I've been there several months. I believe the company is dishonest, since the margin department is dishonest. I don't have one complaint. I have numerous and have had numerous experiences that ranged from incompetency to dishonesty. I don't think this is the worst firm I have used, but it's unsatisfactory. I was with Fleet for 15-20 years, have been with Waterhouse and with Brown & Co for several years. I can recommend those three highly. I have used full fee firms, like ML, and I tried two other discount firms I felt were very poor. I found JB Oxford the worst and Ameritrade, when I tried them, had too many problems for me. I find Web Street the second worst I've ever used -- only JB Oxford was worse. Ameritrade just had a lot of startup problem.
I'm not interested in suffering through with a company that doesn't have their operations working yet. I just want to trade and be treated with courtesy and efficiency. Web Street doesn't meet my standards.
If they meet your's, lucky you. What happened to my $100 credit and return call from Fox? Why didn't they send either recent check to the AMOUNT I requested or on the DATE I requested? The first check was requested for $7100 and it came for $7000. I had the cash for $7100. Why wasn't it correctly executed? The second one was confirmed to be sent on 7/23. Why was it sent on 7/22? Why doesn't my account accurately reflect the margin buying power I have? It doesn't, on line, in either place on line? Why do you have to phone to get accurate buying power info, and then often get incorrect information? It's hard to believe that you ARE using the same firm. You'll find NUMEROUS reports in this thread from others who have suffered the same indignities to which Web Street subjected me. Now, you want to take me on? Take on ALL the people in this thread who have reported similar problems.
By the way, the options commissions and the margin rates are MUCH higher than Brown & Co. This company is no bargain on commissions unless you only want to trade NASDAQ stocks which are over $2. If you buy a NYSE stock you're paying more than the other brokers I use. If you buy options you're paying a lot more than the other brokers I use. If I want to short a stock I'm paying more than other brokers I use.
I find that when I have free cash in an account, I want to buy with that cash what I'm ready to buy next. I don't want to limit myself to a long position in a NASDAQ stock trading over $2. So that's how Web Street makes its money: on all the other kinds of trades. I don't begrudge that, if they are otherwise competent. Look, I kept Waterhouse even though they charge a little more on margin and options than Brown, because they're efficient, competent, courteous, reliable. I won't suffer any indignity to save a couple of dollars and Web Street has imposed indignities.
If you had a good experience, you're lucky, but your experience is not the norm. Read the thread.
BY THE WAY: I see that you joined SI as a trial member just to defend Web Street. I have to say that's quite an unusual purpose and it makes me suspicious.
Personally, I've been an SI member for years and have never taken the time to talk about stock brokers here. I'm interested in stocks here and trading. I dropped into this thread because I felt that I was treated so badly by Web Street that I wanted to know if it was typical. It proved to be typical indeed. So is it possible that Web Street reads this thread and instead of making good on their word to me, they send someone in to defend them? That's how it's reading to me. I have up to ten trades a day. I don't have time to waste a half hour during market hours trying to find out my buying power. If you're saying you have had that info online for six months, I know you're not truthful. It wasn't working on line at all till recently and even now it's unreliable. My buying power is incorrectly reflected on line right now. How come yours is not?
Linda |
