Barclays Stockbrokers

[Jack o'Clubs]

How a global bank allows their retail stockbroking outfit to be such a complete load of amateur rubbish I have no idea. I only opened an account as I thought it would be handy to have a broking account linked to my main bank account, but what a mistake...

Despite pretty low volumes of trading I've had admin error after admin error after admin error. When you phone to get through to Customer Service, despite this apparently being a premium part of the bank you get the 'our lines are currently experiencing particularly high levels of call volume...' message and get stuck on hold. If you try and email a query, they'll acknowledge it but invariably can do nothing because it's not secure enough (despite being sent from the logged-in area of their website). So far I've had wrong deal prices on contract notes, my account blocked for no reason so I can't get money out or buy stock, they've buggered up corporate actions. It's just absolutely dreadful. Yes, I am closing my account, but rant justified if it saves some other unfortunate going through the same.

 

[Pippppin]

I have often wondered how banks make billions, given that they are so frequently so incompetent. There must be some universal law which I have failed to understand

 

[Splitlink]

How a global bank allows their retail stockbroking outfit to be such a complete load of amateur rubbish I have no idea. I only opened an account as I thought it would be handy to have a broking account linked to my main bank account, but what a mistake...

Despite pretty low volumes of trading I've had admin error after admin error after admin error. When you phone to get through to Customer Service, despite this apparently being a premium part of the bank you get the 'our lines are currently experiencing particularly high levels of call volume...' message and get stuck on hold. If you try and email a query, they'll acknowledge it but invariably can do nothing because it's not secure enough (despite being sent from the logged-in area of their website). So far I've had wrong deal prices on contract notes, my account blocked for no reason so I can't get money out or buy stock, they've buggered up corporate actions. It's just absolutely dreadful. Yes, I am closing my account, but rant justified if it saves some other unfortunate going through the same.

That's a terrible story. I use Nat West the same way as you do and have never had to contact them
in all the time I've been with them, apart from buying and selling. I used to have an account with Barclays and closed because I thought they were a little grabby with their charges - but I never used their broker services.

Split

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

I have often wondered how banks make billions, given that they are so frequently so incompetent.

Maybe because they charged me just under a grand in comms for one foreign dealing transaction which would have cost about £20 through IB or another broker. Don't ask, don't even go there...

Mind you, just had a very nice person phone me back to sort out their latest incompetence, so feel slightly guilty at the drubbing I've given them. But not much. And I'm still closing my account.

 

[freestyle]

I have often wondered how banks make billions, given that they are so frequently so incompetent. There must be some universal law which I have failed to understand

Yup, Look up "Fractional reserve banking" Lots of info on conspiracy websites. Unfortunateley its also in basic economics textbooks, so its based on fact. The banking system creates
money out of nothing and then charges interest. -- monetary growth of near 16% at the moment,

 

[chimpmagnet]

Jus thought I'd write to say that I completely agree about Barclays Stockbrokers... BS should stand for Bull Sh*t! Their online dealing platform is stuck in the 1980's, can't believe how many times I've been screwed by it.

Their Quote and Deal promises u a 15 second quote, and then doesn't honour it. They can't handle frequent trading due to their insane "duplicate trade checking system". Often their website is so slow that the 15 second quote times out before you've had it displayed onscreen!

I've also been put on hold for over 10 minutes by their telephone dealing team ... all when I wanted to close an important trade at 4:20pm... I thought 10 mins was enough but it obviously isn't for this group of cowboys. I eventually had to cut the call myself after the market closed.

Anyway just wanted to add my 2 cents worth about BS. No matter who else you use to deal , just stay away from these amateurs.

