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1 point   posted on 09/23/08
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TradeKing


The online stock and options broker TradeKing (www.tradeking.com) is CORRUPT.



Problem #1



Effective August 28, 2008, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) suspended trading in the stock of PreMD Inc. (former symbol AMEX: PME, current symbol OTC: PREMF) and will initiate delisting proceedings.



Before the market opened on August 26, 2008, I had 1000 shares of PME in my joint account at TradeKing.



After the market opened, I tried to submit an online “buy” order on this joint account for 3000 more shares of PME with a limit price of $0.04. TradeKing displayed the following error message:



“For securities that are less than $2, we only accept online purchases of 5,000 shares or less. Please reduce the quantity of shares or call us at 1-877-495-5464 to place the order.”



Obviously, this error message is ridiculous because my order shows that I wanted to buy 3000 shares, which is less than 5,000.



I contacted TradeKing via the “Live Chat” service on their website. After I explained the problem to “Adam”, TradeKing’s representative, he replied:



Adam: Alright, you really shouldn't be getting that message.....we're working on getting that taken care of. In the meantime, you can give us a call and one of our brokers can help you with that.



At that point, I knew that TradeKing was pulling another dirty trick on me (see below for previous dirty tricks from TradeKing). I refuse to submit my orders by telephone; I did not open an account at an online brokerage company so I could place orders by telephone.



Clearly, somebody was trying to make it inconvenient for me to buy PME shares during the next-to-the-last day that PME stock would be listed on AMEX.



Idiots. They assumed I would only submit a “buy” order for PME on the joint account where I already held 1000 shares of PME. However, I have a second account at TradeKing (an IRA account).



I submitted the same order on my IRA account, and TradeKing accepted it. In a short time, my order was executed, and I obtained the 3000 PME shares.



I tried the same order again on my joint account, and the error message still appeared.



The fact that the error message appeared only on my joint account, not on other TradeKing accounts, shows that TradeKing had specifically programmed their software to target me.



Problem #2



On or about May 1, 2008, after Labopharm Inc. (symbol: DDSS) reported its 2008 Q1 results, I tried to submit an online “sell” order for 3000 shares of Labopharm that I held in my IRA account. TradeKing displayed the following error message:



“We are no longer accepting orders online for this particular security. Please call us at 877-495-5464 to place this order.”



I later posted a blog on TradeKing’s Community, questioning the cause of this error message.



TradeKing CEO Don Montanaro stated in a comment to my blog that his firm has received an alert about Labopharm through “a common data-sharing project in which we participate, along with the SEC, FBI, and other regulators and law enforcement officials”. The alert, according to Montanaro, flags Labopharm shares “for suspected or confirmed manipulation”.



However, another member of the TradeKing Community commented, “Strange...placed test orders for DDSS with Ameritrade, ThinkOrSwim, Fidelity - no messages.”



Finally, I sent an email to Labopharm, describing TradeKing’s claim about manipulation of Labopharm stock. Labopharm responded:



This came to our attention a few weeks ago, we looked into it with the help of NASDAQ. We are not aware of any manipulation of our shares nor is NASDAQ. We also have not been informed of any investigation on behalf of any regulatory body related to the manipulation of our shares.



Regards,



Jason Hogan

Labopharm Investor Relations





Clearly, somebody was trying to make it inconvenient for me to trade Labopharm shares online at TradeKing.



Problem #3



When I first opened my accounts at TradeKing, somebody at TradeKing would make random changes to my postal address in TradeKing’s records.



Then, TradeKing would attempt to send a letter to me. The postal service would return the letter to TradeKing as “not deliverable”. In response, without notifying me, TradeKing would block my accounts until I complained.



Here’s an excerpt from the final email message that I received from TradeKing:



Dear Mr. Bowyer,



This email is in response to your recent message sent to our Service email inbox. Thank you for your patience in awaiting this response.



I reviewed the account and we have now updated the address based on your instructions below. It appears as though we had the address line transposed.



Thanks

Dave Dusseault



David Dusseault | Director, Brokerage Operations

ddusseault@tradeking.com

Office – 877-495-5464

Fax 561-988-0131

5455 N. Federal Highway, Suite E, Boca Raton, FL 33487





Again, somebody was trying to inconvenience my online trading at TradeKing.





Who would want to inconvenience me?



Well, I previously worked for a “group” that is responsible for many international financial scandals. After I quit, the group was not happy, and they have been making problems for my family ever since.





If you have any questions or if you would like to receive an original copy of this message that includes screen shots, please feel free to contact me by email.



Jeffrey W. Bowyer (an American citizen)

jbowyer@seznam.cz

  Related to:  
ETFC E*Trade Financial Corp


Comments (2)

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utopius   83%     1 point   commented 438 days ago reply

Not really sure Tradeking is your problem. The problem is you're trying to buy penny stocks, which trade via pink sheets and usually "by appointment" with a human market maker. These market makers may not do electronic orders the way you'd expect an order to process for buying shares of GOOG.

My advice is to have some conversations with the TradeKing people, if possible, to understand what you are trying to do. But even more strongly, what the heck are you doing in penny stocks anyway? It's a market rampant with scammy "securities" due to low liquidity and obscenely low stock prices.

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abates   N/A     1 point   commented 438 days ago reply

Perfect point utopius, the markets for the two are entirely different, you need to understand how they differ before blaming tradeking


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