Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Discuss all general (i.e. non-personal) investing questions and issues, investing news, and theory.
ivk5
Posts: 1341
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 9:05 am

Re: Vanguard site 500 error

Post by ivk5 »

Getting killed by the 500 errors trying to get transactions done before the closing bell :twisted:
User avatar
AnalogKid22
Posts: 474
Joined: Wed May 18, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Babylon, but I'd love to spend a night in Zion

Re: Vanguard site 500 error

Post by AnalogKid22 »

Same thing happened last January...
User avatar
jhfenton
Posts: 4754
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:17 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by jhfenton »

And now I can't do anything. Fortunately I was able 10 minutes ago to make a few more ETF buys and then sell a bond fund to cover the day's purchases.

Now I can't do anything. I was just trying to check the price on a bond. :annoyed

Edit: And now it's back.
DrivingFun
Posts: 313
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:12 pm

Re: Vanguard site 500 error

Post by DrivingFun »

Couldn't buy because of this :( Was in the process of putting in the amounts and then bam, all gone.
User avatar
Dale_G
Posts: 3466
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:43 pm
Location: Central Florida - on the grown up side of 85

About 3:53 Vanguard crashes

Post by Dale_G »

[Thread merged into here, see below. --admin LadyGeek]

Not a big deal for me. A little earlier I bought some Berkshire and some emerging markets. But at 3:50 pm I started selecting shares from a son's Muni fund for tax loss harvesting. When I got ready to push the last button at 3:53, the site hung.

Tomorrow, or next week will be soon enough for the muni transaction, and I personally never have a need or desire to make a trasaction at 5 minutes before the close. Still, it is a little surprising that a little 2%-3% market decline interferes with Vanguard's system.

Dale
Volatility is my friend
ivk5
Posts: 1341
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 9:05 am

Re: Vanguard site 500 error

Post by ivk5 »

Yeah I was trying to TLH, sold a few lots but was unable to put in the buy. Assuming market opens higher, I'll be worse off than if I followed "don't just do something, stand there."

iPhone app worked as well as usual in final mins even though I couldn't get to website at all. Just too clunky to get it all done.
crit
Posts: 546
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:54 am

Re: About 3:53 Vanguard crashes

Post by crit »

I did two sets of TLH transactions at about 3:30 ESt and had no problem.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by zx14rr »

Every time there are opportunities presented due to a market selloff, Vanguard's website doesn't work - just like last February. On top of that, Vanguard's phone system was down due to routine maintenance. What responsible company does "routine maintenance" during normal business hours? Vanguard is supposedly client owned, which essentially means it is a tax-exempt organization where performance doesn't matter. Notice how Buckley's salary is not disclosed anywhere and the same goes for all his predecessors in the position. If I am truly an owner of Vanguard, why can't I find out what management is being paid for poor performance?
Momus
Posts: 1023
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:23 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by Momus »

Vanguard needs to invest on more computer servers...
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by LadyGeek »

I merged Dale_G's thread into the on-going discussion. The combined thread is in the Investing - Theory, News & General forum (news - Vanguard website is impacting transactions).
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
User avatar
BoglePaul
Posts: 217
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2014 2:34 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by BoglePaul »

All account information is now unavailable. Someone in IT is going to be late for dinner.
DrivingFun
Posts: 313
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:12 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by DrivingFun »

zx14rr wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:35 pm Every time there are opportunities presented due to a market selloff, Vanguard's website doesn't work - just like last February.
I was on around 3:50, putting in my buy order when the site crashed. Very frustrating.
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8620
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

I used the website for two orders about 3:45PM today. I had signed in for the last time about 2:45PM, and was constantly watching the fall. I stayed on the website until market closed. I had signed in a number of times during the day.

I just checked access again and with Internet Explorer browser and Chrome browser. I see everything, though I don't necessarily like what I see. I see a sea of red, mostly.

Very strange.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by zx14rr »

DrivingFun wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 5:23 pm
zx14rr wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:35 pm Every time there are opportunities presented due to a market selloff, Vanguard's website doesn't work - just like last February.
I was on around 3:50, putting in my buy order when the site crashed. Very frustrating.
I agree but "frustrating" seems to be an understatement and based on my past interactions with Vanguard, I don't think they care. The problem is, except for individual stock and options holdings, there doesn't seem to be a way to switch to another firm without causing a taxable event with respect to the mutual fund holdings. Vanguard is well aware of this and is one of the reasons they don't care about customer service.
User avatar
jainn
Posts: 314
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:41 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, etc.]

