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1.4 101 Reviews

Merrill Lynch Complaints Summary

9 Resolved
92 Unresolved
Our verdict: If considering services from Merrill Lynch with a critical resolution rate, extra caution is advised. Examine detailed customer feedback to understand the severity and nature of unresolved issues. Be prepared for the possibility of unsatisfactory responses and have contingency plans, including seeking assistance from consumer advocacy groups if necessary.
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Merrill Lynch reviews & complaints 101

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6:12 am EST

Merrill Lynch 401k hardship process

I applied for a hardship 12/12/2017 to pay for my mother's cremation. Her remains have been sitting in the funeral home since 12/11/2017. When consumers apply for hardship withdrawls there are deadlines, urgency and despair surrounding the circumstances like burial, eviction, ect... People should not have to wait weeks for this process and direct deposit should be an option. This is ridiculous to put people through this in there time of need. If I could close my relationship with Merrill lynch I would in a heartbeat. As I still haven't received my check that I have to wait to come in the mail and I still don't have my mother remains. This is adding stress to me while I am still grieving my mother passing.

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3:19 pm EDT
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Merrill Lynch ira services

I just spent 25 minutes and 3 transfers on the phone with people who couldn't help me transfer out my 5LB-60167 IRA account. Incredible!

This wasn't my first attempt. Over the years I've tried to move this small account out and in the meantime ML has decremented it from just under $5k to $3.5k by charging your service fees.

Thankfully I thought to call my Schwab. They knew what to do to transfer this account.

No thanks to ML.

FYI, when I talk with friends about our brokers, I always bad mouth ML. You've been nothing but trouble over the years. I did transfer out a pension account in the past as well.

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9:24 pm EDT

Merrill Lynch 2 shares of cables stock in an account

I have made numerous contacts asking why ML has 2 shares of cableas stock in an account & have gained no accurate information. Each person I have talked to has given me a different answer. Earlier this year I received a bill for $15.00 for low balance. When I called to inquire I was told that was an annual fee but rep would do some checking to get answers on why ML had these shares & get back to me. That never happened. In the meantime I sent in a check for $15.00. Then this week I again received another low balance fee request. I called & was told the fee is charged quarterly but if I got hold of compu share that holds my payroll deducted stock & got a couple of numbers I could call ML back & these 2 shares would be transferred for no charge. I got my numbers & called back to talk to rep. 2. She was having trouble doing transaction. She said she'd work on it & get back to me which she did; however, she told me she couldn't do it because the latest $15.00 fee was on my account. She said she'd get that taken off & complete the transaction. I asked how I'd know if shares were transferred & she said she'd call me back by end of today. True to her word, she called this AM & left message for me to call back. I called back & got a different rep & was told I needed to send them $25.00 so they could transfer my shares. I then asked for a supervisor & after a lengthy wait got an arrogant guy that insisted that I had 2 choices: pay the $25 fee or have them sell the stock & they would send proceeds but the $15.00 low balance fee would have to be paid. There was NOTHING else he could do. Finally after lengthy talking he said he'd waive the $15.00 fee but couldn't until they had received the $25.00. Finally I asked if he had a supervisor & his a sewer was, I do but he doesn't take calls & I've been here long enough that I don't need to consult him. In 2 days I've talked with 5 people (plus the one when first $15.00 charge was assessed) & each time I have gotten different answers. Basically the way I see this company's operation is the just keep giving whatever they think sounds good & tack on more charges. I still don't know how those 2 shares are in a ML account or where they came from but the company (ML) seems to want the value of them & isn't interested in the fact that each reps information has been different (a total of 6 people) to me. After all of the lame excuses, time spent on the phone, & frustration I KNOW I won't ever do business with Merrill Lynch & will strongly discourage anyone else from doing business at ML. I AM 1 VERY, VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER!

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11:57 am EDT

Merrill Lynch shares of dow chemical co

On April 2017 I have purchased 58 shares of the Dow Chemical co thru Merril Lynch. On May 15th I entered the same website I bought these shares and tried to sell them. The link keeps me saying "No tax form on file" and I can't sell my shares! I have called several time to try to solve th issue, no one can help with that, I have resubmited the "file" like 10 times already and nothing happesns! I still can not sell MY shares!
I am very disapointed with the customer service of Merrill Lynch not giving a good response to a customer!
Hope someday I will be able to sell my shares

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10:34 am EST

Merrill Lynch trust management

Merrill Lynch in Minocqua, WI didn't follow my mother's trust starting in 2011. I was a co-trustee on my Mom's trust when she was determined to be incapacitated in May 2011. The trust became irrevocable. Three attorneys determined that I was a co-trustee on the trust. I stopped getting monthly financial statements from Merrill Lynch. I found out my sister wrote $112, 000 in checks to her children and other nieces and nephews but not mine on August, 2014. As co-trustee I should have been notified when my sister attempted this transaction and given the 50% decision-making power about this transaction. I was not notified. I had to get attorneys involved to get financial information which I finally did. I had to have forensic accounting done on the trust for the five years I didn't receive statements. When asked, the person in charge of the trust management said I would have to go through my sister?! My sisters ran my Mom's trust down to 2 1/2 months of liquid assets in her trust left to pay for her care when she passed away. I changed attorneys when my attorney canceled a meeting in front of a judge and I contacted the DA's office. I had to go through mediation and lots more attorney fees to get this situation settled. None of this would have occurred if Merrill Lynch had followed the trust. I made a complaint to Merrill Lynch to their compliance people after my Mom passed away. They investigated and have tried to make this mistake my fault! First they tried to say I wasn't a co-trustee. I countered with proof from three attorneys saying I was a co-trustee and their agent saying I was a co-trustee in e-mails. Then they said I hadn't turned in the letter of incapacity which I have e-mail documentation that I offered this letter and that Merrill Lynch didn't respond to this. They also did not give me the trust client forms to fill out until they noticed their error in November 2014. How is a consumer supposed to know what forms they need completed? The agent at Merrill Lynch made this mistake. They noticed their error after I had an attorney contact them in 2014. All I am asking for are my legal fees and forensic accounting fees that I wouldn't have had to pay if Merrill Lynch had done their job. It was very obvious at my Mom's memorial that the Merrill Lynch agent was guilty when he fell all over himself trying to please me. I have dealt with 3 compliance officers. "Compliance" means following the rules/laws. All they have done is try to make their obvious fault somehow my fault not to follow the law like they should have. They have error and omission insurance to take care of such glaring mistakes. I am just a consumer making a complaint. My attorney said that trying a lawsuit against a large company like Merrill Lynch would be dumping money down the drain. My Mom's trust was a useless document. I feel that Merrill Lynch should do the right thing and admit their many errors and make this right by covering the legal and accounting fees I had to incur due to their errors.

