# Anyone else have trouble with Sharewatch online platform?



## tonster01 (7 Jun 2008)

I have recently changed brokers to Sharewatch,

Whilst the set up of the account was smooth and *************************,

Dealing with them seems to be, well...quite the opposite!

I have bought shares weeks ago over the phone after not being able to trade online as the platform simply wouldnt let me...fault of theirs!

Then now that I traded over the phone, my valuation for my portfolio remains the same and makes me wonder whether or not I have actually purchased these at all!

I have  emailed them..of course no response,

I also rang them and they said my account would be updated by the close of business that day...2 weeks ago..

Just wondering if any one else if having the same issues and are we as well paying more for a higher priced broker which may be  a bit more professional in terms of technology as well as customer care.


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## thomsk (7 Jun 2008)

Tonster - I can sympathise with you there. The platform is all in a mess. It does not seem to be the most smooth running, stress-free broker to deal with. I, too, have experienced problems with them.

It was crest membership that was the underlying reason for joining.
I would certainly ( and others I have spoken to ) have expected a more professionaly run outfit than have witnessed.

The IT dept leaves a lot to be desired! I think I would rather pay higher fees to a broker which inspires confidence.

In this day and age, I would not have thought that it's rocket science to have a platform that shows a true P&L balance?!! As for customer care, "who cares?" might be an apt company slogan.
I am wating until such a time that the whole thing works...which may or not happen. I think that the company could certainly do with a kick up the proverbial. Meantime, I will deal with other brokers, and pay the higher fees!


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## Ben Graham (10 Jun 2008)

I've found their online platform to be very poor and misleading.
There have been problems trading online - so much so that I now deal with them by phone. 

There have also been problems with trade reconciliation, which is rather worrying.

On the bright side they are generally very helpful when you contact them.

This state of affairs has led me to investigate an alternative Irish share dealing service.

At the moment I am trying to check out NIB's service. I intended to open one of their so-called "Prestige" accounts. Let's just say that, for the moment, they have made a very poor impression on me. That's before my even opening an account with them!

Can anyone recommend NIB's sharedealing service?


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## trader69 (10 Jun 2008)

I trade with sharewatch and have had problems also, but to be fair when the mentioned problems occured they were promptly sorted out, I rang a few brokers here in ireland and couldnt believe what they were charging for commision etc, One broker one of the biggest in the countrys commision charges including stamp duty was a massive 790 euros with a 20k trade, I will have to cheak out selftrade as mentioned by mercman and see if a a/c ca be opened with them.


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## Calico (10 Jun 2008)

I have funds sitting in my account that I am unable to use. In fact, I can't even logon anymore. Password re-sets never come & even when I am logged on there has always been an 'error' that stops me trading. I haven't had the chance to call them and get it sorted.

Wish I'd never opened up an accout with them.


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## trader69 (10 Jun 2008)

Calico said:


> I have funds sitting in my account that I am unable to use. In fact, I can't even logon anymore. Password re-sets never come & even when I am logged on there has always been an 'error' that stops me trading. I haven't had the chance to call them and get it sorted.
> 
> Wish I'd never opened up an accout with them.


Hello Calico, I am just after reading your reply about sharewatch, i too have had a few issues with them, i choose not to trade with their online system but instead to phone trade you will also get a better price with them by phone trading, Untill i find a broker who charges fair commision rates i will keep trading with them, One broker here wanted 795 euros for a 20k stg trade would have left me 100 euros profit, brokers here are way too gready and woint be getting my buisness untill they charge fair commision rates regards alan.


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## tribal (10 Jun 2008)

would ye not condsider spread betting. no commision, no CGT, just pay the spread. dont believe people when they say its for gamblers - the stock market is a gamble whataver way you play it so why not play it the cheapest way possible and avoid brokers completely!!


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## Ben Graham (10 Jun 2008)

tribal said:


> would ye not condsider spread betting. no commision, no CGT, just pay the spread. dont believe people when they say its for gamblers - the stock market is a gamble whataver way you play it so why not play it the cheapest way possible and avoid brokers completely!!


 
Yes. I have a spreadbet account. But you can't get the dividends this way. Also, in addition to having to be right about the direction of the share you are spreadbetting, you have to get the timing right.


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## tribal (11 Jun 2008)

ben - who do you  have the account with? timing doesnt have to be that important if you open a position on the farthest out contract


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## RedDevil (11 Jun 2008)

I have had trouble online have given up
Just did a deal by phone


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## tonster01 (11 Jun 2008)

I am glad to see I am not alone on this,

I have rang to complain yesterday and was told someone would ring me right back...surprise surprise ...I am still waiting!