Post by jainn »

https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/ ... gs.5_4ijQk

Vanguard Says Snafu Leaves Some Clients With No Website Access
Charles Stein
Oct 10 2018, 4:18 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Vanguard Group, the biggest U.S. mutual fund firm, experienced technical problems that made it difficult for some customers to access its website by phone or the internet amid Wednesday’s market rout.

The company blamed “periodic network connectivity issues” for the difficulties. “We continue to work on restoring full access and sincerely apologize to our clients who were inconvenienced,” spokesman John Woerth wrote in an email.

Woerth said the technical issues were unrelated to heavy volume on the site on a day when U.S. stocks tumbled the most since February.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/vangua ... 1539208754

Vanguard Stumbles on a Day the Stock Market Plunged
By Reshma Kapadia
Oct. 10, 2018 6:05 p.m. ET

As the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3% in a messy trading day, some Vanguard investors found another reason for angst: Trouble accessing their accounts.

A spokesman for Vanguard, which is growing faster than the industry and now oversees more than $5 trillion in assets, said the company “experienced periodic network connectivity issues, resulting in some clients having difficulty accessing Vanguard via the web or phone. We continue to work on restoring full access.”

The Bogleheads.org site where Vanguard investors often post had complaints through the day, with some users frustrated that they couldn’t even get through via phone to place trades. “Not a great look for Vanguard,” one post read.

For Vanguard watchers such as Daniel P. Wiener, editor of the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors newsletter, the technology issues were a sign “the company’s growth continues to gallop ahead of their ability to manage it,” he noted in an email exchange with Barron’s. Wiener himself had difficulties signing in to his Vanguard account. Once he finally got in to make a trade near the end of the day, he said the site froze on him.
bayview
Posts: 2332
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:05 pm
Location: WNC

Re: Vanguard site 500 error

Post by bayview »

I was able to get my buys in. I logged on about 3:48 Eastern. (I had my phone alarm set to 3:45.) I'm glad I got in when I did - hope y'all get a similar opportunity next time.

FWIW, I've had more log-in issues when the market is going mildly nuts (in a downward direction.) Another IT issue with overwhelmed servers?
The continuous execution of a sound strategy gives you the benefit of the strategy. That's what it's all about. --Rick Ferri
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by LadyGeek »

I merged Dak52's thread into the on-going discussion. The software sorts by time, Dak52 is listed first. I also retitled the thread.
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95466
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by LadyGeek »

FYI - If anyone is having a problem speaking with Vanguard over the phone, see: Vanguard not answering their telephone
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
tibbitts
Posts: 23589
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:50 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by tibbitts »

I was going to make a massive(?) $100 transfer from cash to an equity fund, using the old MF platform, and was doing okay up to the very last step, when the server seemed to go away at about 3:53pm. Partly I was just doing it to see if I could. Oh well.
hdas
Posts: 1395
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:24 am

[Deleted]

Post by hdas »

[Deleted]
Last edited by hdas on Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
....
UpperNwGuy
Posts: 9446
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by UpperNwGuy »

How did Fidelity's website do today? We've had a lot of let's-bash-Fidelity threads recently, but those who use Fidelity say that the website is very reliable. Was this true today when it was under stress?
pascalwager
Posts: 2312
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:36 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by pascalwager »

I made a large exchange this evening and everything looks normal.
VT 60% / VFSUX 20% / TIPS 20%
amindu
Posts: 231
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2016 11:59 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by amindu »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:58 pm How did Fidelity's website do today? We've had a lot of let's-bash-Fidelity threads recently, but those who use Fidelity say that the website is very reliable. Was this true today when it was under stress?
no issues at all, multiple trades, transfer of cash, everything went forward without a hiccup.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by zx14rr »

Since I couldn't make trades even though logged in yesterday, I sent a message to Vanguard inquiring about when the problems would be fixed. The following is the response I got from Vanguard's legal department.

Thank you for your email regarding yesterday's technical issues. I am sorry
for the delayed response. Yesterday was quite busy due to these issues.

