Search found 561 matches

by astrohip
Tue Oct 10, 2023 4:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

But I'm sticking with Vanguard, because I see the big picture: with Schwab or Fidelity, it's always you vs them. The only things keeping the for-profits from silently sucking money out of your account a thousand different ways (mutual funds are complex instruments) is layers of govt policing and regulation. They may have more money for customer service, but that's only because they've been able to extract more funds from the accounts of less sophisticated non-Bogleheads. I'm perfectly happy to buy a banana from a for-profit grocery store. I'm a lot more picky about who I trust with my life savings. Meh. I'm all low-cost MF. There's not a .1% diff over time, probably less. More than worth it to get actual customer service. Oh, the ERs are g...
by astrohip
Tue Oct 10, 2023 9:24 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

TipsQuestions wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2023 7:09 am
But I'm sticking with Vanguard, because I see the big picture: with Schwab or Fidelity, it's always you vs them. The only things keeping the for-profits from silently sucking money out of your account a thousand different ways (mutual funds are complex instruments) is layers of govt policing and regulation. They may have more money for customer service, but that's only because they've been able to extract more funds from the accounts of less sophisticated non-Bogleheads. I'm perfectly happy to buy a banana from a for-profit grocery store. I'm a lot more picky about who I trust with my life savings.
Meh. I'm all low-cost MF. There's not a .1% diff over time, probably less. More than worth it to get actual customer service.
by astrohip
Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:20 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

jebmke wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 5:45 pm if there are ETF equivalents, it probably makes sense for a fundholder to convert and then move.
Is an ETF conversion a tax-free event?
by astrohip
Wed Oct 04, 2023 5:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Tommy wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2023 5:12 pm
But since I have a lot in Vanguard, have to stuck with them. And some of theirs funds are good.
Not sure I understand? Many of us had a LOT in VG, and we moved without a problem. I couldn't sell most of my VG funds (CapGains would kill me), but Fid just moved the entire fund over.

Easy Peasy. Try it.
by astrohip
Tue Aug 29, 2023 11:43 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

jebmke wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 11:19 am Just put a filter in your email to move these emails to Trash or Spam -- or just ignore them which is what I often do with stuff like this.
I know there are easy solutions. But I shouldn't have to use them.

Marketing becomes SPAM when it can't be controlled. Are we that ready to accept that Vanguard has become SPAM?
by astrohip
Tue Aug 29, 2023 11:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

jebmke wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 11:00 am
astrohip wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:55 am Ugh, again. I got another newsletter from VG, "Mid year outlook...". I unsubscribed for the umpteenth time. Yet here it comes again.

[Abbreviated profanity removed by moderator oldcomputerguy] does it take to get them to stop emailing me?
I asked my rep years ago to mark my profile to get no emails except those required by law. So far, so good.
Glad it worked for you. And if I still had an account, that would be my first step.

But since the VG fiasco of 2020, then 2021, then 2022, then 2023, I moved all my moolah to Fid, so I don't have a rep to call.
by astrohip
Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:55 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Ugh, again. I got another newsletter from VG, "Mid year outlook...". I unsubscribed for the umpteenth time. Yet here it comes again.

[Abbreviated profanity removed by moderator oldcomputerguy] does it take to get them to stop emailing me?
by astrohip
Wed Aug 02, 2023 8:06 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Adios, Vanguard
Replies: 465
Views: 96187

Re: Adios Vanguard

john0608 wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2023 6:52 am Last year i was going to transfer all Vanguard funds to Fidelity for a bonus of $1000 per converted mil but some funds and/or stocks wouldn't come over like for like and i didn't feel like selling, waiting, repurchasing so i never went thru with the transfer and stayed with Vanguard.
I did the same last year. Luckily I only had one that wouldn't XFR. I sold it, had to wait 2-3 weeks for the "transaction to settle" (why VG, why?), and then moved the cash over.

