Betterment Reviews

This is definitely a scam! I really suggest you steer clear of it, or you might just throw your cash away. On the flip side, I totally endorse 'assetsplus.biz' as the best platform for trading and investing.

Three months back, I moved some cash from another savings account because they had killer interest rates. I was saving up for a down payment, so I quickly shut that account down. Once I found a house, I kicked off a transfer from my current account a week before the closing date to make sure I had enough to wire. But after three days, the money still wasn’t showing up, so I gave them a call to check what was going on. They told me they needed proof of where the funds I deposited three months ago came from. I sent over the final statement from the other account, but they said it wasn’t good enough. That caught me off guard since that account was listed as a transfer account on my Betterment profile, and I had done the transfer through their app. There was no sign of any problems on the Betterment app or website. Now, I’m looking at a delay of 1-2 days just to get my documents approved, and then another 1-3 days after that, which is really going to push back my house closing. I can’t recommend this service at all. Sure, the interest rates might look good, but the delay is gonna cost me money, not to mention the time I’ve already wasted. If you need your cash when you need it, you can’t count on this service to have it ready.

This robo-advisor is top-notch. I've been a member since 2016 and hold various account types without running into any problems, especially when it comes to moving money in and out. There were a couple of times I had to reach out to them, and they gave me solid answers to my questions. One thing I’d suggest is for them to consider a financial advice package that costs less than $299. But all in all, I’m really happy with the service!

I can't get my password to work, and it's been blocked, which means I can't get into my account. Sadly, the support crew wasn't much help in sorting this out. I had to reach out to the higher-ups for some assistance, and luckily, they managed to sort it out and get my funds back.

I went to set up a savings account and was prompted to pick a password, but none of my options fit their criteria. I tried 30 different ones, yet they kept telling me to come up with something new. It's really annoying that this company is so picky about passwords. I haven't run into this problem with other banks or accounts, so it feels like this company doesn't know what they're doing.

Man, where do I even begin? We found out during an internal check that they illegally took over $900 from our account. We flagged this issue to them on March 3, thinking we’d get some basic professionalism and respect, but nope, that didn’t happen. Should’ve checked Trust Pilot first! We emailed them three times, but they didn’t even bother to reply until more than a week had passed. When they finally did, all they said was they were looking into it. Last week, I tried to follow up, but got nothing back—just crickets. It’s maddening that they snatched our cash without consent and can’t even keep us in the loop about their so-called 'investigation' (which seems pretty unnecessary since stealing is pretty clear-cut). I just tweeted at them, filed a complaint with the CFPB, and I’m gonna keep pushing to make sure everyone knows how Betterment operates and to get our money back.

Out of the blue, my account was suddenly shut down by them, claiming I supposedly "don't live in the US." I have no clue where they got that info. To top it off, they’re now pushing me to close my account. It’s downright ridiculous since I pay my US taxes and have permanent residency here. And to make things worse, the customer service folks were super rude and condescending.

Working with their customer service team is just plain awful. It took a grueling 6 weeks to sort out my first problem, and for the second one, I just threw in the towel after 3 weeks of headaches. Trying to get your money out of Betterment is another nightmare. It's really hard to understand how a firm managing so much cash can have a service department that’s as chaotic and careless as Bankman-Fried's.

I made the choice to pull my money out of Betterment, and let me tell you, it turned into a maddening six-week ordeal. Getting all the info I needed from them to reinvest my cash was no walk in the park. They kept ignoring my inquiries and didn’t give me the help I was looking for.

The service provided to customers is just plain awful. There have been a ton of errors during the onboarding phase, and I've received zero replies from the so-called 'support' team or account reps. Getting in touch with a real person via email or phone feels like a lost cause. If they’re this lost and inept in handling customer service, I can’t put my faith in them with our personal and employer 401K accounts anymore.

