E*Trade reviews and complaints
The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about E*Trade
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Trying to close my account
About 2 months ago, or mid-June of 2022, I contacted eTrade to close my brokerage account and told them to send me my remaining cash funds via the US mail. The eTrade Representative called me and told me that the funds were being held indefinitely because I had “manipulated” the balance of my account. I have always had a cash stock trading account with...
Read full review of E*TradeThis is the worse bank ever
I opened an account with Etrade so that I can get into trading. Well I opened it online so i was approved right away and i made my first deposit into the account via quick transfer. So the transaction finally cleared about 4 days later and i was ready to trade. Its going good so far until i get contacted by my external bank saying that there were two...
Read full review of E*Trade and 2 commentsE*Trade froze my fund for months
In November 2008, I found out that my outgoing transfer in E*trade bank was not successful because they placed security hold on my account which was at the balance of approximately $20, 000. I called them and they told me I need to write a notarized letter to them. This started my nightmare with their incoherent verification process and rude customer...
Read full review of E*Trade and 1 commentNot honoring promotion
E*TRADE has been running a special promotion whereby they offer to refund your commission on your first 100 trades when you setup a new brokerage account. So I set up a new account and made about 40 trades which gave them about $500 in commissions. Now they are not honoring the promotion. Here is the amazing trail of communications with their so-called customer service:
First they told me that I had not clicked on the right hyperlink when I setup my account so I did not qualify for the promotion. Next I pointed out to them that this requirement was not stated anywhere in their offer.
So next they told me that I had funded the account with a transfer from my E*TRADE savings account, and that is why I did not qualify. Again I pointed out to them that this is not stated in their offer.
I certainly expect better from a well established and respected company such as E*TRADE. I am very disappointed that they seem to be working very hard to find (bogus) reasons to dishonor the promotion in my case.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Unscrupulous business practices
I opened an etrade account about a year ago wanting to learn about trading stocks. I purchased 8 stocks from 5 difference companies. I just found out today that I have been accruing a 40 dollar "maintenance" quarterly fee by etrade for having an inactive account. I was never notified or forewarned about the fee. And because I was never notified by etrade, I had a negative balance. But today I received an email from Etrade, one of 5 emails over the course of a year that states a trade confirmation in my account. Apparently, etrade can sell your stocks for you whenever they feel like it without contacting you, yet they will send you an email after they do what they want with your account. I am a college student with very little money to go by. I had initially invested 150 dollars into etrade. So not only did I have to pay a high fee for each transaction, I have been paying a "maintenance" fee for the past year that costs almost as much as I had invested in stocks. Totally unscrupulous. Its big business stepping on the individual. It is a complete lack of respect for the individual. Etrade conducts itself in a very unsavory manner that I find disgusting.
This is a warning to other people who, like me, thought that Etrade would be user friendly and would not secretly siphon my money away without my knowledge.
We had several negative experiences with E*Trade Financial.
First, E*Trade ignored several of our change of address requests. It took several months before E*Trade and their third party vendor, Clarke American, stopped sending our account materials to the wrong address.
These materials included our PIN numbers, ATM cards, and checks.
The other negative experience was with E*Trade's online Bill Pay system.
E*Trade issued payment a day later than scheduled and, as a result, we were assessed a hefty penalty fee of $250.99 for the late property tax payment that E*Trade caused.
After several phone calls and ignored faxes, we spoke with one of E*Trade's branch managers, Amy Alley. She was very unprofessional and rude for the entire conversation. E*Trade refused to cover the fee caused by their negligence. That was the final straw for us.
We're in the process of switching our accounts to another institution. I wouldn't recommend E*Trade to my worst enemy!
It's been close to 2 weeks since I first opened my account and it's still not working. 3 times I was promised a phone call from a supervisor. I am still waiting. Their customer services representatives are useless. I was denied talking to supervisor. Emails to customer service have gone un-responded. It's been 7 days since I was promised a solution in 48 to 72 hours. Etrade offers horrible customer service. I do not recommend this company. They are horrible. Now I expect problems cancelling the process of opening this account but I refuse to give them my money to manage It's been close to 2 weeks since I first opened my account and it's still not working. 3 times I was promised a phone call from a supervisor. I am still waiting. Their customer services representatives are useless. I was denied talking to supervisor. Emails to customer service have gone un-responded. It's been 7 days since I was promised a solution in 48 to 72 hours. Etrade offers horrible customer service. I do not recommend this company. They are horrible. Now I expect problems cancelling the process of opening this account but I refuse to give them my money to manage.
I to incurred the $40 fee per quarter for "in-activity". They sold my stock to cover over $700 dollars in these fees and did not ever advise me of the sale. I only found out when I noticed on my tax form that the account seemed low. They did reimburse me HALF the amount. I filed complaints but they were denied.
ETrade is not your best choice.
There are better options available.
Account setup is slow and transfer out money is even slower.
ETrade is not your best choice.
There are better options available.
Account setup is slow and transfer out money is even slower.
Etrade took over $800.00 from my account due to their $40.00 monthly fee which I was unaware of. I now have stocks worth much less than initial investment. I have held these stocks for over 9 years and I only LOST money. How can I recoup these fee's?
they took shares of my stocks and sold them without asking me-and said it was because i owed them money
I'm having the same problem. What action can we take against them to stop this from happening?! there is complaints all over the internet. Has anyone found anything useful to take action against etrade?