I was so upset with VG (not over this, but over the previous couple of years of poor service) that I wasn't going to leave ANYTHING with them. CapGains be d*mned, it was all moving.
by astrohip
Tue Jul 25, 2023 4:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Service Deteroriation

Wait until you get different agents giving you completely different answers to the same question! That was the beginning of the end for me. When my father passed away three years ago, my VG guy (I'm super duper level, as was my dad) sent me to some dept specializing in handling estate accounts (his were sizable, enough they should pay attention). I didn't know much about it, but the answers this person was giving me just didn't click right. The next day, I called back again, got someone different, explained what I was told, and they were stunned. They said something like "that's not at all what you need to do". And we started over again. It went downhill from there, including at one point requiring a Medallion Guarantee for somet...
by astrohip
Thu Jul 20, 2023 10:11 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

SCY wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:23 pm A repetitive theme - Vanguard's customer service is outrageously incompetent, with the latest being the forced transition from the traditional accounts to the brokerage type. Does anyone who has transferred their accounts (mutual funds, money market, ETF's to Fidelity or Schwab) did you confirm the cost basis (re-invested dividends since the 80's) transferred correctly?
They appear to be correct to me.
by astrohip
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are you listening to now
Replies: 5832
Views: 590904

Re: What are you listening to now

Startled Cat wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:05 pm Santana - Live At the Fillmore 1968
I need to find this!
by astrohip
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What are you listening to now
Replies: 5832
Views: 590904

Re: What are you listening to now

Grateful Dead just released a box set, five concerts from May/June 1973, called "Here Comes Sunshine". I'm on the 4th concert, one to go.

Usually when I get a box set (they release a lot of them), I'll listen to one or two shows, and then come back to the rest later. But all five of these are incredible shows, with their own flavor. So I just kept going from one to another to another...
by astrohip
Fri Jul 07, 2023 8:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

What is a Vanguard Personal Relationship Manager ? Is this the person you get when you pay the advisory fee? I found mine to be less than worthless. Could never get him on the phone, always had to leave a message. Sometimes got a call back, sometimes didn't (I know, amazing someone responsible for decent sized accounts was so bad). And almost always referred me to someone else to resolve my issue: "Oh, you want to change titling on an account? Let me transfer you to Account Titling". Where I would hold forever. "Oh, your father passed away and also had VG accounts. Let me transfer you to XXX Dept". Where I would hold forever, and then get the wrong advice. You get the idea. Never "owned" the problem. At Fideli...
by astrohip
Thu Jun 29, 2023 6:00 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads
Replies: 51
Views: 7436

Re: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads

exodusNH wrote: Thu Jun 29, 2023 2:17 pm Yes, Fidelity has funds that cost less than Vanguard. It's mostly a response *to* Vanguard.
When I talked to my Fid guy about moving funds, he mentioned that their fees were slightly lower than VG. He said it was specifically in response to VG, just so they could say they were lower.

He handles a lot of my family, something like 6-8 others. For all but two of us, he manages their money/investments (AKA :moneybag ). Two of us are comfortable enough to do our own (AKA mostly MF).
by astrohip
Thu Jun 29, 2023 2:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads
Replies: 51
Views: 7436

Re: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads

But hold those VG ETFs elsewhere - including at Fidelity .. happy to accept "bonus" :D Yes, most of VG funds are now at Fidelity. I was able to sell the retirement plan holdings, but all my regular account, the CapGains would kill me. So Fidelity has my VG funds. How do they (Fid) make any money off that? I didn't ask, and don't really care (unless it affects me), but I am curious. If you bought Fidelity funds in your retirement accounts, they're making money from you. In your taxable, where are your new investments going? If Fidelity funds or Black Rock ETFs, that would be a revenue source. Your activity has value. As a customer already, perhaps you'll open more accounts or recommend others, who might use their funds or advisory...
by astrohip
Thu Jun 29, 2023 10:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads
Replies: 51
Views: 7436

Re: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads

sc9182 wrote: Thu Jun 29, 2023 10:32 am But hold those VG ETFs elsewhere - including at Fidelity .. happy to accept "bonus" :D
Yes, most of VG funds are now at Fidelity. I was able to sell the retirement plan holdings, but all my regular account, the CapGains would kill me. So Fidelity has my VG funds.

How do they (Fid) make any money off that? I didn't ask, and don't really care (unless it affects me), but I am curious.
by astrohip
Thu Jun 29, 2023 10:11 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads
Replies: 51
Views: 7436

Re: Kiplinger's July 2023 Article on Vanguard mentions Bogleheads

I think these concerns only apply to people who need a lot of hand-holding. If you're DIY, doing your own planning, and making your own trades, I've never had any customer service issues because I almost never interact with them. A "lot" of hand-holding? How about any? I was a low-maintenance (and happy) VG customer since 1983. 1983! Hardly ever talked to them. Just sent them money, made a few online trades, took a little out from time to time. Then one day, I actually needed help. An estate issue. They screwed it up, repeatedly, every way it could be screwed up. And I was an eight figure customer, with an assigned manager (who just bounced me around, it turned out). But I put up with it, and got the situation resolved. Only took...
by astrohip
Thu Jun 29, 2023 10:03 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Latest VG mini-rant...

