This company is HORRIBLE!!!! RUN....DON'T WALK AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!!!! They will con you into thinking they will help you save and MAKE money but in the end they will charge you crazy fees and guess what, when you want to cancel....they will charge you even MORE fees. The problem is if you don't cancel, and you allow your money to "sit" under their care it will eventually be totally gone also because every month they charge extreme fees. In the end after a year and a half with "investing" with Ameriprise I LOST so much more money than I would have had I just dug a hole in my back yard and put my hard earned money into a jar in the ground. Once I realised how Ameriprise had done nothing good for me and that they had actually cost me the amount of money they did I called to cancel. They actually had the nerve to charge me another $150.00 to cancel and get out of their system. I talked not just to the sales representative but also the Manager. I should mention I am a single mom with a disabled daughter with crazy horrible high medical bills! Regardless, Ameriprise was shameless in demanding their right to charge me the full fee to cancel and be done with their crooked and schemeing "investing" firm. I advised them of my situation and my resolve in warning others as far as the scheme they are involved in. They stated they did not care and that was certainly "my perogative". All I can do is warn you. Please do not use Ameriprise Financial! Run, don't walk!!!! I hope no one has to go through everything I just went through myself!!!!
Ameriprise Financial in Warren, NJ was recommended to me by my former colleague at work. The advisor I dealt with seemed honest and trustworthy and that convinced me to open an account at Ameriprise and transferred my 401K and pension funds which were at that time earning about 30% and 5% respectively at GSK.
I opened the Ameriprise account in December 2013 (believing that this Ameriprise advisor can do better) and entrusted him the management of the account indicating to him that my goal was to grow the 401K for my kids. He created 3 subaccounts, annuity/insurance (funded by the pension fund plus about 1/3 of the 401K [why?], with pension deferred for 2 years [why?]) and 2 separate stock portfolios (funded by the balance of the 401K).
Then my nightmares started. He was investing in mutual funds with the highest front loads and highest expense ratio; he was buying and selling mutual funds which are intended for long term investment; only 6 out of twelve mutual funds were hardly earning; he invested in depressed Europe stocks all of which were consistently giving negative results. By October 2014, after 10 months with Ameriprise, my account was diving downward loosing significantly in a bullish market that is over 10% high.
I did not feel or see that my funds were being managed with my interest in his mind. By November 2014, I decided to close all accounts before the damage become unmanageable. It was a costly account closure with over $30,000 penalty in one sub account alone plus fees and other charges. One more thing, he never highlighted to me the fees being charged on the account of over $500 each month plus the annual fee of $750. It was a very costly experience for me.
The lesson here is to avoid Ameriprise financial advisor/broker and perhaps other brokers too as they work for fees and commissions in buying and selling stocks!! Personally manage your portfolio so you can sleep at night!!
Ameriprise Financial Planning- I was told I would be working with a CFP/CPA to create a financial plan they misrepresented the planners (Michael Olson) qualifications and provided me with a brochure with inaccurate numbers. Instead of giving solid financial advice the entire brochure/financial plan advertised there services and made recommendations to switch my current banking to theirs for less interest. I paid $200 for the plan and an additional $25 for a ripoff.
On March 24th 2014 Tracey Larsen the Client Support Associate at Ameriprise told me I would be working with a Michael Olson and represented him as a CFP/CPA to create a financial plan with specific details on taxation, etc. I purchased this plan for $200 and agreed to pay $25 a month after the plan was finalized for future consultation. After sending my financial information to them they repeatedly asked I invest my money in low interest CD's and MM savings with Ameriprise not taking into account my personal financial goals.
This conflict of interest defeated the purpose of paying for a financial plan. After a month of waiting and phone interviews in which they tried to sell me on their brokerage services, mutual funds, IRA's, etc. I told them it would be a conflict on interest to purchase investment products from them since they are doing my plan.
They dumped the plan off in my Ameriprise documents section and never took the time to go over it with me. I sent questions to my advisor who never responded to my emails 6 days later. I printed out the Financial Plan and took it to my broker who couldn't believe how inaccurate the figures were, the entire financial plan was inaccurate and therefore useless. The financial planner used old interest rates to calculate his projections, and didn't keep good communication with me.
After I filed a complaint with there office and the BBB they are still refusing to give back my hard earned money they are low lifes. Here is my response to them denying me a refund:
Adam Speer/Jay Christman
First and foremost I didn’t “alledge” anything unlike your organization I don’t have a track record a mile long of class action lawsuits into the millions of dollars. Tracey Larsen did present him as a CFP/CPA that could help me with solve my financial issues, once again they are lying, whoever is reading this you can either believe me or them check their credentials on google they are terrible. I have no reason to lie I was seeking financial planning and taxation advice from a qualified individual, why would anyone pay to get advice from someone who lacks any I emphasize ANY credentials, I would be better off getting advice from a neighbor there is no difference. Your company has a history of screwing people out of their hard earned money, including its own employees and maybe that’s the reason it was forced into changing its name.
