Vanguard customer service is horrible

[Kennyt7]

Waiting 1-2 hours for a call back and asking for Security Code to get on to my account is endless
Their service is getting worse and I have been with them for 40years. It was never this bad

[Tangler]

yep

[ACN]

Our taxable brokerage accounts was changed into a trust and since then on my account I'm no longer allowed to access the bank that is linked to make deposits or trade. On the other hand, my wife's account continues to have access and allowed to make the deposits and trade. It's been a few months now and I've continued to put it off because I'm not sure when I'm going to have three hours to wait on hold to figure it out.

[Larry Ragman]

Our taxable brokerage accounts was changed into a trust and since then on my account I'm no longer allowed to access the bank that is linked to make deposits or trade. On the other hand, my wife's account continues to have access and allowed to make the deposits and trade. It's been a few months now and I've continued to put it off because I'm not sure when I'm going to have three hours to wait on hold to figure it out.

can’t say about the Trust issue, but try going to your account settings, select Banking, then see if your bank account is linked. If so, delete it and then re-link. If not, link it.

[Larry Ragman]

I do get annoyed sometimes because the reps are inexperienced, but can usually do what I want without speaking to a rep. Also, FWIW, my last call was taken pretty quickly.

[Tangler]

I do get annoyed sometimes because the reps are inexperienced, but can usually do what I want without speaking to a rep. Also, FWIW, my last call was taken pretty quickly.

It is hit or miss. Some of them are amazing. Some (many) are as dumb as a sack of rocks.

[CordMcNally]

It is hit or miss. Some of them are amazing. Some (many) are as dumb as a sack of rocks.

This is pretty much every industry/job these days.

[docnews]

Calling on a weekend before tax day = bad service at every financial institution. Plus I'm willing to accept a wait to keep my basis points costs low.

[GasFIRE]

Plus I'm willing to accept a wait to keep my basis points costs low.

You can get VG ETFs for no commission at most of the usual brokerages forum members tend to frequent, there is no magic to the VG platform. Accepting poor service just perpetuates the problem. Most of my accounts are with Fidelity, one at TDA and have used Schwab in the past. While none of them are perfect, I've never had to measure phone wait time in hours. While I may expect that from the airlines, VG needs to do better.

[Kamban]

The >1.5 hr wait x 2 with no live person at the end at Vanguard was what triggered me to go forward in the future with Schwab, with whom I had an account for a long time.

I still have my old account with Vanguard and let it run on autopilot but all new money now goes to Schwab. They have an office in town and parking is available or they pay for the parking garage across the street. I also get a live person on phone calls within a few minutes and also have a Schwab person assigned to me if needed.

And I am at the high tier at both places, so Vanguard cannot blame Schwab or vice versa.

[Larry Ragman]

The >1.5 hr wait x 2 with no live person at the end at Vanguard was what triggered me to go forward in the future with Schwab, with whom I had an account for a long time.

I still have my old account with Vanguard and let it run on autopilot but all new money now goes to Schwab. They have an office in town and parking is available or they pay for the parking garage across the street. I also get a live person on phone calls within a few minutes and also have a Schwab person assigned to me if needed.

And I am at the high tier at both places, so Vanguard cannot blame Schwab or vice versa.

What does Schwab actually do for you? What is the cost structure for the services? The context of my question is that I use Vanguard to put all my investments on autopilot. I find myself wondering if I am missing out.

[Hatton]

I have never had a problem with VG. I assume everyone posting here has a flagship account with an assigned rep. I do not call with financial questions just account issues so I rarely call. Maybe once every other year.

[zlandar]

I have never had a problem with VG. I assume everyone posting here has a flagship account with an assigned rep. I do not call with financial questions just account issues so I rarely call. Maybe once every other year.

I used to have an assigned Flagship rep a couple years ago. I never spoke with him and he disappeared off my VG account. Now no rep is listed.

Not having a dedicated rep is not a big deal. What is a big deal is the interminable wait times followed by VG reps answering the phone who are unsure how to handle a problem and pass you off to someone else that is equally clueless.