I have nothing at VG. Not one account. All six accounts have been closed and moved, months or years ago (crappy cust svc drove me away). I keep getting their emails. About once a month. I go thru the Unsubscribe process each time. And a few weeks later, I get one again.

Dates of VG promotional emails:
June 29 (today)
June 1
May 23
April 27
April 14
March 28
Feb 28
you get the idea...

These are 100% promotional emails. They are not account-action related. STOP!

Like everything else at Vanguard, they can't even handle the simple stuff in a customer-friendly fashion.
by astrohip
Wed May 17, 2023 10:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Roth IRA, spouse>spouse>grandchild 5 yr rule
Replies: 1
Views: 427

Roth IRA, spouse>spouse>grandchild 5 yr rule

I am familiar with the 5 year ROTH IRA rule. But what happens when a ROTH is left to a spouse? Does the five years start over?

My dad died in 2020. Left a ROTH, well over 5 yrs old, to his spouse (my mom). She died this year, and left it to grandkids. I know they have ten years to distribute, but are they also subject to the 5 year rule because she only had it 3 years? Or does his "over 5 yrs" roll over to her?

Thanks.
by astrohip
Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:02 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Let's talk drones
Replies: 15
Views: 1943

Re: Let's talk drones

I tried placing an order for the DJI Avata Pro-View Combo (includes goggles and a motion controller),with the Fly More Kit (2 batteries and charger), the FPV Controller 2, and the care refresh plan. Total is approx $2K. For some reason their system has not accepted the payment even though my CC company has approved it (I called them). DJI support says give them 24 hours to approve the charge. Weird. <snip> Very exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing how you like this. Please let us know after you've had a chance to use it. BTW, ordering direct from DJI is kind of a clunky process. As amazing as their drones are, their online system is the opposite. I also had trouble following payment/shipping, but once it was shipped and turned over to ...
by astrohip
Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Let's talk drones
Replies: 15
Views: 1943

Re: Let's talk drones

I have a DJI Air 2S. It's a real drone (technically Quadcopter), not a toy. It has obstacle avoidance, and GPS. You have to work very very hard to run into something. The sensors keep you from flying into trees, or the ground, or pretty much anything. It's a blast to fly. I can get about two miles away before signal drops. And about 750 feet in the air. Neither of which you should do unless you know the area very well (I fly in the country, not city). And if all else fails, it has a RTH function that always brings it back, if it loses the signal, or some other problem. It is extremely stable in winds up to about 20MPH. The stronger the wind, the faster the battery burn. On a calm day, I get about 20-30 minutes per battery. Excellent camera....
by astrohip
Wed Dec 28, 2022 10:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

I'm shocked at the number of folks that are saying they don't use/would not trust a password manager. There is no practical home grown system that offers the security or convenience of one, full stop. Folks claiming these services can fall by the wayside are not wrong, but there are some very well established players in the game for which these products comprise their entire business. Also, many provide documented data formats and allow you to export your data, so even if that should come to pass, what have you lost? I used Keepass in the past many years ago but have used 1Password for many years since and recommend it whole-heartedly. IMO it has significant advantages wrt security over say, LastPass. Excellent point. I export/download my ...
by astrohip
Wed Dec 28, 2022 9:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

hachiko wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 8:42 am gmail, which specifically allows Google to read your email (which also means Google has the encryption key).
I'm not sure I understand this part. The encryption key, assuming you mean your master password, is never sent via email. It's entered directly into the PW Manager. Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post?
by astrohip
Wed Dec 28, 2022 8:19 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