Has anyone else dealt with NIB's service offering?

I have been considering changing to them


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## tribal (11 Jun 2008)

this service sounds intolerable to me. in what is a risky business what you cannot afford is a crap trading platform. withdraw money and go to new brokers


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## Calico (11 Jun 2008)

The worst thing from my pov is that I tried to make a trade a couple of months ago, couldn't and ended up giving up. Now the stock is up 40%. I should have done it some other way I guess but still....


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## tonster01 (11 Jun 2008)

Calico said:


> The worst thing from my pov is that I tried to make a trade a couple of months ago, couldn't and ended up giving up. Now the stock is up 40%. I should have done it some other way I guess but still....



Yes, I was in the same position, fortunately I have some consolation as I put a spread bet on..however I did lose out on the dividend aspect..its not all bad  but I know for next time!


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## thomsk (12 Jun 2008)

For those having probs with Sharewatch...
1) List down your concerns, then log on to their website.
2) click " help and support " and go to send an email. Choose "complaints" from the scroll down list.
3) Fire away with your list. I have - and HOPEFULLY someone will do something to change things around a bit - and take heed that the whole set - up is a complete f*** up, and needs sorting....this year sometime, maybe.
A pack of wolves work better than one on his own, if you get my meaning!


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## Ben Graham (20 Jun 2008)

Tribal,

Have one with Delta. Generally do quarterly trades.
Forgot to mention that I normally use a stoploss too.
(Just got stopped out of a recent position too. Ouch!)


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## ned (17 Jul 2008)

Sharewatch:
no response to emails--regular mistakes with online accounts--cheques sent in wrong currencies---delayed price feeds--changes in website-- without warning --very frustrating to deal with
Ned


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## efm (17 Jul 2008)

You could try as Peter Byrne their MD suggested anyone with a problem could do - see here


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## djustoe (17 Jul 2008)

i wanted to buy into the Iseq top 20 today on the online system, but for some reason, they wouldnt give me a price..
It wouldnt let me buy.
It said the market maker wouldnt give me a price..
What the hell is up with that?


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## bosra (17 Jul 2008)

Hi, 

Just was reading some of the posts above..As a trader, I would just make the following points. Spreadbetting may appear like a cheaper trading option but the commission costs are hidden or embedded in the wide spreads. These tend to be more exorbitant than you actually realise. These costs mean that the trade has to move more in order for you to achieve profit and you know yourself when you are daytrading, this may mean the difference between a failed trade or a profitable one. The spreads are usually wide enough to cause novice traders to fail and have to deposit more and more cash. If you are one of the lucky ones making bags of cash, well then you need read no futher. 
Online trading offers the low cost trading option..but this option is not for everyone. Trading involves alot of work. Money management is key. Knowing what size trades to use so you don't get margin calls is important...knowledge of alot of different markets...There are many different levels. For this reason, it is good to get advice from a broker. But I would spend time trying to find a good one. Not one that was telling me to buy banks and average down as they were going to the pits...A broker that is able to read markets properly.. If a broker is helping you achieve a 100% return on your account a year, you would not begrudge him a relatively good commission ..But alot of people think the Aldi option of low cost online will net them big time..I feel it doesn't ..Anyway, I would love to hear your opinions


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## smiley (18 Jul 2008)

bloody hell...i am with sharewath for almost 2 years now...i dont buy that often but when i do things have gone ok...ish.
they have made serious enough mistakes though.
...trade renconciliation mistakes..very worrying...
...looking for money when i paid from my cash account.....their back office doesnt seem to know what their front office was doing on a number of occassions.

you really have to study quite closely what happens after all buys/sells you make...just so they dont balls it up.


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## shnaek (21 Jul 2008)

It seems that the phone is the only way to go with these guys. Is anyone else getting a security cert problem when logging in over the past 2 weeks or so? I have sent them three mails about it over the last 2 weeks, with no response.


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## tonster01 (21 Jul 2008)

Yea, cant get any prices up on stock either, just phone them say whats happening and they will do the trades at internet prices though...

One too many problems with this broker for my liking to be honest at this stage...

SO SHAREWATCH...IF YOU ARE AS ACTIVE IN CUSTOMER CARE AS YOU SAY YOU ARE...TAKE A LEAF OUT OF RABODIRECTS BOOK AND LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING HERE AND SORT IT OUT!!


