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wtf chase
wtf chase (@guest_1801902)
February 23, 2024 03:44

Submitted CFPB complaint for bait and switch. Will report back

wtf chase
wtf chase (@guest_1803962)
February 27, 2024 16:59

“We are in receipt of your complaint filed with the CFPB. This complaint was reviewed by management. The promotion you had applied for had expired several months prior and was not a valid promotion at the time of your application. As your account has not yet funded, and due to the promotion having expired several months prior, we will not be able to apply this promotion to your unfunded account.”

tuphat
tuphat (@guest_1996675)
February 3, 2025 10:13

FWIW – Personally, I wouldn’t bother with CFPB for next four years. Possibly better approach:

Take a look at your account agreement, for terms related to disputes. Almost all agreements will have binding arbitration clauses, which also set out terms for notice, filing, etc. At least half of ones I have looked at provide that the bank/broker will pay the customer’s filing fees.

So: Write bank/broker a letter outlining the dispute, the amount demanded etc, and tell them you intend to file arb claim. Many will respond with a settlement offer. If they don’t, go to arbitration.

ETA: If you really did miss a deadline, fail to satisfy requirements, etc., chalk it up & move one. Just, like, my opinion, man.

Robert
Robert (@guest_1996681)
February 3, 2025 10:21

year old post

tuphat
tuphat (@guest_1996726)
February 3, 2025 11:11

oops
why is it pinned?

vc
vc (@guest_1997003)
February 3, 2025 15:09

So that we don’t forget.

Also, I would certainly file CFPB before going the legal route. Less hassle and actually shows those in charge that the CFPB is still useful. Also, when you file w some orgs, like BBB, they ask if it’s in litigation. They won’t intervene if it is.

I also think that we need to get these things on record so that they’re held accountable and/or others are warned. If you settle, they can make you sign an NDA and no one will know about their dirty deeds.

sam
sam (@guest_1996783)
February 3, 2025 11:56

God strategy.

Although, the consumer-advantage heyday for arbitration is long passed. Back in the day, you could usually get a quick $1,000-2,000 settlement from just a demand letter. Lending institutions hated the arbitration process for small claims, and would pay a nuisance settlement to avoid the hassle.Some of us were filing a few dozen of them a month.

AAA and JAMS are more business friendly these days, so some companies will put up a big fight to deter word getting out that they are easy marks for arbitration shakedowns.

There is also a consumer blacklist at AAA, and they will not accept cases from repeat filers unless the consumer gets a court order compelling arbitration.

J2🤓
J2🤓 (@guest_1997221)
February 3, 2025 18:03

“a few dozen a month” are you a crook?

Jack
Jack (@guest_1998612)
February 5, 2025 13:00

I like the way they think! They’ve got moxy!

sam
sam (@guest_1998763)
February 5, 2025 17:00

See my reply below to Jack.

It all began because the lenders and other companies were the crooks. They, essentially, purchased a private legal system and used it against consumers.

Jack
Jack (@guest_1998613)
February 5, 2025 13:01

sam How long ago was this? Wish I was around to do this back in the day!

sam
sam (@guest_1998762)
February 5, 2025 16:59

2005-2009 is when the consumer gold rush happened. But the cause of it dates back a lot earlier.

Lenders knew they had near-absolute immunity from lawsuits because of the National Arbitration Forum debacle.

NAF was in most credit card agreements at the time, and they were rubber-stamping awards against consumers for debts + massive additional fees.

For example, if you couldn’t pay your $500 Cap1 bill, you would eventually end up with a $5,000 arbitration award that would be converted into a court judgment, wage garnishment, etc. Cap1’s business model back then was to give out small credit lines to people they knew would default, and multiply them by 10 or more via the scam. Then attach their wages for decades.

In addition, if a consumer sued a lender for a consumer law violation, the case would be moved to NAF where it would die. Courts had no choice but to move the case to NAF because of the Federal Arbitration Act.

