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Merrill Lynch Customer Service

Phone Number & Contact Info

Merrill Lynch's Best Phone Number

800-637-7455
Toll-free·Calls Customer Service·Most popular Merrill Lynch number
Free tools for easier calling
Q:

How do I talk to a live human at Merrill Lynch?

A:Say "The last four digits of your SS#." Then keep saying "Representative" until you are transferred. Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at Merrill Lynch for you.
Q:

Does Merrill Lynch offer 24 hour customer service?

A:Yes! This call center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The least busy day is Sunday, and the most busy day is Monday.
Q:

How long will I wait on hold?

A:The average hold time is 17.2857 minutes. The longest hold times are on Tuesday, and the shortest are on Wednesday. You can skip the hold time for free.

Merrill Lynch Customer Phone Numbers

Advisory Center

888-654-6837
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Calling this Merrill Lynch number should go right to a real human being · To get started, what are the last 4 digits of your social security number? · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

Retirement & Benefits Center

866-820-1492
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Don't press or say anything · How do you want to identify yourself? Social security number, Benefits online ID, or Internal verification number. · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?

Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for Merrill Lynch below.

Let us call and talk to Merrill Lynch for you

Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.

We can get a live person on the line for you

That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this Merrill Lynch phone number to document the phone system.
Here is how our research team describes the way the Merrill Lynch phone system greets you: We will need to send you a text to confirm your number. May we send a text to your cell phone now? Say "Yes" or "No".
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Say "The last four digits of your SS#." Then keep saying "Representative" until you are transferred.
Below are some clips we've found from Merrill Lynch's phone menus and tips that help give an idea of what you will encounter when you call. We've highlighted why they are important as well:

They may ask you to enter information with the dial pad

"This call may be recorded. Welcome to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. To get started, I didn't understand.
I didn't understand. Let's try this another way.
Please enter your full nine digit Social Security number."
Excerpt from a call with Merrill Lynch
Friday, December 20, 2024 5:31 PM

They may ask you to say or enter information

"This call may be recorded. Welcome to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
To get started, what are the last four digits of your Social Security number?
I didn't understand. Please say or enter the last four digits of your Social Security number or tax ID."
Excerpt from a call with Merrill Lynch
Sunday, August 4, 2024 1:55 PM

The first phone menu

"This call may be recorded. Welcome to Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. To get started, please speak or enter your Merrill or your Bank of America account number or card number.
To better assist you, please enter your full card or account number. If you need more time, say wait a moment or press one.
If you don't have a Merry Global Wealth Management or Bank of America account, say prospective client or press two."
Excerpt from a call with Merrill Lynch
Friday, June 14, 2024 4:19 AM

What are the hours and when should I call?

Merrill Lynch operates the call center for this 800-637-7455 phone number 24 hours, 7 days. The short answer is that you should call on a Thursday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 570 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).

Automatically call when they open

When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, it will automatically wait until the Merrill Lynch call center opens before trying to call. It will ask your permission before it places the call, so you can also further delay that scheduled call until you are ready. But that means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this Merrill Lynch phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like Merrill Lynch staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call Merrill Lynch is Sunday. The most busy day to call is Monday, which averages 367% more phone calls by comparison. Again, this is based on a sample of 570 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Sun
Quietest
Mon
Busiest
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Wednesday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Tuesday.
But if you use our free call and talk for me or wait on hold for me service, you don't really need to worry about average wait times.

The best time to call Merrill Lynch

In summation, the best day to call Merrill Lynch is Thursday.

Calling this Merrill Lynch Customer Number

When you call the customer service phone number for Merrill Lynch, you're greeted by an automated messaging system and informed that the call may be recorded or monitored. You are then asked to enter your Merrill Lynch or Bank of America full card or account number.

If you don't say anything or enter a number (because, like me, you don't have one yet), the system thankfully says to say "prospective client" or press 2. (You also have the option to press 1 or say "wait a moment" for more time to type in the number.)

If you press 2, you're taken to a new phone menu which is voice-activated for the first cycle. If you don't say anything, the menu repeats, but this time with keypad options: if you're an existing client but don't have your card or account number, say "client" or press 1; for information on products or services, say "product information" or press 2; to speak with an associate regarding retirement, say "retirement account" or press 3; and if you're calling from another financial institution, say "account transfer" or press 4.

