Financial Anger

Currently I am maddened by the 401k company.

I'm in the process of updating Quicken to reflect my total net worth. Currently it just has my cash accounts and my car. I just recently started the 401k plan and as it turns out I'm fully vested. However I couldn't log on to their site to check the balance. I was missing a correct username and/or password. It's odd because it should have been the same from my previous 401k account.

Okay so just send them to my email. Well I've got to know my account number before they'll do that. So this is a new 401k account my company just signed up with and I really don't have/never got the original papers.

But the next day I decide to call them. I can't make it through the phone tree without a phone ID. When I talk to the rep he can't release any information, except he CAN mail out my online ID, phone ID, PIN and password so I can eventually view my account. The password got here a day before the online IDs. Took freakin 5 days by snail mail.

Turns out I already set up my online ID when I made my selections but the password is changed to something random now. They probably reset it for security but I swear I tried the correct combination when I first logged on. I changed it back.

I finally get to see my account. There's about 2 large sitting there. I fire up Quicken to sync up. Internet Explorer and Google's popup blocker throw a collective hissy fit over the activeX and pop ups. But whatever I get in. All I need to do is download through web connect, something Quicken says this company supports.

I can't find it ANYWHERE. After poking around for three minutes I am logged off for inactivity. Any attempt to refresh the site or log in is greeted with login errors using both the password they assigned and the New one I received. Eventually after trying every combination I was locked out for 24 hours.

The message on their phone service? "We are experiencing technical difficulties please try your call again"

At this point I have no less than 12 ways the 401k company could have made this easier on me and improved my experience. I appreciate that they take account security seriously but inconveniencing people is not good service ESPECIALLY when a good chunk of my money is involved. It's mine and I naturally feel a bit disconcerted when I feel I have no access to it.

1. Allow login by SSN
2. Allow email retrieval of passwords.
3. Use the email I provided to give periodic statements, so that I wouldn't have to log in. I have received 0 emails from the 401K company.
4. Allow phone support if someone is missing their online ID
5. Allow alternate verification if someone is missing their phone ID
6. Notify customers by email whenever their password changes or has been reset.
7. Overnight or express deliver snail mail documents.
8. ALLOW EASY INSTANT SYNCHRONIZATION WITH QUICKEN MONEY ET AL. I shouldn't have had to have looked for more than a minute. I'm learning most sites where you can't find it, don't have it.
9. Have a site that works. (okay... I admit that's never a guarantee, but still Tuesday at 5 is not exactly peak traffic)
10. Have a site that doesn't lock out customers for failed logins when the authentication server is not working
11. Notify customers by error message that the site is not working rather than pretending to authenticate.
12. I realize no company wants to pay 800 charges to keep customers on hold for 15 minutes but the whole disconnecting thing is just fucking rude.

Finally go to
http://www.subnixus.com/

Because I said so. (They have a contest and it's the last day et.)