Some of our clients experienced issues accessing Vanguard via the phone and
web. I apologize for any inconvenience this caused. Please know that teams
in Information Technology (IT) meet immediately to review all incidents
affecting our clients’ experience. When an issue occurs, the teams review
the root cause and determine the necessary changes to prevent future
occurrences.

To ensure the best client experience possible, our IT group has been
upgrading our systems to leading versions to improve our infrastructure. It
is not uncommon to run into a temporary period of system down time while
navigating these upgrades. If this occurs, our IT group will work quickly
to address the issue.

Please know that we are taking active steps to innovate and deliver the
exceptional service you expect from us.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly by
phone or email using the information provided below. To ensure we’re able
to connect, you can also schedule an appointment online for me to call you.
Under “My Accounts” select “Account overview” and then “Create/edit
appointment” on the right side of the page.
livesoft
Posts: 85972
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by livesoft »

So did you ask that they "make you whole" and give you yesterday's trade prices as soon as you can login and make trades?
Wiki This signature message sponsored by sscritic: Learn to fish.
User avatar
HueyLD
Posts: 9782
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:30 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by HueyLD »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:58 pm How did Fidelity's website do today? We've had a lot of let's-bash-Fidelity threads recently, but those who use Fidelity say that the website is very reliable. Was this true today when it was under stress?
Fidelity was just fine, including their ATP program.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by zx14rr »

So did you ask that they "make you whole" and give you yesterday's trade prices as soon as you can login and make trades?
I asked where in the Account Agreement a nonworking Vanguard phone system is a reason for Vanguard to avoid liability when a client is unable to make brokerage trades.
ivk5
Posts: 1341
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 9:05 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by ivk5 »

Futures pointing to pretty flat open so those of us who couldn't trade yesterday before the close due to IT issues get another shot now without prejudice.
Whakamole
Posts: 1763
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:59 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Whakamole »

zx14rr wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:11 am To ensure the best client experience possible, our IT group has been
upgrading our systems to leading versions to improve our infrastructure. It
is not uncommon to run into a temporary period of system down time while
navigating these upgrades. If this occurs, our IT group will work quickly
to address the issue.
Upgrading their systems which handle market-based orders during market hours seems bizarre. Typically this is done at night/on the weekend to minimize risk of customer impact.

Either their IT group is making strange choices - coincident with a Really Bad Day - or this is not entirely truthful.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by zx14rr »

ivk5 wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:29 am Futures pointing to pretty flat open so those of us who couldn't trade yesterday before the close due to IT issues get another shot now without prejudice.
Good point, except unfortunately I was trying to "buy to close" put options early in the day but couldn't do online and Vanguard's phone system said was unavailable when I attempted to place a trade by phone contact.
sillysaver
Posts: 226
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:24 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by sillysaver »

GIven that Vanguard seems to have a lot of issues with IT availability, wold you current customers recommend for or against Vanguard as a custodian?
retiringwhen
Posts: 4703
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 10:09 am
Location: New Jersey, USA

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by retiringwhen »

Whakamole wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:40 am
zx14rr wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:11 am To ensure the best client experience possible, our IT group has been
upgrading our systems to leading versions to improve our infrastructure. It
is not uncommon to run into a temporary period of system down time while
navigating these upgrades. If this occurs, our IT group will work quickly
to address the issue.
Upgrading their systems which handle market-based orders during market hours seems bizarre. Typically this is done at night/on the weekend to minimize risk of customer impact.

Either their IT group is making strange choices - coincident with a Really Bad Day - or this is not entirely truthful.
The problems started yesterday at 5am EDT (I can attest to that first hand as I tried to to use the app around 0600 and had access issues and it is something I have done regularly in the past).

Very unlikely to have been load/traffic caused, more likely traffic worsened...

Additionally considering that voice traffic was impacted as well suggests something like a service provider issue such as cut fiber, etc.... These things happen. The fact that Vanguard was up at least partially tells me they have route diversity and they were able to deliver to some customers. On a lower traffic day, the disruption may have not even been noticed by most of the customers.

So bad luck AND traffic are my thoughts.

With that said, I hope someone at Vanguard looks at the network capacity requirements including when they loose main routes and consider if they need more diversity with additional capacity. Their growth may require it. This has non-trivial costs though and diminishing marginal returns.