I donate ETFs annually. Last year the VG online form could not handle SpecID for uncovered shares- you could not pick them. Called and the reps were clueless and didn't step up to the plate to address the problem. I had to switch to FIFO and redo the form. This was what I came up with as the VG reps just said "ummm....".

A friend had a different problem where VG flagged his the donation. He called and no one he spoke to could give him a straight answer why it was flagged and whether the transaction went through. It went through the next day with no one at VG emailing/calling him the issue was addressed.

I only call if I can't figure out my issue online. But when I call I expect competent people to address my issue.

[Kamban]

What does Schwab actually do for you? What is the cost structure for the services? The context of my question is that I use Vanguard to put all my investments on autopilot. I find myself wondering if I am missing out.

I had posted here last year about converting my traditional IRA to Roth. I also had a small 401K from an employer that I had transferred to a solo IRA ( could/did not do solo 401) at Vanguard that I also wanted to convert at the same time. That was the 3 hours of wasted call time. Luckily with help from this forum and some trial and error I could convert it. OTOH, I went to the local Schwab and a rep helped fill the paperwork on his computer to convert the traditional IRAs of my spouse and mine to Roth and all we had to do was sign. It got done in 3 days. I also got my TD brokerage account transferred to Schwab since Schwab bought them and I wanted to consolidate things.
A couple of weeks later I went in on a Friday and made a 7K deposit to my traditional IRA x 2 and the rep took care of posting it to the right account and transferring it to the Roth on Monday for the backdoor Roth. No extra steps needed to be done by me.
Just recently I heard the Schwab checking with its debit card allowed for me to withdraw foreign currency at foreign ATM with no extra fees. Went in and opened 2 checking accounts and transferred money to it and all I had to do was sign. They filled in the paperwork. I now have the debit / ATM card and ready to go travel internationally this summer ( I already have no foreign transaction fee credit cards. I wanted ATM card).
Finally for small things like having designated beneficiaries, opening a Roth and brokerage for my daughter and other issues it is so easy to pop into their office and clarify things face to face or get things done. I anyway have to go to that part of town to go to the hospital or visit my CPA and it is not out of the way. I am not going back to Vanguard.

And I have paid a cent for these services. My ETF / mutual fund expense ratio at Schwab are the same as Vanguard Admiral shares.

[doctorbone]

I had posted here last year about converting my traditional IRA to Roth. I also had a small 401K from an employer that I had transferred to a solo IRA ( could/did not do solo 401) at Vanguard that I also wanted to convert at the same time. That was the 3 hours of wasted call time. Luckily with help from this forum and some trial and error I could convert it. OTOH, I went to the local Schwab and a rep helped fill the paperwork on his computer to convert the traditional IRAs of my spouse and mine to Roth and all we had to do was sign. It got done in 3 days. I also got my TD brokerage account transferred to Schwab since Schwab bought them and I wanted to consolidate things.
A couple of weeks later I went in on a Friday and made a 7K deposit to my traditional IRA x 2 and the rep took care of posting it to the right account and transferring it to the Roth on Monday for the backdoor Roth. No extra steps needed to be done by me.
Just recently I heard the Schwab checking with its debit card allowed for me to withdraw foreign currency at foreign ATM with no extra fees. Went in and opened 2 checking accounts and transferred money to it and all I had to do was sign. They filled in the paperwork. I now have the debit / ATM card and ready to go travel internationally this summer ( I already have no foreign transaction fee credit cards. I wanted ATM card).
Finally for small things like having designated beneficiaries, opening a Roth and brokerage for my daughter and other issues it is so easy to pop into their office and clarify things face to face or get things done. I anyway have to go to that part of town to go to the hospital or visit my CPA and it is not out of the way. I am not going back to Vanguard.

And I have paid a cent for these services. My ETF / mutual fund expense ratio at Schwab are the same as Vanguard Admiral shares.

can you transfer VG mutual fund to Schwab without selling them?