The service I received from this company was just awful. I recently completed a Roth rollover and set up an individual investment account. To my shock, the Roth account dropped almost $200 in just two days, while the other account barely increased. Both accounts had the same fund allocation, so I reached out to customer service to understand this huge difference. Unfortunately, the representative was clueless and couldn't explain anything. I asked her to look into the stocks and bonds my money was in, but she just went quiet, clearly not knowing what to say. I also requested a callback, but no one ever got back to me. Meanwhile, my account kept losing value every hour. When I finally got to talk to another customer service rep, the call quality was terrible, and it cut off right in the middle of my sentence. To my surprise, there was no follow-up via email or phone to help me further. At that moment, I realized I had put my hard-earned cash in the hands of a bunch of amateurs - remote workers who just didn’t have the know-how to assist me. So, I've decided to move all my funds elsewhere, but it looks like I’ll still take a hit because of the unresolved Roth account. This transfer is gonna take a while. Honestly, this whole situation has left me completely stunned.

The service here is just awful, and I can't recommend them at all! They shut down my account under the ridiculous claim that I wasn't in the US, when I actually was. They market their debit card as having "all ATM fees reimbursed," but that's just a load of nonsense. They seemed upset that I used their card while traveling abroad and it looks like they have no plans to follow through on those reimbursements, which led to my account being closed. Clearly, I wasn't a priority for them. Over the year, they kept asking for proof, and honestly, I got too worn out to keep going back and forth with them. There are plenty of other banks out there that offer the same ATM fee reimbursements for travelers without the risk of account closure, like Betterment. Don't fall for their promises, even if their ads sound good. Once you start getting those reimbursements, they’ll just shut your account for good!

They really go against what they say in their mission statement. They keep talking about how important it is to stay invested in the market instead of trying to time it. But when I wanted to move my IRA, they sold off all my assets and took ages to send the money to my new custodian. It felt like they were making me time the market, keeping me out of it for weeks. The whole transfer took about 4 months because of their constant errors and unauthorized moves. They let in-kind transfers on their platform, but when it comes to moving out, they just won’t do it. It’s super hypocritical, and the whole thing was a slow grind. Even after 6 months since I first asked for the transfer, I’m still waiting for them to give me my cost basis, and it feels like they’re just messing around. They’re a poor excuse for what’s supposed to be a legit company.

I was really pleased with Betterment at first when I used them for my IRAs and investments. But things took a nosedive after I opened a checking account. Betterment Financial LLC manages your account, but they ain't the bank; that’s NBKC Bank's job. The kicker is, as a Betterment user, you can't reach out to NBKC Bank directly, and Betterment isn't always able to help since they don’t have direct access. This puts you in a really annoying situation. Plus, Betterment doesn’t let you talk to management; all your chats go through customer service folks who don’t seem to have the power to fix problems. Honestly, if a rep feels like ending the call, they just hang up. And when you want to use your cash, you gotta go through their app to pick the right account and then wait an hour for your card to link up. It’s just ridiculous. On the bright side, their website is easy to navigate, and the mobile app loads your info pretty fast. But other than that, dealing with Betterment can be a real hassle.

I gotta say, I began using Betterment back in April 2020 when the market was taking a hit because of the pandemic. Since then, my investment returns have been pretty solid, so I'm definitely happy with how my accounts are doing. At Betterment, I've got an IRA, a safety-net account, and a general investing account.

Putting the returns aside, I really like how Betterment runs their online account system. They take a goal-focused approach and give forecasts for future returns based on various scenarios. This has been super useful for figuring out if I'm saving enough for retirement or if I've got enough cash for emergencies. Plus, their expense rate seems fair given the services they provide. Sure, there might be slightly better options out there, but other robo-advisors often come with their own set of limitations, like a narrow range of investments.

I should point out that I haven't had any problems moving money in and out of Betterment. That said, folks who aren't too tech-savvy or financially literate might find the platform a bit tricky to navigate. Both the app and website are top-notch and get regular updates.

Finally, I want to mention that a big chunk of the growth in my accounts comes from dividends, which get reinvested automatically. Not sure if this is a deliberate strategy from Betterment, but I bring it up because there could be tax implications tied to short-term dividend income.