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12:42 pm EST

Merrill Lynch management of 401k monies

My husband and I had a large amount of 401k money to invest. We went to the local Merrill Lynch. The adviser set up accounts and we transferred monies into them. After 5+ years, we started to question the fact that the accounts had barely appreciated at all. We finally closed our accounts and are now with another company. We are watching this adviser very closely and will move again should we see that the same thing is happening again. For example, when we closed the accounts with Merrill Lynch, I did some analysis and found that 77% of the investments, if sold, would be at a loss. So we had been stuck in terrible investments since 2015 with no earnings and no appreciation in value to be able to sell. I am still the owner of some of these loser funds - can't sell because of the huge loss I would have to realize. This was quite an eye opener and not acceptable. What was he thinking of the make such bad investments?

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7:09 am EDT
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Merrill Lynch retirement accounts

My dad, now deceased, had his retirement accounts with Merrill Lynch. When he passed away in 2001, my mom received monthly benefits from his accounts. After 9/11, the accounts went down dramatically. My mother was scared of losing everything in those accounts, so she cashed them out - against the advice of the Merrill Lynch agent. The agent got mad and screamed at her. Then, when mom received the cash... she called the office to talk to the agent about something. The receptionist looked up her accounts and said "they were all cashed out except for another account or more... wait a moment, please"... and then denied saying it. I am afraid that they kept one or more accounts active for the agent to continue making money on. Plus, I have a special needs little sister who lives with my mom - and they both live with me - and we could have re-invested that money to make sure mom had money now. Is it too late to file a complaint? Or even a law suit? That agent is working for a different company now but I have her information.

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10:31 am EST

Merrill Lynch financial advisor team

My husband and I opened a Wealth Management Account 5 years ago with all of our retirement money which was certainly enough to live on until we died and also, leave some for our daughter and grandchildren. After 5 years the Walls/Berdell Wealth Management Group in Richmond VA returned .42% in earnings. Time frame from January 2011-December 2015. I completely freaked out when we lost 50K in August to make it a total loss for 2015 of 61K. To add insult to injury my husband had his IRA in a Vanguard account that subsequently earned 8% during the time these Financial Advisors returned .42%. We are both heartsick about the performance that we paid a 1% fee... For what I ask? A few parties we could have paid for ourselves. Stay away from Merrill Lynch at all costs and especially Walls/Berdell. We have moved all of our money back to Vanguard and subscribed to a newsletter by Dan Weiner who outlines his model portfolios for $189 for 2 year. His results are outstanding. Also, Warren Buffet recommends Vanguard. Don't pay Merrill Lynch to lose your money... Manage it yourself. Stay away from Merrill Lynch at all cost.

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9:09 am EDT

Merrill Lynch mismanagement of my stocks

My mom had stocks with this company for years. When she passed away in 2003, my sister got half and I got the other. We stayed with my mom's advisor. We became friends with our advisor and trusted her. Recently when I asked to sell some stock, my advisor would question me on why I needed the money? Was it a emergency? Then lecture about, you know, if you take that money it's gone forever UNLESS you put it back. Really? I thought it was my money. I don't need to be lectured or told what to do. I got fed up and found a new financial company to handle my stocks. I also had a checking account with Merrill Lynch. This advisor was also telling my sister about my finances. Not good. So on a late Wednesday afternoon I sign the paperwork for my stocks to be transfered. Early Thursday morning my ex-advisor calls me and tells me that she got the paperwork and that I can't write checks or use my visa card anymore. My checking account is closed. I need to find a bank, get a new account, call the VA and State about my direct deposit, call my creditor's that get auto-pay and let them know about my new account. Nice. Way to crap on someone. Then I ask about my VA disability that's being deposited at midnight. She said she'd get back to me. So off I go with only $60.00 to open a account, because I have NO access to my money.
After that, I spent all morning into the afternoon calling my creditors. Later that day I get a email from her stating that my account would stay open for 30 days of until 5/6 for any money that floats in. So i'm thinking i'll have money for my bills. No! Early on Friday, this advisor has her secretary call me to tell me that they rejected my VA check. That's so low and this so called friend, advisor screwed me and couldn't tell me herself! I went 2 weeks with no money. I had to call all my creditors again and explain the situation. What a freaking nightmare. Then when my stocks get transfered to my new financial place, we go through them and see that she had most of my money in stocks that where doing terrible and one of them I had lost $14, 000.00 in 2 months! What the hell? What are you getting paid for? Did I say that i'm a dialed Vet, on a fixed income and she's been playing Russian Roulette with my money? Bad, bad business. She should be fired and merrill lynch should pay my $14, 000.00 back. Yah. Right. Don't invest with them. They're untrustworthy. If you want any proof of any of this, I have all the emails and my stock record, where it shows the money that I lost! I should of had a better balanced profolio and with that amount of money lost in 2 months, she should have had me come in and change things up. Glad I left.

