The Vanguard Group - Scottsdale, Arizona

Michael L.

As a small business owner, I opened a Solo 401(k) with Vanguard at the end of the year. The IRS allows these accounts to be funded when filing taxes—up to as late as September of the following year. So, in September, when I went to make my contribution, I was blindsided to find that while my account appeared active on their website, it was completely locked. After calling Vanguard, I was informed that my account had been frozen without my consent and, shockingly, without any notification.

This left me in a nightmare scenario: I could not contribute to my retirement, and I was now facing a massive tax bill, penalties, and interest. When I reached out to Vanguard to express my outrage that they had completely sabotaged my ability to save, their response was dismissive and indifferent. They told me, "You are not the first one, and neither will you be the last." I later learned that Vanguard had frozen all zero-balance accounts earlier in the year—without any warning to account holders. This level of negligence and disregard for their customers is not just frustrating; it’s irresponsible and even illegal.

I wasted hours on calls, emails, and messages, trying to get answers, only to be met with nothing but unhelpful and condescending responses. Eventually, Vanguard said they would no longer communicate with me. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and their response? They ignored it completely.

The result of Vanguard’s incompetence? I had to pay a private third-party administrator a painful $4,150 to set up a new retirement account. That’s a huge loss for a small business struggling to get off the ground. When I think about what that $4,150 could have grown to by the time I retire, it makes me sick to my stomach. When I contacted the SEC, they warned me that when Vanguard learned of the complaint, they could terminate all my accounts and make up some reason for doing so, so I shouldn’t be surprised if they did.

But it gets worse. Vanguard isn’t just harming small business owners like me. At a recent Bogleheads convention (you can find it on YouTube), there were countless long-time Vanguard customers—retirees living on fixed incomes—who had faithfully contributed to their accounts year after year without ever needing to contact Vanguard. They trusted the company and assumed everything was fine until they reached out for the first time. They were stunned by the appalling level of poor customer service and indifference they encountered. After years of loyalty, they were treated like their concerns didn’t matter and were dismissed with no regard for their needs.

These retirees, who had contributed diligently for years, are now trapped. They can’t leave Vanguard because the astronomical fees to transfer their accounts would strip them of their hard-earned retirement dollars. So, they are stuck in this toxic relationship with a company that has shown no respect for them, no gratitude for their long-term business, and no intention of providing the service they deserve.

That’s what Vanguard has become: an institution that locks up your money, freezes your accounts, and forces you to remain with them because they know you have no choice. If you’re a small business owner, retiree, or anyone who values their financial future, do NOT make the mistake of trusting Vanguard. They are indifferent, unprofessional, and show no respect for their customers. If you want your retirement and your money to be handled properly, take your business elsewhere. Vanguard has proven that they don’t care about you, and might never.

Bakhtiar P.

Extremely disappointed with Vanguard today. Just got hit with $25 fee from each of my funds in my Simple IRA with no warning and no notice. Called to inquire about the fees and they explained they are new fund fees and they apologize that there was no advance notice. They also said my fees would be reimbursed if i open a brokerage account with at least $50K. After account was opened, I called to inquire about reimbursing the account fees only to be told that I misunderstood and that they don't reimburse such things and that I had to wait until next year before those fees would be waive. Such deplorable practices by Vanguard. Now i'm in the process of cutting ties with them COMPLETELY. I suggest everyone stay away from them entirely.

Mark P.

You don't always get what you pay for. January 2022, I moved my 85 year old fathers investment accounts to Vanguard. We started with 880K and opted for a 50/50 portfolio. 6 months later, the account was down 120K. Prior to settling on the various investments, I asked the Advisor how he planned to invest the proceeds given all the market uncertainty. His philosophy was not to pick the market bottom but rather go all in and take a wait and see approach. This immediately handy capped us with no ablity to dollar cost average. The firms' market projections for our holdings were 8-8.5% return annually. Needless to say, we terminated the relationship with the advisor 1 year later in January 2023. To dated the accounts are within 45K of where we started given my brother's, and I are actively managing Dads money now. Lesson learned. Although the Advisor may have meant well, he was way over the front of his skies. All the algorithms and training can't replace real experience.....maybe that's why they call them advisors and not money managers. Don't make the same mistake we did. Take the time to find a true professional, you will be glad you did. Vanguard did us no favors.

architektura 2.

Vanguard will do all possible tricks to hold your money. They blocked access to my account after I moved some founds to the bank which is connected with my vanguard account from, and from which bank I founded Vanguard. They called this transaction a fraud activity. To unblock, they require their PAPER filled and NOTARIZED form to be mailed. I am traveling, and when asked how it can be resolved, well, turned out it can't. The Fraud department can't be called. Only one of 4 agents (sales people really) told that there is a phone option to unblock, and I will be basically interrogated. One agent hung up. Two more times I called, the system hung up. I found another number to call. Every step in the conversation I was put on hold for a long time. Finally after 3 hours on the phone, after I asked for a case number, they claim they will call in 72 hours!!!! I am still waiting. This is not the first time when Vanguard is blocking access to my money under all kinds of absurd claims. I have never invested in a worse from Vanguard company. You can open an account in 5 minutes, when you want access to your money, you will not have it without very stressful process. The same happened to my daughter when from the sale of her home she wanted to invest the equity. They right away blocked her account to FBA investigation where the money came from, although, all transfers were legal and accessible to any financial institution to see. And I was the one who recommended it to her. True, they were the only one who offers some return on a money market account, but to me it is not worth the stress especially when I needed to access my savings for an emergency.

M. J.

Fraudulent company. It started hiding Total Profit and Loss table for each holdings. No way to send message to Vanguard on customer messages. They started hiding the critical things. All Vanguard website care about it quick transfer retail investors' hard earned money into theirs.

Janece S.

DO Not get Vanguard! I've been with Vanguard for about 2 years now. I never had an issue with them because I never needed anything from them till I purchased a home... Which should be exciting but having to deal with Vanguard made it miserable. Since February I've been trying to process my withdrawal it's April now and I haven't gotten anywhere with it. The Customer Service is horrible. Every time you call you'll be on hold for at least a hour or longer, the Reps give you misleading information on deadlines, they send you automated emails and you can never get real person to help you out. I'm in the process of TRYING to get funds for my new home and Vanguard has been making this big moment for me sooo Miserable. My sister has this same issue. I would NOT recommend Vanguard they are no help and this is the worst experience I've ever had. If I could give them 1/4 of a star that's how I would rate them. If you look at their fb page and instagram many ppl have had the same issues and reviews. Look up all the reviews and you'll see it would be a mistake to invest in them.

Becky R.

Vanguard's ETFs are great in terms of performance and low fees, but once you're a customer, if you need to get a hold of them for anything, forget it. I've spent over 30 minutes on hold this morning and another 45 (and counting) this evening, and I still have not been able to speak to an actual human being. And their website doesn't address the questions that I have. In short, great funds but non-existent customer service!

Vincent K.

Alex Barrett boasts to his friends in the golf course about taking your money and what a scam it is. Fools errands to give money to this company. Carrot on a stick a promise of being rich in 10 years. Alex Barrett is a flimsy alcoholic who cheats on his wife and talks freely to others people’s women because of the money going to his head from this scam of a company.