An Absolute Bureaucratic Nightmare
An Absolute Bureaucratic Nightmare – Avoid for Custodial Accounts. We opened an Interactive Brokers custodial account for our daughter, who does not even know it exists. The moment she turned 18, Interactive Brokers completely locked us out of the account. For six long months, we have been completely paralyzed. We cannot make trades, we cannot withdraw the funds, and our capital is effectively being held hostage. The transition process they mandate is entirely broken and full of logical dead ends. We were told to open a new, non-custodial account to transfer the assets out. However, the system completely blocks us from opening a new account under our existing User ID. When we attempt to create a completely new account with a new User ID, the system rejects it, claiming we "already exist in the system." Customer service offers zero help to bypass this glitch. Meanwhile, Interactive Brokers is sitting on our daughter’s money, completely blocking our access, and collecting interest on capital that isn't theirs. This is a severe system failure and a predatory customer experience. Do not trust this broker with UGMA/UTMA or custodial accounts unless you want your funds frozen for months when your child reaches adulthood.