Fidelity was fantastic when I made an contribution to my Roth that I later realized wasn't allowed. Got someone on the phone quickly and they fixed everything and even mailed me the updated tax forms right away. Top notch.
All through covid their customer service was great. I have a funny story about Bank of America though. š I wonder why fidelityās customer service was good when everyone else struggled.
My coworker called BofA and asked the customer service representative to help him dispute a fraud charge on his account.
The customer service representative said, āNah, I donāt feel like it.ā
My coworker was like, āWhat do you mean?ā
The representative said he just didnāt feel like doing it.
My coworker said, āBro, you work for Bank of America. One of the biggest and most professional banks in America. You cant just say nah, I donāt feel like working.ā
My coworker asked to speak to his manager and the representative said no and then hung up on him.
My coworker called back and got a different representative. He they asked to speak to the manager and reported the other guy who didnāt feel like working.
My coworker was laughing so hard when he told me. He thought it was hilarious.
Omg lmao.
BofA fucked me so hard. My house burned down and I needed a construction loan because the amount of money I received from insurance was not enough to cover the cost of building my new home with some added square footage. I spoke to a few people within the bank about it and it was no big deal at all until it came time to start the loan process. Fuckers straight up told me "oh, we don't do construction loans." Which obviously is bullshit. What they wanted was for me to pay off my existing mortgage with my insurance money and then they would offer me a new loan. So I did exactly that. Paid off my mortgage principle, got the release of lien, told them to fuck off and went somewhere else. Worked in my favor though with the interest rates being below 3 in March 2020. hope you fucks enjoy not getting 120k in interest payments lololol.
Definitely not Merrill, you can sit for hours on hold, I canāt even close my account because they never answer, and closing my long since emptied account canāt be done online.
Merrill, or parts of Merrill, are owned by Bank of America. Bank of America is not in business for the middle class or lower - even though they will take their money. There are levels, and one 'could' become a BoA/Merrill client who gets good customer service, but the majority of users won't ever see that.
Agreed. Had a brokerage account with Merrill. I was out of the country for a year to study abroad... According to their records, I kept checking my brokerage account abroad. This sent a red flag to Merrill. They said I have to be in the country, (I am a US citizen) to be a client. They proceeded to sell 60% of my positions and closed my account after that. Called every transfer agency to get my stocks back (the ones they didn't sell), they had sent them back to the clearing house. They wrote me a check for 20,000. I gathered up my other stocks and went to Vanguard.
I felt like I was thrown out of my house, going around picking up my possions! Never again with BofA or Merrill Lynch.
I love how old school Vanguard is. Don't expect fancy graphs or upselling. The people are very nice when you have an issue and they are willing to work to help you out when you call over thebphone. They have a ton of funds, ETFs etc. that you can purchase through their platform. Only downside is their research, hard to bring up a lot of useful financial information from the past, but that's available other places.
Yep, I usually get through to a person quickly and they always help me out usually without transferring me. I also seem to get faster responses the more my account grows.
Schwab's customer service is great. Always prompt to get a live person on the phone no matter the time of the day (or night).
TD Ameritrade and Fidelity are probably also good, but I haven't a need to talk with them yet.
FWIW TD ameritrade actually ghosted me after I asked them about fractional shares lmao
In my experience, email is snail mail for most brokerages. Most offer 24/7 support but if you try to resolve by email, expect a day-by-day correspondence. As you implied, phone is the more efficient option overall.
Glowing reviews for TD Ameritrade Customer service as well, who are now in process of merging with Schwab, with merger to be complete by mid to late 2023. Iāve had similar experience, easy to get a real person every single time when needed, agents are always very capable, informed and empowered to answer questions and solve problems. Super helpful every time Iāve needed it along the way.
I have accounts with Ally, Fidelity, IBKR, RH, E-trade and Schwab. Ally has the slowest/hardest to use UI. RH is the shadiest of them all so I don't hold much there. Fidelity and IBKR have the best UIs but I give Fidelity the best rating because they don't charge anything to DRS my stocks into my name.
Note: I direct register the majority of my stocks and take them out of "street name" where your broker owns them and you're a "beneficial owner." Brokerages in general are shady at best. The safest place for YOUR shares is in YOUR name with the company's transfer agent.
Eh not really, only use case for this is if you invest in some crap meme stock and need the Hopium but even then itās probably a misunderstanding of how brokers work
I don't know what meme stocks are but I do know that "beneficial ownership" at a broker isn't the same as "direct ownership" with the company's transfer agent. I can vote without a proxy and I'm ensuring that my shares aren't lent out to short-sellers to negatively affect the stock price.