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## trader69 (21 Jul 2008)

shnaek said:


> It seems that the phone is the only way to go with these guys. Is anyone else getting a security cert problem when logging in over the past 2 weeks or so? I have sent them three mails about it over the last 2 weeks, with no response.


 Noticed that myself.


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## shnaek (23 Jul 2008)

trader69 said:


> Noticed that myself.



Got a mail from them anyway saying they are aware of this and are sorting it out.


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## FlyFishing (23 Jul 2008)

This is why i went with AIB Goodboys online.

It is slightly more expensive but if you take the buy and hold strategy then it doesn't really matter.

Trades are done on the same platform as your AIB on-line account and the monies is taken from your current account. It is a neat way to trade and I have had zero problems with it. The trade is effective immediately. (give or take 5 minutes)

If i want to add a stock that they do not quote , i email the same contact who always responds quickly. I , so far, never had had to chase up anything.

I had looked at sharewatch but the platform ( java or something ) is horrid. I never could understand why they couldn't just spend some money and make it much tighter and user-friendly.


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## Tigre (12 Aug 2008)

I have been a sharewatch client for about 5 years. Based on my experience they are a complete and utter disaster. Totally non professional and whats worse....they dont seem to care and its difficult to establish who is in charge. They always have an excuse, like 'we are currently updating our systems', but I have been hearing that for the best part of the 5 years and nothing has improved. Actually, I think things have got a lot worse. I have had to make so many complaints to them over the years, I am sorry that I didnt cut my losses and just get away from them. I am currently waiting for 4 weeks for a reply to an email, which concerned issues about their trading platform and other issues. 
Like many of you here, I have put in orders to dicover later that they werent in the system for various reasons. Then they offer to put them through the dealer and charge you online rates but when you get your contract notes they have charge you the phone rates.
Its one continuous saga after another and my advice to anyone considering opening an account with them, is to stay well away if you are looking for a professional service.


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## RedDevil (13 Aug 2008)

When I leave Sharewatch
What is involved in transferring the Crest Account


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## smiley (15 Aug 2008)

i wanted to buy US shares recently, only to find out they could only perform a 'sale' transaction at that time..and the US share deal service was out of action due to an upgrade of their computer systems....again.....

i also think im beginning to lose my patience with them

it really is one saga after another...

they really are very incompetent...


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## Calico (18 Aug 2008)

I've noticed you can never make big trades online with them. 

Also, I made a deposit to my account months ago which still hasn't shown up online. 

They tell me on the phone it's there but no sign of it on the web.


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## sharewatch (18 Aug 2008)

Hi everyone,

Peter from Sharewatch here. It has been a while since I was on the board but glad to see it is as busy as ever. One of the contributors below gave me a gentle reminder to pay a visit so here I am. I have taken note of the various issues below and will try and contact each and every person via private message (pm). Also readers are more than welcome to contact me any time if they have any questions or queries.

In the mean time let me tell you of big changes planned for Sept/Oct. The reason I am announcing this is because it will address many of the queries/issues below. 

Sharewatch is delighted to announce new partnerships with Bank of New York Mellon’s Pershing http://www.pershing.com/index.html and Echelon Wealth Management. Bank of New York Mellon’s Pershing is one of the World's largest clearing firms while Bank of New York Mellon http://www.bnymellon.com oversees $23 trillion of customers’ wealth. 

Pershing will replace Direct Sharedeal and execute, clear and hold all Sharewatch client equity trades. Clients will enjoy new online trading and back-office software, the ability to trade 45 markets worldwide, the ability to execute higher value online trades while also keeping our low charges. 

Echelon Wealth Management will replace Direct Sharedeal for admin and telephone trading for Equities, CFD's and Spread Betting. As a result of this partnership Sharewatch will be able to provide a CFD & Spread Betting platform via the world largest execution provider. It will include web and mobile platforms.

We are in the final stages of the project and will be writing to existing clients very shortly offering them the choice of moving to Bank of New York Mellon’s Pershing or staying with the existing provider. We will also advise clients on the date of change etc.

I hope this gives you a quick overview of our plans and we look forward to launching the new services. Askaboutmoney readers are the very first set of readers to hear our very exciting news. 

Best Wishes,
peter


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## efm (18 Aug 2008)

Dear Peter,

Nice bit of PR speak there. 

In relation to your proposed move to Pershings and Echelon - will your charging structure stay the same across the board or will there be additonal dealing, account, or other service costs added?

Also, how will Pershing be paid - via an agreed fee from Sharewatch or will they take an additional fee via the spreads on trading?

