Preview Review

Next Review

E-trade Consumer Reviews

Most Popular | Newest | More Options >
More filter options:
Sell of My TSLA, Not AAPL
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- So, to begin the point of my issue and complaint no doubt. I lost more than $10,000 thousand dollars due to an action by an E*trade broker. Now, to begin my story and the faulty, lie, misleading assurances I received from E*trade broker Mr. **. On May 23, 2019 I deposited $1050, to lower a margins notice I received. Then, I called upon E*trade brokers to ensure my account. Due to the momentary circumstances, down fall on most stocks, I feared that selling TSLA during the end of May would be a reckless thing. Therefore, I contacted E*trade.

I made a request, on May 24, 2019 at 10:00, wherein I requested broker Mr. **, to add a note on my account. That follows this request, quote "If the stocks go further down and I am unable to transfer sufficient money, to sell AAPL, not TSLA, as AAPL is worth more and has far less to lose. TSLA has far more to lose, with near to $10,000 dollars, and is worth less". Now, after stating this to Mr. ** (E*trade broker), he assured me that he had written it down. Then, I asked him to read back to me what he wrote down, and he read back to be what he wrote down. We were then speaking on the phone, so, all I could do was take his word.

Then, a few days later, on June 3, 2019, I discover a problem. E*trade sold my TSLA shares, with a loss of more than $10,000 dollars. I asked to speak with them, and of course, they said it wasn't their fault. More, I made it clear that I had made a request not to sell TSLA, to rather sell AAPL, and that Mr. ** had written it down on file, as I had requested. Their supervisor rejected my statement, stating that there was no record written of such a request. Nothing was ever written down on file, and Mr. **, only repeated back to me, what I wanted to hear I think. Mr. ** NEVER wrote down my request, even though he had assured me that he had. Losing AAPL would have meant loosing $1500 bucks. Losing TSLA meant losing $10,000 dollars, and I did.

Then, the supervisor for E*trade says, "We no longer want to speak with you." They intentionally sold my TSLA shares, profiting from my loss no doubt. And they refused to listen to my conversation with Mr. **, on May 24, at 10:00 AM. I reported this to the SEC, and they in-turn mentioned to me that they'll be investigating. But they also said that they would not notify me of any findings.

NOTE: I asked Mr. ** (Etrade broker), to write down a note for all to see-Etrade employees-that if I was unable to transfer sufficient money on time to match my margins, to sell AAPL (seeling AAPL would only cost $1500 loss), but to risk selling TSLA would ensure the loss of $10,000 or more... He knew that, and I explained why I wanted him to write it down... He assured me that he had written it down. Then, I discovered that he had lied to me. And I lost more than $10,000. They sold my shares at $180 each. Lousy choice E*trade. Intentionally I am sure. Any advice what to do next? Sue them? I was told that E*trade only does arbitration. Sucks. But, I am considering contacting a lawyer, and petitioning for a copy of my phone conversation with Mr. **.

Replies
Etrade held my account hostage by blocking access to my account
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

ALASKA -- I've had an etrade account for over 21 years. In February etrade forced me to either sign that I read and understood 6 exchange agreements or I would lose access to my account. I read the agreements but can't honestly say I understood them so I chose not to sign them. I was promptly locked out of my account.

Unlike many other brokerage firms, etrade does not assign a financial consultant to an account, so I had no one to help me other than customer service. Unfortunately, etrade customer service not only didn't help me, they gave me wrong information and failed to respond in a timely manner. Other etrade staff that I talked to didn't understand exactly what the agreements were about either. It turned out the agreements pertained to use of real time quotes. I found that out by talking to someone in TD Ameritrade, because I couldn't get an answer from etrade staff. Etrade staff appears to be woefully undertrained. I don't use real time quotes but etrade did not offer the opportunity to opt out. There were only two choices: sign the agreements or have my account held hostage.

Etrade held my account hostage for about a week and then a corporate manager allowed me to opt out of real time quotes, because etrade apparently got numerous complaints about their behavior. I was locked out of my account during an extremely volatile time in the market but could not access my account to protect my assets. The same corporate manager that unblocked my account offered me $100 for my inconvenience and losses. I told him that was an insult because I lost several thousand dollars during the time I was locked out of my account. I filed a complaint with the SEC. I'm still waiting to hear what the SEC is going to do. My guess is nothing. The etrade compliance analyst wrote up a brief analysis of the issue and said etrade would do nothing to make me whole. The analyst lied about things I said. I complained to the CEO of etrade. After I complained to the CEO I was told I have to move my account. I was planning to move my account anyhow but thought what kind of firm treats a 21 year high net worth customer this way?

