11/15/2022 I have yet to receive a response to that email.  I have logged into the account daily to check for a response.   Ironically they have also prevented me from reviewing any transaction history on that account, when I try to do so I receive the following message:
  Data unavailable
  Our system is temporarily unable to display some of your account information. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we fix these issues. Please refresh in a few minutes or choose another page.
  CONNECT WITH US
  
  I will not stop pursuing this issue until they credit interest for their delay in processing the transfer which they are legally required to do.  In reviewing other posts on the BBB, it appears there are many others who have suffered financial loss from their delayed processing and they need to be held accountable.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/12/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ive been trying to take a loan on MY 401k for months have provided everything needed and nothing is moving forward...getting several different responses and will not let me talk to a suppervisor or anyone other than the person answering my phone call.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 14, 2022, regarding a complaint from *********************** (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to *********************** directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/28/2022

  The issue has been resolved. They finally had a supervisor get in touch.

  
  

  Thank you, 

  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Trying to get a withdrawal since Sept. 29th what they said was 1-3 business days to process it was said to be approved on October 4th and as of today October 10 my funds still hasn't made it into my account. While calling being transferred was a hassle. But having to explain the reason for my call for 7 days without getting a true reason why I don't have my money yet. But being lied too as well. I was told today that I would have a supervisor call me about my concerns that was a lie. They told me they couldn't transfer me to a supervisor and I would have to wait for their call in 24 hours. They told me to stay by my phone today because they would call me but they didn't and I still have yet to receive my money.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 14, 2022, regarding a complaint from ***** (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to ********** directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

  Vanguard Participant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/08/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I left my job in February so I called Vanguard to roll over and withdraw some of my 401k, they said that per my employers plan rules I had to wait till the 3rd quarter of the year. Then I received a letter from Vanguard saying that I needed to contact them because I was no longer employeed by the same place and I needed to roll over my 401k, of course called and they said to call back in September to let them know about October. So I called in September, they said I need to call back in October. I called Oct 4 a man told me that everything was good and I could rollover and withdraw money but that the computer hasnt updated to Oct yet( it was the 1st business day) so I needed to call back after tomorrow. I then called on Oct 7 and was told again everything looked good that J was being transferred to a specialist to roll over my plan and she told me that the plan rules stated that I needed to be 55 or I had to wait 6 years to Do anything with my 401k/ESOP I have had long Covid/ files for disability in February so I was really counting on this to help with medical bills/living expenses for now. I talked to Vanguard multiple times and no one bothered to give me this information. I am extremely mad and now I dont know what to do. Vanguard people do not know what they are talking about and this has put me in a tougher spot due to I was really really counting on my money. What can be done? ****

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated October 14, 2022, regarding a complaint from ********************* (BBB Case No. ********).

   

  Vanguard has responded to ********************* directly in writing. If you have additional questions, or if we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Vanguard Participant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On September 15, 2020, I initiated the transfer of my parents' trust to the 3 beneficiaries on record and as per their Family Trust as both parents have passed. The process begins on a recorded line. The trust was to be distributed 33%, 33.5% and 33.5% to my daughter, my sister and myself. On September 16, the transfer must have begun with one of the beneficiaries (my daughter) only, being given the correct 33%. Then at some point later that day someone at Vanguard initiated the balance not to the other 2 beneficiaries, but didn't note that one beneficiary (my daughter) already received her 33% distribution and proceeded to distribute the balance among all three. I checked the accounts on Saturday September 17 and noticed the error. I emailed the representative who finally called me Monday the 19th. Vanguard claims they have 7-10 days for their transfer department to correct this error. In the meantime I have left continued emails as to the status and asking for Vanguard's error to be rectified immediately. As of Saturday the 24th the accounts are still not corrected. In the meantime I assume we cannot exchange of buy and sell anything in the accounts since they have to go back and transfer the trust account correctly with all the mutual funds within the account before changes can be made individually between the beneficiaries. As of today, 10/07/22 Accounts still not corrected and cash money market fund not correct.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/25/2022

  Vanguard has finally corrected their mistake. 

  
  

  Thank you,

  
  

  ***** ******