I tried to set up an online account with Vanguard recently. At the end of the signup flow, I got an error saying I had to phone it. It was a weekend so I tried a couple days later during business hours just to be sure and because I loathe dealing with human beings for stuff that should be able to be handled by a website. Same result.
So I phoned in, spent a half-hour with a human being. He was audibly cursing as he tried to get me set up. At one point, after I had given him my name and other PII, he addressed by a different first name then quickly corrected himself.
At the end, he said, "Ok, now you'll get an email to finish setting up your account." Email arrived and it was addressed to someone with a different name. I recognized the first name as the same name the agent had mistakenly used with me.
Suffice to say, I did not finish setting up my account and decided to stick with Fidelity.
It's probably uncommon to deal with a human at Vanguard. I know I never have.
Plus, I have my own story about Robinhood - they couldn't or wouldn't change my email address. I think they expect users to upload pictures of ID and such.
That's crazy and completely disqualifies them for anything serious, for me.
If something is really important, then you do it in person, with a local representative or notary or something.
If it's not that important, then they don't need ID theft material in digital format. They already leaked the info they have!
It is not a feature to have the ability to make critical changes without friction from anywhere in the world over the internet, with the right bitstream. It's completely unacceptable.
My entire relationship with Robinhood involves a trivial amount of crypto that I don't trade, on the assumption they are the (one of the) most government compliant or least shady ways to hold that. That is based on my outlook being the complete opposite of the cliché "not your keys, not your coins".
Other than my "free stock" I don't own any non-crypto and never will.
Confirming my negative attitude was their recent data breach, which we will never know for sure the scope of, but I suddenly started getting investment scam spam from known scofflaws at the email address Robinhood has and probably leaked.
The SEC has a "catch and release" program for even small-timers; it sure is a disincentive to report criminal activity when you see in the public record someone already was caught and paid a fine and kept right on keeping on.
So I phoned in, spent a half-hour with a human being. He was audibly cursing as he tried to get me set up. At one point, after I had given him my name and other PII, he addressed by a different first name then quickly corrected himself.
At the end, he said, "Ok, now you'll get an email to finish setting up your account." Email arrived and it was addressed to someone with a different name. I recognized the first name as the same name the agent had mistakenly used with me.
Suffice to say, I did not finish setting up my account and decided to stick with Fidelity.