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Kuteesa
, US
Nov 15, 2018 4:35 pm EST
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On October 22, I mailed out my roll-over 401K check from my previous employer to Merrill Lynch new employer account, today 11/25 I went into my online Merrill Lynch account and saw that my roll-over money has not yet posted. I called Merrill Lynch and was told that I did not include a “Distribution Statement form” from your previous 401K provider so they decided to mail everything back to me.
First, Merrill Lynch has all my contact information (including phone numbers and email) but no one contacted me to request the form that I missed and I had to call them to find out! This is outrageous! Now I have to go back to US postal office and pay another $24 in overnight fees when I receive my check back from Merrill Lynch, when? No idea? Unbelievable!
I requested to speak to the manager and was transferred to some guy called Gregory Fanarisios. Gregory said, “Merrill Lynch does not have a policy in place for calling/emailing customers regarding missing items, you should have read the memo…. Your check has been returned to you along with all the forms you mailed with it. Contact your previous 401K provider for the missing form then mail all forms including your check back to us.” I felt like screaming… Gregory had I don’t care attitude and his approach sickened me, he should change jobs.
Due to Merrill Lynch customer service incompetence, I’m losing money; my funds are bouncing back and forth, and I still have not received the returned mail. Excellent customer service is seriously lacking at Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch customer service lacked knowledge of their policy, lack of follow through, did not even try to resolve a complaint.

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trial consultant
, US
Jun 19, 2016 2:47 pm EDT

I wholeheartedly agree with you, and that the EXACT similar scenario. Merrill Edge accidentally locked us out of our brokerage account, charged us immense fees, refused to provide any statements or transfer our liquid cash out. They threatened to sell our securities at market value, with their erroneous locking of our brokerage, and we are currently suing them for Breech of Fiduciary Duty, Securities fraud, deception, incompetence, Churning, bait and switch, breech of consumer protection act, all under federal and state laws federal securities laws. Also whatever the hell hole their name is Merrill Edge or Merrill Lynch - they are going down for causing us immense psychological suffering and no access to our money of which we desperately needed to survive on and for medical care. MERRILL EDGE IS THE WORST BROKER. DECEPTIVE, BREECH OF FIDUCIARY DUTIES, FRAUDULENT, INCOMPETENT, NEGLECTFUL, IMPROPER, DISHONEST, PREDATORY, ETC...

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2:53 am EDT
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Merrill Lynch warning to investors - this wirehouse forces its brokers to put clients into investments that charge the highest fees!

I am a former Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor who is trying to do a good deed. Please be careful if you are planning to bring assets to this firm! All of the bad things you may have heard about Bank of America/Merrill Lynch are true. They are the dirtiest people in the world. Their Advisors are encouraged to put their clients' money into investments that charge the highest fees, and if an Advisor has been there less than three years he/she will probably lose their job if they don't comply. Those greedy SOB's view their clients as naïve, income generating "machines" and their Advisors are trained to sell portfolios that maximize the fees they are able to charge.

Over the past two years I've been putting my clients into portfolios of carefully selected, high quality blue-chip stocks and earning them an average of 28% annually. I thought that was great, and all of my clients were very pleased. But instead of being praised, I was told that I was doing a terrible job. I was instructed, with a wink and a nod, to be more "creative" and to specifically "sell more Unit Investment Trusts" (UIT's). A UIT is basically an investment vehicle that holds stocks selected by a fund manager and that charges the highest fees of any investment available today. I was also told that if I wouldn't sell investments that charge high fees I would be fired. Essentially, they were telling me to invest my clients in things that weren't necessarily the best for the client but were the best for me and Merrill Lynch. Gouge the clients to save my job. Rip off the clientele and stuff the bank's coffers. Play ball or you're fired.

All Financial Advisors are licensed by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The most important thing in FINRA's eyes and what is stressed above all else is the concept of what I will loosely term "Fiduciary Duty". That is, that the Advisor manages the assets for the benefit of the client rather than for his or her own profit. That is nearly the exact opposite of the way Merrill Lynch does business, and as I related in my previous two paragraphs, they actively encouraged me to manage assets in a way that benefits me. Those faukers wanted me to break the law or they were going to fire me. Holy cow! In fact, FINRA was created to "police" Wall Street in order to protect investors from exactly this type of predatory behavior.

I have always strived to be a righteous, trustworthy and honest person, to be good to others and to do the honorable thing. I am not a rip-off artist. That said, I refused to change my successful investing strategy and start pushing high-fee investments. And, as promised, they fired me. I can't say that I'm sorry though. I am so happy to be away from those greedy devils you cannot imagine. I am now happily employed as a Financial Advisor at another top firm that gives me the leeway to do what I think is best for my clients.

I hope you take what you have just read to heart. Be smart. Invest your money anywhere but Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Don't be the fool they want you to be.

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alternateview
, US
Oct 17, 2013 7:21 pm EDT
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I guess you can't use apoatrophe on this site

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alternateview
, US
Oct 17, 2013 7:20 pm EDT
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Name a big firm that hasn't had a suit/errors. All I am saying is that there are 16k brokers there; and lumping them all together is quite a big step. Just because they have UIT's doesn't mean they are pushed at all.

I also have a hard time believing that this advisor average 28% return for his clients. Shouldn't he e running a hedge fund or mutual fund? That would be top notch.

Also re:finra, I am referring to the posters record.

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Immanuel Kant
Santa Clara, US
Oct 17, 2013 6:55 pm EDT

alternateview : why don't you post your FINRA record, since you claim you you were a ML advisor?

