My Failed Attempt to get an ETrade Savings Account

Although I have been very happy with ING Direct, I had heard eTrade Bank offered good service and competitive rates. With a $25 signon bonus, I though it was worth checking out.

Unfortunately, Etrade's online signup process is not hassle free. After recieving the test deposits (about $1.50), my online account wouldn't let me verify the transaction initiating my account. With no guidance from Etrade (online or by e-mail), I was forced to call the helpline.

After 10 minutes on hold, I spoke with a very nice woman who could barely speak English. According to her, I had to write down a phone number and fax a copy of my SS card and driver's license to it. When she could not explain why, she put me on hold for 5 minutes while she got another person on the phone. Although he spoke better English, he could not explain why it was required and was quite rude.

Feedback for ETrade:
1. I don't fax copies of my DL and SS# to blind numbers provided over the telephone by people I don't know - EVER!!
2. If you need documentation, you should inform consumers during the signup process what documents will be required and an easy way to transmit them (i.e. preprinted forms)
3. If a consumer is halfway through a signup and needs to provide documents, you might want to send him an e-mail telling him what the next step is.
3. You might want to answer your phone in a reasonable time period and you might want to have nice CSR's answer the phone.

Bottom Line - No Etrade account for me.