The financial plan provided by Michael Olson was completely inaccurate based off the figures I provided him with, I don’t see how you had him verify the accuracy of the data considering he isn’t qualified in anything and he is the one who wrote it. On the other hand I did your job for you and took his financial plan to an actual CFP/CPA and the figures were grossly inaccurate with the data I provided him with. Not only did he not get the amounts correct, but the growth over time was severely inaccurate based on historical figures.
Michael did not do any research, he plugged in numbers using a cookie cutter template and the CFP/CPA I showed to easily figured out how inaccurate it was. Michael was provided with all the information he needed to put together a financial plan including phone conversations and data sent electronically. I mentioned I was interested in purchasing a house and a vehicle and growing my current investment and retirement accounts. That was completely ignored the focus instead was handing all of my money to him an unqualified broker.
After taking on a major class action lawsuit for creating financial plans that posed a “conflict of interest” and losing millions of dollars you would think the thickheaded morons in charge would have figured out not to do business like that but I guess not. The worst part is instead of getting a financial plan I got a brochure, the entire thing filled with advertisements from Ameriprise, the “plan” advocated to take all my money in other accounts and move it to them, it was so ridiculous they wanted me to invest in high risk mutual funds 80/20 all the while borrowing off them all so they can bleed me for everything I have.
The more sales Michael Olson the unqualified thief makes the more money the company makes and the bigger bonuses he gets, meanwhile my dream of owning a home goes down the tubes. What does Michael Olson care if all my money is tied up for years, he was telling me to put some of my money into Ameriprise CD’s which pay less than my current savings account all so he can get a kickback.
I agreed to pay $199 for a financial plan that would mainly solve some taxation questions I had from a qualified CFP/CPA. I was never told it would be $474 and I would be making payments, I was told $199 then a service fee that can be cancelled at any time of $25. In fact in this statement you wrote you contradict yourself, you talk about a balance to be paid in installments of $25 per month then you talk about monthly billings as if it were a service, well which lie is it?
I can provide a deposition from more than one financial planner who is qualified as a CFP/CPA that the plan is not accurate based on both historical data and the projections made and the figures do not reflect current assets that were provided to Michael Olson, and the plan provided doesn’t take into account my personal goals, and overall is worthless. When this is all said and done you are going to be begging to give back the money you stole!
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Reviews
This company is HORRIBLE!!!! RUN....DON'T WALK AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!!!! They will con you into thinking they will help you save and MAKE money but in the end they will charge you crazy fees and guess what, when you want to cancel....they will charge you even MORE fees. The problem is if you don't cancel, and you allow your money to "sit" under their care it will eventually be totally gone also because every month they charge extreme fees. In the end after a year and a half with "investing" with Ameriprise I LOST so much more money than I would have had I just dug a hole in my back yard and put my hard earned money into a jar in the ground. Once I realised how Ameriprise had done nothing good for me and that they had actually cost me the amount of money they did I called to cancel. They actually had the nerve to charge me another $150.00 to cancel and get out of their system. I talked not just to the sales representative but also the Manager. I should mention I am a single mom with a disabled daughter with crazy horrible high medical bills! Regardless, Ameriprise was shameless in demanding their right to charge me the full fee to cancel and be done with their crooked and schemeing "investing" firm. I advised them of my situation and my resolve in warning others as far as the scheme they are involved in. They stated they did not care and that was certainly "my perogative". All I can do is warn you. Please do not use Ameriprise Financial! Run, don't walk!!!! I hope no one has to go through everything I just went through myself!!!!
Ameriprise Financial in Warren, NJ was recommended to me by my former colleague at work. The advisor I dealt with seemed honest and trustworthy and that convinced me to open an account at Ameriprise and transferred my 401K and pension funds which were at that time earning about 30% and 5% respectively at GSK.
I opened the Ameriprise account in December 2013 (believing that this Ameriprise advisor can do better) and entrusted him the management of the account indicating to him that my goal was to grow the 401K for my kids. He created 3 subaccounts, annuity/insurance (funded by the pension fund plus about 1/3 of the 401K [why?], with pension deferred for 2 years [why?]) and 2 separate stock portfolios (funded by the balance of the 401K).
Then my nightmares started. He was investing in mutual funds with the highest front loads and highest expense ratio; he was buying and selling mutual funds which are intended for long term investment; only 6 out of twelve mutual funds were hardly earning; he invested in depressed Europe stocks all of which were consistently giving negative results. By October 2014, after 10 months with Ameriprise, my account was diving downward loosing significantly in a bullish market that is over 10% high.
I did not feel or see that my funds were being managed with my interest in his mind. By November 2014, I decided to close all accounts before the damage become unmanageable. It was a costly account closure with over $30,000 penalty in one sub account alone plus fees and other charges. One more thing, he never highlighted to me the fees being charged on the account of over $500 each month plus the annual fee of $750. It was a very costly experience for me.
