E-trade Consumer Reviews - Page 6

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I applied for a new account by mail on December 16th 2007 and after not receiving any response I called in to check the status in the first week of January. The customer service rep was cooperative but did not find my application. However, after looking for it for 30 minutes (on hold) he finally found it and told me that my SS# is missing. He said that he will put it through after I gave the information on phone and said that somebody will call me next day to make sure everything is okay. Nobody called me!

Since then I called twice inquiring about the application and in each case the Customer service took 30 minutes to locate the application. I was told that they are very sorry and I will hear from them same/next day by phone. Finally today I called and again had to wait for 30 minutes till they located my application. Finally the guy told me that the SS# is still missing and I have to apply again. I got frustrated and asked him to cancel my application.

Lesson #1: If opening an account is so difficult then what can happen when they get my money? Lesson #2: Maybe their website is outsourced and I bet they do not have a proper computer system in-house otherwise how can somebody take 30 minutes to locate an application not once but four times! So take your chances! Not all 5.05% interest rate accounts are worth applying!!!

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA -- I opened an E-trade account and everything was fine until I requested funds from another account I own outside of E-trade. The funds ended up not being authorized and ever since my account has been restricted / frozen. I did not receive any notices, alerts, mail, or phone call concerning this problem.

I found out through my work which informed me that my direct deposit pay check was rejected. I have been trying to un-restrict / un-freeze my account for three months now. Anybody else have this happen to them recently, or are in the same situation? I want to start a class action lawsuit against E-trade but need at least 29 more people to qualify. Thanks.

After the death of a family member, we have been waiting over 5 months to get the distribution from her accounts to her heirs. E-Trade keeps making excuses, apologizing, but doing nothing. They promise to take care of it promptly but months continue to go by. They refuse to provide names and phone numbers of superiors or reasons for the delays. It is either incompetence or fraud. They are quick to take your money when you are investing, but it is impossible to get money out of their accounts when you request it. A poor company, poorly managed, and no quality control over what they do.

I do not recommend doing business with this company. Their customer service is inept and their policies and procedures make doing business next to impossible. This is especially the case if you have any changes in life events like marriage or changes of address. After 4 calls to customer service and 2 faxes w/ info sent they still insist on holding $4600 hostage.

Back Office personnel and Software designers of ONLINE Discount Brokers are inexperienced. Their lack of experience and knowledge in financial sector can be detrimental to your portfolio. Please be careful of discount brokers. Real time quotations may be inflated or deflated by few pennies. Your order may be forwarded to an exchange who may be paying the brokers commission on forwarding orders. Broker may have high mark up on interest on margin. There may be hidden fees, etc. It's better to protect your wealth rather than be a victim.

I had some fraudulent charges on my debit card. I emailed customer service, they emailed me back, I emailed them. I was fine with this interaction as I do most stuff online. Then they called me to explain in person how they were going to resolve my issue. Well done, E-Trade. Well done!

I asked, in writing, that my account be closed out to my favorite charity. Over 60 days after sending the request, still no movement. They acknowledge receiving the request but indicate it has their highest priority and will probably take a full 60 days from their date of logging in the request. Incredibly slow and frustrating. This absolutely is about the worst customer service I can imagine.

SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA -- I spent five days just trying to open an account with E-trade. They called me and 'for security purposes' to verify my identity, they wanted me to tell them my EX-husband's first wife's BIRTHDAY!!! How on earth would I know that??? They then asked me the address of a NON-EXISTENT member of my family and then wanted me to fax government issued identifying information. This company's procedures are completely ridiculous! I would recommend ANYONE over E-trade!!!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- I just deposited a $5,000 into my E-trade account on the night of Nov 17. While on the website it said that it would take 4 days to deposit the money into my account where it can be invested. When two days later I went to check up on it, my account said that the $5,000 won't be ready till Nov 29 to be traded. So my advice if you deposit money in your account and want to trade with it any less than 2 weeks -- buyer beware.

GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA -- I opened an account a few years ago and bought stocks and just let them sit. I just found out they have been charging a $40/quarter account service fee. The account started at $1300 and now it's a $122.