This is a somewhat odd phone menu to present to a caller who just indicated they are a prospective client, not a current one, although I suppose options 2 and 4 are most applicable. I pressed option 2, and then the call failed and ended automatically. Not sure what happened there; I assume it's unrelated to Merrill Lynch.

I called back and again navigated to the secondary "press 2" option and was successfully transferred to a service associate. The person I spoke to was very knowledgeable and helpful! For once, I was glad I called instead of just sticking to the website, even though navigating to the point where I was finally routed to an actual human being took a minute.

Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Why Customers Call Merrill Lynch

If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call Merrill Lynch, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.

What are the fees and charges associated with Merrill Lynch accounts?

At Merrill Lynch, our fees and charges depend on the type of account and services you choose. We offer a range of investment options, including advisory accounts, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts, each with its own fee structure. Our advisory accounts typically involve an annual asset-based fee, which is a percentage of your account's value. The fee varies depending on the investment strategy and account balance. For brokerage accounts, we have transactional charges, including commissions for buying or selling securities. Additionally, certain investments or services may have additional fees, such as mutual fund expense ratios or account maintenance charges. Our goal is to be transparent, and we provide detailed information regarding fees in our account agreements and disclosures. We encourage you to discuss your specific needs with a financial advisor who can guide you through the fee structure and help find the best account option for you.

What investment options are available through Merrill Lynch?

Merrill Lynch offers a wide range of investment options to suit diverse client needs. We provide access to a comprehensive array of investments, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, futures, and other structured products. Additionally, we offer managed accounts with professional portfolio management, tailored solutions like separately managed accounts (SMA) or unified managed accounts (UMA), as well as retirement accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRA). Our advisors are experienced in assisting clients with their investment goals, whether it's wealth preservation, income generation, growth opportunities, or socially responsible investing. In summary, Merrill Lynch provides a vast selection of investment choices to help clients navigate their financial journey successfully.

What is the minimum investment amount required to open a Merrill Lynch account?

The minimum investment amount required to open a Merrill Lynch account varies depending on the type of account and services you require. For most individual accounts, including retirement and cash management accounts, the minimum initial investment is $2,000. However, certain accounts may have higher minimums or different requirements. Additionally, some programs and services may have their own specific investment minimums. It is important to consult with a Merrill Lynch financial advisor for detailed information on minimum investment amounts, as they can provide guidance tailored to your specific needs and investment goals.

Top Merrill Lynch customer service problems

Click the link above to get answers to just about any Merrill Lynch customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Below is a sample of recent calls to Merrill Lynch, and their purpose. Are any of these similar to the reason you are trying to call?
Withdraw from 401k: "I'm trying to just liquidate my four zero one k."
- From a call lasting 8m 20s , Sep 30, 2024 3:50 PM
401k withdrawal request: "Requested resolved."
- From a call lasting 7m 13s , Sep 30, 2024 3:42 PM
Cash out 401k: "I'm trying to cash out my four zero one k."
- From a call lasting 7m 40s , Sep 27, 2024 5:52 PM
Information about why customers call Merrill Lynch is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
Merrill Lynch issues reported to GetHuman

More Merrill Lynch Customer Service Contacts

There are of course other ways to contact Merrill Lynch customer service besides the phone. Below we list the best ones, by medium.

Merrill Lynch Customer Help Desk / Web Support

ml.com - Customer Service
Online customer service support
As a last, sometimes only, resort- Merrill Lynch customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.

Conclusion and closing notes

This is Merrill Lynch's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a Merrill Lynch agent. This phone number is Merrill Lynch's best phone number because 37,644 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-637-7455 include Account issue, Question, Setup account, Complaint, Cancel account and other customer service issues. The Merrill Lynch call center that you call into has employees from Florida, Arizona and is open 24 hours, 7 days according to customers. In total, Merrill Lynch has 3 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to Merrill Lynch representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.

GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for Merrill Lynch. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like Merrill Lynch. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.

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