Complaints

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:04/08/2025

  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.

  # Formal Complaint Regarding Madison Trust Company
  
  I am writing to express my severe dissatisfaction with Madison Trust Company's services and business practices. Based on my family's experience, I strongly advise against utilizing this company as a custodian for retirement funds.
  
  My family and several others have had our retirement accounts devastated through what appears to be a Ponzi scheme. Despite our accounts likely holding zero value due to this fraud, Madison Trust Company continues to impose quarterly maintenance fees. Our requests for fee suspension during this crisis have been denied, despite multiple appeals explaining our dire circumstances.
  
  What I find particularly concerning is Madison Trust's continued business relationships with entities currently under investigation by federal authorities including the FBI, Department of Justice, and Securities and Exchange Commission. Rather than assisting customers who have suffered losses, the company appears to prioritize revenue generation through ongoing fee collection while maintaining relationships with questionable partners.
  
  A retirement custodian should prioritize client protection and demonstrate ethical business practices. Unfortunately, Madison Trust's response to this situation demonstrates neither of these qualities. Their actions toward fraud victims have been deeply disappointing and financially harmful during an already traumatic time.
  
  I urge prospective clients to carefully consider these issues and seek a retirement custodian with a stronger commitment to client protection and ethical business conduct.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2025

  ****** we understand this is a difficult situation, and we sincerely acknowledge that your hard-earned retirement funds may be at risk. Please know that we deeply empathize with the challenges you are facing. As a passive custodian, we are not affiliated with any investments or investment decisions made by our account holders. Our role is limited to facilitating your account, and when an account holder directs us to make an investment through their self-directed IRA, we follow those instructions exactly. We do not perform due diligence on any investment choices or provide investment advice. As made clear in both our Investment Authorization Form and Custodial Agreement, it is the responsibility of the account holder to assess the benefits, risks, tax implications, and legality of any investment decisions made. We do not provide tax, legal, or investment advice, and it is the account holder’s responsibility to monitor the investments over time. We have always aimed to assist our clients to the best of our ability, and we acknowledge that this is a challenging time. However, as long as your account remains open, we are responsible for the ongoing maintenance of that account, and our fees are necessary to cover the costs of this continued support. Unfortunately, these fees cannot be waived, as they are essential to the proper upkeep of the account, even during difficult circumstances. After careful consideration of the recent feedback and dissatisfaction with our services, we have come to the conclusion that, given the differences in expectations and business practices, our company policies no longer align with your needs. Therefore, we have determined that it is best for both parties that we resign as custodian, effective May 9th, 2025. Should you require assistance in transitioning to a new custodian or need further information regarding the next steps, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are committed to making this process as smooth as possible and are happy to provide guidance.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/06/2025

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Cancelling my account along with other investors in the same LP who also voiced there complaint is not a solution. It is bullying and running from the problem. Your costs with so called "maintenance" of my account which has zero activity is negligible at best. It would be easy for you to allow myself and other investors to keep our accounts open without charging us quarterly fees while we wait to see if the legal process will allow us to recuperate some or all of our investment. This is the response from another investment firm dealing with this exact issue with their investors in the same LP. By closing our accounts you're forcing undue additional expenses like taxes and potential early withdrawal fees. Utterly disgusted by your actions and customer service.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/09/2025

   

  I got your voicemail from Friday, sorry for the delay. Here is our closing response:

   

  We do not have anything further for this case, we addressed it with the consumer.

   

  Please let me know if you need anything else from us.

   

  Thank you so much!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  Madison Trust claims to be a leader in the Self Directed IRA industry but employs "advisers" that, quite pathetically, cannot answer BASIC questions pertaining to the SDIRAs that are placed in their care. Because of this gross negligence, they provide inaccurate answers to questions asked resulting in critical errors on the part of the very people they claim to be helping. Their processes are convoluted and nonsensical. The people they hire are not experts on these processes and therefor cannot help their customers. They LIE by saying that you will have ONE advisor to help you on your journey but the only way to contact them is through the general support emails of phone numbers. Well then how can I have a professional advisor who understands my account if I can only email ************************??? I want my cancellation funds refunded because I would not have cancelled this arrangement if I had a REAL ADVISOR. I would have never opened this account if I knew I'd have to rely on their sparse FAQ section to handle my funds, which is much more money than I am handling on my own in my personal life. I trusted Madison Trust to provide expert advise for substantial fees but they do not even attempt to help people navigate their SDIRA. They also made me open an LLC that I didn't need because their only goal is to charge fees so that they can then abandon their customers.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/20/2023

  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Aisha ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2023

  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.

  Madison trust is purposely slowing a withdrawal so that can charge a quarterly maintenance fee. This is a garbage business practice
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2023/01/17) */
  Hello Michael. Thank you for your feedback. We apologize for any unintentional aggravation we may have caused. At Madison Trust, we pride ourselves on providing unparalleled customer service, evident through our hundreds of reviews on BBB, ******, ****, ********, and ****************.
  
  There are specific procedures we must adhere to when it comes to transferring out assets and closing an account. In this case, the transfer request received did not specifically detail the asset being transferred, so additional documentation was needed to ensure the receiving custodian could hold the asset. One of our Self-Directed IRA Specialists promptly reached out to let you know what was needed to move forward with the transaction. We also spoke with the transfer agent at the receiving custodian and let them know what was needed to ensure there were no delays.
  
  In general, we make every effort to be transparent and explain the process simply and clearly to ensure a positive experience for every client. Based on your feedback, we will look to make improvements to make it even clearer. We wish you the best of luck on your investing journey.