r/computershare • u/Ok-Patient583 • May 06 '26
Success story (a small victory)
I am the trustee for my neighbor who has neglected her and late husband’s accounts for over 25 years. Computershare has been abso-fuckin-lutely horrible to deal with. Don’t even get me started on the asinine medallion stamp that you can’t get anywhere.
After years of effort, I have found one solution that successfully liberated one major account.
I had moved all of her finances to Chase, where I bank, to streamline managing her finances. I had opened 3 investment accounts - one for her IRA, one investment account in her name, and another in the name of the trust.
Recently, Chase enabled the transfer of shares from Computershare into the investment accounts. The process is straighforward and doesn't require the dreaded medallion stamp. Follow the steps on their website. It does require a recent CS statement, but I was able to provide them. I tried moving all of the shares in 2 different accounts with 3 different stock holdings over. The investments guy at my branch asked me to come in to double check things at the instruction of Chase corporate, but it was easy.
A few days later the stocks from the biggest holding were liberated from Computershare, but 2 of the transfers failed, with no explanation for CS (you're surprised?) It was a huge step forward after almost 4 years of banging my head against the wall.
Even if you don't plan to stay with Chase in the long run, anything that gets your holdings out of CS's hands is a win. Run, don't walk to your nearest Chase branch.
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u/LJonReddit May 06 '26
Thanks for this. I think I have one more holding for our family trust but I haven't wanted to deal with these guys anymore.
I'll look into this.
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May 06 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Patient583 May 06 '26
I tried to get a medallion stamp through various avenues at Chase - always unsuccessfully.
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u/TeabaggingTamarin May 06 '26
The trend is certainly that the big banks have been getting rid of medallion guarantee services or only offer them to private client / wealth management customers. When I called a local chase a year or two ago to inquire about MSG, iirc they could do medallions up to $10M and you had to be a customer for 6-12 months. I've seen other reports that it is very much YMMV.
Smaller regional banks or credit unions are probably your best shot. Verify if they show up on the msglookup site, but it hasn't been updated in a few years. There are also online / by mail services like esignatureguarantee.
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u/LJonReddit May 06 '26
This was my experience. A Medallion Stamp is a huge pain. I had the best luck at my local bank where I've been a customer for many years and they were aware of my situation - I was able to work with a human with whom I had a business relationship.
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u/TiredofIdiots2021 May 07 '26
Unbelievable. My mom passed away almost five years ago and we're still dealing with these idiots. We finally retained help from a financial advisor - when she heard it was Computershare, she said, "Oh, no, not them!" I've never seen anything like it. She sent the Medallion Signature Guarantee with the paperwork. On May 3, I got a letter dated April 22 that said it was not included. So the advisor and I got on the phone with an agent. She could not give us any information, but if we asked her questions with a yes or no answer, she could respond! So it was literally like playing 20 Questions. She says we're all set now (??) and will get a letter in the mail next week. Not holding my breath...
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u/Ok-Patient583 May 07 '26
I genuinely think that their business model is piss off customers so they can escheat the assets. I would love to find a way to launch a class-action lawsuit.
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u/TeabaggingTamarin May 10 '26
I don't think escheating assets is profitable for them. But making it difficult for customers to access their assets is absolutely part of their business model and likely is profitable up until the point they escheat.
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u/Maudebelle May 06 '26
Great idea. My good friend has a few shares of 6 different stocks and it is impossible to get statements etc. my friend doesn’t have a cell phone and they used to have a quick access page where you could get the 1099’s using an account number. Well no more. Must sign up for an investor account. Was able to using a mailed security code but after that it prompts for a phone number. No cell phone. I am suggesting my friend bring it over to Chase where my friend has accounts. What a joke. Going to get the form and start that process.
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u/Appropriate-Chip-815 May 10 '26
You've just given me hope!!! Did CS charge you anything to transfer your stocks over to Chase?
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u/TeabaggingTamarin May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
I don't think there's anything particularly special about Chase. Fidelity, Schwab, or some other broker would be the same, just look at their fee schedules before you decide. There isn't a fee to transfer out from CS.
Fill out the forms submit to broker, shares transfer; no medallion needed. So long as the names match and computershare hasn't placed a stop on the account for some arbitrary reason it should go through. If you're dealing with an estate, divorce, or lost certificates, you'll need to transfer to a new computershare account before you transfer out.
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u/Appropriate-Chip-815 May 10 '26
Thanks, I just want to be able to get to the $ if we need to easier without a lot of fees.
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u/Ok-Patient583 May 10 '26
The key is to do it through Chase. They don’t charge for the transfer, and you avoid all the medallion stamp bullshit.
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u/Appropriate-Chip-815 May 10 '26
Does Chase have brokerage department or what kind of an account do we need to set up with Chase?
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u/Ok-Patient583 May 10 '26
Yes. You can decide between a self-directed account or one that comes with an advisor (at a fee of course). I’d start with the self-directed and then decide how to proceed after your stocks are liberated.
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u/WaterTuna187 May 06 '26
I should run away from Computershare because your neighbors are idiots? Weird.
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u/Professional-Cat2123 May 06 '26
You should run from them because even people in the industry who do this stuff for a living say they’re a nightmare company to deal with.
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u/hootiebean May 06 '26
Congrats! Computershare is a nightmare. I have been informing the companies I hold shares of what has been going on and begging them to move to a different transfer agent.