Merrill Lynch erred when it calculated too low a price for some of its unit investment trusts, NY Times article.
FINRA: Merrill Lynch To Pay More Than $2.5 Million Related To UIT Sales

Better yet, alternateview, learn to write...[DONOT]

Merrill Lynch has long fail to foster a culture of integrity and for the most part is ethically challenged.

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alternateview
, US
Oct 17, 2013 12:45 pm EDT
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Why donot you post your FINRA record for all to see? Typically that would shed some light on why you were terminated. I was an advisor at ML for many years, and never once did i sell a UIT or was requested to. In fact, much of what you say seems totally against what most peoples experiences were.

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3:00 pm EDT
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Merrill Lynch business practices/fees

Ever since ML was purchased by Bank of America, their service has gone down and they are continually finding creative ways to charge their customers or to place you a position that they can keep your own money and charge you to get it. back or move it. Besides raising their fees to buy and sell stock, mutual funds and EFT's they will now only transfer WHOLE shares so you will have to pay them more than the residual shares are worth to liquidate them! Outrageous and disgusting at the least. I transferred a mutual fund to my Fidelity account to save liquidation costs and now ML expects me to pay them $75 to liquidate .449 shares for a value of $12.67. This means I have to leave the partial shares there! Sneaky and underhanded thievery.

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angry george
Toronto, CA
Feb 25, 2014 7:16 am EST

Do not invest. Diko Khatcherian also known as Dany Matar/ Danny Matar, real name Dikran Khatcherian up to his old tricks. Just Google his name for more info.

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9:18 pm EDT

Merrill Lynch I would seriously think twice about doing business with them

My father passed away 6 weeks ago, and I have gotten nothing but a run-a-round every since. Most of his money was in an IRA, and it takes an act of GOD himself for the family to recieve it. I am trying to pay the rest of his bills, but his accounts are frozen. And to add to your grief, every time you call you get a new person. You cannot speak to just one person. And every person tells you something differnet. Different paperwork, different details. So, I would seriously think twice about doing business with them!

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3:58 pm EST
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Merrill Lynch bogus fees and discrimination

Oh my! After googling Merrill Lynch I was not at all surprised by what was/is happening in this company. I recently received a notice in the mail that I was being assessed a $125.00 fee for an account that I have with Merrill. I called my contact that I deal with and trust. He had informed me that the fee was accurate. He also told me that Merrill employees have been given a directive to not give any special treatment to those investors whos accounts are below 250k. I asked the question "Am I am being forced to close my account?". He replied that upper management said "it was best if we parted company with you". Previously some fees were adjusted so that I didn't have to pay them. Discrimination? I think so! I also have dealt with Charles Schwab for years and have never had the issues that I have had with Merrill Lynch. I initially invested 250k with Merrill and have nothing to show for it. There is no wealth management. I read where someone said that "Merrill Lynch is reactive as opposed to being proactive." Couldn't be more true. When you complain, you receive a form letter saying that they take complaints very serious and will initiate an investigation. Smoke screen! I am thankful that my contact at merrill Lynch (Brent Stein) is a stand up guy and will not lie to benefit himself or Merrill Lynch. FINRA loves to hear of your complaints/concerns. Write them and they will take action. If anyone is interested in a class action suit, please email me. God Bless!

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3:56 pm EDT
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Merrill Lynch stock brokerage

Merrill lynch sold my stock without my consent!

Do not ever invest with merrill lynch. They tried to charge bogus account maintenance fees for doing absolutely nothing.

Then they sell your stock without your consent and without even notifying you.

Then they offer to buy the stock back if you pay them a fee to buy the stock back.

They are criminals. Selling customers' stock without consent is the absolutely worst thing a brokerage can do.

Merrill lynch sucks - they sell your stock without your consent

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Unhappy-family
, US
Feb 25, 2012 9:06 pm EST
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Do not go to Merill Edge investing. A lot of trouble when you want to withdraw your money. The only thing I can suggest is do research about complaints of the Merill Edge before invest with them. I got stroke to deal with them! ! ! !

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MLSUCKS
Sacramento, US
Feb 15, 2012 2:09 am EST
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I hate ML as well. I tried to buy TVIX today to hedge my current holdings only to find out "they don't have an agreement with TVIX" as rudely stated by their customer support.

TVIX gapped up 4% while I was waiting on hold, and another 14% intraday. Once the S&P hit 1345 today I knew we were in bear market territory and I sold a few of my positions for a 1% loss of my total portfolio value.

Which could have been a gain had I been able to buy TVIX and I would have held my other positions for a turnaround.

On another note, ML lets you trade high leveraged ETFs like FAS and FAZ without a blink of an eye, but when trying to trade a low beta, high volume security such as CRUS it requires a "Safepass"

I'm so done with ML I should have left years ago, I hope BAC goes bankrupt.

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ReasonablePerson0001
, US
Aug 20, 2011 10:46 pm EDT

Read your client relationship agreement. No fee is ever charged that is not fully disclosed beforehand. The other solution is to not be a deadbeat and send a check to cover these fees

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9:46 pm EDT
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Merrill Lynch poor customer service

I was laid off from my job and was informed that my 401k funds were going to remain in my Merrill Lynch retirement account until which time I could remove them, roll them over, or transfer them to another account. I do not know if Bank of America purchasing Merrill made a difference but somehow although I requested in writing to close the accout and cash out the account, half of the funds were rolled over into an IRRA. Fine. Until t he fees started kicking in. Hmm. I'm paying them for what? To hold my money? I can take the cash and put it in a savings account and MAKE money. So, I tried to call to hear my options with this account. It took FOREVER for them to locate my account and then they proceeded to sound confused when I asked about options. Really?! I called back today to inquire again although I was pretty sure I was going to close all accounts and reached the RUDEST rep on the phone. He too couldn't seem to locate my account. I gave him the account number, address, phone, spelled my name repeatedly and even offered the last four of social to verify. After trying to convince me that he wasn't trying to be difficult, he asked for my complete social. No. He asked again. I again said no, and offered additional info to verify my identity. He said without me giving my complete ss# over the phone he couldn't help me. What!? A company that prides itself on financial growth can't understand why I want to protect my indentity to some extent!. OMG. I ended the call extremely frustrated and anxious to cut all ties to this company. I guess I will try again tomorrow to find someone competent enough to help with this request. If you can avoid this company, in my opinion DO.

