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T Rowe Price

beebee
edited January 2021 in Fund Discussions
Anyone having any luck connecting with TRP these days by phone?

I am trying to complete a trustee to trustee tranfer (In Kind) into TRP from another institution. I believe TRP need to initiate the transfer, but their online transfer options don't meet my needs.

I have also submitted emails and ask for a call back. No luck.

Comments

  • They're in WFH-mode (i.e. working but not working).
  • working from home
  • edited January 2021
    By now TRP should able fully geared to work from home. Customer support can be done with broadband connection. That how IT support is being done.

    I performed asset transfer online at Fidelity last week and it was completed in 5 days. As I recall, TRP requires signed paper forms several years ago. If that is the case, it is likely sitting in their Maryland office.
  • "...If that is the case, it is likely sitting in their Maryland office."
    Oh, feces.
  • That is exactly what happened to our tax return last year which was submitted in February in paper form. We did not get our small refund until late July since the Oregon IRS office was closed for several months. This year we will file electronically.
  • Jay-zuz.
  • beebee
    edited January 2021
    Thanks. On another note, their call wait music is the bomb...well not so much after the first 2 hours.
  • @bee, I have to do a similar IRA transfer with TRP several years ago and it took 4 weeks to complete. They follow all the rules and paper forms were required instead of electronically as in Fidelity. Don't know if this changed recently. Nothing wrong with their practice but TRP is being careful. Vanguard requires paper forms too but initial transfer request is done online and turnaround time is 2 weeks.

    COVID situation is making many business operating from home. They could have operate split shifts to reduce worker density, especially their call centers. Wonder if there are other phone # you can call?
  • Sven said:

    By now TRP should able fully geared to work from home. Customer support can be done with broadband connection. That how IT support is being done.

    I performed asset transfer online at Fidelity last week and it was completed in 5 days. As I recall, TRP requires signed paper forms several years ago. If that is the case, it is likely sitting in their Maryland office.

    I'm not saying they aren't fully geared to work from home. That I'm sure is true. However, the employees simply are not as engaged when working from home (some are, but I think it'd be naïve to think all employees are just as productive in a WFH environment). If you ask any employer how the WFH experience has been, of course they are going to say it's been relatively seamless and the team just as efficient, however, that is for optics. It is not what is actually occurring for many organizations.
  • edited January 2021
    Right now @bee is not able to get them to return her call. That is unacceptable from their call center. One would plan to have that customer service phone number forward to multiple phone lines so their business would not disrupt. It is really not that complicated.
  • shabby. Try this one, intended for "priority" shareholders. They probably won't know, either way, at their end: (800) 401-1791
  • edited January 2021
    We are not even into tax season yet. Just checked their site again.

    "Heavy call volume. Please try after 4:30 pm EST."

  • bee said:

    Thanks. On another note, their call wait music is the bomb...well not so much after the first 2 hours.

    Brubeck is great, but yeah, the same refrain from Time Out on repeat is deafening.
    I tried to do some moves to cash reserve online and had to call in. The first rep sounded like he was in a broom closet and dropped my call transferring off speaker phone. Second rep was very patient and helpful, but the transactions took almost 2 hours on the phone. I did find out an interesting tid-bit though, not all closed funds are really closed funds. He told me that if the amount is large enough for moving 401k funds in, that they could be deposited into currently closed funds. I've been looking at PRWCX Capital Appreciation and was told I could open an account and actually deposit funds into it if it's the right amount. Does this sound right?
    Last time I did a similar transfer to yours it took all of ten minutes. I wondering if the new division/group is having an impact? That is another question all together.
  • It's not uncommon to allow transfer in kind to new accounts. T Rowe Price is actually more restrictive than many. For example, they've told me that it is possible to move shares of a closed fund from an IRA to a new taxable account, but only if it is part of your RMD.

    They do seem more flexible when it comes to moving assets from a 401(k) to an IRA. I've done this with a closed fund from my TRP individual 401(k).

    In this regard, Vanguard may be the strictest (no surprise). They refused to do a transfer in kind of a (hard) closed fund from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. Their rule was that one couldn't open a new account, period. I spent an hour explaining that I already had an account with that fund in the Roth - I wouldn't be opening a new account or buying new shares. They finally relented.
  • Just wondering if there’s an option to upload documents to TRP’S website so you don’t have to rely on the mail being sorted? I’ve used this option at Schwab in the past and am in the process of doing the same to transfer a 401k out of the nightmare called Empower Retirement so as to eliminate one weak link in the chain.
    MJPete said:

    I did find out an interesting tid-bit though, not all closed funds are really closed funds. He told me that if the amount is large enough for moving 401k funds in, that they could be deposited into currently closed funds. I've been looking at PRWCX Capital Appreciation and was told I could open an account and actually deposit funds into it if it's the right amount. Does this sound right?

    Yes, this is a open secret that occasionally comes up here. I used this loophole by transferring part of a small 401k to TRP and opening a Rollover IRA in PRWCX a couple of years ago.

    Then I transferred one share of PRWCX from this new IRA to an existing IRA at Fido. This let me buy additional shares of PRWCX in my Fido IRA.
  • New email from TRP:
    Heavy postal volumes are delaying mail delivery. Call wait times are also longer due to higher than usual call volume.
    From routine first class mail to package delivery individuals and business across the country have been experiencing long delivery delays.
    ...
    Clients are also experiencing extended hold times on the phone due to an ongoing surge in call volume.
    ...
    You can avoid long wait times and get faster phone service by calling at off-peak times (weekdays after the market closes at 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. ET).
  • edited January 2021
    I received that meesage too. This explained the challenge that @bee had earlier. COVID made everything much more difficult. DMV offices are slowly opening back up. Renewal was strictly done online with 10 years old photo.
  • edited January 2021
    Ya, I got a postal letter last June or so, telling me MA license would be auto-renewed for another year. I'd already taken my license here, from my new State, and those people TOOK my MA license from me. Standard Procedure. Also just got the email from TRP.
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