We use cookies to give users the best content and online experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to allow us to use all cookies. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

Manage Cookies
Resources for Businesses My BBB
Share
Business Profile

Investment Security

Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies

Headquarters

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Investment Security.

Important information

  • Customer Complaint:
    Please be advised that due to the high volume of complaints received for this business, BBB publishes 1 out of every 10 complaints handled through our conciliation process.

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 a Location

Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies has 10 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

    Please enter a valid location.

    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 654 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 176 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    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.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/26/2024

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 cannot access customer support. I spoke with a representative 48 hours ago who obviously did not know what she was doing and told me I needed to call another brokerage house. My old brokerage explained the process adequately and that I needed to reach out to vanguard again The wait times are over an hour so I attempted to use the website to transfer an account. After providing vanguard with permission to my other account the website has frozen. I repeatedly tried to get assistance on what to do now as I am concerned about my funds. But getting the run around with voice prompts and then being told its another hour.This is ridiculous. I cant even get someone on the phone to close my accounts!!

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard ********************* (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated June 4, 2024, regarding a complaint from **** *** ****** For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

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

      Sincerely,

      Vanguard Personal Investor

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/16/2025

      [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 find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

      Regards,

      **** *****

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/16/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 mother has $440k approximatley invested with Vanguard. She now has dementia and I've been appointed her Durable POA. I've spent the last two months on the phone with Vanguard trying to get my name on her account with no success. Each attempt means at least an hour or so on the phone. They have no emails. They have no chat functions. They have no extensions. It is an easy hour each time to be told that they can not speak to me and then tell me what the last person told me was wrong and nobody can help **** was told that I needed to have a particular form signed by a doctor. Done. They lost it. Twice.I was told that I needed to send my POA document. I did. They lost it. *****. I was told that I needed to complete and have a notorized a form giving me Agency over an Incapacitated person. I did. I checked that it could have an electronic signature. I made two different phone calls for this one question so that I would have a better chance of it being correct. Once reassured- I paid for an electronic notary and attached it to the message center. I then called twice to make sure it had been received. It had. Then a few days later- called to follow up.. It was missing. "Try again in 7-10 business days". Many times, Vanguard would ask me to get my mother on the phone to speak to bc I was not associated with the account and would prefer to speak to my mother who is incoherent and dealing with dementia. I sent it again. Same thing. Then December 6th, my mothers account was locked to her credentials and the system prompted us to make a new account for me. But I could not. I called again. They had removed my mother's access but NOT ADDED MINE! Nobody has access to the accounts currently. My mother cannot access her own funds with Vanguard and neither can I, as her POA. There is nobody to talk to or ask. This is unconscionable. My mother needs her funds to pay her living expenses. We need help!

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard ********************* (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 16, 2024, regarding a complaint from ******* *******. For your reference we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

       

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

       

      Sincerely,

       

      Vanguard Personal Investor

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/16/2025



      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I will be in touch again if the process is stalled in any other fashion.

      Regards,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/12/2024

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 am the executor of the estate for ***** ******. My father passed away in January of 2022. I need a document showing the value of my father's account at time of loss. This is a necessary document in the probate process to be able to create the estate inventory. I cannot close the estate without this statement. I have worked with Vanguard to close and disburse the balance of my father's account with them, but they have refused to provide a statement from January 2022. I called on 9/29/24 and was told that their regular team has limited access to information and documents once an account was marked deceased. That ****** said I would need to speak with the life events team to get the statement, and said they will pass along the information and I had to wait for a call.On 10/1/24 I am left with a voicemail from the life events team stating that the account has a 0 balance and no action is needed. No mention of a document was made. They did not leave any contact information for me to reach the life events team directly.On 12/3/24 I called again and reached their regular team. The first ****** disconnected the line. The second ****** I reached said that they were ONLY allowed to tell me that "the account has a 0 balance." They were unable to confirm or deny if they even had previous statements. They refused to "create a ticket" for me to speak with the life events team, stating that the call from them on 10/1 was a courtesy that should not have even been extended. And they refused to allow me to escalate the call to speak with a supervisor. They said it did not matter that I was the executor of the estate, and it did not matter that they had a copy of the letter of administration to prove that. This representative claimed repeatedly that the only information that any of them could provide me was that "the account has a 0 balance."I just need a statement from the account of ***** ****** from January of 2022. Please and thank you for any assistance.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of The Vanguard Group **** (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 12, 2024, regarding a complaint from ********* ******. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as ****** Exhibit A.

