Quote from klepto84:
I moved to scotia itrade in Jan from a full service broker to save $$ and take charge of my investments. After a few months I closed the itrade account and moved to Virtual Brokers.
Itrade's customer service was horrible. Long phone waits, poorly trained and in some cases rude. There were many "service" disappointments but the worst was....
I was given incorrect information regarding converting a LIRA account to a LIF by an itrade service person--supposedly the itrade resident expert..
After checking other financial sites and confirming the correct information with the Ont agency that oversees pensions, I emailed to ask for a clarification. I received a phone call from the same person who had provided the incorrect information disputing the correct information and telling me that I should "trust my broker not people I don't know......"
I moved to VB and couldn't he happier with the service, the fees, the trading platforms, and the investment tools. itrade, like most discount brokers forces currency conversion in registered accounts. Which costs a lot of money when trading U.S. stock. With VB I hold U.S. and Canadian equities and cash and I control the conversions. This has saved me money in fees and has made U.S. investments a lot more attractive.
VB's customer service is world class. I'm saving money on fees and couldn't be happier.
Check them out!