As it turned out, NAF was indirectly owned by one of the nation’s largest collection agencies. It was an outright scam against consumers. The arbitrators were paid off to find for the companies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_(alternative_dispute_resolution)

Many consumers made $100,000+ a year, and some made millions, by using the arbitration agreements against companies which violated consumer protection laws on purpose. Most of the contracts contained a choice between NAF and AAA or JAMS. AAA and JAMS were more honest, and were expensive for the companies because they had to pay most or all of the arbitration costs. So if a consumer filed a case in AAA or JAMS, the companies would settle to avoid the costs.

Most companies were caught off guard by this situation. But, eventually, they learned to re-write their arbitration clauses to put an end to much of it.

Even so, consumer arbitration through AAA or JAMS is still a powerful leverage to use for small cases against companies with arbitration clauses in their contracts.

Jack
Jack (@guest_2002121)
February 10, 2025 20:19

Wow. That sounds awesome. Wish I was old enough back then! How much did you make?

Master Allan
Master Allan (@guest_2079713)
June 17, 2025 15:12

Update from my post below. Received a $150 referral credit in May after inquiry instead of 2 x $75 for the bonus. Let it ride through the fast half of June to see if I would get the SUB (review discussion) but no dice.

Going to cashout SGOV and close. Platform not for me. Did not get the inactivity fee like Chris below as I had been buying and selling multiple 1 shares of SGOV to create trade activity. No loss, just an unimpressive $662 balance.

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2081229)
June 19, 2025 16:59

Too bad it didn’t work out. I didn’t get my 2nd $75 surprise for June so I’m also closing once the fund withdrawal is complete. At least I bagged the $150 + and extra $75 – $10 inactivities fee for both P1 + P2. Still worth it, time will tell if they ever allow for a 2nd churn.

Chris
Chris (@guest_2079543)
June 17, 2025 12:49

These clowns really charge a 10 inactivity fee monthly if you don’t make 10 trades in 90 days or have 5k in assets. Closing asap

Master Allan
Master Allan (@guest_2065660)
May 22, 2025 02:11

$150 promo paid in a lump sum.
2/3 – Applied and opened
~4/1 – Bought some SGOV as recommended by others
~5/15 – Noticed no payout but others on the same timeline had received. Initiated a chat and someone would research. Read in this thread the promo was glitchy
5/19 – Received $150 (which would be April & May’s $75)

Otherwise highly dislike the interface which I find confusing and difficult to navigate. Though I strongly push the banking rule of not closing immediately after a promo bonus the customer service, faithless promo terms, and difficult site encourage me to get out quick.

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2065772)
May 22, 2025 10:14

Master Allan Nice, what did the lump $150 posted as in your transaction history (Accounts> Activities> Cash)?

Master Allan
Master Allan (@guest_2065775)
May 22, 2025 10:21

$150 posted as a referral credit

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2065806)
May 22, 2025 10:57

Master Allan I also received a $150 lump. Unless you really need to withdraw the funds it may be worth your wild to let it ride for the time being till next month. You may get an additional $75 bonus surprise.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tradestation-deposit-500-earn-150-bonus/#comment-2048956

My bonus transaction posted differently than others and was intrigue on whether the “glitch” may have affected my account too. So I let it sit for another month after to see if doing so would trigger the original offer. Sure enough I received my first proper $75 bonus on 5/12 labelled, “TradingView Cash Credit 05/25 $75.00”. I’m letting it ride to see if the second $75 will materialize next month. Hopefully you didn’t drain funds yet and this intervention/experiment works for you and others. No guarantees, HTH.

Master Allan
Master Allan (@guest_2065824)
May 22, 2025 11:10

That’s advice I can think over. I almost transferred this a.m. out of concern of inactivity fees but maybe I can do a series of SGOV trades and reset any idle clocks. An extra $75 on top of my now $650 would be worth a little extra investment time.

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2066166)
May 22, 2025 19:03

I thought about doing all that, bit of a hassle. For another potential $75, I’ll probably absorb the $10 inactivity fee just for convenience. If it doesn’t payout I’ll still be ahead $150+$75-$10=$215. We’ll see how this goes next month with an update. You do you, GL!

RDH
RDH (@guest_2060475)
May 13, 2025 18:14

Took a while but no issues with this one. DP below:

2/3: Opened
2/8: $500 deposit (never invested any of it)
4/10: $75 bonus issued
5/13: $75 bonus issued

Went ahead and pulled everything out and will close account this summer. No fees from what I can tell.