The lesson here is to avoid Ameriprise financial advisor/broker and perhaps other brokers too as they work for fees and commissions in buying and selling stocks!! Personally manage your portfolio so you can sleep at night!!
Ameriprise Financial Planning- I was told I would be working with a CFP/CPA to create a financial plan they misrepresented the planners (Michael Olson) qualifications and provided me with a brochure with inaccurate numbers. Instead of giving solid financial advice the entire brochure/financial plan advertised there services and made recommendations to switch my current banking to theirs for less interest. I paid $200 for the plan and an additional $25 for a ripoff.
On March 24th 2014 Tracey Larsen the Client Support Associate at Ameriprise told me I would be working with a Michael Olson and represented him as a CFP/CPA to create a financial plan with specific details on taxation, etc. I purchased this plan for $200 and agreed to pay $25 a month after the plan was finalized for future consultation. After sending my financial information to them they repeatedly asked I invest my money in low interest CD's and MM savings with Ameriprise not taking into account my personal financial goals.
This conflict of interest defeated the purpose of paying for a financial plan. After a month of waiting and phone interviews in which they tried to sell me on their brokerage services, mutual funds, IRA's, etc. I told them it would be a conflict on interest to purchase investment products from them since they are doing my plan.
They dumped the plan off in my Ameriprise documents section and never took the time to go over it with me. I sent questions to my advisor who never responded to my emails 6 days later. I printed out the Financial Plan and took it to my broker who couldn't believe how inaccurate the figures were, the entire financial plan was inaccurate and therefore useless. The financial planner used old interest rates to calculate his projections, and didn't keep good communication with me.
After I filed a complaint with there office and the BBB they are still refusing to give back my hard earned money they are low lifes. Here is my response to them denying me a refund:
Adam Speer/Jay Christman
First and foremost I didn’t “alledge” anything unlike your organization I don’t have a track record a mile long of class action lawsuits into the millions of dollars. Tracey Larsen did present him as a CFP/CPA that could help me with solve my financial issues, once again they are lying, whoever is reading this you can either believe me or them check their credentials on google they are terrible. I have no reason to lie I was seeking financial planning and taxation advice from a qualified individual, why would anyone pay to get advice from someone who lacks any I emphasize ANY credentials, I would be better off getting advice from a neighbor there is no difference. Your company has a history of screwing people out of their hard earned money, including its own employees and maybe that’s the reason it was forced into changing its name.
The financial plan provided by Michael Olson was completely inaccurate based off the figures I provided him with, I don’t see how you had him verify the accuracy of the data considering he isn’t qualified in anything and he is the one who wrote it. On the other hand I did your job for you and took his financial plan to an actual CFP/CPA and the figures were grossly inaccurate with the data I provided him with. Not only did he not get the amounts correct, but the growth over time was severely inaccurate based on historical figures.
Michael did not do any research, he plugged in numbers using a cookie cutter template and the CFP/CPA I showed to easily figured out how inaccurate it was. Michael was provided with all the information he needed to put together a financial plan including phone conversations and data sent electronically. I mentioned I was interested in purchasing a house and a vehicle and growing my current investment and retirement accounts. That was completely ignored the focus instead was handing all of my money to him an unqualified broker.
After taking on a major class action lawsuit for creating financial plans that posed a “conflict of interest” and losing millions of dollars you would think the thickheaded morons in charge would have figured out not to do business like that but I guess not. The worst part is instead of getting a financial plan I got a brochure, the entire thing filled with advertisements from Ameriprise, the “plan” advocated to take all my money in other accounts and move it to them, it was so ridiculous they wanted me to invest in high risk mutual funds 80/20 all the while borrowing off them all so they can bleed me for everything I have.
The more sales Michael Olson the unqualified thief makes the more money the company makes and the bigger bonuses he gets, meanwhile my dream of owning a home goes down the tubes. What does Michael Olson care if all my money is tied up for years, he was telling me to put some of my money into Ameriprise CD’s which pay less than my current savings account all so he can get a kickback.
I agreed to pay $199 for a financial plan that would mainly solve some taxation questions I had from a qualified CFP/CPA. I was never told it would be $474 and I would be making payments, I was told $199 then a service fee that can be cancelled at any time of $25. In fact in this statement you wrote you contradict yourself, you talk about a balance to be paid in installments of $25 per month then you talk about monthly billings as if it were a service, well which lie is it?
I can provide a deposition from more than one financial planner who is qualified as a CFP/CPA that the plan is not accurate based on both historical data and the projections made and the figures do not reflect current assets that were provided to Michael Olson, and the plan provided doesn’t take into account my personal goals, and overall is worthless. When this is all said and done you are going to be begging to give back the money you stole!