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MERILL SUCKS
baltimore, US
Feb 05, 2013 11:01 am EST

My mother has an IRA/ IRRA/ ROTH IRA account with so called Merrill Lynch / Edge. In mid-July 2012, my sister had texted me and mentioned to me about the account. When I had called Merrill Lynch the first time, I had spoken to an Ashley. She informed me of my mother’s account, how many shares were in her account and I had to fill out the Beneficiary Distribution Form. I attend UMBC and school began in late August. Once I got the swing of things with school, I decided to take care of everything in the beginning of September.

September 10 – I had sent in the death certificate and divorce papers. I had talked to Kevin, from the Ownership Transition Team, he had asked for mom’s social and he was able to look up her information.

September 15 – I spoke to a Paul, also from the Ownership Transition Team, and had informed me to fill out the IRA / IRRA / ROTH IRA / SEP SRA / Inherited IRA transfer instruction form.

Oct. 1 – I haven’t heard anything from Merrill Lynch. My financial advisor at the time hadn’t heard anything either.

Oct. 3 – My financial advisor informed me that my sister gets 50% and I get 50% from mom’s account.

Oct. 9 – I wanted to check the status of the account and was directed to someone in the Ownership Transition team. The Beneficiary distribution form I had submitted was checked “wrong” so I had to fax the Beneficiary Distribution Form again / resign and date. Once received, I was informed “the money can be transferred tomorrow.”

Oct. 10 – I was directed to the Ownership Transition team. They requested another copy of the death certificate and informed me stating that they can’t hold it. I sent the original copy back in 2010.

Oct. 17 – I was informed my account was ready.

Oct. 18 – I was informed that the money should be in my account by the end of next week. Merrill Lynch just had to make sure that the shares were divided evenly between me and my sister.

Oct. 23 – 10:40AM Lynn from Merrill edge called me and left a voicemail. I asked for the Ownership Transition Team and spoke to Ryan. He informs me that the death certificate is missing and I ‘accidentally’ checked two boxes on Section 5. How do I “accidentally” check two boxes when he was the one that guided me on how to fill out the form?

Nov. 5th – Still nothing. So much turn around. Not working. Sent in the Inherited IRA transfer instruction form before and was informed that I need to make an account with the type similar to how mom’s account is and I need to resend a new set of forms. Financial advisor mentioned to me that my mom has an IRA and I needed my account to be an inherited IRA to avoid tax. Need to just have the money mailed out by check to be deposited and used for school.

Nov. 8: I spoke to Anya and she mentioned that I need to go back to the Beneficiary Distribution Form. My sister already has an account with Merrill Lynch. I informed Anya that I’m asking for a distribution by check so I can use the money for school.

Nov. 26 – 12:34PM: First, the Beneficiary Distribution form was approved, but they have to go through the liquidation process. Told me I should have the distribution within a week / week and a half. I don’t understand why it even takes this long for the liquidation process?

Nov. 28 – 8:20AM: I was informed that a policy was just “put into effect ”, that the money cannot be distributed to me because it has to go into mom’s estate, which was closed back in 2010, and Merrill Lynch needs an updated from of Letter of Administration from court house. I was appointed Personal Representative back in April 2007.

Dec. 5: Had taken off from work to drive down to the courthouse in La Plata at exactly 8:30AM to get letter of administration. My sister met me there and we were done by 10AM. We call Merrill Lynch in the process to speak to this wonderful lady who was so very helpful at the Register of Wills office. Merrill claims that since mom’s account was set up the way that it was set up, neither me nor my sisters are beneficiaries on the account. We were informed that there are no beneficiaries on file. Dennis calls after we leave the court house and informs me to hold off on the Estate. I am beyond upset at this point. Informed me there was a similar case so they’re going to dispute this with Merrill Lynch.

Dec. 7TH: 12:30PM I call to find out the status about the dispute. I was informed that they lost and I need to go ahead and open the Estate – I have not opened up the Estate.

DEC. 10TH: Spoke to Dennis. Had to refax to him the beneficiary form and administration. Need to follow up this Wednesday – Dec. 12. Why do I have to refax everything AGAIN?

DEC. 11TH: Faxed beneficiary distribution form again, supplemental inventory paperwork in regards to the Estate & Letter of Administration. Spoke to Dennis and he said they should be fine WITHOUT the seal.

Dec. 12TH: Said there was confusion with the account. & they needed to see the raised seal on Letter of Administration. What? Should have told me that the first time! This is getting really annoying.

DEC. 17TH: 12:30PM They’re still waiting on the Legal Department to approve the testamentary to be able to “move forward” and be able to distribute the money.

DEC.19TH Alicia had left me a message from the Ownership Transition team. I return the call. I was still told that they need a Tax ID number and the SSN will not suffice. Why? I have no idea. Neither explanation nor reasonable cause was given to me. At this point, I'm beyond livid.

JAN.2013 - brand new year; I'm hoping for all this to be done and over with. Or so you'd think. An uninterested party informs me that the SSN number will not suffice due to the fact that my mother is deceased, hence why a Tax ID number is needed. Was it so hard for Merrill to say those words? Apparently it was.

This "organization" is so disorganized, I don't even know how to describe them anymore. The Ownership Transition Team has no idea what they're doing, they have no knowledge of what they're doing nor does anyone from that Team, and I believe in that organization, give a care if someone in your family dies or if you're trying to get the benefits. All they care about is money.