I will remind everyone on this thread that in the FEB excitement, there were at least two times where Schwab and Fidelity sites were overwhelmed by traffic. A bursty network like the Internet is designed to fail slowly like that vs. the old phone network where it just overwhelmed and you just get a busy signal. There can never be 100% assurance of service availability. The costs for each 0.01% of availability at the margins can be prohibitively expensive.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by zx14rr »

sillysaver wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:50 am GIven that Vanguard seems to have a lot of issues with IT availability, wold you current customers recommend for or against Vanguard as a custodian?
I would not recommend Vanguard if you want to make brokerage-type transactions, except perhaps ETFs. If all you want to do is invest in mutual funds, then Vanguard is ok.
Last edited by zx14rr on Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
zx14rr
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:22 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by zx14rr »

retiringwhen wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:23 am
Whakamole wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:40 am
zx14rr wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:11 am To ensure the best client experience possible, our IT group has been
upgrading our systems to leading versions to improve our infrastructure. It
is not uncommon to run into a temporary period of system down time while
navigating these upgrades. If this occurs, our IT group will work quickly
to address the issue.
Upgrading their systems which handle market-based orders during market hours seems bizarre. Typically this is done at night/on the weekend to minimize risk of customer impact.

Either their IT group is making strange choices - coincident with a Really Bad Day - or this is not entirely truthful.
The problems started yesterday at 5am EDT (I can attest to that first hand as I tried to to use the app around 0600 and had access issues and it is something I have done regularly in the past).

Very unlikely to have been load/traffic caused, more likely traffic worsened...

Additionally considering that voice traffic was impacted as well suggests something like a service provider issue such as cut fiber, etc.... These things happen. The fact that Vanguard was up at least partially tells me they have route diversity and they were able to deliver to some customers. On a lower traffic day, the disruption may have not even been noticed by most of the customers.

So bad luck AND traffic are my thoughts.

With that said, I hope someone at Vanguard looks at the network capacity requirements including when they loose main routes and consider if they need more diversity with additional capacity. Their growth may require it. This has non-trivial costs though and diminishing marginal returns.

I will remind everyone on this thread that in the FEB excitement, there were at least two times where Schwab and Fidelity sites were overwhelmed by traffic. A bursty network like the Internet is designed to fail slowly like that vs. the old phone network where it just overwhelmed and you just get a busy signal. There can never be 100% assurance of service availability. The costs for each 0.01% of availability at the margins can be prohibitively expensive.
I didn't get a busy signal when I called three different Vanguard numbers in order to make trades after being unable to make trades on Vanguard's website. I received a voice response that the phone system was down for routine maintenance.
Whakamole
Posts: 1763
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:59 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Whakamole »

retiringwhen wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:23 am The problems started yesterday at 5am EDT (I can attest to that first hand as I tried to to use the app around 0600 and had access issues and it is something I have done regularly in the past).

Very unlikely to have been load/traffic caused, more likely traffic worsened...

Additionally considering that voice traffic was impacted as well suggests something like a service provider issue such as cut fiber, etc.... These things happen. The fact that Vanguard was up at least partially tells me they have route diversity and they were able to deliver to some customers. On a lower traffic day, the disruption may have not even been noticed by most of the customers.

So bad luck AND traffic are my thoughts.

With that said, I hope someone at Vanguard looks at the network capacity requirements including when they loose main routes and consider if they need more diversity with additional capacity. Their growth may require it. This has non-trivial costs though and diminishing marginal returns.

I will remind everyone on this thread that in the FEB excitement, there were at least two times where Schwab and Fidelity sites were overwhelmed by traffic. A bursty network like the Internet is designed to fail slowly like that vs. the old phone network where it just overwhelmed and you just get a busy signal. There can never be 100% assurance of service availability. The costs for each 0.01% of availability at the margins can be prohibitively expensive.
Thanks for the data point. Vanguard can do little about a service provider (especially in the middle of an outage.) But they also said it was due to upgrading. I'm not sure if they could have pulled the plug on upgrading as soon as the markets started turning south, but it's still preferable that upgrades be done during non-business hours.