 

[nunrgguy]

I've similar horror stories with Barclays and TD Waterhouse. Absolutely totally incompetant. In total it has taken 5 months to transfer assetts between the two of them. At one point they 'lost' cheques for £30,000 and £6,000, their communications are a mess, I've been sent other people's account details in the post, my accounts have been set up incorrectly, you get a different tale every time you speak to a different member of staff and then, to top it all off, after finally managing to get the transfers complete, the accounts set up correctly etc. I come to make my first trade and find that their system wil not allow you to trade in the assetts that I'd asked them about before the whole sorry process began. As this whole mess started after the double top and at the beginning of November and knowing how and what I would have traded, I estimate that, between them, they have cost me around £9,000.
I put in a formal complaint, to which they have responded with a letter which conveniently only addresses around 50% of my concerns and have offerred two free trades up to a value of £20 each!
I will be taking my account elsewhere immediately and will let everyone I know know how absolutely shoddy and shockingly bad their services are.
Only yesterday I received an email from TD Waterhouse stating that you cannot hold none UK shares within an ISA, even though I went through the process of setting it all up with them (which they made a hash of several times) and the markets are available online in my account to trade...only you can't get a quote!
The only upside to all of this is that because of their incompetance I am 100% in cash at the moment and all of my previous long positions have been liquidated so I'm not losing further still.

 

[0007]

I've had an account with Barclays for donkeys years though it's little-used these days and i think I last used it about a year ago. I've never had any trouble at all - phone or online - but in view of these reports and others that I've previously heard it looks like I may have been fortunate.

My SOP (standard operating procedure) rules apply: if your broker / restaurant / garage / woman is no good - get another.

 

[Pat494]

I just don't trust online banking and so still use share certificates for buy and hold. If Barclays are hopeless then who do you reccommend for the paper stuff ?

 

[Splitlink]

I just don't trust online banking and so still use share certificates for buy and hold. If Barclays are hopeless then who do you reccommend for the paper stuff ?

The certificates have to be held by a third party company--I forget the correct term for it.

Everything is so damned fast, these days, and the certificates are in the hands of the Royal Mail when being transferred. I don't know who I distrust the most, especially as I live outside the UK, and any loss or delay is a worry.

My NatWest broker has an arrangement with my NatWest bank account, which has been going for seven years, now, and I get confirmation by post. As safe as it gets, nowadays, I think.

My bank account is not online, so no one can get into that.

 

[honestsid]

I tried BARX, but the java platform wouldn't work on my computer, despite java working with quotestream and moneyAM and other non financial sites.

The service I got to try and solve this problem was second to none!

They phoned me back, for hours, on my mobile phone, talking me through and trying all sorts .. nothing solved the problem but not for want of trying. ( I am computer technically competent and guessed they wouldn't solve the problem .. something very weird! )

It did inspire me with confidence and I can only recommend the customer support of Barclays, Ironic that I cant use their system!

 

[chilltrader]

I can say that TD Waterhouse was a shambles for me. Always quoting wrong commission or exchange rate in the contract. There have been countless incidents where I have sent them screen shots where the exchange rate or buy/sell price shown on the screen during the trade was different to that in the contract note. Of course the difference was in pennies (upto 20/30p), but multiplied by volume over a year it does get a lot! After hearing for ~2 years that they are "sorting it out", I eventually closed my account beginning of this year (New Year resolution ) !

 

[WallStreetHero]

i picked barks as my first stockbroker only cause i had an account with them, and what a mistake i made, they are like a vaccum thats sucks money out of you, i dont know how anyone can be profitible with those twats,

 

[honestsid]

Since closing my account because the java didn’t work on my computer, (as I thought I had done), Barclays have tried to bill me for non-activity, As the youth of today say, DER Barclays, of course there is no activity your platform did not work for me. So after a big but diplomatic argument with them, they weren’t going to let me off the £14 (remember that Barclays are probably worse off than the average Big Issue seller at the moment), they decided that taking me to court probably wouldn’t be much use as it was their fault.

They were very threatening on the phone.

I take back my good comments previously posted. The accounts department has undone the good work of the software support department.

My advice, go with Interactive Brokers.

(Also steer clear of Vectorvest, another take your money but no service company ... see other threads.)

 

[beast_cj]

very very disapointed with barclays. tried for 30 mins to close a position in a time where there was little trading activity. will be closing my account very shortly.
CJ

 

[mabillington]

very very disapointed with barclays. tried for 30 mins to close a position in a time where there was little trading activity. will be closing my account very shortly.
CJ

closed