If you have the chance to get your money out, you should definitely do so. Inform your friends and your family, to spare yourself from the heartache and emotional distress that I have been put through for the past 6-7 months, please do not bank with these people.

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mERRILL sTINKS
San Marino, US
Jan 04, 2012 9:05 pm EST
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I submitted IRA minimum required withdrawal paperwork on December 15th to Merrill Lynch for a deceased spouse IRA for my mother in law. The transfer into her name had been completed two years ago. It was a small account with no executive assigned and only an 800 number. The paperwork was faxed in. I also submitted similiar paperwork to three other institutions. At all the other institutions, including two discount brokerage offices the transfers were complete in two days. I called Merrill Lynch on the 23rd who told me the paperwork had to go through various departments and it would take six days in each department. As of today the check still has not been received. Their explanation is that they have many requests at the end of the year. Every other house responded and delivered in days. Weeks later Merrill Lynch is still backed up. Any small investor is crazy to use Merrill Lynch. Horrible response times, no follow-up explanatoions and higher fees. A year ago I submitted similiar paperwork and almost two months later it was returned saying we had requested that too much withholding had been requested to be taken out. Too much withholding? Tell that to the IRS. Similiar requests were made to the other institutions and processed with no problem. No call, no personal service, just a letter that when I called thereafer the person told me the IRS does not accept that amount. I called the IRS and they told me they would gladly take 100% of the properly submitted amount. So add bad advice to the list of Merrill Lynch's responses. There service stinks. I have written a review like this before. I understand institutions have problems in units and with certain hired workers. But Merrill Lynch is so bad, so uncaring that I am finally writing my first ever criticism. I am fortunately in a position where I can influence people to get there money out. 3.5 million will be gone by the end of the month. Get your money out, small investor. If you do not have an account executive you can easily talk to people, and they will even more easily blame you for their horrible service.

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Merrill Lynch refinance denied due to unfair practice

After 5 months of underwriting review, my refinancing loan was denied right before rate-lock expiration. Loan processor represented that the underwriter (an outsourced 3rd party company hired by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch mortgage) gave the following reasons: 1. Appraised value was too low ( in response, I submitted 4 additional sold comps to support the higher value to satisfy the LTV requirements) 2. W2 Income came from multiple sources thus only one employer income qualifies to calculate Income-to-Debt Ratio (in response, I showed 4 years of W2 income indicating the same income trends ) 3. Interest/dividend income cannot be included unless it is guaranteed for 3 years (in response, I showed 3 months of interest/dividends received and confirmation from brokerage firm that investments have a projected ROI, but no investment returns can be "guaranteed" for 3 years). Despite my efforts to provide all documentation, it appears that the bank has made a foregone decision not to honor the refinancing with the attractive interest rate offered 5 months ago. I believe the bank had to intention to close the deal and was finding excuses to deny. Is this legal, ethical?

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Merrill Lynch stupidity

Merrill Lynch sucks so bad it's impossible to fully describe
Years ago I had a brokerage with Merrill Lynch, and the broker was in Chicago very close to the action there. She was a Star, a broker with many large accounts. All she did for me was buy IPO's and flip them. Until one day she made a trade with my money without asking me first. She bought something I didn't want. When I asked her about that, she said, "You have to learn to trust me, I know what I'm doing". After taking a large loss on the trade, I closed my accounts with Merrill. I tried complaining to her boss and the company, and to the SEC, without any success at all. It wasn't worth hiring an attorney over. And it was discouraging when the Federal agency, the SEC, was so incompetent they couldn't help me enforce their own rules.

So years later, we opened an IRA at Bank of America. Little did we know that BofA was going to buy Merrill Lynch, but they did so. Suddenly we start getting a ton of ###, and yes I do mean ###, from Merrill Lynch saying they now were controlling our IRA. First it was called Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and now they changed the name of it to Merrill Edge. We started getting copies of statements from BOTH company names showing the balance of our IRA.

It was somewhat disconcerting to see how confused they are. So I called today and gave both the old account number and the new account number. Guess what? They asked, as part of a security question, "how much money is in your account". My answer was the amount listed on my statement. My answer was incorrect. After much discussion and proving who I was by answering many questions, it comes out that the account has ZERO funds in it.

I asked the individual on the phone, "Where did the money go". And he says, "He can't see that". I said, "Who can see that", he didn't know. So he put me on hold for almost 30 minutes and came back and said, "Someone would have to get back to me tomorrow". I mentioned how it says on the statement to call this number for 24 hour assistance, and he said, "Well, that doesn't mean we can tell you what happened to your account balance".

If you deal with Merrill Lynch and have had good experiences, well isn't that just jolly for you, but I will say you have been a very lucky person because Merrill Edge (or whatever the hell they are called now) is utterly incompetent.

A few minutes after this experience a Merrill representative called, apologized for the confusion and was able to explain that yes, of course, our funds were in the account. She gave me her name and extension. After I hung up, I realized how upset I was. Being told your IRA has zero fund in it, well, it made me surprisingly stressed. So I called back and tried to get the young woman who was so helpful, but she was gone or something. So I asked the young man to help me, and he said he'd be glad to and then ...he hung up on me. So I very calmly called back and spoke to another person, went through the entire identification thing again, answered all the questions, and explained to him nicely what was occurring. He said he would take the complaint and he did so, although I have to wonder if he really did take any complaint at all.

After a total of 2 1/2 hours trying to deal with Merrill Edge, I just want to go pull my hair out. What a nightmare! At least they have our money and didn't lose it all. I can only imagine if they'd been a real problem, trying to deal with this incompetence would be a nightmare. We are going to open a new account at a local brokerage where I can go in and speak with a real person, and transfer everything out of Merrill Edge.

