I had a 401k plan with a company that I left several years ago and since went out of business and so their 401k plan was rolled over into a generic IRA plan.
I want to roll the IRA over into the 401k plan for my current company. However, the old company had entered my birthdate incorrectly in the account forms. So when I call the company now or submit forms to them, they claim that they are not able to verify my identity and thus they won't talk to me.
What recourse do I have?
The Problem
You obviously have a legal right to control over the IRA. However, in deciding how to get to a position whereby you can reassert that control, it will help to consider things from their point of view:
They have a "several years" old, dormant account. It will have certain details associated with it, including the name of the (now defunct) company that ran the original 401k and (what they believe are) the details of the beneficial owner (name, address, date-of-birth, etc.).
"Someone" contacts them claiming to be the original beneficiary. That person has (or claims to have) the same name, (presumably) can quote the original company name, might or might not live at the same address, but whose (presumably provable) date-of-birth does not match what they have in their records.
At a time when the threat of identity theft is (at least perceived to be) high, it is understandable if they do not immediately turn control of the account over to you. There appear to be a dozen K J Gregory's on Facebook, so (from their point-of-view) it's quite plausible that the person contacting them is not the same person as the whoever originally owned the account.
In short: they are (almost certainly) not denying you access out of spite or malpractice (that would warrant a legal solution)... they are simply being cautious (perhaps over-cautious) about identity theft.
The Solution (or, at least, the next steps)
You need to remove their doubts that you might not be who you claim to be, and are – in fact – the original owner of the account.
Calling on the 'phone or submitting online is not the way to handle this. As noted elsewhere, customer service people have limited flexibility and online processes have almost no flexibility.
Instead, I would suggest you gather together any applicable evidence you have easily to hand, for example:
Proof of your real data-of-birth.
If you have moved since that time, anything to tie you to the address they have on file.
Essentially, you want to show something like IRA number XXXXXXXX (against which they have the wrong DOB), came from 401k number YYYYYYYY and that the owner of that policy had your real DOB.
Send what you have with a firm, but polite covering letter setting out the situation, including your belief that an incorrect date-of-birth got entered somewhere along the line. Include copies1 of whatever supporting evidence you have. State that you believe this demonstrates your right to control of the account, but that they should let you know if there is anything else they require.
Ideally, see if there is a department dealing with unclaimed/dormant accounts that you can send it to. Otherwise, a "dispute resolution" department of something like the "Customer Service Manager".
Only if they are completely unresponsive to this type of approach would I consider "lawyering-up".
1 It's possible they will want to see originals at some point, but I would send copies initially.
This becomes a legal matter. They are a trust holding an account where you are a beneficiary, and preventing you from exercising your rights regarding that interest.
Escalate over the phone to a supervisor if you can, but don't waste too much time. It is usually way much more effective to write to their regulator. It should state who their regulator is on their web site or on any correspondence you have received. Open a complaint with the regulator. If the regulator has a form on their website, even better, otherwise you have to write a letter.
For the cost of a stamp and waiting a week or two, the resulting difference in behavior can be startling.
I have often gotten a flustered voicemail from someone high up in the executive's office telling me that the issue has already been resolved.
If you don't have luck that way, you can go to court. Get a lawyer, and claim back the money you had to pay him to get them to do what they were supposed to do in the first place.
These are all techniques to circumvent the traditional customer service channels - when they are not working, you have to take another approach. Letters (to the company) in writing; Letters (from the regulator); and Notices (from the court) usually get more attention and escalate within the organization more quickly as the penalties for ignoring them are much more severe. Regulators can put them out of business, and courts can seize their money and assets.
