ERROR: Fidelity Brokerage Link Transaction Error

[mikej]

About 4 days ago, I started getting errors when trying to download transactions from Fidelity Brokerage Link. Up to that point, things had been working fine.

First Dialog: "Error in Investment Statement Transaction Response"
Second Dialog: "Invalid Account Id"

I'm using transaction module 229 and the ofxretr.txt file is attached.

Help?

[Mark]

Hi mikej,

You are getting logged in okay, but there is an error stating that the supplied account number is invalid. You might try erasing the account number, and trying your retrieve again, and choosing the account number if it is displayed. It might be the account number is just formatted wrong, or somehow it has changed in the Fidelity system.

[mikej]

Thanks for the suggestions Mark. Unfortunately nothing has worked on my end so I guess I need to call Fidelity to see if they've changed how the account number needs to be formatted. A while back they switched to require a BLNK in front of the account number. Maybe they've made some other change...

[Mark]

Hi mikej,

We've had another report of this same issue. Hopefully Fidelity can shed some light on this.

[mikej]

Just got off the phone with fidelity. No explanation yet but the CSR is going to run it up to see if anyone knows of any changes especially in the way the account # needs to be formatted.

How do you keep up with these changes?

[Mark]

Hi mikej,

Thanks for sharing your learnings so far. We don't really need to do anything special to keep up, as all brokers/fund companies are using the same publicly documented interface (Open Financial Exchange). There are slight variations between brokers on some specifics, like whether you need to enable this feature with them, what to use for the login, etc.

[data8504]

Hi All -

Fidelity Electronic Channel Support reports that this is a known issue, worked by engineering since the weekend. It is being tracked as INC170945867, with a verified failure signature matching the error FM throws.

They have no ETA for resolution, but claim it is in active work.

Regards, -Matt

[mikej]

Matt beat me to it. Fidelity called me back today with the same info.

[sbfree]

I hope this is not a sign of larger issues with IT at Fidelity. I experienced the same problem and tried to send a message through their web site and it returned an "Application Error" in my browser.

[data8504]

I just spoke to Fidelity, and they're quoting an estimated fix date of 11/1. Additionally, they were still considering this a Quicken-specific problem, which I attempted to correct. They now have a pointer to this thread (and supposedly have passed it off to devs for further comment).

One other interesting item: Fidelity does not appear to have a service/uptime commitment for OFX retrieve. This was quite surprising to me, but I suppose explains how we can be looking at a full 6 weeks of downtime...

[wyler4paw]

Interestingly, I also use the Personal Capital site. About a month ago, they announce that there was going to be a change concerning Fidelity's Net Benefits accounts, and that it might be necessary to re-link accounts. While I never had to re-link, my brokerage account is downloading fine through their portal, but not Quicken or Fund Manager. I think there is a change made, but not thoroughly communicated, perhaps even to Fidelity's support people.

[data8504]

@wyler4paw:

I *think* this is unlikely to be related. Personal Capital, Yodlee, Mint, etc. tend to use UI automation to log into websites, not an OFX transaction sync, like FM and Quicken.

I don't use Personal Capital myself, but you can confirm my speculation by enabling "2 factor authentication" on your Fidelity accounts (Symantec VIP Access, requires a phone call). If Personal Capital uses OFX, this will have no effect. However, if it uses UI automation, the addition of the new login requirement will break the app sync.

Thanks, -Matt

[wyler4paw]

Okay, good to know. I probably won't try it -- particularly since it's the only portal I'm using that's working, but I'll keep it in mind for future reference. I just thought the timing was odd, given that PC warned about an upcoming change and about that time, FM and Quicken starting getting the ID error, but probably is coincidence.

[data8504]

FYI, this appears to be fixed. I am able to retrieve two separate BrokerageLink accounts (mine and a friend's) without issue. Phew!

[mikej]

FYI, this appears to be fixed. I am able to retrieve two separate BrokerageLink accounts (mine and a friend's) without issue. Phew!

Works for me as well.