UK: Charles Schwab shares web site crashes (crosspost)

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UK: Charles Schwab shares web site crashes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Schwab shares web site crashes

By Simon English

www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac...sch07.html link

CHARLES SCHWAB, Britain's biggest internet stockbroker, suffered an emergency yesterday when a "power surge" blew out the company's electronic channels and crashed its Web and phone dealing operations.

The debacle left Schwab's 160,000 customers unable to either buy or sell between noon and the market close. Callers to the phone line were told: "Due to an emergency, we are unable to gain access to our offices at present. We apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience caused by factors beyond our control."

This latest incident will add to watchdogs' concern about the volumes of business from private investors flooding through the internet and brokers' ability to cope with demand.

The Financial Services Authority has been particularly concerned that investors may not be able to get through to sell shares in the event of a market crash, leading to a meltdown in their assets.

Charles Schwab said yesterday that it would not compensate customers who have missed out through being unable either to sell a stock that fell or to buy one that rose. It has recruited more people to deal with the boom in business and says "call waiting" time is now down to three minutes from 15 minutes a month ago.

A spokesman blamed the failure yesterday on a "power surge" but said it was not connected with the volume of business it is dealing with. About 60,000 of its 160,000 UK customers trade online.

Before Christmas, some stockbrokers were refusing to open new accounts, admitting that they could not service existing customers properly.

-- (link@link.now), March 07, 2000

Answers

The Financial Services Authority has been particularly concerned that investors may not be able to get through to sell shares in the event of a market crash, leading to a meltdown in their assets.

Meltdown in assets........unexpected candor, here.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), March 07, 2000.


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