e*Trade

Mike of Henderson, NV July 14, 2009

Well, I opened up an account with Etrade and purchase some stocks 250 shares paid 1.89 ea. total of 472.50 stock symbol FOHE on 06/09/2008, Penny stocks, well that stock started declined and on 09/16/2009 I tried to take a loss and sell and at least get 180.00 out of it bu the rep I spoke with (i should have gotten names) talk me into keep it open and hope it climbs back up, well now 07/14/2009 I check my stock and I owe them money my stocks fell low and they did not explain to me they have a 40.00 service fee they sold my stock with out my concet to cover their service fee and I owe them money?

B of Palm Desert, CA June 16, 2009

Most recent problem; E*trade claims that my joint account was setup as joint-community property and has placed a hold on the account until they receive a very long list of stuff. I claim it was setup with joint survisorship. I can not find any paperwork and E*trade appears not to have any either. I have had nothing but problems with this company and will try to close my account if I can ever get it resolved. I can't understand how any company can get by with soooo much !!!!

Edward of Indianapolis, IN May 5, 2009

I opened an account in Dec 09 since opening the account there have problems and inaccurancies. I have sent many letters to the company and talked with just about everyone there, after 6 months of this I decided to close the account. When I tried to use the debit card it was inactive. I called to see what the problem was and was told it was because I had stopped my direct deposit to the account. They said if I could answer personal questions that they could allow me to withdraw my funds I agreed but, none of the question were about me so I didn't qualify for the withdraw. The next step was to send a notarized letter which I have done 3 times so far and even though I have a signature from Fedex Etrade stills denies recieving it. Every person I talk to reassure that they will give this their personal attention and resolve in 24 to 48 hrs that has been about 4 months now. I have written letters to the SEC but they are usless they have there on agendas, they are to busy overlooking all the ponsie schemes.

Michelle of Singapore, OTHER April 17, 2009

Michelle of Singapore OTHER (04/17/09)
After my account was locked out, I read about the user complaints on a number of websites -- and I got worried! Fortunately, my experience was a lot smoother. My account was locked out because I was trading through my friends' computers in different countries whilst traveling. The computer system detected ISPs from four different computers within three weeks and restricted its access.

After calling the customer reps in the US, I too was given the same answer that I had to get a letter certified from the notary public. Unfortunately, there are no other ways to skip this process once the system flags any suspicious activity. I think what could have helped expedite the process was that I sent TWO copies of the notarized letters, one copy was sent to E*TRADE's local relationship manager who has met me in person and knows that that I am the bona fide account holder. He and his other colleagues based in Asia helped to expedite the process.

On my part, I additionally enclosed (i) two sources of government issued identification that contained my home address; and (ii) statements issued by E*TRADE with my name, home address and account number. Finally I explained to the account activation department that I logged into multiple computers because I was traveling and there are two computers in my study. My account was reactivated with 48 hours after I was locked out.

Would have made some if the I wasn't locked out, but that's fine. I would rather have a false positive in this case than risk having my account hacked into. My account rep said that I could have asked for a security token to prevent similar issues from happening. If you didn't get one it'll be wise to ask for it.

Brett of Haymarket, VA April 3, 2009

Brett of Haymarket VA (04/03/09)
My wife and I have an E*TRADE Home Equity Line of Credit. On 3/25/2009, we needed to access our credit line. Before writing the check from our LOC, I went online to the E*TRADE website to determine how much was available. The available amount exceeded the amount I needed, so I wrote the check. Several days later, we were notified via mail that they returned our check. On 4/3/2009, I logged back into my account and it still showed that the available amount exceeded the amount of the check.

I called E*TRADE to figure out what happened. The first customer service representative explained that there was a block on my account because of my depreciated home value and I should have received a letter. I explained that I used their online tool because that had the most recent information and if my account is blocked - why would it show an available balance. She understood my concern and passed me on to her supervisor. I explained the situation to the supervisor and he asked me to fax him proof of my claim. I did so immediately while we were still on the phone. I thought he was going to fix my problem. I waited for him to confirm receipt of the faxed E*TRADE web statement. When he received it, he said -- I had you fax that to me because this is a problem that we thought was happening; but our technology team said it was not. Now we have proof to give them so they can fix the problem. -- Great, they acknowledged they have a problem.

I then tried to work with the supervisor to fix MY problem (bounced check). Brian explained that I should have used information on my December 2008 statement and not the online information to make a decision. I asked him if that made sense to him: - Who makes decisions based on 4 month old information. Don't you provide online tools with near real-time information to help your customers make timely decisions. Basically, he did not have the authority or desire to do anything to help me. I've had nothing but negative experiences with E*TRADE.

As a consumer, I find it totally unacceptable that they provided access to incorrect information that is going to cost me time and money to fix (still incorrect even after my call). What liability does E*TRADE have in this? Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? They claimed that I was the first person to be able to produce documentation of this problem, but they also acknowledged that they have heard similar stories from other customers.

TIME & MONEY - Bounced Check Fees - Negative Impact to Personal Credit - Time to research / investigate - etc.

Terri of Reno, NV March 29, 2009

Terri of Reno NV (03/29/09)
It appears that I am not the first that this has happened to. I was just informed by a trade confirmation thru the US mail, that E*Trade has sold ALL of my stock, which was purchased at approximately 15,000 to pay for a quarterly maintenence fee of 40.00. Granted, the stock was not worth much as of today, but I have been holding on to it in the hopes of it coming back sometime in the near future. I am hoping that someone, perhaps I need to, persues this and files a class action lawsuit against them.

I TRULY had NO idea that this would take place. I was NEVER informed that they would be putting in a sell order, obviously I would have paid the 40 fee and avoid lossing a potential tens of thousands of dollars in the future! There was never an email nor an alert sent to inform me that this would be taking place. This has tremendously hurt my family and our future income! The economy is bad enough right now, my husband has recently been laid off, and we are desperately trying to survive on my income. This was our only savings that we were praying would come back sometime in the future to help us with our kids future. Please let me, and others on this site, know if there is anything we can do to E*trade for their actions.

This will seriously hurt my family in the future. This money was invested and unfortunately the stock has plummeted, but we have been holding on to it with the hopes of it coming back to help us. My husband, who is in the construction industry, has lost his job of 15+years with the same company, and this investment was our only hopes of having anything at all for our kids in the future. I am livid and hope that there is someone out there who can help. PLEASE contact me if you can help us! thank you very very much.

Keith of Owensboro, KY March 28, 2009

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