Hi, I signed up here to alert others...hope this helps someone! $35 Fee I would like to alert everyone that if you stop trading with TransAct Futures for a year, they will begin charging you a $35 fee every month. Although this is of course mentioned in the contract you sign, I, like many others I’m guessing, based on the phone call I had, forget about this. I ended up losing about $200, but that loss was nothing compared to how I was treated. My Bad Experience When asking the customer service rep about this charge, I immediately accepted that I had signed the contract. I realize he didn’t make this rule, and I always believe in being kind. When I suggested TransAct give a courtesy email or phone call to remind its clients this fee will go in to affect soon, I felt like the customer service rep suddenly went into defense/attack mode on me. I was shocked. Out of respect for other clients, I knew I needed to report his attitude to his supervisor. I briefly explained his behavior and was told the call would be reviewed, but I wasn’t left with the impression that the supervisor cared that any of this had happened to me. I then realized I had forgotten to leave the courtesy reminder suggestion with the supervisor, so I called back in hopes this won't continue happening to others (the more people who speak up, the better, right?). The original rep answered, and before asking to be transferred, my heart went out to him, and I asked if he hadn’t meant to treat me that way and was perhaps just having a bad day. He explained that his wife was in the hospital and that he is used to calls about the $35 fee not ending well. I wished he and his wife well. However, sadly, it sounds like he’s used to getting quite a few angry callers over this issue, so much so that he immediately goes into defense mode, which means this same happens to many people. When I spoke to his supervisor to suggest giving clients a courtesy reminder that they’ll soon be charged $35 every month, I was left with the impression that he didn’t care, which was disturbing. I figured since my reason for calling in the first place was to protect others, the best way to do that is to alert others online. Sorry to have to write an unsatisfactory review. :/ Closing Remarks Perhaps other brokers do the same thing? Most traders are used to losing money, so I guess what’s $35 a month? Still, it’s the principal here that matters. I will say that while I traded with TransAct, the couple times I called, Bill Zimmerman, who no longer works there, was always professional, respectful, and helpful. The customer service was good, and I never had any issues. However, based on how I was treated by upper management, I didn’t get the feeling they put their customers first, and that’s scary when money is involved. Sadly, for that reason, I don’t think I would ever choose to trade with TransAct again unless management changes. :/ Although to be fair, they probably constantly deal with very angry customers losing a lot of money, so they’ve probably had to develop a hard shell due to this. Again, I had no problems with them until this—just make sure you don’t forget about this fee if you ever trade with them! We all trade to make money, not lose it. Happy trading everyone!
Hi everyone, $35 Fees Normal? Okay, so I'm wondering if these $35 fees are normal for brokerages to charge people? I realize I shouldn't have left my money sitting there, but I didn't have much there, and it's a hassle signing up for a new account if I decided to trade again. Charging $35 every month simply for not trading seems excessive to me and unfair--even if it is normal. I know I won't get my money back, but I may report this to FINRA, because these types of practices need to stop. They may not do anything, but if people don't speak up, they for sure won't. I'm a big believer in fighting injustice, and if it happens to me, I then feel responsible for making sure it doesn't happen to others. Edit on My Closing Remarks Above I should clarify that I didn't use all the features of TransAct Futures. TransAct is where I had my money when I traded, but I didn't use their graphs or trading software, so I can't speak for that. Mainly, I just dealt with them when I opened my account, and then, unfortunately, when I took my money out. I never had any problems with my trades...other than the method I was using! Ha!
Where did you get your market data? Was TransAct charging for that or included with the account? If so, they were paying the market data on your behalf and depending on what exchanges you had access to, that could very easily be more than $35/mo. They also have regulatory issues to deal with for each account. It's not that uncommon for brokers that offer competitive commissions / cater to "active traders" to have minimum monthly commissions. For example, Interactive Brokers has a $10/mo minimum commission and they charge separately for market data. You could easily be over $30/mo in market data + minimum commission fee depending on what data you're subscribed to without executing a single trade. Counter that with long term investor oriented brokers who generally don't charge for market data or have minimum commissions/inactivity fees, but their commissions are typically higher per trade to make up for it. I want the best of all worlds, but unfortunately it's difficult to get that in most areas. The short of it is that you should be familiar with their fee structure and whether or not there are inactivity fees, market data fees, commissions, even costs to transfer money to/from the account. I think $35 sounds high for inactivity fee, but if they don't charge market data (or discount it somehow), then I think it is pretty much in line with what I'd expect. Mind sharing what market data and news services you had access to through them and what you were paying for it? Could be the $35/mo doesn't even cover their costs depending on what they included.
Ask them if they would refund the fees if you put some trades through. I did this with one of my brokers and they were happy to refund me.
Lee, Thank you for that information and for your response. I was just using Ensign software for my charts (which I loved using BTW!) and was watching the S&P 500 E-Mini, so that's where I was getting market knowledge, although all I was doing was watching for the right signal in the market. I do remember TransAct charged fees for each transaction when I was trading, but I don't remember what they were, but I thought they were fair. My main objection was that I had stopped trading, and they charged an inactivity fee that to me, seemed excessive, and when I voiced that I had completely forgotten and wished I had remembered, I didn't feel they cared at all. I'm used to customer service showing compassion and empathy, even if they can't help you, so their reaction just really shocked me. The way they treated me was worse than the fee, because I believe in treating people with kindness and respect, especially someone who had been a client. Visaria, Thank you for your advice! I spoke with the head person in charge that could refund me--at least that's what he said, and sadly, he said no (though I didn't ask about doing more trades--it's been a while since I've traded, so that would be an involved process for me, but it's a great idea!). He also tried to imply he was the top person at TransAct Futures, but based on his title, I knew that wasn't true (that made the whole thing feel shady to me, especially with how they charged what felt like an excessive fee and then came across flippant about it). Rather than continue trying to get in contact with the top people (I found their names on ZoomInfo), who might only respond as he did, I just decided it would be more effective to alert others online, as helping others was my main objective anyway. What brokers are you with if you don't mind saying? They sound like fair people who respect their clients! That's refreshing to hear.
Thank you...love your country, BTW. I got to spend a few weeks over there, in the Cotswolds, and it was magical...I loved the appreciation for beautiful, delicate things, afternoon tea, and the kind people...hope to return some day.