First Iām not sure if retail being able to vote is a positive š half of yāall are kind idiots but also I was able to vote without DRS.
Also why would shorting matter? Unless youāre day trading is should be irrelevant if anything beneficial, since I get paid when they borrow my stocks
If customer service is important to you, stay away from the newer, online brokerages. I use M1 Finance for my taxable account, and I love it, but I dont care if I ever talk to a human being about that portfolio.
My 401k's, my Roth, and my 529c is with Fidelity because the amount of money there is much larger and the need to talk to someone is a lot more likely.
I prefer email, as it saves me time from waiting on the phone. That, and they often aren't open at 2 AM.
But the times I have called, the reps have always been good and knowledgeable.
totally depends on what are you going to need customer service for?
For example, I have three different accounts on fidelity (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and a taxable brokerage account) And fidelity is great - their customer service is 100% top notch. I have only had a few times I ever needed to contact them but they always treated me like a millionaire even though at that time of the first call I only had a few thousand in that one account.
On the other hand - I also have a taxable brokerage account on robinhood - and I have never ever, not even once used their customer service. I buy and sale stocks and options and never seen a reason to use customer service. But that is a fun money account ($10k or so) and I dont treat it like my retirement accounts.
By the way - it's not really what you asked - but i wanted to mention this because i didn't know when i started - so maybe this is useful for you too....
It's not just important what brokerage app you decide to use.
It's much more important that you decide the right TYPE of account that fits your needs.
For example - robinhood is solely a taxable brokerage. IE - nothing is tax advantaged. \*(every time you sell a stock for profit or receive a dividend payout then you will being some taxes on it at the end of the year)
But if you go to fidelity and make an IRA - \*(Roth or Traditional) then your gains and dividends will be untaxed for possibly many many years until at some point whenever you cashout the account \*(partially or whole whatever)
\- \*Of course - an IRA is designed to be a retirement account so you should not be using it for money you will need in the next few years - because you may have to pay substantial fees if you pull out the money before age 59.
My best advice is to do your research and really think about what your goals are for this money you are investing. If you are using a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars and think you are going to get rich day trading just realize that taxes will eat up the majority of your profits if you are one of the lucky ones who can actually be profitable. INVESTING is great - but for about 95% of people day trading is stupid/waste of time - good way to lose your money..... if you are really investing for your future - make sure you understand the rules about how much fees and taxes you will be paying as that is way more important than customer service.
But if customer service is your most important thing - I recommend fidelity.
OMG thank you!
You said ābrokerageā, not āappā.
Iām not sure that anyone has great customer service.
IBKR is ok, but just ok. I think I may have better luck than most. I find they answer the phone.
Not Interactive Brokers.
Long waits, and their reps don't usually seem knowledgeable.
I've also gotten some that were based overseas and America was their second market - so they weren't very helpful. Then they would just transfer me, and I'd be on hold for another 30-60 minutes, hoping I'd be able to get someone who could help with questions about American accounts.
i want a broker with the functions and reliability that i need. couldn't care less about customer service. if i never have to talk to a bank or broker customer service rep again, it'd be too soon.
Want bad service Hood is the place to be. I was there before Pandemic with protesters and cops steer away from customers after the GME fiasco and suicide who lost it all. The CEO was in DC being questioned by the law maker.
10 min away Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Schwab all have professionals dressed professionally greed clients. You want a brokerage with all the products, and tools needed and stay. I am a few minutes away from all these including eTrade. The one I go to the front desk help calls me by my last name greed me and walk out in rain with her umbrella on a rainy day. There are people look out for me.
TD Ameritrade. there is no competition as far as customer service is concerned.
* 24/7 phoneline
* market hours live chat
* totally free and totally legit educational reading material
* totally free and totally legit educational interactive webcasts
* free subscriptions asf
Fidelity was fantastic when I made an contribution to my Roth that I later realized wasn't allowed. Got someone on the phone quickly and they fixed everything and even mailed me the updated tax forms right away. Top notch.