I don't remember the Fidelity/Schwab issues, but there's a difference between going down on a Really Really Bad Day (Brexit, etc.) and a moderately bad day like yesterday. I only cared because of TLH (and it turns out I could have waited until today since international is still down :oops: )
UpperNwGuy
Posts: 9446
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by UpperNwGuy »

These Vanguard website problems don't bother me in the least. I never buy or sell to take advantage of short-term market changes. I buy on the first of the month when my pension payment posts in my checking account. If the website is down, I wait a day and buy on the second of the month. It's great being a buy-and-hold investor. No rush. No stress.
User avatar
ruralavalon
Posts: 26297
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:29 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by ruralavalon »

Did anyone experience problems buying, selling or exchanging Vanguard mutual funds?
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
bayview
Posts: 2332
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:05 pm
Location: WNC

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by bayview »

retiringwhen wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:23 am
Whakamole wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:40 am
zx14rr wrote: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:11 am To ensure the best client experience possible, our IT group has been
upgrading our systems to leading versions to improve our infrastructure. It
is not uncommon to run into a temporary period of system down time while
navigating these upgrades. If this occurs, our IT group will work quickly
to address the issue.
Upgrading their systems which handle market-based orders during market hours seems bizarre. Typically this is done at night/on the weekend to minimize risk of customer impact.

Either their IT group is making strange choices - coincident with a Really Bad Day - or this is not entirely truthful.
The problems started yesterday at 5am EDT (I can attest to that first hand as I tried to to use the app around 0600 and had access issues and it is something I have done regularly in the past).

Very unlikely to have been load/traffic caused, more likely traffic worsened...

Additionally considering that voice traffic was impacted as well suggests something like a service provider issue such as cut fiber, etc.... These things happen. The fact that Vanguard was up at least partially tells me they have route diversity and they were able to deliver to some customers. On a lower traffic day, the disruption may have not even been noticed by most of the customers.

So bad luck AND traffic are my thoughts.

With that said, I hope someone at Vanguard looks at the network capacity requirements including when they loose main routes and consider if they need more diversity with additional capacity. Their growth may require it. This has non-trivial costs though and diminishing marginal returns.

I will remind everyone on this thread that in the FEB excitement, there were at least two times where Schwab and Fidelity sites were overwhelmed by traffic. A bursty network like the Internet is designed to fail slowly like that vs. the old phone network where it just overwhelmed and you just get a busy signal. There can never be 100% assurance of service availability. The costs for each 0.01% of availability at the margins can be prohibitively expensive.
5:23 am Eastern for me, IIRC (I posted the time upthread.) I was in, and then I wasn't. Even if investors in Europe were logging in, I wouldn't think that demand at that hour should knock things out.

If this was something scheduled, which I HIGHLY doubt, they should have had a banner up warning of it, and their error message should refer to a scheduled downtime. Neither happened.
The continuous execution of a sound strategy gives you the benefit of the strategy. That's what it's all about. --Rick Ferri
tibbitts
Posts: 23589
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:50 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by tibbitts »

Today on the MF platform I was able to do an exchange at 3:58pm ET.
holyguacamole
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:47 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by holyguacamole »

I couldn't access my mobile app for 36 hours this week. Many others had problems via the website or telephone. Never once during this weeks events did I have a problem with my Fidelity or Schwab accounts.

Another example why of the popular opinion on this board that Vanguard is better because it is owned by the people who use, instead of the people who run it, is a complete farce. I know my opinion is an unpopular one here, but folks, it's time to stop drinking the Vanguard kool-aid.
User avatar
ruralavalon
Posts: 26297
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:29 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by ruralavalon »

holyguacamole wrote: Fri Oct 12, 2018 4:08 pm I couldn't access my mobile app for 36 hours this week. Many others had problems via the website or telephone. Never once during this weeks events did I have a problem with my Fidelity or Schwab accounts.

Another example why of the popular opinion on this board that Vanguard is better because it is owned by the people who use, instead of the people who run it, is a complete farce. I know my opinion is an unpopular one here, but folks, it's time to stop drinking the Vanguard kool-aid.
I recall that back in January or February both the Fidelity and Schwab sites were down while the Vanguard site worked well.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
MFInvestor
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 7:28 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by MFInvestor »

The Financial Times has an article on this problem:

"Anger grows over Vanguard's technical malfunctions "

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... SYWV57Wb7H

They report that they only received 75 complaints. That number seems very low to me. I imagine that they can provide an estimate as to how many users received the various error messages that they posted during the course of the day and the number impacted would be much higher.


"Vanguard informed FTfm that 27 per cent of its overall operating budget was spent on technology and that it had increased spending by an average of 11 per cent a year over the past five years. It did not provide a figure for the investment.It said the problems last week were due to overnight maintenance that had a knock-on effect for the following day. It added that it had received about 75 complaints from customers, most of which were resolved by midday on Friday."



