ComplaintsforStockpile Investment, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I deposited $200 into Stockpile account in 2016. In 2021 the company stopped service on their website and moved to a app only service. I was unable to access the account using my phone. They then started charging $4.95 month membership charge. I was unaware of these changes. The company has now used all of my investment money to cover its monthly membership fees over the last 24 months. This change was not communicated to me or poorly communicated. My account balance is now $0.00.

  Business response

  04/25/2024

  Hi ********, 

  We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused, and we can assure you it was never our intention to catch you off guard with the membership. If you need assistance with your account, please feel free to reach out to our team at **********************************.

  Thank you,

  The Stockpile Team

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 5th. I requested Stockpile deactivate the chase account as my linked bank account to my ********************** account and to add and to link and activate a debit card in which I gave the information. For some reason I have not received a response and the process has not taken place, please address this situation.

  Business response

  04/08/2024

  Hi ******, 

  We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I see one of our representatives has responded and is assisting you with this request. If you have any other questions, feel free to respond to the ongoing email thread or email us at **********************************. 

  Thank you, 

  The Stockpile Team 

• Initial Complaint

  03/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 2/7/2023-2/8/2023 my brokerage account was breached by an unauthorized user. The unknown user proceeded to add a new bank account to my brokerage account and sell all the stocks within my account. Once the trades had settled, all my funds were stolen by this unknown user. $1,500 gone from my account and the only email I ever received from Stockpile was "Trade Confirmation is Available". This is the same notification I have received for years as dividends were reinvested into the handful of stocks I received many years ago. I was finally made aware of this account breach a few weeks ago when I tried to log into my Stockpile account and found my account restricted. I was instructed to contact Stockpile support to gain access to my account. I find it very interesting I was locked out of my own account but nothing was done to prevent and unknown login from happening a year ago. Action was only taken by Stockpile once my account was completely gone. After a few weeks of back and forth with Stockpile it was determined my account was accessed by this unknown user, a new bank account was added, and my account was drained without me receiving a single notification of action on the account. Customer support at ********************** actually blamed me for the breach and suggested it was due to reusing a password. The only resolution they were able to provide was to log me back into my account containing $0. They wiped any history of users or bank accounts from my account so I cannot even track down who did this.Completely unacceptable behavior by a company that markets products to parents and children. My parents set this account up for me 10+ years ago and now it is completely gone with no real resolution. Had I received any notification about a new login, a new bank account being added, shares being sold, or money being transferred out I would have acted immediately. Unfortunately I wasn't given the chance to do even after paying for their lifetime membership.

  Business response

  03/25/2024

  Hi ******, 

  We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused. I do see one of our representatives has sent a response regarding our policies. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to respond to the email correspondence or reach out to us at **********************************. 

  Thank you, 

  The Stockpile Team 

  Customer response

  03/26/2024

   
  Complaint: 21480499
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As I mentioned in my communications with your representative, I do not find this to be an acceptable nor appropriate response. Simply logging me back into my account with no justification for the lost funds is not satisfactory. Stockpile did not provide adequate protection for my account and as a result I lost all the funds. This account was only worth $1,500. Please make this right and just refund the account value.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  Hi ******, 

  Thank you for your response. We must abide by our policies and procedures that are in place. We apologize for he inconvenience. If you have any other questions or concerns, you can respond to the email thread or reach out to us at **********************************. 

  Customer response

  03/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21480499
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Your policies and procedures are designed to take advance of retail investors which is completely unacceptable. You charge a monthly/lifetime fee and for what? To take more money from those just starting out in investing? Truly embarrassing from such a big corporation. I still do not accept this resolution and want a refund for the money that was stolen from me. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  A few weeks ago- I had no problem logging in to Stockpile Now when I attempt to login in it says I dont have an account. I cannot get a hold of stockpile. There is no phone number. The one email I revived is asking for my name DOB and last 4 digits of SS. This information via email will pretty much get them into any account I have outside of stockpile. They have not responded other than that time and I cant get sc hold off them or my account.

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  Hi *******, 

  Thank you for reaching out to us. I do see one of our representatives has responded and is assisting you with this request. If you have any other questions, feel free to respond to the ongoing email thread or email us at **********************************. 

  Thank you, 

  The Stockpile Team 

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  03/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am unable to retreat my moneys and have not been able to get quick resolution. Stockpile investments has no customer service to resolve my issue and retrieve our investment.