       

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

       

      Sincerely,

      Vanguard Personal Investors

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/11/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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.
      July 4 , 2024 my wife pass away and left me a 401k through Vanguard.After calling 8 times and talking to over ten people I still cannot access my money,As of today December 11 2024 I am beginning to think I may never receive my wife 401k.Vanguard talks a good game but show little compassion on helping their customers.I been on hold for couple of hours multiple times and then when I get a associate they quickly want to transfer me,then amazing I get *************** I get to start the process over!!!!There always sorry about my wife death,but just cant help you.I went through a lot of companys after my wife die and by far the worse is Vanguard.Five months and over twelve hours on phone it looks like my wife ********* dollars is gone.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard Participant Services (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 12, 2024, regarding a complaint from ***** ****** (BBB Case No. 22674476).

       

      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:12/11/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 father passed away in April and I have been trying to work with Vanguard to transfer his *** to my mother. I have provided all necessary documentation and have been working with the team for over 6 months and the issue is still not resolved. I have emailed them several times over the last two weeks and have gotten no response. I have called and confirmed that everything was in order and approved the transfer of funds twice. Each time I call, I sit on hold for hours. Literally, that is not an exaggeration and then have to go through the whole process again. This is completely unacceptable and, quite frankly, cruel. I have to go through the explanation of my father's death and my mother incapacitation over and over again. All so I can get the accounts sorted so we can pay for my mother's medical expenses. Completely unacceptable. I would like a resolution to this issue and the funds transferred to my mother's inherited *** account like I was told would happen a month ago.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of The Vanguard Group **** (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated 12/12/24, regarding a complaint from ****** *****. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

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

      Sincerely,

      Vanguard Personal Investor

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/16/2025

      [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 find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

      Regards,

      ****** *****

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/04/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 November 19th, I opened a brokerage account with ******************, and set up a $3,000 transfer from my savings account with ********************. According to my Vanguard account, $3,000 was transferred and I invested this in an index fund. On November 29th, I logged into my Vanguard account and set up another transfer from my **************************** account in the amount of $500. According to Vanguard, I had $500 to trade and so on the 29th I invested $500 in an index fund. On December 3rd, I received an email from Vanguard stating that my $500 transfer was rejected. I immediately called Vanguard and spoke to someone in an overseas call center in the ***********. After going over everything with her, we determined that the account number for my *************** account was incorrect. I was unable to delete the incorrect account information or add new, correct information and I was informed that the only option was to fill out paperwork she sent me electronically, and to provide a copy of a statement from my *************** account. I was informed that this would be reviewed and the account information corrected. This morning, December 4th, I received an email from Vanguard at 6:16 a.m., informing me that I "must pay for a recent trade" in the amount of $499.96 via banking transfer, wire, or selling of stock. At 8:30 a.m., I again called Vanguard to ask what I should do since I was unable to do anything because the account information was still incorrect in my Vanguard account. I once again spoke to someone in an overseas call center who was not able to help me at all and I asked to speak to a supervisor. There was no supervisor available and I was told someone would call me within an hour. About 30 minutes later "Ishmael" from ********* called me. However, this supervisor explained that he only handled issues with online account access and couldn't help me but that he would transfer my problem to another department. I am now filing this complaint in exasperation.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/04/2024

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 invested with Vanguard and I cannot log into my account after putting in all my personal information. When you call their 1800 number, they ask you many questions and then it hangs up on you! This needs to go the newspapers and is absurd!

      Business Response

      Date: 01/15/2025

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard ********************* (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 4, 2024, regarding a complaint from ****** ****. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

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

      Sincerely,

      Vanguard Personal Investor

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/03/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      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 early November, I requested a partial account transfer. ****************** incorrectly processed this request as a full account transfer, which I never requested, and restricted my account. Although the partial transfer was eventually (and belatedly) completed, my account has remained restricted and I am unable to transact, transfer, buy/sell, etc. from my brokerage account. This needs to be resolved.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/04/2024

      Issue resolved, complaint can be closed. 

