My Story
As a longtime Fidelity brokerage client, I never worried about having money stolen from my account, but that is exactly what happened in May of 2023.
How Fidelity handled the situation might surprise you.
Here are the details, which, by the way, are not disputed by Fidelity . . . . .
There was an unauthorized withdrawal of $100,000 from my Fidelity Money Market account in June 2023. I called to inquire and after several transfers and a considerable amount of time, I was on the phone with a gentlemen who said he was the head of Fidelity's fraud team.
He acknowledged that the check had been disbursed from my account and was transacted at a Truist Bank, endorsed quite legibly by a "Richard Johnson".
Even though there has never been anyone by that name associated with my account, Fidelity honored the check and withdrew the money from my account. In essence, Fidelity allowed $100,000 to be stolen from my account.
I was instructed to file a police report and send it, along with a notarized Affidavit of Check Fraud, to Fidelity's fraud division which I did promptly.
And then . . . nothing.
No calls, no updates, and most importantly, no money returned to my account.
In November 2023, six months after the money had been stolen, I got someone in the Fidelity Fraud department on the phone and he told me they were still "trying to recall the funds".
Finally, after almost a year, Fidelity returned the money to my account. When I asked about the interest I'd lost during that time, they basically said that was my problem not theirs.
I was shocked by their response.
While Truist Bank might be somewhat culpable, it was Fidelity who 1) issued a check which had not been requested and 2) honored that check when it was presented back to them with an unauthorized signature.
Ms. Nikki White, an Executive Officer for Fidelity, sent a letter apologizing that it had taken a year to restore the money they had allowed to be stolen. In the letter she wrote, "We aim to offer our customers a level of service that surpasses their expectation; however, I understand we missed the opportunity to deliver such an experience on this occasion."
What an understatement!
And yet, even while acknowledging the check should not have been issued, or honored, Ms. White has stood firm in her stance that Fidelity will not reimburse the lost interest.
If Fidelity had done the right thing, and returned the money as soon as they were notified it had been stolen, a couple weeks of interest wouldn't matter, but it took them ONE YEAR to return the stolen money.
It has now been almost 18 months, and even though I have pleaded with Ms. White several times, in writing, to do the right thing, her latest response coldly informed me she considers this matter closed.
I have been a Fidelity client for almost 30 years. I'd always thought they were committed to serving their clients with integrity and honor, which sadly, I have learned is not the case.
As a big corporation with more than $28 Billion in revenue, they know the average client doesn't have much leverage in a situation like this. After all, in our current legal system, the cost of taking any sort of legal action would dwarf the $5,000 in lost interest.
Fidelity knows they hold all the cards and believe they can escape their moral obligation to do what's right.
But I'm thinking, if this happened to me, it's probably happening to other trusting Fidelity clients too. Working together, we might have a bigger voice and more leverage.
So, if you, or someone you know, have had similar issues with Fidelity, click the Contact Us button below and send me an email at ThatIsNotRight@BewareFidelity.com
Let's show big corporations, like Fidelity Investments, they can't trample on their customers. Integrity matters.
Email ThatIsNotRight@BewareFidelity.com today.