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Update by awasner
Jan 05, 2011 10:22 pm EST

Interestingly, I just got a response from Merrill Edge on this subject! Here it is cut and paste below. It was addressed to my wife, who's the owner of this account. And yet it says below, "As you are not specifically authorized on this account, we cannot provide specific details, but we can assure you that management will review the account and coach the associates involved."

Pretty amazing. They seem confused that even though my wife was logged into her account and we sent the complaint in her name from her account, they are still confused and think we are not "authorized on this account". These are some very seriously confused people.

Thank you for contacting Merrill Edge.
This message is to acknowledge and respond to your email received
12/4/10. In your message you expressed concern about the service you
have received when contacting us by phone.

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with valuable feedback
concerning our customer service. We have reviewed the account and I have
brought this information to the attention of my management for further
consideration.

Merrill Edge sets high standards for customer service and we strive to
achieve those standards in every situation. I regret that this was not
your experience.

As you are not specifically authorized on this account, we cannot
provide specific details, but we can assure you that management will
review the account and coach the associates involved.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. As always, we
appreciate the opportunity to help you with your investment needs.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Dansereau
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc.

Update by awasner
Jan 05, 2011 3:59 pm EST

Oh and in response to the person above, I wanted to say that you wrote a nice note defending your mom and her work. But at the same time you admit that there is chaos at Merrill Edge. You talk about how over-worked your mom is, how stressed she is, and how others at the company do not care about their work nearly as much. You mentioned BofA's "crazy and stupid" (using your words) policies that BofA "thrusts" upon her.

I've had a huge amount of trouble with Merrill, and I've helped many older Americans who were having trouble with Merrill. The stories could go on for pages. I will continue to complain to people until Merrill actually starts treating it's customers with common sense and decency. A Google search for complaints against Merrill finds a lot. Me and the people I've helped are not alone in our experiences. Merrill Edge today is a chaotic company, as you said, trying to deal with the "crazy and stupid" policies thrust on them by BofA!

Update by awasner
Jan 05, 2011 3:49 pm EST

I wanted to add to my above statement that since then I've learned the SEC was probably the wrong entity to try and complain to. FINRA is perhaps a better entity to complain to at finra.org. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA’s mission is to protect America’s investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly. All told, FINRA oversees nearly 4, 580 brokerage firms, about 162, 850 branch offices and approximately 630, 695 registered securities representatives. To file a complaint go here: http://www.finra.org/Investors/ProtectYourself/p118628

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Michael Rothstein
, US
Aug 12, 2021 3:14 pm EDT

Back in 1993, when I was only age 34 and knew NOTHING about investments compared to the knowledge I have now, I stupidly listened to my great aunt who referred me to a Merrill Lynch guy in Rockville, MD. I let this guy talk me into buying into a Nuveen fund. Two years or so later, I got a call one night around 8 PM from a Merrill Lynch guy who told me that he had taken the place of the guy I was dealing with. He also told me that he would NEVER have had me buy into that Nuveen fund which was basically only good for tax purposes, but which was not in any way meant to be part of a "growth" goal. I have to wonder what happened to the first guy since if he had any decency, he would have informed me that he was leaving the firm or perhaps, he was PUT OUT of there. Either way, that was IT for me at Merrill Lynch. Thankfully, an old boss of mine got me hooked up with Charles Schwab, and I've now been with "Chuck" for 25 years. No fees; no BS. I have a dedicated VP/Consultant that I deal with and life is da-n good. I would NEVER recommend Merrill Lynch under any circumstances. Here it is, two-and-a-half decades later, and I just read that ML has had the HIGHEST number of advisers fleeing the firm for greener pastures. Listen to this sound advice, people!

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MyMoneyIsSafe
, US
Sep 07, 2017 12:50 am EDT
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ML caught my eye back in the early 80's. I am so glad that my IRA is with AmericanCentury. My company allowed ML to handle employee 401k accounts and it was nothing short of a financial nightmare for account holders.
After retiring, I decided to move the 401k account out of ML. Everything you have read up to this point is still happening to account holders. I do not recommend trusting ML with anything more than giving you an ink pen to sign on the line to close your accounts.
They gave me the run-around for over 37 days. My funds were literally being held hostage, in my humble opinion. After threatening to sue, my funds mysteriously populated my transfer account. The sad part is that I wanted to leave the money with ML/BoA and keep it within a different retirement account, but after living the LIE I wanted nothing more than to get the hell away from ML.Now, BoA is a premier institution for my daily banking needs. Why would they allow ML the opportunity to scar customers?

Another thing...Please stop telling people what to do with thier money and using scare tactics disguised as sound advice to divert a person in walking away with CASH in HAND. A 401k is not the greatest retirement account by any means. It is a cheesy profit sharing tool used by companies.

Get to the part of the answer where you advise people to plant seeds financially and to not put all their eggs in one basket.

I have over 640k in my IRA with American Century. Early on, I played the money market and landed some great deals. I escaped loss two quarters in a row and decided to stop risking my 10k every 90 days. People...if you have $1.00 and the potential holder of your money does not treat you like you have millions...wonder why and walk away.

Retirement investing is a risky thing. Until you gather the right amount of eggs, you will do good to call your 401k a savings account with perks.

Never leave your retirement cash with the company you retired from (or left for whatever reason).

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Samie2
, US
Mar 24, 2017 6:56 pm EDT

Please, please get that FOOL, Merrill of the air. How can you create great host like Rush and Hannity, then place a FOOL like Merrill on the air. It is an insult to the people of Arizona. Please do something, can't listen to KFYI from 4pm on.