      Business Response

      Date: 12/10/2024

      We are writing on behalf of **************************************** (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 4, 2024, regarding a complaint from ***** *********. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

       

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

       

      Sincerely,

       

      Vanguard Personal Investor

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/02/2024

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      Unresolved
      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.
      Oct 31, 2024 decision on statements, I am complaining about Vanguards decision to cancel paper statements by mail as they want to charge a fee but really they are pretending their customers assume that everybody prefers online statements which is not true. I have a verified learning disability and I depend on paper statements because its easier for me to understand verses their website which is not easy to navigate. Going all e-statements is hurtful on people who depend on paper statements but also hurts the postal service too. Each month I was getting all my statements by mail till last month I noticed I didnt get a mail statement. I called and told them what I thought about it and why I need paper statements for my disability as they said they would let me know about it in 2 weeks as I am supposed to be exempt for fees but so, they did not do any type of survey on their customers preferences on what they prefer, nothing just assumed e-statements is for everybody which angered me. The second issue, is they want to charge for RMD removals now because they assume their customers can do it on their own without assistance and if you need assistance they want to change customers. I find this appalling since they website is difficult to understand for us customers to assume we can do it on our own, well that isnt certainty isnt the case for me because I have a learning disability to prevents that where I need assistance. So with my BBB complaint, they need to reconsider going back to paper statements by giving customers a choice without fees. Customers may have many reasons why they need their paper statements by mail other than a disability and two, they should not be charging for RMD withdraws if people need assistance. The saying is, if it isnt broken dont fix it but he they did so and they need to fix the problem.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/10/2024

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard ********************* ("Vanguard") in response to your letter dated December 3, 2024, regarding a complaint from ***** ********. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

       

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

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/10/2024

      [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: 22629431

      I am rejecting this response because:

      I'm rejecting this response because one it does not address the main issue of my learning disability and the fact that their policy does not protect me under the American disabilities act as I explained that their website is difficult to navigate for people that have disabilities. They give no exemptions for accommodations which makes it difficult for me to use the site as before I did not have issues when it came to statements in the mail now they want me to use their website without statements in the mail now. I addressed this complaint to them stating why statements need to be in the mail for people that have disability difficulties on their website. 

      They don't seem to understand the physical disabilities of their clients a side by putting their cost as more important than accommodating their disability clients even clients who have no Internet access.

      I got no sympathies from this company none. They are straightforward and do not want to understand the difficulties of their website to their clients, they make assumptions that they think anybody can use it it's free they can call them anytime well it's not that easy. I received paper statements for many years and that was perfectly fine but now they changed that, they seem to think that's a better option well it's not a better option, it's more difficult. So I'm completely rejecting what they said, they made no compromise nothing.

      Regards,

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








      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/20/2024

      Vanguard said there was exhibit A, well I don't see any exhibit A from them. I want to see this reference they're talking about.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:12/02/2024

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      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 Opened an account with them and 6 months later they claimed someone had hacked my account and locked me out. I assume the hacker stole the contents of the account $,$$$. ****************** locked me out and gave me no access to the money or response to the alleged fraudulent activity. I have called 10 times in the last 6 weeks. Everytime they say the research department will call me back. NO CALL BACK OR RESPONSE. I have lost thousands of dollars with NO RESPONSE!!! I am now filiing a FINRA Complaint and will be requesting Mediation/Arbitration which will probably cost at miniumum hundreds of dollars.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/10/2024

      We are writing on behalf of Vanguard ********************* (Vanguard) in response to your letter dated December 3, 2024, regarding a complaint from ***** *********. For your reference, we have enclosed a copy of your correspondence as Exhibit A.

       

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

       

      Sincerely,

       

      Vanguard Personal Investor

    Vanguard Group Of Investment Companies is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

    To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

    Why choose a BBB Accredited Business?

    BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

    BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.

    When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

    BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period, except for customer reviews. Customer reviews posted prior to July 5, 2024, will no longer be published when they reach three years from their submission date. Customer reviews posted on/after July 5, 2024, will be published indefinitely unless otherwise voluntarily retracted by the user who submitted the content, or BBB no longer believes the review is authentic. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this company, please let them know that you checked their record with BBB.

    As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.