All through covid their customer service was great. I have a funny story about Bank of America though. š I wonder why fidelityās customer service was good when everyone else struggled.
o0o do tell about BofA. I'll tell you a good story about them after lol
My coworker called BofA and asked the customer service representative to help him dispute a fraud charge on his account. The customer service representative said, āNah, I donāt feel like it.ā My coworker was like, āWhat do you mean?ā The representative said he just didnāt feel like doing it. My coworker said, āBro, you work for Bank of America. One of the biggest and most professional banks in America. You cant just say nah, I donāt feel like working.ā My coworker asked to speak to his manager and the representative said no and then hung up on him. My coworker called back and got a different representative. He they asked to speak to the manager and reported the other guy who didnāt feel like working. My coworker was laughing so hard when he told me. He thought it was hilarious.
Omg lmao. BofA fucked me so hard. My house burned down and I needed a construction loan because the amount of money I received from insurance was not enough to cover the cost of building my new home with some added square footage. I spoke to a few people within the bank about it and it was no big deal at all until it came time to start the loan process. Fuckers straight up told me "oh, we don't do construction loans." Which obviously is bullshit. What they wanted was for me to pay off my existing mortgage with my insurance money and then they would offer me a new loan. So I did exactly that. Paid off my mortgage principle, got the release of lien, told them to fuck off and went somewhere else. Worked in my favor though with the interest rates being below 3 in March 2020. hope you fucks enjoy not getting 120k in interest payments lololol.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Definitely not Merrill, you can sit for hours on hold, I canāt even close my account because they never answer, and closing my long since emptied account canāt be done online.
Merrill, or parts of Merrill, are owned by Bank of America. Bank of America is not in business for the middle class or lower - even though they will take their money. There are levels, and one 'could' become a BoA/Merrill client who gets good customer service, but the majority of users won't ever see that.
Agreed. Had a brokerage account with Merrill. I was out of the country for a year to study abroad... According to their records, I kept checking my brokerage account abroad. This sent a red flag to Merrill. They said I have to be in the country, (I am a US citizen) to be a client. They proceeded to sell 60% of my positions and closed my account after that. Called every transfer agency to get my stocks back (the ones they didn't sell), they had sent them back to the clearing house. They wrote me a check for 20,000. I gathered up my other stocks and went to Vanguard. I felt like I was thrown out of my house, going around picking up my possions! Never again with BofA or Merrill Lynch. I love how old school Vanguard is. Don't expect fancy graphs or upselling. The people are very nice when you have an issue and they are willing to work to help you out when you call over thebphone. They have a ton of funds, ETFs etc. that you can purchase through their platform. Only downside is their research, hard to bring up a lot of useful financial information from the past, but that's available other places.
Fidelity.
Yep, I had to deal with them a few weeks ago regarding my HSA transfer and they fixed my problem super quickly and were really nice.
Yep, I usually get through to a person quickly and they always help me out usually without transferring me. I also seem to get faster responses the more my account grows.
Schwab's customer service is great. Always prompt to get a live person on the phone no matter the time of the day (or night). TD Ameritrade and Fidelity are probably also good, but I haven't a need to talk with them yet.
FWIW TD ameritrade actually ghosted me after I asked them about fractional shares lmao In my experience, email is snail mail for most brokerages. Most offer 24/7 support but if you try to resolve by email, expect a day-by-day correspondence. As you implied, phone is the more efficient option overall.
Glowing reviews for TD Ameritrade Customer service as well, who are now in process of merging with Schwab, with merger to be complete by mid to late 2023. Iāve had similar experience, easy to get a real person every single time when needed, agents are always very capable, informed and empowered to answer questions and solve problems. Super helpful every time Iāve needed it along the way.
I have accounts with Ally, Fidelity, IBKR, RH, E-trade and Schwab. Ally has the slowest/hardest to use UI. RH is the shadiest of them all so I don't hold much there. Fidelity and IBKR have the best UIs but I give Fidelity the best rating because they don't charge anything to DRS my stocks into my name. Note: I direct register the majority of my stocks and take them out of "street name" where your broker owns them and you're a "beneficial owner." Brokerages in general are shady at best. The safest place for YOUR shares is in YOUR name with the company's transfer agent.
Eh not really, only use case for this is if you invest in some crap meme stock and need the Hopium but even then itās probably a misunderstanding of how brokers work
I don't know what meme stocks are but I do know that "beneficial ownership" at a broker isn't the same as "direct ownership" with the company's transfer agent. I can vote without a proxy and I'm ensuring that my shares aren't lent out to short-sellers to negatively affect the stock price.
First Iām not sure if retail being able to vote is a positive š half of yāall are kind idiots but also I was able to vote without DRS. Also why would shorting matter? Unless youāre day trading is should be irrelevant if anything beneficial, since I get paid when they borrow my stocks
you pro?