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Mark Brand
, US
Oct 11, 2016 7:45 am EDT

Beware – Merrrill Edge Charges Exit Fee

After having my account at Merrill Edge for eleven years, I moved it to another brokerage. They charged me an exit fee of $49.95. This is unusual at a brokerage. Be aware of the fee before you open an account. They will charge you to close it.

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trial consultant
, US
Jun 19, 2016 2:29 pm EDT

I wholeheartedly agree with you, and that the EXACT similar scenario. Merrill Edge accidentally locked us out of our brokerage account, charged us immense fees, refused to provide any statements or transfer our liquid cash out. They threatened to sell our securities at market value, with their erroneous locking of our brokerage, and we are currently suing them for Breech of Fiduciary Duty, Securities fraud, deception, incompetence, Churning, bait and switch, breech of consumer protection act, all under federal and state laws federal securities laws. Also whatever the hell hole their name is Merrill Edge or Merrill Lynch - they are going down for causing us immense psychological suffering and no access to our money of which we desperately needed to survive on and for medical care. MERRILL EDGE IS THE WORST BROKER. DECEPTIVE, BREECH OF FIDUCIARY DUTIES, FRAUDULENT, INCOMPETENT, NEGLECTFUL, IMPROPER, DISHONEST, PREDATORY, ETC...

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MyMoneyIsSafe
, US
Sep 07, 2017 12:52 am EDT
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I wish I read this ten years ago.

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michael cumpston
, US
Apr 22, 2016 2:38 pm EDT

Kind of sad when Bank of America rescued them But the bank has survived. One time before the rescue, the local ML branch managed to loose this little old lady's live savings. They looked out the window and saw a sheriff's deputy approaching the building with the usual hand full of papers. Turned out he was papering some other business in the building but the Murlies, darkened the office and locked the doors. They have one chow-hound who excels at taking vacations. The office keeps him under close supervision for whatever good that does.

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terry76
Piedmont, US
May 15, 2015 2:32 pm EDT

Edge refused an international wire request to a relative then blocked my online account access said they were going to terminate business dealings with me so i had my bank/broker initiate transfer paperwork only to hav edge blovck saying account was on a hold!
it isn't their money! what right do they have for this?

i filed complaint against one manager for un professional/unethical actions guess this is their way of throwing a hissy fit
ill bury money in back yard before ever doing business with thesepricks again!

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loraine garrison
, US
May 13, 2015 5:01 pm EDT
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Merrill Lynch is the worst company to do business with.
their brokers only look to sell their clients the investments vehicles
that generate the highest commissions for them.
They never look out for their customers.
Merrill Lynch has been involved in almost every scandal on Wall Street
They paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines
without admitting any wrong doings.
The SEC should have put Meririll Lynch out of business
years ago. This has to be the worst brokerage frim in the world.

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James P R
Malibu, US
Oct 07, 2013 3:26 am EDT

I received a form letter from Merrill Edge Pennington, NJ signed by **. At the end of the letter was the useless 800 number to Jacksonville, FL. So I did a bit of investigating and came up with [protected]. Dial that number, press 4 for the company directory. Then spell the person's last and first name. So, when you get an unhelpful response form letter signed by someone, Enter that person's name in the directory, get their phone number and 'reach out' to them!

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Former ML Rep
Uxbridge, US
May 15, 2012 11:36 am EDT
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BTW mtnandy; Did you actually read what you wrote? And I quote "They just screwed me out of $3, 300. Said that I bought more shares than I had money in my account for. " How did ML screw you when you bought something you couldn't pay for? Did you check your calculations when you placed the trade. Obviously you missed something. I know for a fact that if that were the case, it would have been researched and resolved because brokers take the SEC and FINRA very very seriously and these types of mistakes do not happen. Run the numbers again.

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Merrill Lynch small customers are unable to speak to a human for service

Customer service number is [protected]. System is automated, but NONE of the options allow you to talk to a human. Many legitimate services for your brokerage accounts are unavailable through the automated system and you can't speak to a human to close your account and have a check sent with the proceeds.

The money goes in, but it never comes out. Stay away from Merrill Lynch Edge.

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angry self directed investor
, US
Apr 12, 2011 7:09 pm EDT

also there monthly statements are overly complicated for transactions, even worse than when it was just Banc of America Investments

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Merrill Lynch scam

Since its untimely demise all areas of payment processing at Merrill is suffering. Since August 2008, I have incurred $200.00 in late fees as Merrill is now taking between 10-20 days to process payments. Payments mailed on the 14th of each much are not applied until well after the due date (21st) of each month. There managers play the blame game and really do nothing to acknowledge that they are beginning to have a payment processing issue.

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Merrill Lynch ruined my account

I am looking for advice or attorneys with experience in arbitration or litigation against a major investment broker who has purposefully not attended to my account, incurring extreme losses. I am a permanent resident in Australia and am an American citizen, and this case will probably have to be arbitrated in Denver, Colorado.

This broker has pointedly stated that he would not assist me as per our previous arrangements and has ignored my account to the point where charges have defrayed my positive balance into a negative and I am incurring margin charges besides my equities taking a massive beating.

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Joaquin
, US
Apr 06, 2009 10:30 am EDT

My experience, exactly. Throughout this entire debacle I have not received any guidance, suggestions, insight support or guidelines. I asked very early on two questions: 1) which of the companies I am invested in are likely to be able to keep on doing business and pay their dividend? The only answer I got was " IBM has a very solid balance sheet and no debts". ( I didn't own IBM)
and 2) I asked which of my municipal bonds might be in danger of default, and again, the answer I got was very vague. I ended up researching some of them myself.

Kiplinger magazine stated in a article that if one's financial advisor was any good, his/her clients should never do as badly as the market. Well, I did as badly as the market ( even was not discouraged from selling out near the bottom ), and I am mad. I think a class action suit might be in order. But, like you, I am asking, where does one start?

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