Schwab's website went down twice after two 'denial of service' attacks -- so what was up?

I tried to call. Was on hold for 15 minutes. Could not place a trade, could not reach any one. Absolute nonsense (and by nonsense I mean outright lie) that phone trades were possible.

Ditto Mrsdeb’s comment. 15 minutes before the 4:00 pm ET close of the market session I tried to call, and could not reach a human being. It just isn’t so that you could talk to a rep to place a trade at that time (unless you were one of the lucky few already talking to a rep).

I tried using their automated phone system, Telebroker, and that did work. But that’s an awkward tool to use, particularly if you have more than one trade to make in a limited period of time. I had to rely on BATS quotes on a non-Schwab web site to get nearly real-time price data.

Getting through to Schwab during a problem is futile when there is a problem with their site. I learned my lesson during the FB ipo. It was an expensive lesson I don’t wish to repeat again.

Hi SchwabCusotmer,

I suggest getting familiar with Schwab’s Telebroker feature before a D.O.S. attack occurs again. It’s slow and a little awkward compared to one of Schwab’s trading platforms, but I’ve never found it to be unavailable. If you’re only trying to do one transaction at a time, it works pretty well.

You’d have to find another site to provide you with quotes, however. I think that even the free charts on Stockcharts.com will provide pretty much real time BATS quotes if I keep clicking the Refresh button on your browser. Other sites provide up to date free BATS quotes as well.

S__C__010

Tried to unload 175 contract of Put Option at $10.10 with the original cost basis of $13.65 10 minutes before the market closed yesterday but there was not a soul of response. I lost $176,750.00 today after I got rid of the large position at $1.00. To add insult to injury, THE TRADE DISPUTE TEAM arrorgantly turned things around and crucified me for getting off the phone at 4.08pm AFTER the market ALREADY closed instead of hanging on till they came on the line. Hence, they are NOT RESPONSIBLE for my LIFE SAVING LOSSES. Really Charles Schwab, you want me to stay on the phone for an INDEFINITE time after you ALREADY FAILED to come on the phone before the market closed at 4pm to sell my large position instead I’ve to lose $176,750.00 today. Not just you show no empathy for the innocent customer losses of their LIFE SAVING, you even discerningly tried to justify your firm unacceptable action regardless if it was intentionally or or not, the client does not care. The client wants to make sure they are with a secure and responsible firm and not a firm that try to run away from responsibility and obligation when problems arised. With that being said, Charles Schwab, you have the last chance to do the right thing now or your reputation and image is permanently tarnished.

What is the point of apologizing to the customer after you put the customer on hold for almost 20 minutes of outrageous wait time and missed the buying/selling opportunity at the right price. I don’t care about the apology, I just want to place my trade at the right price. You said you want me to understand you were experiencing extreme high call volume because of the website attack but who is going to understand the customer is losing money because of that? You are a brokerage firm not a convenient store.

It’ not right and professional to let the client wait for a good 22 minutes just to place a trade especially during crises like that. You are putting the client on the chopping board of losing money when he wants to execute a trade. The client does not deserve this at all despite what crises the firm is experiencing.

It’s now Friday, and I’m still experiencing a painstakingly, slow Schwab website again today (going on Day 3!) Would I be correct in assuming this is residual aftermath from the “denial of service attack?”

What is slow about it, Day Trader? My account seems to be okay but I’m not placing trades.

Brooke
RIABiz

Hey discussion , I Appreciate the details . Does someone know if my assistant might be able to access a fillable AU Form 16 version to type on ?