ONLINE TRADING

What To Do If You Have a Complaint

  Act promptly. By law, you only have a limited time to take legal action. Follow these steps to solve your problem: 1. Talk to your broker or online firm and ask for an explanation. Take notes of the answers you receive. 2. If you are dissatisfied with the response and believe that you have been treated unfairly, ask to talk with the broker's branch manager. In the case of an online firm, go directly to step number three. 3. If your are still dissatisfied, write to the compliance department at the firm's main office. Explain your problem clearly, and tell the firm how you want it resolved. Ask the compliance office to respond to you in writing within 30 days. 4. If you're still dissatisfied, then send a letter of complaint to the National Association of Securities Dealers, your state securities administrator, or to the Office of Investor Education and Assistance at the SEC along with copies of the letters you've sent already to the firm.