ComplaintsforBetterment

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up for this service and started making regular deposits to it. Shortly after I did, so my bank account was hacked. I was forced to close the account my contributions were coming from and open a new one. I went through the process of trying to withdraw my funds to the new account, but once I'd complied with their steps (they sent micro deposits to the new checking account that I had to verify back to them in the app), they refused to give back the money. They said I now needed to send them a copy of my personal identification and a copy of my bank statement. I refused and they're refusing to return my money. This is a scam and probably the reason my bank account got hacked in the first place.

  Business response

  06/28/2024

  Dear **************,

  
  Betterment LLC (Betterment or the Firm) is responding to your complaint submitted to the Betterment *************** (BBB) regarding a withdrawal request.
  On June 18, 2024, you initiated a withdrawal from your General Investing account. Your withdrawal was automatically held by our system so we could verify ownership of your  bank account ending in **** since it was a newly linked account.  To protect our clients accounts, we require ownership verification of any bank account that is connected to a Betterment account. When we cannot fully verify account ownership, we will request additional information directly from you, the Betterment client. Once this process is completed, the account will remain verified for future withdrawals.

  
  On June 18, 2024, you reached out to our Customer Experience Team regarding the bank verification requirement. We informed you that we could re-route the funds to the account ending in 2263, which is the original funding account for your General Investing Betterment account. You then informed us that your original funding bank account was now closed and was replaced with the bank account ending in ****, which was newly linked.
  After careful consideration, our Operations team was able to make a one-time exception to release your withdrawal. The Operations team also notified you that the bank account ending in **** will remain unverified and any future transactions with that account *** require verification.
  We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this *** have caused.

  
  Betterment LLC
  

  
  

  Customer response

  07/01/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   They only returned my money after I threatened to file a complaint with their local state's Attorney General's office.  Then suddenly their attempt to gain my banking and PII information was no longer a requirement they upheld.  Proving without a doubt to me that what they're doing is illegal and they know it. 

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  07/11/2024

  Dear **************,

  First and foremost, we sincerely apologize that our initial response did not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. At Betterment, we strive to address and resolve all customer complaints to the best of our ability.

  As we previously noted, we require verification that any bank account connected to a Betterment account be owned by the Betterment client. On June 18, 2024, and June 20, 2024, we communicated our requirements for such account verification. These requirements are necessary to protect our clients from fraud and are in line with our legal and regulatory obligations to collect and store certain personal information in order to provide you with financial services. Betterment provides details on the need to obtain such personal information in the terms of the Customer Agreement you entered into at account opening as well as our privacy policy. 
  

  Given that you are a valued customer, after further review of your request, our Operations team made a one-time exception to release your withdrawal. Please note that your bank account remains unverified, so any future withdrawal requests will require additional verification as previously communicated to you.

  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this heightened security measure *** have caused. We hope this response addresses your concerns and we have resolved the issue to your satisfaction. 

  Betterment LLC

  
  

  Customer response

  07/11/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

   

   After carefully considering their reply, I find that it fails to justify their practices of unreasonably gathering personally identifiable information (PII) and financial data. The response is filled with reiterations of excuses that do not address the core issues of my complaint or alleviate my concerns regarding their business practices.
  Therefore, I formally reject their response. My decision is final, and I remain firm in my stance that their business practices are questionable and do not meet acceptable standards of privacy and data security imho.  

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received an email that I was automatically enrolled into a **** 401K retirement plan which I did not authorize & never knew until I received an email on 6/5/2024 to which I immediately contacted the company, ************************** spoke with ******* who couldn't help me but promised me that she would find out & email me the info. I gave it 2 days & called ******************************** answered the phone & when she heard it was me (again), she disconnected the call so I called back and this time I spoke to ****** and she was also unable to help so I asked to speak to a supervisor...****** said the supervisor can only communicate via email so I provided both work & home email because I am requesting the money back that no one was given permission to take to begin with and now I can't seem to get a straight answer from ********** have made contact twice on the phone with **************** and then I also received an email from ******. I want to withdraw my funds that should have never been deposited with to begin with without my authorization and now I am being told I am going to be penalized on my taxes....in which I should not be & Betterment needs to have a BETTER solution to this! This seems like a scam!

  Business response

  06/21/2024

  Dear **************,
  
  You contacted Betterment Support on June 5, 2024, with concerns about deductions from your paycheck for a 401(k) plan for your employer, ******** Law LLC. Upon reviewing your account, we confirmed that deductions were being made, due to your employer's policy on automatic enrollment. 
  
  We recognize that the communication and service provided to you fell short of our standards when our Customer Experience Team failed to follow up with you immediately after you experienced a call being disconnected. In response, we took several steps to rectify the situation. 
  
  Our Betterment Plan Support team has adjusted your contribution rate to 0%, ensuring no further deductions are made. We also provided guidance on how you could consult your plan administrator to correct any contributions and explore options for withdrawing your funds. This included specific instructions for your employer to terminate you from the plan in the payroll system used, allowing you the option to withdraw your funds.
  
  Our Plan Support team has been directly involved, emphasizing the urgency of the situation to the plan administrator, and will continue to offer support and guidance to facilitate the necessary actions.
  
  We regret the inconvenience and frustration caused during this process and are dedicated to ensuring such issues are handled with greater care in the future. 
  
  
  Betterment LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been working with Betterment since January of 2024 to try and get my retirement funds from a previous employer transferred to my current employer. Numerous emails, multiple attempts to speak with someone on the phone and tedious paperwork has all taken place with no resolve. My check had to be reissued due to not making it to my current retirement account with zero explanation. Betterment is also refusing to reissue the check with tracking information as a resolution. Today, when I was able to speak to someone all she could offer was the reply that they are back logged due to tax season. I am planning to seek the advice of a financial attorney, I feel as if I have no other options at this point.

