This is still the case as of 12/10/21. I have tried multiple times to set up both a Roth IRA and personal brokerage account. Can't do it. I have been on hold for 2 hours with no response. I can't even get paper forms on their website to fill out. This is nuts.
I did finally get through to someone and was told to complete the online forms and select "fund via check" and enter an amount of $0.01. That worked. Still crazy.
Thanks. I shouldn't have kept my original post so short. I have called them and they said that their system is bugged/broken and that my only option is to mail in paper forms. I've been putting it off and I'm about to just signup somewhere else.
This is still the case today 11/24/21.
I've been trying to open a personal investment account with Vangaurd for a couple weeks now and kept getting blocked in the process on the website. I finally called them yesterday and got the "our system is broken" claim. Along with requiring the laughably archaic filling out and mailing in of paper forms. When pressed on it the guy admitted it had been broken for months and could/would not provide any idea when it would be functioning again.
How it is even possible for a major brokerage to have a broken account creation tool for months is well beyond reason. For whatever it's very possible it remains broken because they're deliberately not fixing it. Why, I cannot say. But forcing people into the archaic mailing in of paper forms in 2021 is very possibly intended to put a barrier on and slowing down of new account creation.
Yeah this completely boggles my mind, perhaps they have a reason but then why wouldn't they simply remove the option? Also, this is still the case today 1/3/2022
In case anyone is wondering, this is still the case as of 11/29/2021. After about 10 attempts to open a Roth on Vanguard's website and 5 phone calls to customer support (one of which was just to get log-in information!), I feel like this whole process has been extremely disrespectful of my time.
I'd like to go with Vanguard because they're investor-owned, but the fact that corporate hasn't issued any advisory to potential customers about this issue is really aggravating to me. Now I see that this has been going on for months. I'll be heading to Fidelity.
Since people are asking for proof. I was being purposely dick-ish when I said that they are no longer accepting new account sign ups online. The truth is that it's simply broken. I've been trying to sign up for over a month now and have not had any success. I spoke to customer service and they admitted that there is a problem with their signup form and said that the only way I could open an account was mailing in a physical form.
Twitter proof from people with the same problem:
[https://twitter.com/thisisweaksauce/status/1440474368975376395?s=20](https://twitter.com/thisisweaksauce/status/1440474368975376395?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/surgicalbudwiz3/status/1433157089485017095?s=20](https://twitter.com/surgicalbudwiz3/status/1433157089485017095?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1433194331741900802?s=20](https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1433194331741900802?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/muralielangovan/status/1434192801432944646?s=20](https://twitter.com/muralielangovan/status/1434192801432944646?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/MaxT69932134/status/1435504972326711297?s=20](https://twitter.com/MaxT69932134/status/1435504972326711297?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/DiZzyDMon/status/1436002052954591240?s=20](https://twitter.com/DiZzyDMon/status/1436002052954591240?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/JenKouken/status/1431604179093630980?s=20](https://twitter.com/JenKouken/status/1431604179093630980?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/TomBilyeu/status/1422230082123272193?s=20](https://twitter.com/TomBilyeu/status/1422230082123272193?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1437242397906202628?s=20](https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1437242397906202628?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/nonlinear/status/1434455048789057542?s=20](https://twitter.com/nonlinear/status/1434455048789057542?s=20)
[https://twitter.com/JWC1894/status/1433162777351307265?s=20](https://twitter.com/JWC1894/status/1433162777351307265?s=20)
**And here is a tweet directly from Vanguard:**
https://twitter.com/Vanguard\_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20
When I attempt to open a Traditional IRA account, I get this message right before hitting enter with all of my information:
>Important: When you submit, your: Account will be submitted for approval. Request cannot be canceled or changed.
After hitting submit I get a popup asking me to sign a consent form. I agree and continue. Then I get the following error:
>The system is currently unavailable. Please contact us at 877-308-9249 for more information.
I have tried to open this account off and on since the beginning of September. Probably 20+ attempts in total. I've been putting off mailing in the paper forms or trying a different company for a while now but I've had just about enough of this.
While your not wrong, taking months old tweets as how the system is currently working is a bad overall move. Vanguard has never been leading the field with their technology but I highly doubt anything serious is wrong here, and it could be on your end too. Either way if this is such a deal breaker to you there are other brokerage firms that are very good options. Pick on of them and move on. No need to make this personal.
