I think patience is a major necessity in dealing with IB. More than I have, anyway. I had (actually, am still having) a nightmare trying to get an account setup there. It just wasn't worth it. Horrible support as well. Mis-information and very un-friendly people (when they even respond at all). I'm going to shut my account down as soon as I get a new one setup. Assuming it even ever gets setup properly.
it's just not worth the savings in commissions when you have ineptitude on the phone and boilerplate e-mails as support. As someone earlier said, it's like dealing with a gov't agency; take your services as rendered but if you have a complaint or problem - stick it in your ass.
I kept bugging IB about futures permissions, went on for weeks, even after I did all the tests etc. Then, just for the hell of it, I opened TWS, created a ticker line for ES, and voila, it appeared. Tried to make and order line, and that worked too. I suspect some of you may be able to trade what you want, even though IB sayes otherwise. Good luck
"Be patient", I got that email too - it must be a form email. I was really pissed when I got it, but looking back on it, it is hilarious! I waited for two months to get the futures permissions after my acct was converted to Universal. I had the U acct number, but no indication of why the holdup. When I asked IB, I got the "patient" memo. Their infamous customer service! (def is the exception, of course) After weeks of waiting, I got an email that my account was classified incorrectly. It is (supposed) to be a corporate acct (professional) and I think was specified as a non-professional. They mailed me an information form for me to fill out and fax back. After I did this, the permissions were turned on in a few days. My understanding is they are having problems with a batch of accts getting the futures perms going. It was suggested to me that you can open a new acct and transfer the funds over, that would be quicker than waiting for them to get around to it - if you haven't tried that already. Hope this helps..
Since I hit them so hard its only fair that I update my experience here: Upon reading this thread (and contributing to it) I did more searches and came up with many posts by "def" who obviously is associated with IB. So, I decided to give them one more chance and PM'd him with my experience to see if he could help. Within minutes I had a response from him that he would look into my troubles. It happens, I think coincidentally, that my permissions finally cleared tonight but Def was extremely responsive, helpful and professional. He even had a support rep give me a call to be sure everything was setup properly. So, I will stay an IB customer for now. I still don't like the way the issue was originally handled, but it is nice to know that at least someone there cares about the customer. Def gets two thumbs up and, for now, IB gets the benefit of the doubt.
I just PM'd him as well, before you posted. I can't believe they'd expect their customers to wait weeks on end for the simple task of trading futures. As I stated before I've been with them for a over year and like the firm, but this has to be addressed a lot faster than waiting for some e-mail to show up.
To set the record straight, it's working now. Whether it was coincidence or if Def helped out - thanks to Def for jumping in and responding. Greatly appreciated. We've gotta get more people like him on this board from other companies as well - people who read posts and take action.
Just pm'd you back. I didn't do a thing other than ask someone to check your status and they said all was ok. I guess I've got the golden touch this week.