Charles Schwab closing IRA due to PMB address

[Monaco Larry]

My wife has had an IRA account with Charles Schwab for the past 13 years. Last week we opened a Joint Tenant Account with them for further investing. When I tried to purchase Mutual Funds today, I was told the account is Restricted due to not having a physical address. I was given a Verification Supervisor who confirmed that we must show a utility bill in our name to establish an address to use the account. When I explained that is impossible for a full time RVer, she suggested we take our money elsewhere. And by the way, your wife's IRA that was originally opened to your previous home address wasn't caught when you changed address's so it will be closed in the next 30 days. Can anyone provide us with a reputable investment firm that has found a way around this?

[2gypsies]

Schwab is noted for this.  We've used Fidelity and Vanguard without any problems with the Escapees RV Club forwarding address.

[SWharton]

We opened up Ira and brokerage act at  vanguard in July. No problems with addressing

 

[Kirk W]

If you are Escapee members, call the business office and tell them about the problem and they will help was this has been dealt with many times by the office. (936)327-8873

There is a way to use an alternate address with a relative to supply the physical requirements while using the mail service for your personal address. 

[Barbaraok]

I would run, not walk, my money away from Schwab.  We use Vanguard and have never had a problem, including opening joint accounts as we began taking RMDs each year.

[Monaco Larry]

Thank you for your input. I phoned Schwab back and explained that my VA and Medicare is OK with my address, how can we resolve this. If I provide them with a statement from our present campground that we are here and paid up and if I include a letter stating this is my current LEGAL address but Livingston is our mailing address, they think that will satisfy their requirement. If not, I guess Vanguard gets a new customer. Thanks again for your prompt responses. Glad to find out there is an alternative.

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, Monaco Larry said:

If I provide them with a statement from our present campground that we are here and paid up and if I include a letter stating this is my current LEGAL address but Livingston is our mailing address, they think that will satisfy their requirement.

But will that be your address next month? The law only requires a physical address which you can be reached via and that could be a close relative but I doubt that the campground is what they need. Wells-Fargo Advisors is another company that understands the law and there are several other investment firms that do. Schwab is the only one that keeps popping up in threads like this so you might be wiser to just move your funds. It would seem to me that the refusal to work with you might be some indication of the quality of their customer service? 

[Barbaraok]

I agree with Kirk .  From the number of times over the past few years we've seen people come and ask this question regarding Schwab, I'd just get the transfer of funds going and be done with them.   And what state are you in - if it is one with a state income tax, that simple letter could end up cost you a lot of money.

[whj469]

It would seem that Schwab doesn't want your account and I wouldn't want to leave my money with them. Other firms will be glad to take care of you. In addition to the ones listed above T. Rowe Price would be a good choice. Good Luck

[LoringLaw]

Multigenerational Wealth Strategies, LLC is just such a company. With an office in Escapees Headquarters in Livingston, Texas, Heather Brown as financial consultant is familiar with the full-time RVing lifestyle and has worked with many an Escapees member. She can be contacted at 800-260-1615 ext. 1.

[SWharton]

Rather than get involved with potential legal fees I would just move the accounts.

[Twotoes]

This goes back to the Patriot Act which required every financial institution to have a physical address on record for every account. The Act expired many years ago and was not renewed, however many financial institutions have not changed their rules. I would think that your VA and Medicare info should satisfy Schwabs requirement but if it does not then I agree with the others that you should move your accounts. 

[JRP]

13 minutes ago, Twotoes said:

This goes back to the Patriot Act which required every financial institution to have a physical address on record for every account. The Act expired many years ago and was not renewed, however many financial institutions have not changed their rules. ….

Although the original CIP requirement got its start as part of the Patriot Act, it has since been officially adopted by  the Federal Banking Regulators and is now a part of the CFR (code of federal regulations). So it does not go away because other portions of the Patriot Act were not renewed or turned into laws or regulations.

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, JRP said:

So it does not go away because other portions of the Patriot Act were not renewed or turned into laws or regulations.

While this is true, there are ways around this requirement that do meet the legal test if the investment firm knows it and is willing to do something different from their norm. That has been the case for several years now. 

[JRP]

1 hour ago, Kirk Wood said:

While this is true, there are ways around this requirement that do meet the legal test if the investment firm knows it and is willing to do something different from their norm. That has been the case for several years now. 

yep, didn't mean to imply otherwise.  The same section that requires them to verify your physical residence address, clearly states an exception for those who have no physical street address, they are allowed to provide a relative or close friend's address for CIP verification.

[Monaco Larry]

I thank all of you for your input. I found it very discouraging to have Charles Schwab boot us out after 14 years with them. I did minimal research after your inputs and have selected Vanguard as the firm to move our accounts to. I'm sure there are others just as reputable but that's where we are headed. I have no idea why Schwab is being so stubborn, but I appreciate all of you giving me options. I'm not sure how to close this string of posts but I thank you all ad do not require any further replies.

[Barbaraok]

We have been with Vanguard for over 30 years, you made a good choice.

Don't worry about the thread,  it will 'close' itself over time.

[Sehc]

Sounds like a lottery. How long will reply to this thread continue into history? My guess is until Schwab goes bankrupt.

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, Sehc said:

My guess is until Schwab goes bankrupt.

RV fulltimes are an insignificant part of the Schwab customer base so they probably will see little if any effect from fulltimers leaving. 

[Sehc]

That is a joke reference to this thread closing itself, by Barbaraok, above.

[dewilso]

I NEVER use PMB # on my address, it’s either #, or Apt #.

[momdoc]

We have been using Ameritrade for years with no problems.  This includes 12 years living out of the country and 2 years in the RV most of the time with NO physical US address for now over 13 years.

We also never put PMB on our address but rather #

 

 

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, momdoc said:

We also never put PMB on our address but rather #

USPS rules say that either PMB or # are acceptable in an address when using a mail service (private mail box). They also state that other things such as apartment or such are not legal. I have no idea if anyone ever enforces that rule or not. And if they do enforce it, is there some sort of penalty?

[docj]

On 11/11/2018 at 6:43 PM, dewilso said:

I NEVER use PMB # on my address, it’s either #, or Apt #.

When we switched to YourBestAddress after MyDakotaAddress closed precipitously, I was faced with a problem because the use of PMB is implicit in how YBA does its addresses.  For those who aren't familiar with YBA, the company is located in Suite 214 at a particular address in Sioux Falls and each mailbox has a unique PMB number.  

As I switched all our credit, medical and other accounts over to the new address (what a time-consuming job!) I became intimately familiar with the differences between different banks and credit card issuers.  Some had no problem at all with PMB-1234 on the second address line; others wouldn't accept the letters "PMB" anywhere in the address block.  For those I adopted the practice of using "Suite 214-1234" since YBA doesn't care as long as your PMB box number appears somewhere in the address.

Of course, this doesn't preclude an entity from using a PMB-screening database to identify the address, but if that were to happen we can now use the physical address of the RV lot we own in south TX.  I normally don't have mail delivered there, but we could, and it is most definitely a physical address that belongs to us.

[Kirk W]

The following is taken from the USPS website:

Quote

Private companies offering mailbox rental services to individuals and businesses are considered commercial mail receiving agencies (CMRA). Addresses on mail received at a CMRA must adhere to specific requirements in the use of their private mailbox number (PMB). Mail sent to an addressee at a CMRA must include either the PMB identifier or the #, followed by the appropriate private mailbox number. Use of any other identifier is prohibited. Either a three line or four line address format can be used with a CMRA address and the PMB or # identifier,