Another negative to etrade: Some companies offer a DRIP program where an investor owning shares of equities in the company can reinvest the distributions at a discount to market price. When the investor purchases and holds shares of those equities through a brokerage firm the investor can still participate in the DRIP program, but only if the brokerage firm participates on the investor's behalf. I hold an equity from a company with a DRIP plan discount and I hold that equity in two brokerage firms, Fidelity and etrade. Fidelity automatically participates in the company's DRIP plan and my shares are automatically reinvested at the discount price (currently a discount of 2.5%). Etrade does NOT participate in the company's DRIP plan and distributions are reinvested at market price. While this doesn't add up to a lot of money, a 2.5% discount can amount to a fair chunk of change if you have a lot of shares or if you hold that equity for a long time. The point is some brokerage firms watch out for their clients and try to maximize their client's earnings while other brokerage firms twiddle their thumbs and do little to help their clients. Every dollar counts, so why go to a brokerage firm that isn't willing to work for you?

Replies
E-Trade Holding My Money Hostage
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY -- E-Trade has my money and won't let me get it back. I sent a external deposit and a wire totaling $20,000. E-Trade won't let me access my money. I have never used the account yet. Did not make one trade. I talk to Tiffany **. She promised me today at 3:30 pm central time that I could contact customer service and arrange my transfer of funds. I called. They told me no, there are no notes and there is nothing they can do... I'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SOME WILL GET BACK TO ME.

Replies
ETrade Won't Return My Funds
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MASON, OHIO -- 3 weeks ago I set up an ETrade account and transferred $1,000 in funds from my bank to my new ETrade account. Thank God I didn't transfer more than the $1,000. After a few days I attempted to purchase some stocks and the trade didn't go through. The next morning there was a message about my account and I called Customer Service. The man told me I couldn't have an ETrade account and that I would get a letter explaining why. I then had to ask when/how my money would be returned. The representative said that the money had to be returned the same way ETrade received it - ACH. He called my bank and we verified the account # etc and I was told to wait a few days.

After more than a week and not seeing a letter of explanation or my funds returned I logged back into my ETrade account and saw the $1,000 available but the same strange message. I called Customer Service again and related what had happened thus far. This new representative said he didn't see where the funds transfer had been initiated back to my account and said that he would have a check sent. I told him what the other representative said and that my bank had even been called - I'm sure my bank recorded this! Anyway, he said, "no, that's incorrect, we send a check back to you."

At which time I asked why I had to wait and WHY I EVEN HAD TO CALL TO ASK FOR MY FUNDS TO BE RETURNED IN THE FIRST PLACE. I shouldn't have to ask. If there was some sort of problem and ETrade didn't want my business they should have immediately sent my money back to me. The representative had no explanation for this and I'm sure that it is happening to many more individuals. I did a quick online search and found comments from other investor with similar problems with ETrade not returning their money.

Replies
Advertisement
Account Closed and Funds Gone Missing
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Account Closed and Funds Gone Missing
Untrustworthy, unreliable and unpredictable investment and banking platform .

Up until this week I had had an Etrade account for around ten years and was perfectly happy using it. As such, my E-trade account had become central to my investment, savings, and retirement interests. That all changed when I tried to add an external account into which I could transfer funds.

Seven days ago E-trade suspended, and then closed, my account on the pretext of suspicious activity (i.e attempting to add the external account). It was claimed by E-trade that they had information that the external account was associated with fraud; and abruptly closed my E-trade account. It is not clear to me how they came to that conclusion, as the external account is with one of the largest banks in the US, and provided no explanation or evidence of wrong-doing on my part (as there was none) or of the external bank.

Prior to the account being suspended I had initiated a transfer of funds (a non-trivial amount) into my E-trade account. When the account was closed I attempted to recall the funds, but was unsuccessful. I am now advised by the sending bank that the funds were transferred successfully to my (now closed) E-trade account; and they have provided a federal trace number as evidence. E-trade however maintain that since the account is closed they have not, and are not able to, receive the funds; which is in contradiction to evidence provided by the trace.

To try and sort out the mess created by the abrupt closure of the account I've called E-trade every day for the past week, sometimes more than once a day - each time having to run the call center gauntlet of security questions and interrogation by the new person I speak to - to try and resolve the multitude of difficulties the account closure has created. This has consumed multiple hours of aggravation; having to appraise each new customer support individual of the issues at hand, and being placed on hold or transferred to individuals unable to resolve these issues as they have arisen.