  Business response

  03/05/2024

  Hi *******, 
  
  I do see one of our representatives is assisting you with your request. If you have any other questions or concerns, please respond to the open email thread or reach out to us at **********************************. 
  
  Thank you,
  
  The Stockpile Team 

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  No contact information

  Business response

  02/16/2024

  Hi ****, 
  
  We apologize if you did not receive our email response yesterday, February 15th. We have sent another follow up to your email address on file to answer your questions. 
  
  Best Regards, 
  
  The Stockpile Team 
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My father gifted my children money to invest in stocks through Stockpile. He had heard about it being a safe way for kids to practice and learn about investing money. I went through the process of signing up for an account, even though I already invested with E*trade. Stockpile advertised itself as a free and safe way to make fractional investments. My kids chose ********* and ********* in 2019. I just noticed an email the other day saying stock was being sold to cover their fee. I was unaware of a fee. I hadnt logged into the app in years. I quickly found out that one of the accounts, the ********* one was being sold off monthly since 2022 for over $5 per month to cover a new fee they started charging. Upon logging into the account I was shown a new user agreement and without agreeing to it I could not access my account, However my one daughters account is drained to $37 after investing $100 in ********* in 2019. Im concerned that Stockpile is preying on the elderly/ grandparents to buy gift cards then hoping young parents and children will forget about their stocks then a few years later they start charging them a fee, drain their account and close it. This appears to be their business model. Please help consumers and research into this business. I would like all $5 fees reversed and they should stop taking money from little kids when they advertise no fees. Thank you! Sincerely, ***********************

  Business response

  02/05/2024

  Hi ***, 

  We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused. Please feel free to reach out to us at ********************************** for further assistance. We would be more than happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. 
  
  Thank you, 

  The Stockpile Team 

• Initial Complaint

  01/31/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Stockpile has no way to contact them. We have cash in our stockpile account and there is no way to transfer these funds out of Stockpile without talking to a representative. Their support site lists ways to change the account via web browser on their website...but they have removed the interface and are now app only. The app doesn't have a way to change a bank account so you have to go thru online help to request a bank account change. The online chat says they generally reply within 4 hours. It's been days and I've received no response and there is no phone number listed to contact them in any other way.

  Business response

  01/31/2024

  Hi *****, 

  We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I do see one of our representatives is assisting you in resolving this matter. If you have any other questions or concerns, please respond to the ongoing email thread or reach out at **********************************.
  
  Thank you, 

  The Stockpile Team 

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Stockpile advertised itself originally as brokerage to buy stocks with children. I signed up as a way to send my nephew birthday money and teach him about investing. Everything was fine until Stockpile decided to start charing $4.95/month and helped themselves to sell my nephews stock to cover the fees. Beyond the fact that $60/year is an absurd amount to charge children learning about stocks - they did so without communication or explicit user consent to start the subscription. To move to a new brokerage they want $75. It's extortion - either pay their subscription fees or pay $75. There is no way out without paying them.

  Business response

  01/25/2024

  Hi *****, 
  
  We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I do see one of our representatives is assisting you in resolving this matter. If you have any other questions or concerns, please respond to the ongoing email thread or reach out at **********************************. 
  
  Thank you, 
  
  The Stockpile Team 

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have an account with ********************** that I wish to rollover to a different investment firm. I am not pleased with the sudden change in pricing to hold my account there and wish to transfer without fee to a different firm. This organization initially offered free investing but changed to a subscription system and the account holder must pay them to rollover stocks. When I tried to roll over this account myself, the other firm said that the rollover did not work. When I tried to reach out to Stockpile, I did not get a response. They do not offer a way to call them and speak with someone in person and the methods to communication via chatbot are subpar. I want to speak with someone over the phone to roll over my account without fee.

  Business response

  01/12/2024

  Hi ******,

  We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused. One of our representatives has responded to your request. If you have any other questions or concerns, please reach out to **********************************. 
  
  Thank you, 
  
  The Stockpile Team 

  Customer response

  01/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 21133101
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I asked for a phone call and the fee waved. I received an email with a link to a faq which does not tell me the brokerage name or address to send to the receiving brokerage.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******************************

  Business response

  01/17/2024

  Hi ******, 

  Thank you for your response. We have sent the requested information through our previous correspondence. If you have any other questions or concerns, please respond to the message or reach out to us at **********************************. 
  
  Thank you, 
  
  The Stockpile Team 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