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Post by PescadorPete » Wed Oct 04, 2023 7:21 am
I just tried transferring some funds from my bank to Vanguard and got this message:
"This bank account can't be used until it is authorized. To authorize this bank, print the Bank Transfer Service Form and return it to us with signatures notarized by a notary public."
I've done similar transfers several times before. Why would I get this message now?
Sandtrap Posts: 20903 Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 5:32 pm Location: Hawaii No Ka Oi - white sandy beaches, N. Arizona 1 mile high.
Post by Sandtrap » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:27 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 7:21 am I just tried transferring some funds from my bank to Vanguard and got this message:
"This bank account can't be used until it is authorized. To authorize this bank, print the Bank Transfer Service Form and return it to us with signatures notarized by a notary public."
I've done similar transfers several times before. Why would I get this message now?
As a precaution:
Double check that this is not a scam email with a redirect link to a fake vanguard customer service.
Log in direct to Vanguard and check there.
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Topic Author PescadorPete Posts: 87 Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:26 pmPost by PescadorPete » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:36 am
For clarification, it would have been a standard transaction pull by Vanguard, from their website, where you first enter what you're buying then enter where the funds are coming from. The drop-down funding options include my bank account. But when I clicked on it, I got the "This bank account can't be used until it is authorized. To authorize this bank, print the Bank Transfer Service Form and return it to us with signatures notarized by a notary public."
Again, I've done this exact same transaction request many times before.
samsoes Posts: 2914 Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:12 am Location: Northeast Rat RacePost by samsoes » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:40 am
Call and ask them about it."Happiness Is Not My Companion" - Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren. | (Avatar is the statue of Gen. Warren atop Little Round Top @ Gettysburg National Military Park.)
stan1 Posts: 15178 Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:35 pmPost by stan1 » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:44 am
- Is anything unusual about the bank? It is a "standard" FDIC insured, US-based bank?
- Is the bank account and Vanguard registered exactly the same (no differences in your name, correct SSN on both, if there is a Joint owner same names are on both, same residential address on both, you aren't outside the US, etc etc)?
There could be plenty of other causes (and I think same thing you are describing could happen at Fidelity or Schwab).
stan1 Posts: 15178 Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:35 pmPost by stan1 » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:45 am
samsoes wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:40 am Call and ask them about it. Or just fill out the form and send it in. livesoft Posts: 87362 Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pmPost by livesoft » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:47 am
samsoes wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:40 am Call and ask them about it. Call and ask them about it.
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Topic Author PescadorPete Posts: 87 Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:26 pmPost by PescadorPete » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:48 am
Actually, truth be told, it's my wife's account. She has no interest in finance. So having her call about it is a hassle. I did however use Vanguard's secure messaging system to ask.
Topic Author PescadorPete Posts: 87 Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:26 pmPost by PescadorPete » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:49 am
The bank is Ally. We've been using Ally to fund our accounts for years. stan1 Posts: 15178 Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:35 pmPost by stan1 » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:58 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:49 am The bank is Ally. We've been using Ally to fund our accounts for years.
ACH fraud is very real. Sounds like Vanguard or Ally has found something incomplete in their records. Security almost always adds a layer of inconvenience, and there are false positives on any controls put in place. Filling out the form again to verify it is your wife is better than the alternative of her account being drained by a fraudulent ACH transfer. It may be dotting is and crossing ts but adding more protection against ACH fraud is very much a good thing. Sorry your wife triggered something but I'd go fill out the forms if you still want to do ACH transfers.
chemocean Posts: 1659 Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:45 pmPost by chemocean » Wed Oct 04, 2023 9:36 am
Are you requesting the transaction in your account as an authorized POA of your wife?
I remember some transactions, especially those with external banks, need to processed through the accounts online account (your wife's account with her username and password).
I could not verify the account through my own account as POA, but she did so in her online account.
Post by stan1 » Wed Oct 04, 2023 9:40 am
chemocean wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 9:36 am Are you requesting the transaction in your account as an authorized POA of your wife?
I remember some transactions, especially those with external banks, need to processed through the accounts online account (your wife's account with her username and password).
I could not verify the account through my own account as POA, but she did so in her online account.
Agree, if not already done while wife is filling out forms (online or paper) should also do this and make your access official rather than just sharing passwords if that's what is happening now. Should be able to do it online, but they could send her to paper form/notary on that too if the account already has been flagged in their monitoring system.
Again, don't look at it like Vanguard is singling you out and being difficult. Look at it as they are doing their best to protect all of their customers from fraudulent activity.
Topic Author PescadorPete Posts: 87 Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:26 pmPost by PescadorPete » Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:16 am
My wife's Vanguard account and the associated bank account are in her name (and spelled exactly the same).
I've been managing our Vanguard accounts for decades.
The bank accounts have been linked for over a decade.
A similar transaction (buying a CD) was done just a few weeks ago.
That's why I find this so frustrating.
Post by theduke » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:38 pm
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:48 am Actually, truth be told, it's my wife's account. She has no interest in finance. So having her call about it is a hassle. I did however use Vanguard's secure messaging system to ask.
You can call Vanguard, let your wife tell the Vanguard Rep that she wants you to speak for her about her account.
inverter Posts: 1086 Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 1:40 pm Location: New York, NYPost by inverter » Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:47 pm
Are you sure you selected the right account? I’ve had that happen when I tried to transfer money in to an account I had Agent Access on and used the bank account under my name, instead of the poa.
Miriam2 Posts: 4470 Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:51 amPost by Miriam2 » Thu Oct 05, 2023 4:06 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:48 am Actually, truth be told, it's my wife's account. She has no interest in finance. So having her call about it is a hassle. I did however use Vanguard's secure messaging system to ask.
