Ben W.
terrible customer service and treatment of customers
In August of this year I opened an account online with Shwab in anticipation of money to be received from my late father's estate, also with Charles Schwab. I then received a request to send in a hard (paper) copy of the application which I did from overseas. Fedex cost: $ 60. I then received a request to send in a signed and notarized letter of authorization which I did. Cost: $ 30. I was then told that I had to send in a copy of my ID which I did. Cost: $ 6. I was then told that the ID was illegible and that I would have to resend it which I did. Cost : $ 7. I funded my account last week by linking my checking account from another institution to my Schwab account and purchased some shares of stock. When I went to sign onto my account I found that I was locked out and I had to call, which I did. I was told that I was under investigation for fraud and that my shares had been SOLD and my funds were returned to my originating bank and that if I wished to proceed, I would have to write a letter of explanation and send in proof of my bank account and funds which I did. Cost: $ 7. Instead of communicating with me or asking me for information, C. Schwab liquidated my account and accused me of fraud. I'm not sure how I could defraud myself since the funds came from my own personal account but in any case, this apparently is how Charles Schwab treats its customers. At this point, I have very little faith and confidence in Charles Schwab to hold and manage my account and to act professionally and courteously towards its customers. This has been going on for THREE FULL MONTHS. It is an outrage. They offer no solutions, no apologies and no consideration for their unprofessional behavior and attitude. Follow up to my story: After PROVING that I have funds and that the funding account is in my name, I called three different times and finally spoke to a Schwab rep today who told me that they CLOSED my account. Once again, no call, no email, no notification whatsoever. Caveat emptor. On the plus side, I'm glad I found out how awful they are BEFORE sending in a big deposit. Disgraceful treatment and service. Quite astonishing, really. I'm glad, at least, that I found out how unprofessional and inconsiderate they are BEFORE sending them a much larger deposit. Beware and save yourself the grief that I went through. Follow-up story: after 4 months and letters of complaint, etc Schwab actually addressed my issues and made an effort to make me whole. They investigated, apologized, and credited my account with the money I had lost so I kept my account open and made a trade. I am going to see how things go with them before deciding how to proceed with future transactions but the moral of the story is to stick to your guns, be tenacious and sometimes the consumer can win.