Vanguard, I AM Disappointed

If it's not for your mutual fund products, I probably don't want any business with you! 

Well, that was my feeling after a 30+ minutes phone conversation with Vanguard last night. I thought I already had enough trouble with Vanguard for our Roth IRA assets transfer, but it isn't over.

When I got home last night, there were two letters from Vanguard. One said additional information is required for my account and asked me to call the Client Service Department. The other one is a Confirmation of Account Changes Mutual Funds. Before calling the Client Service number, I took a look at the Confirmation letter and found that under the "Old" column, all my information, name, fund name, bank name, bank routing number, bank account number, and the date and amount of the automatic investment plan I selected, seemed to be correct. However, under the "New" column where I assumed the changes were made, there is a "This option has been discontinued" note for both the banking and automatic investment plan. Why discontinued?

So I called the client service and told the CSR my confusion. After being put on hold for nearly 10 minutes in absolute silence (and once I thought I lost the connection), the CSR came back and said because they couldn't verify my banking information, those services were put on hold.

"Why can't you verify my bank information?" I asked.

"Because the checking account number is wrong and we can't verify with the bank," said the CSR.

But I sent a voided check with the application form, how could it be wrong? And I transfered more than one funds from Scottrade to Vanguard, yet only one of them was in the confirmation letter with the "discontinued" notes. Does it mean all other funds are fine, but only one got wrong banking information? How could that be?

Then I asked the CSR "What's the checking account number you have in my file?"

After the CSR read back the number, I asked "Do you have the check I sent to you with my application?" The CSR apparently went back to search my file and I was put on hold again. And before he left, he didn't forget to tell me "I am here to assist you." Yes, assisting me!

When he came back and read me the account number on the check, I asked him "Did you see any difference between the two numbers you just read to me?"

"Yes, looks like a 2 is missing," he said.

"I sent you a check with the account number and when you found you couldn't verify it with the bank, you didn't go back to the check I sent you and just assumed it's my fault. If you don't use check, why bother asking me to send it anyway?"

"I apologize for the mistyping. I have corrected it and will put it through," he said after a pause.

What can I say?

And one more. When the CSR read the account number from the check, he told me he couldn't tell whether a number is 1 or 6. When I told him it was 1, he said "It's really not very clear from the check."

Come on, that's an original check, not a counterfeit or photocopy!

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