"Investors used Bogleheads, the popular web forum for devotees of the company, to vent their frustration.“Did anyone ever see Vanguard apologise for these problems? I never have,” wrote one customer. “Vanguard always reminds that online trades may not be available. For the phone system not to work is another matter, for which there should be no excuse.”Another said: “Vanguard's phone system was down due to routine maintenance. What responsible company does ‘routine maintenance’ during normal business hours?”A further forum member commented: “They are dusting off the ‘do not panic, stay the course’ scripts. Shouldn’t be too much dust on them since they were used only last February.”"
User avatar
Doom&Gloom
Posts: 5398
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Doom&Gloom »

I can't get past the welcome screen today. I didn't want to do anything and it's Sunday, but I wanted to see if I could after the posts here. No biggie--today.

I get the message to upgrade my account to the brokerage platform, but can't even see anything else. C'mon, guys!
User avatar
Doc
Posts: 10606
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:10 pm
Location: Two left turns from Larry

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Doc »

MFInvestor wrote: Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:35 pm They report that they only received 75 complaints. That number seems very low to me.
Maybe they only got 75 complaints because there phones weren't working either. :twisted:
A scientist looks for THE answer to a problem, an engineer looks for AN answer and lawyers ONLY have opinions. Investing is not a science.
User avatar
Doom&Gloom
Posts: 5398
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Doom&Gloom »

Doom&Gloom wrote: Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:48 pm I can't get past the welcome screen today. I didn't want to do anything and it's Sunday, but I wanted to see if I could after the posts here. No biggie--today.

I get the message to upgrade my account to the brokerage platform, but can't even see anything else. C'mon, guys!
Update: Out of continued curiosity, I logged in again. Again no balance info available, so I went digging through the website. Turns out that a screen had been ticked not to display my holdings. I know I didn't do that, and I have no idea how it happened. My only guess is something was changed unnecessarily when a CSR rep had to enter my account to fix another anomaly a couple of months back. Perhaps gremlins are on the loose at Vanguard.

I ticked the option to disply my holdings and all is now back to normal.
grok87
Posts: 10512
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:00 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by grok87 »

trying to pull up info on a vanguard fund on vanguards website and having problems. it keeps telling me to browse a list of funds and then when i do that and click on the fund it loops me back and tells me to browse a list of funds.

anyone else?
RIP Mr. Bogle.
User avatar
Doc
Posts: 10606
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:10 pm
Location: Two left turns from Larry

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by Doc »

grok87 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:21 pm trying to pull up info on a vanguard fund on vanguards website and having problems. it keeps telling me to browse a list of funds and then when i do that and click on the fund it loops me back and tells me to browse a list of funds.

anyone else?
No.
A scientist looks for THE answer to a problem, an engineer looks for AN answer and lawyers ONLY have opinions. Investing is not a science.
User avatar
typical.investor
Posts: 5247
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 3:17 am

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by typical.investor »

grok87 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:21 pm trying to pull up info on a vanguard fund on vanguards website and having problems. it keeps telling me to browse a list of funds and then when i do that and click on the fund it loops me back and tells me to browse a list of funds.

anyone else?
Yes and was unable to look up info on the fund.
User avatar
ruralavalon
Posts: 26297
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:29 am
Location: Illinois

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by ruralavalon »

Doc wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:51 pm
grok87 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:21 pm trying to pull up info on a vanguard fund on vanguards website and having problems. it keeps telling me to browse a list of funds and then when i do that and click on the fund it loops me back and tells me to browse a list of funds.

anyone else?
No.
No.

I just looked up funds on both the app and website, both worked fine.
"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein | Wiki article link: Bogleheads® investment philosophy
grok87
Posts: 10512
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:00 pm

Re: Vanguard website problems [Transactions won't go through, 500 error...]

Post by grok87 »

typical.investor wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:57 pm
grok87 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:21 pm trying to pull up info on a vanguard fund on vanguards website and having problems. it keeps telling me to browse a list of funds and then when i do that and click on the fund it loops me back and tells me to browse a list of funds.

anyone else?
Yes and was unable to look up info on the fund.
thanks, i'm glad it wasn't just me. the problem cleared up for me later that day.
RIP Mr. Bogle.
Post Reply