Comments on: Tradeking is holding my money hostage

By: Hondaddy

Hondaddy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:12:16 +0000

I have not found one financial institution that holds an ACH for more than 30 days. TradeKing’s fine print of 60 days for a ACH to be transferred out is one of a kind and I will not be recommending them ever to anyone!

By: Geroge

Geroge — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:58:55 +0000

Tradeking is the worst broker worse than Zecco and I never thought I’d say that given all the problems Zecco had when they first started, I’ve never had so many issues with a broker in my 22 yrs of trading
but then again I never thought I’d see the Dow at the 6,000 level.

By: indexfundfan

indexfundfan — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:34:21 +0000

jh, yes, I received back my shares/funds. See

http://www.indextown.com/archives/2009/02/26/tradeking-releases-my-shares/

By: indexfundfan @ indextown » Blog Archive » Tradeking releases my shares

indexfundfan @ indextown » Blog Archive » Tradeking releases my shares — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:10:35 +0000

[...] This is an update to my previous post “Tradeking is holding my money hostage“. [...]

By: indexfundfan @ indextown » Blog Archive » Higher new fees at Tradeking

indexfundfan @ indextown » Blog Archive » Higher new fees at Tradeking — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:29:30 +0000

[...] my bout of issues (Tradeking is holding my money hostage and Tradeking changes its ACH holding time to 60 business days) with Tradeking, I haven’t [...]

By: indexfundfan

indexfundfan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:33:33 +0000

Don, thanks for your comments. At the moment, I intend to let the account “age” a bit; then I will submit another request to transfer out.

By: Don

Don — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:59:14 +0000

Sometimes it pays to get an attorney involved.

I would also think at some point state and federal regulators can be helpful.

I don’t know how long “recently” is, but certainly at some point further steps make sense. I’d consider them the way I think about insurance companies.

1. always record your telephone calls with them
2. always follow up in writing

You should take care with how you say things on the phone and in writing. Essentially, if you have to sue or go to arbitration, what you want is a record that says you were reasonable and they were abusive. You want a judge to get mad on your behalf.

You’ve already learned the hard way not to “break trust” with your agent. You need that relationship to work so they can help you get it straightened out. In my experience, any kind of threat just shuts them down cold.

They already know you want to close your account, so you’ve burned that bridge. Perhaps expressing your frustration and intent to work cooperatively could help rebuild rapport; you’ll probably have to walk close to the line, “I don’t see anything short of state or federal regulators that could help get this straightened out, but really I just want this to be resolved without fuss.”

And don’t forget that there could be something outside their control holding things up. You were making maximum daily deposits and then withdrawals, a la money laundering. Since 2001, the US has had a bit more of a “guilty until we’ve checked” attitude than in the past. Perhaps you’ve just been stung. If there are law enforcement people involved (that you don’t know about) nothing you could say to the agent is going to make a bit of difference. You could threaten all of the government oversight you like, but they are already on the case…

By: indexfundfan

indexfundfan — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:37:42 +0000

Thanks Mike. You might also read how now Tradeking says that the ACH holding time is 60 business days:

http://www.indextown.com/archives/2008/12/13/tradeking-changes-its-ach-holding-time-to-60-business-days/

By: indexfundfan @ indextown » Blog Archive » Tradeking changes its ACH holding time to 60 business days

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:30:28 +0000

[...] indexfundfan @ indextown Personal finance and investing in mutual funds and ETFs « Tradeking is holding my money hostage [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:35:19 +0000

Man! I’m sorry hear of your troubles, and lack of recourse.

I actually once thought of using Tradeking, but it sure ain’t gonna happen now. I’ll stick with Vanguard, even with the extra costs.

Hey.. have a Happy Holiday!

By: JustSurfing

JustSurfing — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:59:15 +0000

Wow, I almost wanted to open an account with them to get the $50 bonus. Thanks for the warning.

By: indexfundfan

indexfundfan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:50:14 +0000

Thanks TFB. Fidelity and Vanguard would be two reputable firms, and I can usually trust them to make things right even if something goes wrong.

By: TFB

TFB — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:28:34 +0000

I’m so sorry to hear about your troubles. I’m happy with my experience with Fidelity. Not the cheapest, but predictable.