Will the Pershing and Echelon portfolio positions and trade entry be amalgamted to give a consolidated view from day one? 

What comfort can you give existing customers that the service levels will improve after the move?

What structures are you putting in place to ensure the levels of service provided by the companies you outsource to don't drop to an unacceptable level again?

What other retail white label offerings do Pershing support in the UK / Irish market so that Sharewatch customers could investigate any service issues?

Regards

efm


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## RedDevil (18 Aug 2008)

*New Member Firm for the Irish Stock Exchange *
January 20th, 2004: The Irish Stock Exchange has admitted Pershing Securities International Ltd as a new member firm of the Irish Stock Exchange. Pershing Securities International Ltd is a newly set up Irish based company whose ultimate parent company is The Bank of New York. 
It will provide financial services outsourcing, including clearing, settlement, custody and other administrative services on a Model A and Model B basis to Irish stockbroking firms and other firms located outside the UK.  
Under a Model A arrangement Pershing Securities International Ltd provides a " back-office for hire" service. Under a Model B arrangement Pershing Securities International Ltd will become the legal counterparty for trades and will adopt the settlement risk associated with those trades and as a result has a contractual obligation with the underlying client.  
Pershing Securities International Ltd's immediate parent Pershing Ltd and its sister company Pershing Securities Ltd provide Model A and Model B services in the UK respectively to over 100 correspondent firms and have done so for over 10 years.  
Pershing Securities International Ltd's membership of the Exchange will be restricted to providing settlement and clearing services on a Model A and Model B basis only. It is also authorised to provide nominee holding, custody and safekeeping facilities.  
The firm's contact details are:  
Pershing Securities International Ltd
4th  Floor
Embassy House
Herbert Park Road 
Ballsbridge
Dublin 4.
Ph:  + 353 1 436 3000
Fax: + 353 1 436 3001


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## RedDevil (18 Aug 2008)

Some more Information:
"In the United States and the United Kingdom, Pershing is the leading “clearing
broker” namely a firm to which the back-office securities functions of
financial intermediaries are outsourced. At present Pershing counts
approximately 600 financial institutions amongst its clients, through which
more than three million investors are serviced. Pershing provides services to
leading banks, broker dealers, credit unions and other financial services
providers. Pershing processes approximately 10% of the daily trading activity
on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and 10% of the daily trading
volume on the London Stock Exchange plc, has offices in key commercial
centres in the United States and has maintained a presence in London since
1987."


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## RedDevil (18 Aug 2008)

And more:

Since becoming a member of the Irish Stock Exchange at the start of this year, Pershing International Securities Limited has already signed up its first two clients, *Goodbody Stockbrokers* and *Bloxham Stockbrokers*.  	Pershing will provide a fully outsourced clearing and settlement service to Goodbody. Through its ‘Model A’ clearing services, Pershing will settle all of Goodbody’s client trades and issue contract notes in the firm’s name.

Bloxham Stockbrokers will outsource its trading, clearing and settlement to Pershing under its ‘Model B’ approach.

Under a Model A arrangement Pershing provides a ‘back-office for hire’ service, which involves the mechanics of the clearing process being outsourced to Pershing but nothing else. The correspondent continues to use its own name and balance sheet to support transactions and has responsibility for best execution, client suitability and other related issues. Under a Model B arrangement, Pershing Securities International Ltd will become the legal counterparty for trades and will adopt the settlement risk associated with those trades and as a result has a contractual obligation with the underlying client. 

This means that Pershing assumes full legal liability for the trade and responsibility for settlement and the transfer of stock from seller to buyer, managing the link with CREST. 

Pershing is a global provider of clearing and financial services outsourcing solutions to nearly 1,100 institutional and retail financial organizations and investment advisors who collectively represent more than 5 million individual investors. It is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York.


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## Calico (19 Aug 2008)

Just a separate point about trading via the phone - I've noticed any time I've had to place a trade the only information that has been requested of me is my username - I find that a little scary because anyone who may see my username can buy and sell as they like.

Am I right in believing that?