Demitri
Demitri (@guest_2061231)
May 14, 2025 21:18

Same timeline as you. I see mention of a fee if you do less than 10 trades btw in the other comments. I might close soon, not sure yet

sel
sel (@guest_2059671)
May 12, 2025 10:19

company is a scam!

DP
2/3 Opened
2/7 Deposited $500
4/10 $75 cash credit
5/10 – received $33.75 credit
5/12 – messaged asking why I only received $33.75 – was told there is a futures data fee (free for 3 months, but they made me keep the account open this long) and was told there is a monthly inactivity fee

only ended up getting $108.75 which is still not bad for $500 but I am closing this account ASAP

Bedu
Bedu (@guest_2060177)
May 13, 2025 10:31

It was mentioned multiple times in this post. To avoid this fee, people recommended buying 5x SGOV and selling 5x SGOV to complete the 10 trades to avoid the fee

Daniel
Daniel (@guest_2058298)
May 9, 2025 10:25

Was fully expecting the 2nd $75 payment today. But, didn’t get it. Did anyone else?

2/5: Opened acct; $501
4/10: First $75 payout

TRJ
TRJ (@guest_2058844)
May 10, 2025 06:32

Same here. I am guessing that we get it Monday, May 12 since May 10 is a Saturday. We shall see.

Demitri
Demitri (@guest_2059825)
May 12, 2025 16:33

Just checked, I didn’t receive the 2nd payout either as of 05/12

Victor
Victor (@guest_2060154)
May 13, 2025 09:30

received 2nd $75 payout on 5/12, first payout was 4/10.

Daniel
Daniel (@guest_2060158)
May 13, 2025 09:44

Got mine today too

Bedu
Bedu (@guest_2060180)
May 13, 2025 10:31

Received second $75 payout for both P1 and P2 today

Chris
Chris (@guest_2060884)
May 14, 2025 11:59

Got second $75 bonus plus an additional $75 credit that’s just labeled ‘Platform’. The bonus was labeled ‘TradingView Cash Credit’.
I withdrew everything.

geico
geico (@guest_2053985)
May 3, 2025 11:55

DP P1 + P2
2/4 Opened
2/4 Deposited $500
4/9 $75 cash credit

Waiting for 2md $75 cash credit on 5/9.

First time account with TradeStation.

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2048956)
April 23, 2025 21:43

DP P1 + P2
2/4 Opened
2/4 Deposited $500
4/8 Chat inquiry
4/14 Bonus $150 (Shows Commission Fees in Description)

Overall for $150 bonus with just a $500 deposit (no investment/trades) this was relatively good. No Chex or credit pull. Only issue was the DPs concerning timely or non-payout. I wasn’t feeling it with these guys considering the DPs so I initiated the chat inquiry about the bonus payout, glad I did. Was reassured that $75 + $75 would be deposited within 7-10 business days. Surprised that they payed out the FULL $150 without waiting another month ($75+$75). Found in Acct history > Activity > Transaction type ‘Cash’. I’ll take it as a win.

Summer
Summer (@guest_2049059)
April 24, 2025 01:16

assuming this was your first account with them?

Tikky 🔗 👈
Tikky 🔗 👈 (@guest_2049295)
April 24, 2025 12:53

Yes.

Summer
Summer (@guest_2046000)
April 18, 2025 06:24

CHURNING IS DEAD with TradeStation.

Even tried the CFPB route and they said under no circumstances will they credit the bonus to someone who previously had an account with them.

I’m pulling my money out. Guess no point in closing it since it can’t be churned anyways but I will not use their platform or services which suck anyways.

Gadget 🕵️‍♂️ Bank Bonus Geek 🔗
April 16, 2025 18:32

Tried the churn & failed. I chatted with them earlier today (no wait), and within minutes told I didn’t qualify for the promotion as I have earned a bonus before. Not going to fight it and cashing out and closing ASAP. Waste of time and now another tax form to track down next year for my $9(?) in dividends.

Summer
Summer (@guest_2046001)
April 18, 2025 06:24

samsies!