Customer Service

Tips for Best Service

IB offers a variety of ways to get assistance and information including phone support, secure inquiry/trouble tickets, chat and email submitted through our website. While you can ask the same question using any of these channels, depending on the nature of your inquiry, you will get the best and most efficient service by using the methods recommended below.

Phone Inquiries

Recommended where there is time sensitivity, for example, a problem with an order or trade. In general, IB will answer our phone lines within a minute. Funding/Banking inquiries usually take longer. We suggest Ticket or Chat instead of phone for the following areas: funding, tax, statements, dividend & corporate actions.

Inquiry/Trouble Ticket

A new secure form system, enables a question to be sent from Account Management that is delivered directly to our main Customer Service database system. From here, the question is routed to the specialist or team within IB's Customer Service that is certified in the particular area of inquiry. It is SMART routing for questions. You will get an immediate reference number for the ticket, and your question will be allocated to a service agent usually within 2 hours. Where possible, we will also provide an answer within this timeframe, but even if additional research is needed, you will know who is handling your case, and be able to track its progress.

Existing customers should take advantage of the secure inquiry/trouble ticket system accessible through the Message Center within Account Management. Existing customers may also submit inquiries using the form above, with the response being routed to their Message Center. Urgent or time sensitive questions should never be submitted via this form.

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Trading Requests

Trade Bust Requests
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone
Estimated Response Time: Under 30 Minutes

Execution or Liquidation inquiries
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Real-Time Margin/SMA inquiries
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Review Positions, Order Status, or Order Routing problems
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

General Margin/SMA Questions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

How to Enter Specialty Orders such as Combos, Bracket, Conditional Orders
Recommended Form of Contact: Chat
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Funds & Banking Requests

Wires and ACH Deposits and Withdrawal Questions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

ACAT/ATON problems
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

Statements and Tax Forms questions (e.g. 1099)
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

IRA Contributions/Distributions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

Credit/Debit Interest
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

Corporate Actions (Dividends, Mergers, Tenders, etc.)
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Email
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

All other funding/banking questions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

All Other Topic Requests

New Account Application questions
Recommended Form of Contact: Chat/Ticket
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Technical (login, java, TWS installation, etc)
Recommended Form of Contact: Chat/Phone
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Resetting Passwords (identity verification required)
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone only
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Problems with the Option Exercise Window
Recommended Form of Contact: Phone/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Real-time

Market Data Subscription questions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

Website problems
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

Account Upgrades and Trading Permissions
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

Fee Inquiries, Commissions, Cancellation fees, Market Data Charges
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Email
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day

Basic Order Entry, Order Types, Symbol Entry, and Web Trader inquiries
Recommended Form of Contact: Chat/Ticket
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day (this information is also readily available on the IB website)

Pattern Day Trading inquiries
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Email
Estimated Response Time: Same Day

All other inquiries
Recommended Form of Contact: Ticket/Chat/Email
Estimated Response Time: Within 1 Day