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UBS – Beyond Puerto Rico

UBS Financial may not be the only investment firm alleged to have cost its investors millions of dollars in the meltdown of the Puerto Rican bond market, but it's definitely the biggest. It should come as no surprise; in addition to a past record of questionable and even criminal activities, UBS is getting plenty of bad reviews from highly dissatisfied customers – even those who didn't lose their life savings.

Statements from former UBS clients on review sites across the web paint a picture of a company that at  best, is careless and doesn't care whether its clients lose money or not – and at worst, purposely engages in deceptive practices and charges exorbitant fees for substandard services. Descriptions ranging from “Dog and pony show” to “Rip-off liars” are not uncommon. One consumer, posting on PissedConsumer.com, wrote: “They might has some good people working for them but, I've only dealt with liars, and poor managers.” In fact, among consumers, poor customer service is one of the most frequent complaints. A “Soon to be ex-customer” says, “[I] feel sorry for people who thing these people are capable of managing their money.” Yet another former UBS client complained that a careless decision on the part of his financial advisor cost him $900 in two days.

One horror story should be familiar to Puerto Rico bondholders who were misled into taking out “margin loans” (in which the security is used as collateral – a dubious practice that contributed to the Stack Market Crash of 1929).  The client in question wound up with a high-risk margin loan they had neither asked nor applied for after cashing in a small amount of stock. The client reports that he knew nothing about the loan until he discovered it listed on his balance sheet. Nobody at UBS would give him a straight answer about it. Ultimately, the loan cost him nearly $1500, and it required the services of a financial advisor from outside UBS in order to get their investments away from that institution. He warns others that UBS is “...a truly terrible and unprofessional company...one we would never recommend.”

The reviews on other consumer sites aren't much better. In 1999, “Jim” of Pensacola, Florida, had entrusted his life's savings of $180,000 to a financial adviser at UBS. One year later, over $100,000 of it was gone. “I couldn't sell the 'crap' he had invested into, because I would have taken a tremendous loss,” Jim wrote. By 2008, his nest egg  had recovered somewhat – but Jim's retirement was still down by $65,000.

“M.R.” of Weehawken, New Jersey reports that, because UBS had classified his account as a “low balance” one, they began taking out “extreme and unwarranted fees.” Even after the account was “under water,” UBS kept it open. The end result is that M.R. wound up owing them money. “This is A TOTAL SLEAZEBAG way of stealing money from unsuspecting investors in order to maximize profits,” he reported angrily, adding, “These people STOLE MY MONEY...no different than if they robbed me at gunpoint!” In fact, several former clients complain of excess fees on top of fees charged to their accounts for no reason at all – an all-too-common practice in today's financial “services” industry.

These are the the lucky ones, however. Many clients steered into high-risk Puerto Rico bonds have lost everything.  “David,” who was charged numerous fees and consistently given bad advice from unprofessional “advisers” more interested in collecting commissions than helping clients to grow their wealth hits the nail on the head: “UBS ...[does] not deserve to be in business.”

For more information regarding the UBS Puerto Rico Bond Litigation, click on Levin Papantonio UBS PR Lawsuit.

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