With regard to the missing funds, it is now one week since I initiated that associated transfer yet there is still no acceptance on E-trades part that they have received the funds, where they have gone, or when they will be returned.

I am exasperated with the lack of progress and don't know what else to do. The best E-trade can advise, as we head into the second week of this debacle, is to call back in 24-48 hours.

Replies
Worst Co I Ever Delt With.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

We have noticed unusual account activity. I have struggling for 5 months now to reactivate my account, I have lost thousands because Etrade will not unlock my account. My first call request to upload drivers license and written statement. I sent it numerous times. Nothing, no message, nothing. Again tried to contact chat unavailable, on hold for 5 days, finally spoke to someone, spent over 30 minutes going over my identity, re uploading a dated statement, changed user name and password, "Yup all set," said the representative. Late for work I logged on 2 days later to find my account locked!! On phone now for 2 hours of endless music. THIS COMPANY SUCKS! They cannot service their client base!!

Replies
Getting Monies Moved From an IRA Account of a Deceased Person
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CHICAGO -- It took over 5 months to transfer approx 80k. The estates department continually put up roadblocks, lost paperwork, including original copies of the death certificate. Finally I had to get an attorney involved and that expense costs me thousands of dollars and that is a significant expense to me. The estate dept is not accessible after hours (you cannot leave voice messages) and emails take weeks to respond to. You never get the same person to work on your account.

All in all this is the worst experience I have had with a brokerage house. In contract I found TD Ameritrade a pleasure to work with. They assign someone to work with you from cradle to grave; they are responsive and willing to go the extra mile. Summary. Don't ever place your money in Etrade's hands. I am more than willing to go over what I experience with anyone who contacts me. Thank you for your review and consideration.

Replies
Non-Existent Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

I decided to pursue online trading and opened an Etrade account to see what was required to start trading. The sign-up offer included 60 days of trading with reimbursement of fees up to $600. Once into the website, I spent a considerable amount of time researching the various TA tools and trying learn the basics. Before I realized it, I was 30 days into my "free" 60 day trial and had not spent a dime of my initial deposit in my account.

I called etrade and asked if I could extend my 60 day promotional period since I had not taken advantage of any part of the deal so far. They denied my request. They said I could deposit another lump sum into my account in an amount that would entitle me to another promotional deal, but they could not reset my 60-day start clock. When I said it seemed foolish to deposit more money into my account since I still had the initial unused $10K still available to me, especially when all I had to do was go to another online brokerage and get the same new customer deal from them, they had no response.

After three different people reviewed my request, the answer was always the same; "sorry, we cannot do that." I have since closed my account with etrade and am waiting for my funds to redeposit into my bank account. I'll then sign on with a brokerage that knows the value of customer service.

Replies
Advertisement
An Example of How Not to Invest Your Money
By -

For the past seven months I have been trying to close my recently deceased father's E*TRADE investment account. As a co-executor of his estate, I needed to close this account and retrieve the remaining balance of $93.76. Unfortunately, what first appeared to be a simple, mundane task ended up being one of the most frustrating and time consuming processes my family and I have ever had to undertake.

When I contacted E*TRADE the first time, I explained the situation. At that point they promptly made his account inaccessible online and told me where to download the necessary forms which were required to officially close his account. Note: What E*TRADE actually does is require you to open an account with them first. Once that has been done and all of the required documents have been processed, they will transfer the funds from the deceased's account to yours, at which point you should be able to go online and withdraw everything and close the account. How absurd is that?

Well, after two months had passed, I mailed in the forms for processing. However, I did not submit the Personal Account Application at that time because that I really did not want to establish a personal relationship with them. I only wanted my father's account closed and a check sent to me for the remaining balance of $93.76. Another month had passed without any contact from E*TRADE. So, I called them again to find out if they had received the forms I sent. After staying on hold for about 20 minutes, the service representative came back on and said they had received them and informed me of the missing Personal Account Application.

First, I told the service rep that I did not want to open a new account with E*TRADE (establishing a personal relationship with them) and that all I wanted was my father's account closed and a check sent to me for the remaining balance. I then asked her why they did not promptly contact me about this issue. She had no response to that one and put me on hold again for another 10 minutes. When she came back on she said they could not process anything further until they received the Personal Account Application. Needless to say, I was furious at this point and terminated the conversation.

