First the disclaimer: The following review does not pertain to any particular local branch of…read moreFidelity Investments. However, because most review services insist that I choose one, I chose the one closest to home. But be advised, my review concerns the Fidelity Investments that one deals with whenever one is calling their phone lines to do business with the company as a whole. That said, I believe it should also be noted that the following review is, in fact, one that is based on many years and many experiences in doing business with them and in no way reflects merely a one-time happening. So, here goes, to anyone who cares to listen. My advice is this:
Whatever you do, beware of Fidelity Investments! The reason is quite simple and straight forward: If you ever have an issue with them, and they are found to have made a mistake in their dealings with you, rest assured, they will first go through all the motions of a so-called "review," where they claim to examine all of the phone calls you have had with them that they insist are recorded. Then, just when they have you lulled into a false sense of security by insisting that they are so sorry for the inconvenience and that they will do everything necessary to rectify the error, they will next proceed to baffle you with their bullspit, they will razzle-dazzle you with their shell game tactics, and they will apologize some more for having made a mistake. In the end, however, they will not--I repeat--not provide a single amendment that costs them one thin dime.
Instead, they will very politely explain to you, in the kind of convoluted terminology that only another financial advisor can decipher--something they are undoubtedly counting on--that, having looked into the matter in a more "in-depth" manner, there is nothing further that can be done and that there is actually no need to "rectify" anything at all, as things are exactly as they should be. Then they will politely apologize some more and offer their heartfelt condolences at how much they wish things could have worked out differently. But here is the kicker: When you ask them why they are apologizing while doing nothing to reverse the situation that they are apologizing for, that is when things start to get weird. Suddenly, the kindly agent gets very quiet and needs a lot more time to answer such questions. Then, just to clarify matters, you ask them the next obvious question: If you are apologizing for something over and over, does that not mean that you are, in fact, guilty of wrongdoing and should therefore make amends in accordance with your "heartfelt" apology. That, of course, as you can imagine, is when the very nice and composed agent suddenly gets very testy and informs you that they are just not going to go down "that" road. The decision they are informing you of has been handed down from On-High and there is simply nothing more that can be done. One last misbegotten apology is offered, then fade to black.
And so goes the story--beginning, middle, and ... the end. You can stick the proverbial fork in, because you are done...
So what is the moral of the story, after all, boys and girls? Well, if you work hard for your money and require it to take care of your loved ones, the moral, in a nutshell, is this: Investors beware, again I say--no, I scream at the top of my lungs--beware! Beware, unsuspecting ones! Enter at your own risk! And in writing this "somewhat lengthy" diatribe, I can only hope and pray that what Fidelity Investments thinks they got away with--thank God they will have to answer directly to Him someday for their duplicitous ways--might be stopped from ever happening again to anyone else.
P.S. If truth were actually in advertising, Fidelity would have to change its name. Rather than be allowed to call themselves Fidelity Investments, they would be called Treachery Trading...