Perhaps you logged into Vanguard with your profile, but her account has her profile as the account owner, not you.
celia Posts: 17326 Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am Location: SoCalPost by celia » Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:12 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:36 am For clarification, it would have been a standard transaction pull by Vanguard, from their website, where you first enter what you're buying then enter where the funds are coming from. The drop-down funding options include my bank account. But when I clicked on it, I got the "This bank account can't be used until it is authorized. To authorize this bank, print the Bank Transfer Service Form and return it to us with signatures notarized by a notary public."
Again, I've done this exact same transaction request many times before.
You may have pulled from this bank account before, but did you previously put the money into this Vanguard account before? The drop down showing where the sending money is coming from usually shows all the eligible sending accounts, even if they aren't authorized for all Vanguard accounts.
I suspect you are trying to pull from a joint bank account in order to send to your spouse's individual account. In that case, both of you have to acknowledge the joint account can be withdrawn from.
And while you are at it, if your wife hasn't given you agent authorization yet, you should file that form too.
beyou Posts: 7462 Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:57 pm Location: If you can make it therePost by beyou » Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:25 am
I had to fill out such form also after being a customer for many years, for banks that we had used for many years.
This seems to have been triggered for me when we did the "transition" from old fund platform to new brokerage platform.
One of our 2 banks transitioned fine, but another required the form. I think the issue was a middle initial difference between bank and Vanguard.
If you transitioned to brokerage and have not used one of the banks since, that may be the reason, they are re-validating the banks, some will work, others may require signatures.
Once I mailed in the form, they enabled access very quickly.
MikeG62 Posts: 5205 Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2016 2:20 pm Location: New JerseyPost by MikeG62 » Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:09 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:16 am My wife's Vanguard account and the associated bank account are in her name (and spelled exactly the same).
I've been managing our Vanguard accounts for decades.
The bank accounts have been linked for over a decade.
A similar transaction (buying a CD) was done just a few weeks ago.
That's why I find this so frustrating.
Your experience is but one example of why I have almost no assets residing at Vanguard. They sometimes make it hard to business with them and get things done. They have covered themselves in glory with their customer service.
Never had an issue like this with Fidelity, which is just one reason why most of our assets reside there.
Real Knowledge Comes Only From Experience stan1 Posts: 15178 Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:35 pmPost by stan1 » Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:19 am
Over the years I've had several financial institutions ask me to update paper work and form filling for my accounts or my mom's accounts due to compliance issues. Forms filled out years ago that are no longer compliant for some reason does happen. It's definitely not just Vanguard. There's also posts here from people having difficulty opening Fidelity accounts due to identity compliance issues.
I think this is a situation where people will say a financial services company should care about preventing fraud and enforcing compliance, so long as it is someone else being inconvenienced. If I'm inconvenienced my feathers are ruffled and it feels like I'm being singled out. Seems to be human nature and I'll stop at that.
aristotelian Posts: 12832 Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:05 pmPost by aristotelian » Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:24 am
PescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:48 am Actually, truth be told, it's my wife's account. She has no interest in finance. So having her call about it is a hassle. I did however use Vanguard's secure messaging system to ask.
Possible they suspect you are in violation of terms of service. aristotelian Posts: 12832 Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:05 pmPost by aristotelian » Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:26 am
celia wrote: ↑ Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:12 amPescadorPete wrote: ↑ Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:36 am For clarification, it would have been a standard transaction pull by Vanguard, from their website, where you first enter what you're buying then enter where the funds are coming from. The drop-down funding options include my bank account. But when I clicked on it, I got the "This bank account can't be used until it is authorized. To authorize this bank, print the Bank Transfer Service Form and return it to us with signatures notarized by a notary public."
Again, I've done this exact same transaction request many times before.
You may have pulled from this bank account before, but did you previously put the money into this Vanguard account before? The drop down showing where the sending money is coming from usually shows all the eligible sending accounts, even if they aren't authorized for all Vanguard accounts.
I suspect you are trying to pull from a joint bank account in order to send to your spouse's individual account. In that case, both of you have to acknowledge the joint account can be withdrawn from.
And while you are at it, if your wife hasn't given you agent authorization yet, you should file that form too.
We pull from joint accounts to fund individual accounts all the time. Never had to notarize anything or do any special kind of authorization.
celia Posts: 17326 Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am Location: SoCalPost by celia » Thu Oct 05, 2023 10:25 am
MikeG62 wrote: ↑ Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:09 am Never had an issue like this with Fidelity, which is just one reason why most of our assets reside there.
I've had worse problems than this when setting up an account at Fidelity. Even they couldn't figure out why I couldn't link to a bank after having done all the extra forms they requested. My case ended up being a typo on numeric data entry on their part.
This can happen anywhere. But since this forum focuses on Bogle-like philosophy, Vanguard will show up as the usual custodian here.
aristotelian wrote: ↑ Thu Oct 05, 2023 9:26 am We pull from joint accounts to fund individual accounts all the time. Never had to notarize anything or do any special kind of authorization.
I pull from lots of accounts since I manage money for others and am currently a trustee for 3 different trusts. Of course, I wanted to set up 1-to-1 links between Vanguard and other places. I ended up with every source of funds showing up on every Vanguard account. Since that is unacceptable for the various successor trustees that will follow me, I asked them to delete the excess links not paired with each Vanguard account. But they were a little too zealous and deleted too many links. Since they already have the paperwork to set up the links, I expect they can fix this easily. I'm just not logged on to Vanguard very often though.