Now, six months since the original call to E*TRADE, I finally decided to go ahead and submit the Personal Account Application. I just wanted to be done with all of this! A few days later I called E*TRADE customer service once again to ensure that everything was in order this time. Of course, there were still issues and I was put on hold for 20 minutes. This time they said that the Personal Account Application (the longest of all the forms) was not completed properly. Oh, great. Can you guess how mad I was now?

Well, I told the service rep that she and I were going to fill it out together this time to make sure that it was done properly. Once that was completed, I asked for their fax number so I could get this thing submitted fast. I faxed the "new and improved" Personal Account Application that same day to the number they provided to me and added the following comment to the coversheet: "PLEASE CALL THE ABOVE PHONE NUMBER IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES WITH THIS TRANSMISSION."

Another ten days had passed without any contact from them, but I decided to call them again anyway just to be sure everything was OK. Nope, there was now a new issue. These estate forms must be sent via mail, not fax. Now they tell me! At that point, I requested to speak with a supervisor. A customer service supervisor eventually gets on the line and asks that I mail the Personal Account Application to her personally and she would ensure that it gets processed promptly and properly. But then I asked her if this was indeed the last remaining document they required to completely process everything.

She said she would need to make a few calls but promised that she would get back to me by the end of the business day. When the E*TRADE supervisor called me back later that day she had more bad news. This time I was told that some of the other documents I mailed to them several months prior needed updating. At that point I voiced my frustration with everything and asked if they could just close the account and keep the $93.76. What do you think she said? "Yes, I can process that request immediately." I then blurted out some choice words and terminated the conversation.

Let me tell you, E*TRADE Securities certainly makes things simple when you open up an account, and they're so quick to take YOUR money... but, at the same time, they make it nearly impossible for you to close an account and retrieve YOUR funds! Their motto should be, "E*TRADE. Give us your money so you'll never have to deal with it again."

What's more, it really amazes me at how E*TRADE (or any company) will spend enormous amounts of money on marketing and promotion then go and piss it all away by unnecessarily creating bad publicity for itself. Here's a link to the anti-E*TRADE website (which details the complete story) I created recently **.

Replies
Moved From Etrade to an Advisor at ML, Best Decision Ever.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- A few months ago, my husband and I decided that it was time to open a brokerage account. We both have 401K plans with our companies, but since we are rather busy, neither of us had ever done anything with the large cash balances we had in our savings accounts. We decided to start off by opening an etrade account, starting small with $20K.

It was okay, but for an internet obsessed user like me, I just thought the experience would be a lot different, and I'd later realize investing my money on my own was a dumb idea. The customer service support was less than satisfactory. I always had issues, and I didn't feel confident with the whole experience.

I'd always shunned away from financial advisors, however I met my current advisor at a charity event for autism, and our introduction was nothing but genuine. Because of our shared interest in the cause, we talked for a while and it wasn't until I asked what she did that she told me she was a financial advisor. Maybe it was the timing of the bad experience with Etrade, but I was interested and wanted to hear more so I asked if I could come in to meet with her the following week. Some of our friends have had negative experiences with advisors, and the girl was a little younger (not the typical old male I picture when I think of a financial advisor).

Everything about her was just so trusting. She made me believe that she'd understand me better than anyone else, and that she would work with my assets as if they were her own, and she has. I think she's different than most advisors because she addressed all of my concerns first. She broke down the fees, asked if I was comfortable with them. She asked what kind of relationship she wanted to have and how often she'd like me to contact her, whether I wanted to come to events with her, if I wanted her to come to my house to meet, etc.

The moral of the story, and why I've taken the time to write this is, a lot of people don't want to pay the fees for advisors. I think that's very apparent. However, the service my advisor has provided me not only has given me motivation to write this post, but I feel as if I'm not paying a fee. I am very comfortable, and everything is transparent. It's unfortunate to read reviews saying their advisors haven't provided the same service. (Not to mention, my husband and I aren't millionaires! We started off investing $100K with her, now we have about $350K).

I'm from Chicago, and I'd be glad to give her contact info to anyone out there who is interested in genuine, high quality financial service. She actually just helped out my friend refinance her mortgage:) My email is ** if you have any questions. Good luck, and I hope people have better luck!

Replies
Top of Page | Next Page >

E-trade Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.1 out of 5, based on 20 ratings and
63 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
E-trade
1271 Avenue of the Americas, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10020-1302
1-800-387-2331 (ph)
ww.us.etrade.com
Compare Online Finance Services