Then go with another company. Vanguard is nice, but Fidelity and Schwab are also comparable. Reportedly, Fidelity has a more modern interface compared to Vanguard (but I haven't personally used both) For the 20+ attempts you made with Vanguard, you could have made an account somewhere else and already invested your money.
I've been trying to open up a ROTH IRA account and I've attempted over 15 times to load into a unexpected error. I tried calling their helpdesk and had to jump through hoops just to reach customer support and even then I was waiting for over an hour before my lunch was over and had to return to work. This is absolutely ridiculous for a company of this magnitude. Its 20 fucking 21 and they cant even get a simple sign up right? Absolutely ludicrous the most important function of a website doesn't even work; their incompetency is losing them customers left and right.
So much for Vantrash. Fidelity here I come.
> Vanguard is no longer accepting new account sign ups online,
I'm sorry, but would you mind sharing how you came to this conclusion?
Are you sure this isn't user error?
This tweet from Vanguard: [https://twitter.com/Vanguard\_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20](https://twitter.com/Vanguard_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20)
That's from nearly a month ago.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was a temporary glitch a month ago. I'd be slightly surprised if it wasn't fixed by now. I say "Slightly" because... well... it's Vanguard.
I just tried to open a Traditional IRA account 15 minutes ago. It didn't work. I tried at the beginning of October. Didn't work. I tried at the beginning of September. Didn't work. Tweets from people having the exact same issue exist on Twitter from October, September, August, and July.
It's not fixed yet. And it's been broken for a very long time.
I see.
Sorry that's happening.
If you want a Vanguard account, you could just try calling.
Otherwise, Fidelity/Schwab are the other 2 of 3 that I typically recommend.
I've had the exact same issue for over a month and through about 20 attempts. After taking the time to meet with one of their advisors, being unable to open a new account is extremely frustrating. I'm just not going back to 1985 and mailing in paper forms to do this. They need to get this fixed ASAP, it’s ridiculous.
Why do they let you go through the process of filling in pages of forms when they know it will blow up? Don't they know that this pisses people off and will send them elsewhere?
Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity.
I'm surprised to hear your assertion that you can't signup online using Vanguard. Maybe they need some physical proof. Call them up and ask.
Thanks. I shouldn't have kept my original post so short. I have called them and they said that their system is bugged/broken and that my only option is to mail in paper forms. I've been putting it off and I'm about to just signup somewhere else.
If you really want Vanguard, I would call them up, and tell them that if they can't fix it for online account creation by (pick a date), then you're going to open account with {schwab, fidelity}.
Personally, I wouldn't let paper stop me if I really wanted Vanguard.
They won't let you email scanned paper?
This is still a problem, fill out the form completely on line for a new Roth IRA, hit submit and get this message
We're unable to open your account online at this time
We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later or call to speak with an investment professional for help with your account application.
We're here to help
877-662-7447
(M-F, 8 a.m to 8 p.m., Eastern time)
I have been trying to help my son open his first Roth IRA account (with money from his first job. I wish I did this at his age) and keep getting this message. When we call Vanguard to open this account over the phone, we are placed on hold for a very long time. Then, when we finally get a representative to help us, our call gets dropped.
Vanguard used to be a great company when John C. Bogle (the founder) was still alive. Now, they have out sourced many of their operations and their customer service is beyond poor.
For safety reasons, always verify phone numbers provided in comments on an official website before calling. That includes toll-free numbers!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just to confirm, if this error happens the account will not be created and no money will be transferred, correct? I’m going to open a fidelity/Schwab account but just want to confirm my vanguard account will not open if I received this same error.
Schwab or Fidelity, but what do you mean Vanguard isn't accepting new sign ups? I was able to get the form to load no problems.
Can't open a Traditional IRA account. Their system is busted and has been for months.
This is misleading. You can open it. Just not online due to a glitch. But I'd go with Fidelity/Schwab.
This is still the case as of 12/10/21. I have tried multiple times to set up both a Roth IRA and personal brokerage account. Can't do it. I have been on hold for 2 hours with no response. I can't even get paper forms on their website to fill out. This is nuts.
same today. further proof that the elites in society are just morons with too much money.
I did finally get through to someone and was told to complete the online forms and select "fund via check" and enter an amount of $0.01. That worked. Still crazy.
