After my very good and professional dealings with Scottrade I figured other stock trading companies would have similar (if not same) abilities and professional web sites. So when I went to setup a brokerage account, I decided to "play the field" and check out other companies, as it wouldn't make a big difference, right? Sheesh, have I found out wrong.
** Rant follows **
It all started a month ago when I signed up with Sharebuilder to take advantage of their sign up bonus. That worked like a charm, money went in, the web site showed the funds, and then showed the bonus money. Then I found out their "$4 trades" (originally a big selling point with me) are ... ummm... like what one poster said... "like a weekly blue light special available for a short time". Otherwise you pay more for your trade than you do with brokers that have manned offices. Not very impressive.
Next I find out they have bonus codes for free trades (of the cheapo variety). OK, I can live with that. I put in the codes, and sure enough, I get emails stating all of these free trades my account has accumulated (about a dozen). So what to do? Lets make a trade or two...
Or so I thought. I go onto the site, log in, and no where are the free trades listed. So thinking they show up automatically when you order, I go to setup a trade. When I get to the point where the final cost is listed, there is nothing about free trades, just their $10 charge. Here I cancel the order, and do some research. I look about the site more, and find absolutely nothing.
OK, well lets see... ok, there is a big help FAQ section. OK, nothing related to my issue (big shock there), but there is a place to write with your questions. So I write there, asking where I can determine my free trade balance, and... for good measure I copy along one of the emails from them indicating my account number along with the free trades I should have.
Today I get a email with a canned message cheerily directing me to the place to find this information listed. I was pretty sure I checked there, but I go again. Yep, they didn't bother to check, and there is still nothing showing right where they said it would show.
OK, so now I need to decide....
Either I go with company that has a web site that misses things, they only have canned help, and the trades are expensive
-- OR --
Start over with a company that has a site that has worked great with my Roth IRAs for years that shows up to the second balances, they have people (locally!) I can talk to for help (only happened twice), and less expensive trades.
I don't know... this could be a hard decision. (OK, maybe not :P) BTW, I should be able to get the money out no problem, so I'm not sweating this, but they have pretty much lost a customer with this fiasco.
Sharebuilder rates a big "FAIL"
February 4th, 2012 at 12:20 am
February 4th, 2012 at 12:44 am 1328316241
In my WellsTrade account, I get 100 free trades per year. This is more than enough for me as I trade infrequently. I get those 100 free trades because I have a PMA account (WF's all-the-bells-and-whistles checking account). The cost of PMA is $30 per month. But here is where it gets fun: because of the balance in my WellsTrade account (its my traditional IRA), I get PMA for free.
I opened these accounts a year and half ago. I still cannot be more pleased about the circular logic of each account being free because of the other one.
February 4th, 2012 at 12:53 am 1328316825
I called BNY Mellon Dec 22 for an authorization code and PIN. I was told seven to ten business days. Six weeks later I call again: there's a record of my call but none of my request, so I am confused. if "yes, please send me an authorization code and PIN so I can access my account online" is not a request, how would a successful request be phrased?
February 4th, 2012 at 12:59 am 1328317186