A mere two days after I ranted about Zecco’s slow opening procedure in the second part of my Zecco Free Trades Brokerage Review, reader Richard alerts me that they have removed the mail-in paperwork requirement for many new applicants. After applying, you now see this:
If you applied for an Individual or Joint account on or after Thursday, May 10th, and you have a US Social Security Number, you?re all set.
However, if you either:
– applied prior to Thursday, May 10th for any account
– applied on or after May 10th, but you were asked to mail your documents
– applied for an IRA account
– do not have a US Social Security number:please provide your required paperwork.
Hmm… This is either coincidence, or maybe I have some influence after all. 😀 Somebody also said that Zecco was swamped with IRA applications near the April 15th deadline, which further slowed things down. Either way, I hope this indicates better things to come!
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I actually just had a representative from Zecco comment on a blog entry about them so they must be fairly attuned to the personal finance community.
Thanks for the heads up!
Oh, this figures… Since I decided to open Wednesday I have to still mail in all this junk.
Yeah, that’s true – they do already host their own blogs set up over there, and asked a bunch of existing bloggers to write over there as well several months ago.
yea if you search pretty much on most blogs ive checked they have commented…cool and weird at the same time : )
figures as soon as i go through all that stuff they make it easier : )
ahh, the power of blogs 😉
This is good step towards good customer service. Good luck to them and keep up good work (and keep it free -ZERO $ commission)
I’ve been trying to find a low/no fee broker. If this paper work cancellation is true, I might actually give them a try. Even from your review though, the trades seem to go a little slower than I’d like… but it’s not all that important. I’m not day trading.
I just opened my Zecco account after reading your review. Account was setup in just 1 day… Amazing! I was not asked for any paperwork but I did provide my SSN and Driver License information.
I read Zecco account must be funded with $2500 before you can start trading. Do you know if they have any minimum balance requirements? I don’t want to be slapped with any fees as I won’t be able to fund this account immediately.
What about a comparison of Zecco and Think or Swim. Perhaps a combination of them both. Think or swim for mutual funds and Zecco for stock trades? Anyone have any comments on such a combination?
It was never a required condition.
I never returned any paperwork by mail nor fund it but my account is still active.
Sure, but how do you know if you never tried to make a trade?
I have been able to link two external accounts and can fund it and hope to be able to trade once the account is funded.
My main reason for not using zecco is no free IRA.
I understand, but the point is that many people have funded their accounts just fine and have still not been able to trade without processed paperwork. So when you say “it was never a required condition”, I must disagree. Hopefully now, it is no longer a required condition for most people.
Has anyone actually used Zecco for Options trading? How good is the interface? I currently use Tradeking and am satisfied except the fees 🙁 Does Zecco provide 0$ trading for simple Options strategy? The Zecco website mentions $3.5 but looks like it is for complex option strategy?
I opened my account yesterday and the initial process was smooth. However the ‘my info’ tab still says ‘pending paperwork = yes’. I still haven’t got any mail saying which paperwork is pending. Tried calling them….but their customer support sucks ! No returned call or anything. I think I might just stick to Scottrade. Anyone else seen this ?
John,
I use Zecco for writing covered calls (not complex). They still charge $3.50 + $.60 per contract.
For purchases and non covered calls, I use Interactive Brokers. They charge like $0.75 per contract with a minimum of $1. I mostly deal one contract at a time, so I pay only $1 each time. And the best part is they don’t charge any commission for Options assignments/exercises.
Even stock trades are only $1.
Only prroblem is, they have a minimum charge of $10 per month, which is not a problem for me, because I trade options a lot. But even if you trade only 3 options for month, you will still come out ahead with these guys.
On a side note, this morning, I initiated an ACH transfer in Zecco, and it is still showing ‘Pending Broker Approval’. This is one pet peeve of mine, with Zecco.
After hours of attempting to set up an account, no returned phone calls and dealing with an inaccurate bank ABA routing number, I’m wondering if it’s worth it! I’ve decided to try one last time, but will take a very gradual funding approach until I can be sure that they are on the up & up. Lloyd Henry
Does anybody that has an account with Zecco like to comment on their monthly statements? (like or dislikes) They won’t send me a demo monthly statement! ( anybody like to comment on how it is laid out ?)Some of the brokerage accounts that I have had in the past was really hard to understand. thanks From, Batman60
Yeah, they SAY no mail in paperwork is required, but they waited until after I funded my account to tell me that they had frozen my account (opened 8/8/07) because they had not received my paperwork.
Paperwork? What paperwork?
I contacted Penson financial, the company who they had the nerve to put ALL of the blame onto, and they informed me that it is illegal to have an account without paperwork. They are now holding my money hostage until I return the phantom paperwork that Zecco allegedly provided to me. They refuse to let me close my account and transfer the money back into my checking account until I send it back in.
Penson financial’s head compliance officer contacted Zecco’s head compliance officer, Joe Chung, who promptly called me directly and chewed me out for calling Penson. I told him that I don’t have any paperwork, and he says that Zecco sent me an e-mail (which they didn’t, I checked my SPAM box to be sure). He was so nasty, that when I asked for his name, he gave it to me, then said “I don’t know who else you’re going to talk to, though, because I’m the highest there is.” I hung up on him, and called Penson back. Apparently they’re getting a lot of complaints about Zecco’s questionable business practices, and it seems they’re fed up.
Melinda,
I am equally upset with Penson too.
I wanted to link my bank account for ACH.
Penson did not make the 2 deposits that they were supposed to make, in stead they did make 2 withdrawals. When I reported the problem and send them a copy of my bank statement but they have not admitted their mistake.
I have decided not to fund my account if zecco and Penson both can commit such blunders and fail to correct them.
Seriously, they suck. I am still trying to withdraw my money from Zecco. I need it soon and it has been 9 business days since I requested the withdrawal. This is a money issue. This is not just returning a product. I called the customer service and they really suck. It takes them a long time to reply. They don’t exactly know what are they talking about.
Zecco is a joke. Its site clearly states that sending in paperwork is NOT required for applicants with US SS number, unless asked. Since I have the SS number and was never asked to submit paperwork, I funded my account. When I tried to make 2 trades, both were rejected. Zecco is not ready to conduct business. There is ZERO customer service by phone. It will refer you to its lame website, where information is skimpy or non-existent. Customer service by email says that I need to submit paperwork, but doesn’t say WHAT paperwork. Subsequent inquiry was never answered. I think Zecco does this so it can use your money.
STAY AWAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM ZECCO. They sold a limit sell of mine under the price I set and for the past month now they can not get anything straight. They wont let me get my money out now!
Penson Financial, Penson Worldwide SUCKS!!!
Their left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing. The communication within their own company is terribly lacking and hurts the brokerage firms who are their clients.
From what I have seen of Penson, they treat their smaller brokerage clients like crap. If your brokerage firm is not a giant like TD Ameritrade, E-Trade, etc…and you find out that Penson handles their clearing, steer clear. There WILL be problems.