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## RedDevil (19 Aug 2008)

Made a trade within the past 30 minutes after giving my Username
I was asked by C what my actual name was
Previously they would state my actual name after I gave the Username
and about 10 days ago they stated the name of a different person


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## smiley (19 Aug 2008)

peter..thanks for replying....

i would also like an answer particularly to one of efm's  questions

What comfort can you give existing customers that the service levels will improve after the move?

many thanks


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## sharewatch (20 Aug 2008)

Reply


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## sharewatch (20 Aug 2008)

Please understand that I cannot answer all the questions above without turning this into a very long advert/sales pitch but happy to try and address some in general. 
The key point is that we will soon be providing a more expansive and better service with better internal and external software and keeping our low cost pricing strategy. 
Our new trading software will offer clients the ability to buys shares in 45 different markets and see the transactions on one client platform - at present the existing client back office only displays the Irish & UK transactions (US trades are not recorded here and this often cause confusion with clients). With many new systems available internally certain manual procedures will now become automated. Pricing structure for Irish and UK trades (although not completely finalised for ‘additional services’) will remain more or less the same. 
It is not for me to Disclose what other brokers are using the same system but RedDevil’s post above maybe helpful – cannot confirm the two he mentioned but know one of the other big Irish brokers (not mentioned) use exactly the same system.
I hope this goes some way towards answering a few of the questions above. As always if anybody has any queries you can contact me privately (PM) via this board and I will do my best to assist.  peter


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## tonster01 (30 Aug 2008)

sharewatch said:


> Peter from Sharewatch here. It has been a while since I was on the board but glad to see it is as busy as ever. One of the contributors below gave me a gentle reminder to pay a visit so here I am. I have taken note of the various issues below and will try and contact each and every person via private message (pm). Also readers are more than welcome to contact me any time if they have any questions or queries.



Peter , this is all well and good, I waited eagerly to see if we woulod indeed receive a PM as stated above but unsurprisingly to be honest, I personally have heard nothing from you,

As regards future plans for the company, these are good to have but I imagine keeping current customers and generating new ones one be of more importance and therefore would plead with you to prioritise this, 
I am only with you less than a year and to be honest, I think I would rather pay higher fees than to use the Sharewatch service again unless something drastically improves!


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## smiley (30 Aug 2008)

got to agree with you tonster1....i told my father to join up to sharewatch last year...i wont be telling anybody else unless things drastically change....but, its like listening to an old tune now...............

i dont think ive ever seen anybody compaining about any other stockbroker here...that says a lot.


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## trader69 (13 Sep 2008)

sharewatch said:


> Please understand that I cannot answer all the questions above without turning this into a very long advert/sales pitch but happy to try and address some in general.
> The key point is that we will soon be providing a more expansive and better service with better internal and external software and keeping our low cost pricing strategy.
> Our new trading software will offer clients the ability to buys shares in 45 different markets and see the transactions on one client platform - at present the existing client back office only displays the Irish & UK transactions (US trades are not recorded here and this often cause confusion with clients). With many new systems available internally certain manual procedures will now become automated. Pricing structure for Irish and UK trades (although not completely finalised for ‘additional services’) will remain more or less the same.
> It is not for me to Disclose what other brokers are using the same system but RedDevil’s post above maybe helpful – cannot confirm the two he mentioned but know one of the other big Irish brokers (not mentioned) use exactly the same system.
> I hope this goes some way towards answering a few of the questions above. As always if anybody has any queries you can contact me privately (PM) via this board and I will do my best to assist. peter


Hello Peter, I have been trading with sharewatch for 6 months and am interested in finding out the following, will i still be able to day trade frequently with iseq and ftse stock with sharewatch via the same freephone number,will the 0.4% buy and sell broker charge remain, Could you give relevent phone numbers including freefone numbers to sharewatchs new platform for buy and sell of stock, thanks.


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## Calico (16 Sep 2008)

I have to repeat my earlier post about Sharewatch. I just traded with them this morning over the phone. No problems & they did in a jiffy which is great. However, I'm aghast at how little security information is asked of me when I call them.

All they ask for is my client ID. No passwords, no security questions. And every time I've called I've been ask to confirm my name after it is called out to me which makes no sense.

Am I alone in finding this hard to fathom?


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## RedDevil (17 Sep 2008)

I despair with Sharewatch at this stage

I will not bother to list all their errors

Can anyone tell me how I can check My Personal Crest Account independently of them

So that I know that They have actually bought the share I am supposed to have traded


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## trader69 (17 Sep 2008)

RedDevil said:


> I despair with Sharewatch at this stage
> 
> I will not bother to list all their errors
> 
> ...


 Still waiting for my crest cert from shares bought over a month ago, didnt have a problem before, used to get crest cert withinn a couple of weeks before,  I also asked about new trading platform and when it would be Launched and was told that they have no date set yet?  I asked would i be able to buy stock from sharewatch when new platform was launched and was told only with the new platform so seems sharewatch will be handing all trading of stocks over to new outfit, wonder how smoothly this switchover will be with traders accounts?


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