Formerly satisfied customer
Until recently, I've been a satisfied Etrade customer. Two months ago, I moved to California and changed my address online on Etrade. Three weeks ago I lost my ATM check card in an ATM machine and asked Etrade customer service to send me a new card. While waiting for my new card, I discovered that I had a typo in the address I had entered. I called customer service and was told to fax in a signed letter with my new address. I did as asked and my new ATM debit card arrived before my 1.5
week business trip to Europe. Before leaving for Europe, I activated my card and changed my PIN number.
When I arrived in Warsaw Poland, my bags were lost and I had to go shopping in order to have clothes to wear for my business trip. I was actually able to purchase clothes with my Etrade Visa Check card. It was not until I arrived in Prague two days later that I discovered I had an issue when I tried withdrawing funds from an ATM machine. Assuming that
fraud prevention had locked down my card, I called Etrade to let them know that all transactions were appropriate. Etrade customer support assured
me that the card was unlocked.
Later that evening I tried using my Visa check card again, with no luck. I assumed at that time that Etrade needed 24 hours to fix the issue. The
next day, I flew to New York and discovered that my Visa check card was not working and that the direct deposit of my paycheck had been rejected.
I called Etrade customer support and asked them what was going on and they told me that my account had been locked and that I needed to send them proof of my new address. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was disconnected on two occasions with no return call.
I can understand the need for security, but can someone explain the following to me?
1. If my address information was an issue, why did Etrade send me a new Visa check card to my new address?
2. Why did ETrade not ask for the needed information the first time I called?
3. Why did Etrade allow me to use my Visa check card in Poland?
4. Why would Etrade lock my account without an email, telephone or alert notification?
5. It appears that Etrade will still allow me to transfer all of my funds to an outside account. Why can I transfer funds online but can't resolve my home address online?
6. What is Etrade's issue with customer service not returning calls when a disconnect occurs?
7. Why did Etrade block my direct deposit of my paycheck?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
etrade is 3 step below pond ###
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The same exact problem with ETRADE SOLO 401k. They would not fulfil the promotion because outside funds were transferred to account before promo was applied - they would not backdate. No where in their marketing literature is this exception noted.
Here is the promo details copy/pasted from their site:
Here's how to get your cash credit:
Mail or fax your completed small business retirement plan application to us
Call Customer Service at [protected] once your account is open to be enrolled in and receive the offer.
Credits for cash or securities will be made based on deposits of new funds or securities from external accounts made within 45 days of account open, as shown in the chart below. Your account will be credited within one week of the close of the 45-day window, as follows:
Receive
Deposit or Transfer
$2, 500 + free trades $1, 000, 000+
$1, 200 + free trades $500, 000 - $999, 999
$600 + free trades $250, 000 - $499, 999
$300 + free trades $100, 000 - $249, 999
$200 + free trades $25, 000 - $99, 999
Only Free Trades $10, 000 - $24, 999
Here's how to get your free trades:
You will receive up to 500 free trade commissions for each stock or options trade executed within 60 days of the deposited funds being made available for investment in the new account (excluding options contract fees). You will pay $9.99 for your first 149 stock or options trades and $7.99 thereafter up to 500 stock or options trades (plus 75¢ per options contract). Your account will be credited for trades within a week. Account must be funded within 60 days of account open with funds from outside of E*TRADE.
More important information
Offer valid for one new E*TRADE Securities retirement account opened by 12/31/2016 and funded within 60 days of account opening with $10, 000 or more with funds from outside of E*TRADE. Excludes E*TRADE Securities brokerage and E*TRADE Bank accounts.
You will not receive cash compensation for any unused free trade commissions. Excludes current E*TRADE Financial Corporation associates, non-U.S. residents, and any jurisdiction where this offer is not valid. This offer is not valid for business, Custodial, Estate, LLC, Sole Proprietorship, Unincorporated Organization or E*TRADE Bank accounts. New funds or securities must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 6 months or the credit may be surrendered. One promotion per customer. E*TRADE Securities reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.
i agree
I had the same problem with E-Trade today. I am a first time customer and in fact had never bought stocks directly. I was sucked into applying with e-trade with the "bait and switch" technique of "free trades for 60 days." I had read all the application info and even talked on the phone to a customer rep. about applying So today, April 26, 2010 I bought 50 sales of a stock and noted that the commission of $9.95 or so was charged. I phoned the company and a rep. told me that I had not deposited the required $2, 000 to be eligible for the 60 free trade days. I had only deposited $1, 000. I disputed this comission charge extensively and complained about the "60 free trade days" promotion as being deceptive as the required $2, 000 deposit wasn't mentioned anywhere in the promotional literature and while appllying. Of course the usual "we're sorry you weren't aware of this" line was given out...Ha Ha! E-trade could care less!
The rep told me that she could only enroll me retroactively in the 30 day free trades so out of complete frustration and anger, I said OK but that I would complain on the web and warn future applicants. However, e-trade in my opinion is just another crooked wall street gang and obvioulsy could care less about" bait and switch " complaints. what a racket...don't apply for an e-trade account. The business is obvioulsy crooked. I am not stupid and applied with the understanding that I had 60 days free trade. It was a ploy for business and is unethical. In this economy and distrust of wall street and big banking, how dare they do business like this. I will get out of this as soon as I can. Crooks they are!