My point though is that you are not safe with online or even local pw mgrs. Use these products for pw's of little importance and convenience. That's just not true. Even with the LastPass breach, they can't get your passwords unless they know your master code, which they did NOT get. I'm no LP fan (I switched from LP to BitWarden a year ago), and what happened to them is indefensible, but as long as you have a strong master PW, your vault is safe. I use BitWarden, with a strong master password. It has been shown again and again, there is no way for someone to get to your vault by hacking it. Social engineering, keystroke logger, other nefarious methods, they can do it. But the vault is secure. And as long as you practice safe computing (don...
by astrohip
Sun Dec 04, 2022 7:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

nisiprius wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 6:53 pm
astrohip wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:06 pm
nisiprius wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:29 pm But, my real question question was: is pwSafe any better than simply storing a plain-language list in a password-protected Word file, and, if so how? I was just explaining why I chose pwSafe as the one to look at.
I like a true PW Manager for two reasons. Synced access everywhere (laptop, phone, etc), plus the ability to actually fill-in the forms. It saves me from doing a cut&paste. A Word doc can't do either of those.
pwSafe isn't a "true PW manager?"
I was referring to a Word doc.
by astrohip
Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

nisiprius wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:29 pm But, my real question question was: is pwSafe any better than simply storing a plain-language list in a password-protected Word file, and, if so how? I was just explaining why I chose pwSafe as the one to look at.
I like a true PW Manager for two reasons. Synced access everywhere (laptop, phone, etc), plus the ability to actually fill-in the forms. It saves me from doing a cut&paste. A Word doc can't do either of those.
by astrohip
Sun Dec 04, 2022 3:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

nisiprius wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:40 pm I looked at pwSafe because, of the three seemingly endorsed by Krebs that do not store the passwords in the cloud,
I think you're taking his quote too literally. He never said "these are the only three", he was giving three examples. BitWarden, for example, falls into the safe category.
by astrohip
Sun Dec 04, 2022 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

nisiprius wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 9:39 amI respect Krebs. Point me to the source where he mentions the password managers he has vetted.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/password-dos-and-donts

There are several online third-party services that can help users safeguard sensitive passwords, including LastPass, DashLane, and 1Password that store passwords in the cloud and secure them all with a master password. If entrusting all your passwords to the cloud gives you the creeps, consider using a local password storage program on your computer, such as Roboform, PasswordSafe or Keepass. Again, take care to pick a strong master password, but one that you can remember; just as with the Firefox master password option, if you forget the master password you are pretty much out of luck.
by astrohip
Sun Dec 04, 2022 9:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

My point is that "use a password manager" is not great advice if you have to add extra conditions, like You must know that the password manager is "reputable," You must understand the particular technical details of how this particular password manager works, and You have some particular reason, other than their simple assertion, that they are actually doing what they say they do. "Reputable" is a particularly slippery word. It really means nothing because there's no objective way to measure "reputability," and because many things are "reputable" until they aren't, e.g. FTX. "Actually doing what they say they are doing" is not paranoia, either, because companies may make material ...
by astrohip
Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

ThankYouJack wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:46 pm I love password managers but have never been a big fan of Lastpass. Is that the only option?
After several years of LastPass, I switched to BitWarden last year. Very happy. Happy enough to pay for premium, even though I don't need any of the features it offers (I just wanted to support them).
by astrohip
Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager
Replies: 182
Views: 19574

Re: Trust or Don’t trust the keys to the kingdom into a password manager

To begin with, same issue as with Mint or other aggregators: in many cases, even if you didn't notice it, you have signed off on legal agreements not to disclose your passwords to a third party. Find me something on a bank or brokerage website that says that they authorize me to disclose my password to a list of approved password managers and I'll reconsider. You're not "disclosing it" to anyone when you type it into any modern, decent password manager. You're storing it in a digital notepad, accessible only to you. My wife, who is neither a Luddite nor computer-savvy, spent some time learning to get her photos into Picasa and organize them, and never really recovered from the sudden discontinuation of Picasa in 2016. I still use...
by astrohip
Tue Nov 22, 2022 1:18 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Thanks both of you for educating me. I should move my IRA funds immediately. I'll talk to my Fid advisor and see if he has any ideas for my taxable account funds.
by astrohip
Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

galawdawg wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 5:22 am
That decision has other benefits for executives and upper management. Some investors will move their holdings to other brokerages. That further reduces the expenses of the Vanguard Group without a corresponding decrease in revenue from that investor.
Could you elaborate in this? I think I fall into this category...

I moved my holdings to Fidelity. But due to massive CapGains, I left them in VG funds. Have I created a situation where VG still reaps the benefit of my holdings, while Fid has to handle the paperwork?