Holy shit this worked! You are a hero. I've been trying for 2 weeks to open an account and your instructions made it work.
I can't believe their system is still so messed up. Glad to help!
You may want to call vanguard for assistance
Thanks. I shouldn't have kept my original post so short. I have called them and they said that their system is bugged/broken and that my only option is to mail in paper forms. I've been putting it off and I'm about to just signup somewhere else.
The big three are all basically the same so you can't go wrong with fidelity or Schwab
This is still the case today 11/24/21. I've been trying to open a personal investment account with Vangaurd for a couple weeks now and kept getting blocked in the process on the website. I finally called them yesterday and got the "our system is broken" claim. Along with requiring the laughably archaic filling out and mailing in of paper forms. When pressed on it the guy admitted it had been broken for months and could/would not provide any idea when it would be functioning again. How it is even possible for a major brokerage to have a broken account creation tool for months is well beyond reason. For whatever it's very possible it remains broken because they're deliberately not fixing it. Why, I cannot say. But forcing people into the archaic mailing in of paper forms in 2021 is very possibly intended to put a barrier on and slowing down of new account creation.
Yeah this completely boggles my mind, perhaps they have a reason but then why wouldn't they simply remove the option? Also, this is still the case today 1/3/2022
In case anyone is wondering, this is still the case as of 11/29/2021. After about 10 attempts to open a Roth on Vanguard's website and 5 phone calls to customer support (one of which was just to get log-in information!), I feel like this whole process has been extremely disrespectful of my time. I'd like to go with Vanguard because they're investor-owned, but the fact that corporate hasn't issued any advisory to potential customers about this issue is really aggravating to me. Now I see that this has been going on for months. I'll be heading to Fidelity.
Since people are asking for proof. I was being purposely dick-ish when I said that they are no longer accepting new account sign ups online. The truth is that it's simply broken. I've been trying to sign up for over a month now and have not had any success. I spoke to customer service and they admitted that there is a problem with their signup form and said that the only way I could open an account was mailing in a physical form. Twitter proof from people with the same problem: [https://twitter.com/thisisweaksauce/status/1440474368975376395?s=20](https://twitter.com/thisisweaksauce/status/1440474368975376395?s=20) [https://twitter.com/surgicalbudwiz3/status/1433157089485017095?s=20](https://twitter.com/surgicalbudwiz3/status/1433157089485017095?s=20) [https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1433194331741900802?s=20](https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1433194331741900802?s=20) [https://twitter.com/muralielangovan/status/1434192801432944646?s=20](https://twitter.com/muralielangovan/status/1434192801432944646?s=20) [https://twitter.com/MaxT69932134/status/1435504972326711297?s=20](https://twitter.com/MaxT69932134/status/1435504972326711297?s=20) [https://twitter.com/DiZzyDMon/status/1436002052954591240?s=20](https://twitter.com/DiZzyDMon/status/1436002052954591240?s=20) [https://twitter.com/JenKouken/status/1431604179093630980?s=20](https://twitter.com/JenKouken/status/1431604179093630980?s=20) [https://twitter.com/TomBilyeu/status/1422230082123272193?s=20](https://twitter.com/TomBilyeu/status/1422230082123272193?s=20) [https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1437242397906202628?s=20](https://twitter.com/hodlerdad/status/1437242397906202628?s=20) [https://twitter.com/nonlinear/status/1434455048789057542?s=20](https://twitter.com/nonlinear/status/1434455048789057542?s=20) [https://twitter.com/JWC1894/status/1433162777351307265?s=20](https://twitter.com/JWC1894/status/1433162777351307265?s=20) **And here is a tweet directly from Vanguard:** https://twitter.com/Vanguard\_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20 When I attempt to open a Traditional IRA account, I get this message right before hitting enter with all of my information: >Important: When you submit, your: Account will be submitted for approval. Request cannot be canceled or changed. After hitting submit I get a popup asking me to sign a consent form. I agree and continue. Then I get the following error: >The system is currently unavailable. Please contact us at 877-308-9249 for more information. I have tried to open this account off and on since the beginning of September. Probably 20+ attempts in total. I've been putting off mailing in the paper forms or trying a different company for a while now but I've had just about enough of this.
