Deal4Free Spreadbet
I have used Deal4Free for couple of years and cannot understand all the problems reported about spreads and requotes. Apart from a period where I became a bad boy for trading too frequently and ended up with all my trades via a dealer, they are extremely fair. For UK FTSE 100 stocks their cash prices are generally identical to those shown on Level 2. Smaller amounts (£5 on RBS, GSK, AZN or £10 on HBOS, BARC etc) go straight through instantly on the automatic system at exactly the price shown. So, you can Buy (and Sell) at exactly the Level 2 price, with no costs or Stamp Duty - forgive my stupidity but what can be wrong with that ? Their software is 95% reliable, phones are answered quickly and pleasantly, they usually stand by the price you try to get on the very odd occasion you are held for a requote. I strongly suspect that anybody who feels they are less than excellent has never tried some of the alternatives, who manipulate prices, requote almost every time, have system problems constantly etc. With D4F I at least feel that they want my business and treat me accordingly, whereas my other experiences left me feeling that emptying my account as fast as possible was their sole mission.