If so, what can I do? I have no desire to let VG make money off me. But I can't afford to sell most of my funds, the CG would kill me. Ideas?
by astrohip
Fri Nov 18, 2022 3:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

5. Rep was not sure why the first rep "did what they did". Had to start over. Giving serious consideration moving to another firm.... #5 was one of the tipping points for me, back when my dad passed away, almost three years ago. I needed to get his accounts closed, stocks sold, beneficiaries notified, etc. My point of contact, rather than help me, or handle it directly, sent me to another dept. They spent 30 minutes giving me these directions, that just seemed "off" to me. But I made detailed notes, nonetheless. Called back the next day to go over some deets, and was told, well, exactly what you typed in #5. That was just one of many straws that broke my back, leading to my breakup with VG. We had a good forty years tho...
by astrohip
Fri Oct 28, 2022 8:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Service Decline

How does the service at Fidelity differ from that at Vanguard for you? Presumably you were Flagship Select at Vanguard? tl;dr Customer service at Fidelity is top-notch. Without boring everyone and rehashing my many posts on this, I never had a problem at VG in 30+ years, but also never did anything but occasionally buy or sell or disperse funds, all of which I could do online. Then a couple years ago my dad died (a VG & Fid customer), and it took months to get his accounts settled. Phone call after phone call, transferred from dept to dept. They sent me PDFs that couldn't be filled out online, and even wanted a Medallion Guarantee for a simple task. Meanwhile, Fidelity handled it all with one call. Boom. Done. Even did the Medallion fo...
by astrohip
Thu Oct 27, 2022 9:58 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Service Decline

Swimmer wrote: Thu Oct 27, 2022 5:21 pm I don’t think the VG folks even noticed my move of significant funds.
Same story as you. I moved an eight figure account (for a five figure bonus from Fidelity), and never heard a blip. No call, no email, no nothing, nada, bubkes.

It's stunning, but symptomatic of why I moved (after 40 yrs).
by astrohip
Tue Sep 20, 2022 12:19 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Not typical for all places. When I finally got upset enough with VG to move my accounts, I started with my IRAs. I sent a message to my Fidelity guy, who responded within a few hours with a link. That link led to Fidelity's "transfer an IRA to us" web page, where I filled out a few questions, and hit Submit.

It was completed a few days later.

I've never looked back. Good luck!
by astrohip
Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:13 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Social Media Complaints

sensorium wrote: Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:47 am Facebook in particular. Lately, I've seen a flood of complaints regarding long holding queues for phone customer service, locked accounts, etc. The same kind of complaints you see on the pages of high yield savings banks. The general grievance seems to be that Vanguard has changed for the worst. I'm curious to know if this is true. I've had my account for 25 years, never had to call, and haven't had any problems. Granted, I'm not as active as most, and I realize there are many angry, choleric individuals who enjoy infecting others with their misery, especially from behind the computer screen. But is it really that bad?
Simply read this thread...
by astrohip
Sat Aug 27, 2022 8:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

water2357 wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 2:26 am On a joint account, I thought the basis could only be stepped up to date of death on the 50% of the account that the deceased owned. The other 50% of the account would remain at the original basis.
marcopolo wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 4:06 am
It depends on what state the couple were residents of at the time of death.
If in a community property state, all joint owned assets (community property) get 100% stepped up basis at the death of the first spouse.
In all other states, the joint property only gets 50% step-up at the death of the first spouse.
What @marcopolo said. In Texas, being a comm property state, both sides (deceased & surviving spouse) get the step-up.
by astrohip
Fri Aug 26, 2022 1:36 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

@astrohip Did they by chance screw up the step up in basis? My Dad recently passed and I’m trying to get them to step up the basis of 100% of joint account assets as date of death. So far, looks like they’ve only stepped up half. They did finally manage to move the money into my Mom’s new individual account, but not without a lot of phone calls. I think they handled it correctly. I liquidated everything, and moved it as cash. My dad passed away just before Covid. Then the market crashed. By the time I got VG to finally liquidate the account, which took 2-3 months, the market was lower than when he died, so based on the step-up, it was all sold at a loss. We used some arcane IRS laws to pass on the losses to the beneficiaries. I tried to se...
by astrohip
Fri Aug 26, 2022 8:51 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Has anyone been able to call Vanguard today?

Personally, I have never needed to contact CS, everything I need is online, so no issues. No plans to ever change. A lot of us here are/were in the same situation. For 38 of my 40 years with VG, I don't think I talked to them five times. All online, no problems. It's when something out of the ordinary happens that VG falls apart... My dad passed away in 2020, and I needed to get his estate handled (he kept money at VG also). A total debacle, even though I had everything they wanted (Testamentary, Executor, etc). Took months to get resolved. They screwed up my mom's half (they were joint accounts) so badly I ended up closing them, and moving them. Another example: He left one entire account to a charity. VG required the charity set up a new...
by astrohip
Fri Aug 26, 2022 8:31 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Has anyone been able to call Vanguard today?

