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Non-Tech : The Discount Broker's Hall of Shame -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maven1 who wrote (559)	12/9/1999 12:16:00 PM
From: Sam Citron	Respond to of 594

RE: Amex Problems Spoke to a customer service rep this morning who assured me that: (a) They are aware of the execution reporting issue and it should be resolved over the weekend. (b) They are planning to change the automatic time-out feature (problem) but are reluctant to tweak the software before January so as not to have to recertify Y2K compliance. Another issue surfaced this morning when I was advised that it is currently impossible to place trades for shares < $5 per share online. This is another example of American Express wanting to protect me from myself, in spite of the fact that I have 30 years of trading experience and over 5 years of trading online. This kind of paternalism goes well beyond any SEC-imposed "Know the Customer" suitability rule. It is simply an excuse for poor software that doesn't have the ability to discriminate between less sophisticated and more sophisticated clients, information that Amex has at its disposal and can easily put in a cookie. It is not an easy job educating your broker but it is sometimes worth it. Hang in there. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on the Y2K software issue and see if things change next month.