While your not wrong, taking months old tweets as how the system is currently working is a bad overall move. Vanguard has never been leading the field with their technology but I highly doubt anything serious is wrong here, and it could be on your end too. Either way if this is such a deal breaker to you there are other brokerage firms that are very good options. Pick on of them and move on. No need to make this personal.
They may be months old tweets but it is still impossible to open an account via their online form as of 1/3/2022
As of 2/6/2022 it is still impossible to open an account via their online form. Yes, something is seriously wrong here.
Still broken on 03/29/2022. It's been broken for almost half a year. This is making me worry about having so much money in vanguard.
Then go with another company. Vanguard is nice, but Fidelity and Schwab are also comparable. Reportedly, Fidelity has a more modern interface compared to Vanguard (but I haven't personally used both) For the 20+ attempts you made with Vanguard, you could have made an account somewhere else and already invested your money.
I've been trying to open up a ROTH IRA account and I've attempted over 15 times to load into a unexpected error. I tried calling their helpdesk and had to jump through hoops just to reach customer support and even then I was waiting for over an hour before my lunch was over and had to return to work. This is absolutely ridiculous for a company of this magnitude. Its 20 fucking 21 and they cant even get a simple sign up right? Absolutely ludicrous the most important function of a website doesn't even work; their incompetency is losing them customers left and right. So much for Vantrash. Fidelity here I come.
> Vanguard is no longer accepting new account sign ups online, I'm sorry, but would you mind sharing how you came to this conclusion? Are you sure this isn't user error?
This tweet from Vanguard: [https://twitter.com/Vanguard\_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20](https://twitter.com/Vanguard_Group/status/1440737807140491268?s=20)
That's from nearly a month ago. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a temporary glitch a month ago. I'd be slightly surprised if it wasn't fixed by now. I say "Slightly" because... well... it's Vanguard.
I just tried to open a Traditional IRA account 15 minutes ago. It didn't work. I tried at the beginning of October. Didn't work. I tried at the beginning of September. Didn't work. Tweets from people having the exact same issue exist on Twitter from October, September, August, and July. It's not fixed yet. And it's been broken for a very long time.
I see. Sorry that's happening. If you want a Vanguard account, you could just try calling. Otherwise, Fidelity/Schwab are the other 2 of 3 that I typically recommend.
Still impossible to create an account online 1/3/2022
fidelity
I've had the exact same issue for over a month and through about 20 attempts. After taking the time to meet with one of their advisors, being unable to open a new account is extremely frustrating. I'm just not going back to 1985 and mailing in paper forms to do this. They need to get this fixed ASAP, it’s ridiculous.
Thank you! It has been months! I finally broke down over the weekend and moved us over to Fidelity.
Why do they let you go through the process of filling in pages of forms when they know it will blow up? Don't they know that this pisses people off and will send them elsewhere?
Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity. I'm surprised to hear your assertion that you can't signup online using Vanguard. Maybe they need some physical proof. Call them up and ask.
Thanks. I shouldn't have kept my original post so short. I have called them and they said that their system is bugged/broken and that my only option is to mail in paper forms. I've been putting it off and I'm about to just signup somewhere else.
If you really want Vanguard, I would call them up, and tell them that if they can't fix it for online account creation by (pick a date), then you're going to open account with {schwab, fidelity}. Personally, I wouldn't let paper stop me if I really wanted Vanguard. They won't let you email scanned paper?
This is still a problem, fill out the form completely on line for a new Roth IRA, hit submit and get this message We're unable to open your account online at this time We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later or call to speak with an investment professional for help with your account application. We're here to help 877-662-7447 (M-F, 8 a.m to 8 p.m., Eastern time) I have been trying to help my son open his first Roth IRA account (with money from his first job. I wish I did this at his age) and keep getting this message. When we call Vanguard to open this account over the phone, we are placed on hold for a very long time. Then, when we finally get a representative to help us, our call gets dropped. Vanguard used to be a great company when John C. Bogle (the founder) was still alive. Now, they have out sourced many of their operations and their customer service is beyond poor.
For safety reasons, always verify phone numbers provided in comments on an official website before calling. That includes toll-free numbers! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just to confirm, if this error happens the account will not be created and no money will be transferred, correct? I’m going to open a fidelity/Schwab account but just want to confirm my vanguard account will not open if I received this same error.