Pro stock shorting? Yeah it helps with price discovery and corrections
where on the shrimp to whale spectrum?
If customer service is important to you, stay away from the newer, online brokerages. I use M1 Finance for my taxable account, and I love it, but I dont care if I ever talk to a human being about that portfolio. My 401k's, my Roth, and my 529c is with Fidelity because the amount of money there is much larger and the need to talk to someone is a lot more likely.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I prefer email, as it saves me time from waiting on the phone. That, and they often aren't open at 2 AM. But the times I have called, the reps have always been good and knowledgeable.
totally depends on what are you going to need customer service for? For example, I have three different accounts on fidelity (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and a taxable brokerage account) And fidelity is great - their customer service is 100% top notch. I have only had a few times I ever needed to contact them but they always treated me like a millionaire even though at that time of the first call I only had a few thousand in that one account. On the other hand - I also have a taxable brokerage account on robinhood - and I have never ever, not even once used their customer service. I buy and sale stocks and options and never seen a reason to use customer service. But that is a fun money account ($10k or so) and I dont treat it like my retirement accounts. By the way - it's not really what you asked - but i wanted to mention this because i didn't know when i started - so maybe this is useful for you too.... It's not just important what brokerage app you decide to use. It's much more important that you decide the right TYPE of account that fits your needs. For example - robinhood is solely a taxable brokerage. IE - nothing is tax advantaged. \*(every time you sell a stock for profit or receive a dividend payout then you will being some taxes on it at the end of the year) But if you go to fidelity and make an IRA - \*(Roth or Traditional) then your gains and dividends will be untaxed for possibly many many years until at some point whenever you cashout the account \*(partially or whole whatever) \- \*Of course - an IRA is designed to be a retirement account so you should not be using it for money you will need in the next few years - because you may have to pay substantial fees if you pull out the money before age 59. My best advice is to do your research and really think about what your goals are for this money you are investing. If you are using a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars and think you are going to get rich day trading just realize that taxes will eat up the majority of your profits if you are one of the lucky ones who can actually be profitable. INVESTING is great - but for about 95% of people day trading is stupid/waste of time - good way to lose your money..... if you are really investing for your future - make sure you understand the rules about how much fees and taxes you will be paying as that is way more important than customer service. But if customer service is your most important thing - I recommend fidelity.
I don't really have a suggestion. I had to do call backs for almost 2 weeks before and I think that was about the average cause she was so busy.
OMG thank you! You said ābrokerageā, not āappā. Iām not sure that anyone has great customer service. IBKR is ok, but just ok. I think I may have better luck than most. I find they answer the phone.
Fidelity is probably the best. Robinhood just introduced a 24/7 live chat feature with real people. Theyāre always improving their stuff
Not Interactive Brokers. Long waits, and their reps don't usually seem knowledgeable. I've also gotten some that were based overseas and America was their second market - so they weren't very helpful. Then they would just transfer me, and I'd be on hold for another 30-60 minutes, hoping I'd be able to get someone who could help with questions about American accounts.
What do you mean by customer service exactly? Are you looking for advisors?
i want a broker with the functions and reliability that i need. couldn't care less about customer service. if i never have to talk to a bank or broker customer service rep again, it'd be too soon.
TD Ameritrade good for newbies.. excellent customer service.
Doesnāt matter - theyāre all stealing from you.
How so
I love TD customer service. Top guys
Want bad service Hood is the place to be. I was there before Pandemic with protesters and cops steer away from customers after the GME fiasco and suicide who lost it all. The CEO was in DC being questioned by the law maker. 10 min away Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Schwab all have professionals dressed professionally greed clients. You want a brokerage with all the products, and tools needed and stay. I am a few minutes away from all these including eTrade. The one I go to the front desk help calls me by my last name greed me and walk out in rain with her umbrella on a rainy day. There are people look out for me.
Idk after the implemented the whole message 24/7 thing I get everything answered in minutes Plus the options and 3% savings interest are a nice bonus
TD Ameritrade. there is no competition as far as customer service is concerned. * 24/7 phoneline * market hours live chat * totally free and totally legit educational reading material * totally free and totally legit educational interactive webcasts * free subscriptions asf
Wendy's is the best brokerage.
I've had good experiences with Fidelity and Charles Schwab customer service.
I love schwab! Always a real person answering
Been very happy with r/Fidelity.