I originally foolishly switched some of my retirement accounts and investment accounts to E*Trade Canada based on several reasons.

1-It originally seemed more convenient to deposit money into the E*Trade Canada account via online banking. Just one click and money is deposited into the account pretty much the next business day. My previous discount brokerage required me to send in a check through the mail as there was no branches near where I lived.

2-E*-Trade Canada was aggressively marketing themselves via TV advertising, newspaper, radio, etc and there was an enticement of either 5 free trades or $100 credit to open up an account. I was enticed by the incentives. One tip. DO NOT be enticed by promotional incentives such as free trades,etc. The bottom line is that if you can't even log on to place a trade, what good is a free trade to you?

3-E*Trade boasts about the variety of research materials they provide. I was enticed by being able to access research information that would otherwise cost money via other means.

4-I would be able to consolidate all of my other investment accounts such as mutual funds, locked-in retirement accounts, etc. Rather than having 5 million statements from different places, they're all in one place. I thought that it would be just about the same as dealing with my previous discount brokerage firm. Boy, was I sorely disappointed.

5-Free research tools that was available that were usually obtained via paid subscription. There are so many research resources out there on the web for free nowadays, I don't know why I was enticed by this reason in the first place.

My request for application forms took over 2 weeks before I got them. Because I had a number of transfers to submit, I had to download their forms via the net and print them off my computer. I attached copies of my statements, stapled each application together with the relevant documents, stuck post it notes on each application, indicating what is to be opened with details on what I required. When I sent the bulky package of forms back, I started the long, vain wait for all the transfers to go through. I would get occasional requests regarding special forms that was required. I would submit it but somehow they kept losing them. I would periodically email them about the status of my transfer and not get a response. Then, I called E*Trade Canada and was basically told by a representative to call up my transferring broker and follow up from my end. What? I've worked in the investment industry and we'd never ask the customer to do the followup. Besides, E*Trade is getting my portfolio money and business so they should be the ones to do it. Frustrated, I waited a bit longer without doing anything. After 3 months of waiting, just when I decided to can it, somehow, part of the transfer went through to my dismay. I was contacted by a representative of E*Trade for something completely different issue when discovered that some of the forms I submitted were lost. How that happened, I still don't know to this day because I submitted everything in one big package with post it notes and detailed instructions on the accounts to open, etc. They screwed up with the account opening by opening up a cash account when I wanted a margin account among others. Okay, these things happen sometimes but it is really the customer service or lack thereof, that I have the worst problem with.

I have made numerous contacts with E*-Trade Canada regarding commission rebates, administration fee waiver, incorrect account setup, etc. and found that they did not promptly return my emails, phone calls, etc (even though they state that all emails will be answered within 48 hours). I specifically asked to open a margin account in my name and they opened up a cash account instead. An informal trust account was opened as a margin account. So, when I asked them about it, they told me to resubmit another margin agreement for the investment account. Now, I ask them why they can't just use the margin agreement they have for the trust account and use it for my investment account. They told me that it doesn't work that way. So, I told them that I wasn't submitting any more forms and I wasn't going to set up the trust account anymore. So, they agreed to use the margin agreement. Man.

Even when I receive a reply to my concerns, it almost seems like they are unfriendly and unprofessional. For an example, on the quotes screen, because I still use an old monitor, part of the web page is not visible due to the design of the page. Rather than setting the web page to adjust to the size of the browser and monitor (so that you can use the scroll bars to move around), E*Trade Canada's quotes screen is set at a specific width. Fortunately, I was able to access the "quote" button, although I could barely touch it as it is just at the right edge of my screen. I submitted an email to E*Trade and rather than receiving a general email stating that they will consider my suggestion (like I would normally expect from most firms), they told me to either change the font sizes of my browser or buy a new monitor! I was quite upset with that reply as I am sure that a lot of people still use monitors smaller than 14 inches.

Another example was my attempt to get the waiver of administration fees that they promised on retirement accounts over $20,000 in value. I contacted E*Trade Canada regarding the bill they charged in my account and it took several weeks before I got a reply back. The representative told me to send him a fax of the invoice to him and he will deal with it. Why could he not just waive the fee as he was able to access the account, figure out that my retirement account was over $20,000 instead of giving me the runaround of sending a fax to him of the invoice? It is instances like these among others that has frustrated me. As I have still not received most of the commission rebates that I was promised, I have not transferred my account out. I will once the issues are resolved.

I have also had numerous times when I missed out on a trading opportunity because E*trade Canada's servers were too swamped. I was waiting for a long time before I got any confirmation of a trade. The screen would just wait for information to reload and once I was able to access it, the price had already run up or down. And frequently (like today), I just can't access my account, make trades, check quotes, etc. Most times with other brokerages, you could try using their automated telephone trading. Not with E-Trade Canada. Even that was down, so I had to wait over 20 mintues to talk to someone about the status of a trade. Frustrating? You bet!

Another thing I dislike about E*Trade Canada is their lack of a logout button. I've emailed E*Trade Canada about the lack of a logout option for security purposes. Since I have numerous accounts opened at E*Trade Canada (my mistake), it would make things much easier to go from one account to another by "logging out" and "logging" back in. E*Trade Canada's response is that my option is to fill in trading authority forms for accounts that I have trading authority over and have them linked into my one login. Either that, or close my browser completely and re-open it again. Typical response from E*Trade.

And, recently, I've been unable to place a sell trade for a stock due to some glitch in their trading system. Most times, placing a trade, you are able to change your price and order easily without much hassle. Well, in E*Trade Canada's case, it meant that I couldn't place a trade at all. I recently tried to place a trade to sell Home Depot at a specific price. When I got the real time quote of the stock, I decided to change my price so I click on the modify button. I was taken back to the order screen but when I tried to place the order, I got a message saying that I did not hold the security in the account and that I have a pending order waiting to be submitted. But, there was no button or any instructions on how I can get to my "pending" order so that I can place it. So, the entire trading day, I was not able to place my sell order. Talk about frustrating. If the market wasn't so volatile these days, I would have just transferred out my accounts. My worry is that during the time I want to place a trade, my account transfer would be in limbo and I would lose out on the trade.

So, hopefully, my review of E*Trade Canada will give an insight to those who may be tempted by the incentives of E*Trade Canada's advertising to open up an account to wait and try things out before doing so. Because, when you decide to transfer out, it may be a bit difficult and costly (transfer out fees are $100 + GST).

As my review is biased due to the numerous problems I've had with them. I'm sure that a lot of other investors are very happy with them but so far, I have had nothing but bad luck.


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