Pacific wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 3:29 amI would hope enough new threads so that Vanguard decides to do something about it.
Some of us got tired of waiting and hoping. We voted with our money.
by astrohip
Tue Aug 23, 2022 11:54 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Swimmer wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 11:24 am Astrohip…I meant to ask what are “residual” dividends?”
Dividends that come in after you've already transferred the main security to another account/company. VG kept the account locked until the residuals were clear, which should have been 2-3 days, and took two weeks.

Like you, I had forty years of VG in my sails. And they lost it by not caring and not performing.
by astrohip
Tue Aug 23, 2022 9:17 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

Swimmer wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:44 am I never received a call back from last Friday. I’m moving everything next week. I don’t expect them to notice.
Good luck! :beer

It was not easy moving everything (in my case, to Fid). VG made it difficult, as I've posted about above. Wouldn't move one account. Locked another account due to "residual dividends", which is fine except I couldn't get them to unlock it without call after persistent call.

I am SO GLAD I moved everything to Fidelity.


PS: VG still hasn't said a word to me, not an email or a phone call.
by astrohip
Thu Aug 18, 2022 6:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard's Use of Manila Call Centers Unacceptable

Pacific wrote: Thu Aug 18, 2022 4:19 pm I have been dealing with a nightmare of unbelievable proportions since the October 2021 death of a Vg investor and the transfer of his IRA to his named IRA beneficiary, but that will have to wait for a different day (should I ever be awakened from said nightmare).
Sadly, my leaving VG after almost 40 years was all started by their incredibly frustrating and inept handling of this exact issue. A simple IRA transfer to a named bennie, back in 2020.

I am happily ensconced at Fid now. I manage eight different accounts there, for five different people (me, wife, mom, niece, nephew), and get help and answers (when needed) almost immediately. You have alternatives!
by astrohip
Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:00 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: New fee for Vanguard mutual [and brokerage accounts - July 2023 updates]
Replies: 2094
Views: 217774

Re: New fee for Vanguard mutual accounts

Received a letter today about fees. On a VG account for my parents, that I closed when my dad passed away in Feb 2020.

Just to be clear, no one has a VG account any more. Not my deceased dad, my still living mom (Fid), or me (fid).

But hey, I got the letter! :oops:
by astrohip
Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Positive Vanguard experience

PersonalFinanceJam wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:57 pm I'm fairly certain they don't care. I was Flagship status and moved everything about a year ago. Last month I received a secure message from Vanguard saying they had noticed my account balance had not met the Flagship requirement for quite some time and my account would be downgraded to row boat status soon.

That was the only message I got on the subject. Even the phone company tries harder to keep you as a customer when push comes to shove.
Quote for truth! I moved an eight figure account last month, never got one single call.

Not. One. Call.
by astrohip
Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

He did call back, quite promptly. It took about ten minutes on the phone, most of it spent with me holding, while he had a tech support person free up the account. Bottom line, we turned in a sell request. It will execute tomorrow. Once it's in my settlement account, I'll let the Fid guy know he can finally grab it.

He was helpful and friendly, as most of the people I've talked to at VG are. The problem was it's taken two weeks to complete this one task. VG's systems & procedures are not client friendly. They don't have a people problem, they have a systemic problem. Everything takes too long and is too complicated. And the only way for me to solve it was to leave.
by astrohip
Wed Jul 20, 2022 4:15 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

astrohip wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 11:21 am<snip> I finally get told that "residual dividends" are still active, and can I please call back next Tuesday, everything should be complete by then, and I should be able to liquidate this last fund.

Sure, no problem, as I tell myself that I'm almost done having to deal with VG. :shock:
Waited an extra day, because... well, Vanguard. :oops:

Sure enough, still can't be released. Got a nice CSR, who promised to take care of whatever the issue was, and call me back, no later than tomorrow morning.

I wait with bated breath!
by astrohip
Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1514
Views: 169507

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread

just frank wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:36 amAnd he said 'Sorry... you will have to fill out the paper form, fax it in and wait 5-7 business days.'
Sorry to hear of all your difficulties. Everything is easy until it's not.

Is it possible for you to move the account to another firm before you transfer it to a std IRA?