  Business response

  05/09/2024

  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this delay in your outbound Traditional *** transfer has caused and the delays in responding to your inquiries. We aim to handle all transfers swiftly and apologize that this was not the case for your transfer. We can confirm that as of April 29, 2024, our Operations team has reissued the check for your *** transfer using the information you provided to us on April 15, 2024. The check should arrive at Fidelity within ***** business days of the date of mailing.  

  Our Operations team will be monitoring the status of the check to ensure it is cashed by the receiver. 
  

  Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. 

  Betterment LLC
  
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Requested to have an investment accounted transferred to another bank. Submitted request to transfer form 3 times over a full month and cannot get resolution on my issue despite multiple calls to customer service.

  Customer response

  04/03/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The main issue is that I had an account with ********************** and I requested to close it. They confirmed it was closed. And yet they continued to withdraw money automatically for nearly one year from my **** and I had almost no way to stop them because they locked me out of my online account when I moved to ***** 2 years ago and their phone customer service was either not functioning or ineffective as I was now living abroad. I attached my recent communication with them. It seems that my account is now closed but I can't even be sure yet. Details: I opened the account in July 2021 with a $2,000 deposit. From August 2021 onwards, I activated an automatic $100 deposit That means that by the end of the year 2021, *********** totaled $2,500 The entire year of 2022, the deposits totaled $1,200 ($100 per month) So by the end of 2022, my total deposited money would've been around $3,700 And yet, when I first asked for my account to be closed and the money to be transferred, I only received a ~$3,300 deposit. Not only did Betterment not earn me a single *****, I somehow lost ~$400 by trusting Betterment with my investments!Then, I found out that Betterment never actually closed my account and continued to illegally withdraw $100 from my **** for ONE MORE YEAR. My starting balance of Jan 1 2023 was thus $0 and they took $1,200 of deposits from me ($100 per month) and my ending balance for 2023 was $1,259. They took one more deposit of $100 from me in January 2024 before finally closing my account, which means I deposited ~$1,300 of my money in my Betterment account from January 1 2023 to present day. And I received a final $1,335 deposit of my funds back into my **** of america account.So basically, I was a Betterment customer for 2.5 years and they fraudulently took autodeposits for 1 year even though I demanded an account closure and was confirmed this took place, and I LOST $400 of money that I had deposited!

  Business response

  02/22/2024

  We have discussed and resolved the issue with the customer and consider the matter closed.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I wish I had read these complaints before using this bank. I initiated a transfer of my full balance (most of my entire life savings) to another bank account. That bank account had been verified prior to making the transfer. But I got an email that said "we were unable to automatically verify your .. account before processing your withdrawal". And it gave a lot of conflicting information such as "In the meantime, we have placed a hold on your withdrawal, pending security verification. Note that we cannot cancel a withdrawal after it has been initiated." so you put a hold on it, but also cannot ever cancel it? So then what happens to my money? You just have it forever? They also said "Please note, the easiest and fastest option is to send the funds to [a 3rd] account. If you wish to route funds back to this bank account, please reply with your authorization and full name as approval." Which I did, but then another user here said when they did that, that bank account never got the funds. I'm really scared I lost my whole life savings. I can't afford even for it to be tied up for weeks as I'm unemployed.

  Business response

  02/07/2024

  We have discussed and resolved the issue with the customer and consider the matter closed.
  
  

  Customer response

  02/08/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In late 2023, I attempted to engage Betterment to transfer traditional *** funds to another account. I was given the runaround and told they don't liquidate the holdings??! Then, I was told I had to mail the request since the company doesn't offer online options. This takes 3-4 weeks. This is a corrupt unethical attempt to hold customer funds for almost a month. When you want to transfer money in, this is not the case as they will happily take your money. They also charge $75 to transfer out. These details aren't easily found on their website. You have to jump through hoops to get it. I will never do business with these crooks again. And, I don't recommend that you do either.

  Business response

  01/10/2024

  We have discussed and resolved the issue with the customer and consider the matter closed.

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I initiated a withdrawal from Betterment on December 1, only to be asked to verify the account that the funds originated from. I am unable to do so because I closed that account after transferring funds to Betterment. I called to speak to them and received an email stating that my transfer had been approved. It's now been 11 days and I still have not received my money. After the challenges with the December 1 transfer I decided to close my Betterment account. I initiated a second withdrawal on December 5. I have yet to receive funds from either transfer and the both withdrawals are still listed as 'pending' on the Betterment website. I would like assistance resolving this issue so that I can close my Betterment account. As of today they are still refusing to release my funds.

  Customer response

  12/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I requested a transfer from my Betterment account on Tuesday, November 14th with an estimated completion of Thursday, November 16. The funds still have still not hit my checking accounts on Friday, November 17. I called for a status update and I was informed that the withdrawal was put on hold pending verification of the originating account for those funds which had been deposited months prior (July 2023) and were initiated on Betterments portal. They said I had to verify the originating account, which was closed in July following my transfer of funds to Betterment. They are asking for an account statement, which I cannot get, again, because the account is closed. I do not understand how they accepted the funds in July and are only now asking for verification. They promised that client services email me and I have yet to hear from them.

  Business response

  11/20/2023

  We have discussed and resolved the issue with the customer and consider the matter closed.
  
  

  Customer response

  11/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My ************ shall earn 5.5% APY with a ****% boost since August 22, 2023, but currently, it shows only ****%. Please investigate and make up the interests.

  Business response

  11/20/2023

  We have discussed and resolved the issue with the customer and consider the matter closed.
  
  

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******
  
  
  
   
  
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