Ameritrade - ESPP agreement changed - charged for fees on the account - $50 fee to transfer shares to new administrative agency

Complaints.com received the following on March 6, 2003:

From: Mark Hunt [Email User]

RE: Ameritrade - ESPP agreement changed - charged for fees on the account - $50 fee to transfer shares to new administrative agency

I'm complaining about Ameritrade and seeking advice about the administration of Employee Stock Purchase Programs. As an employee of Veeco Instruments (VECO) I've taken advantage of the company's ESPP for two years and received two purchases of stock. I was given the impression in the beginning that there were no fees for employees participating in this program. The transitions of administration for this program have been very confusing. At first Veeco went through AST StockPlan then through National Discount Brokers who were acquired by Ameritrade and participants in the ESPP were required to open an Ameritrade account to receive the stock purchased for us.

My first statement from Ameritrade reflecting this stock balance (32 shares) is for the 01/01/02-01/25/02 period when I first received my Veeco stock. At some point during the year of 2002 Ameritrade changed the terms of their stock account agreements however they did not notify me that this account was affected. Ameritrade claims that they notified their corporate client (Veeco) and that Veeco's HR department should have notified us of the change in terms and our choices and deadlines for opting out. The intention of this account from the beginning was for no-cost long-term holding of the Veeco stock from the ESPP and not for trading. I first discovered on my Ameritrade statement for 11/30/02-12/31/02 that Ameritrade was now charging maintenance fees on the account. I have never agreed to this. They must get away with this with two subsidiary

agreements: that anything they temporarily post on some web page somewhere is considered substantial notification and that if you have an account with them for some days past this posting you must have automatically agreed to whatever it was. Meanwhile, the new administrative agency for the ESPP is Salomon Smith Barney (who hold 255 shares for me). Normally, due to the nature of the account, stock cannot be transferred into such an account. But SSB has been very willing to help me consolidate all my Veeco stock into a long-term holding account without fees.

However, Ameritrade has refused to any kind of transfer of the stock without the costly fees associated with a standard trading account (approximately $50). I can't leave the stock with Ameritrade because they will continue to charge maintenance fees (that I never agreed to) until no value is left in the account! Also, Ameritrade

is requiring me to refile the "Corporate Stock Service Account Application" before I do anything with the account. I have spent many hours on the phone with our ESPP representatives, with Salomon Smith Barney, and with Ameritrade trying to resolve this.

Comment On This

Several years I was advised to buy $5000 in a sure thing Wall Street Stock by a "reputable broker". The stock tanked and the brokerage firm went belly up. Several years later, after the zero balance statements stopped arriving in my mailbox, I began getting email from Ameritrade saying I owed them money. They bought my dormant account worth $0.0 when they picked up the assets and toxic assets from the defunct broker and they have been trying to extort a "dormant fee" from me. I now owe them $35.00 and its growing at a compound rate. Soon I'll owe them $100.00 for nothing. These guys ought to go to jail for this kind of sleezy practice... it's extortion. I do not recommend this company to anyone.

STANTON MCCLAIN

PASADENA CA