Schwab Files Legal Complaint Against TD Waterhouse Group, Inc. Alleging False and Misleading Advertising

Schwab Files Legal Complaint Against TD Waterhouse Group, Inc.
Alleging False and Misleading Advertising 


SAN FRANCISCO, March 14  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Charles Schwab
Corporation today filed suit against the TD Waterhouse Group accusing it of a
"pattern of deceptive, misleading and patently false advertising."

The complaint, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, contends a series
of TD Waterhouse ads represent a scheme to mislead both existing and
prospective Schwab clients and the general public and to disparage Schwab's
service and value. According to the suit, in recent years TD Waterhouse has
attempted to compete with Schwab, engaging in nationwide advertisement
campaigns which falsely and misleadingly disparage Schwab's brokerage services
and create the impression that Schwab's pricing is similar to a full commission
firm rather than to those of TD Waterhouse and other discount brokers.

Commenting on the complaint, Charles R. Schwab, Chairman and CEO said, "TD has
been running millions of dollars of advertising that misleads investors and
sullies our reputation with statements that are neither accurate nor fair. We
are approaching our 30th year as the leader in the discount brokerage business,
with a brand and a reputation that stands for good value and high quality
service. This kind of disparagement simply crosses the line of honesty and fair
play."

The complaint notes that TD Waterhouse had agreed in a written contract to stop
its false claims and disparaging descriptions of Schwab, but instead ran the
misleading ad at least 28 additional times in violation of the agreement.

"Before pursuing this legal action, Schwab urged TD Waterhouse to tell the
truth in its ads," said Bruce L. Simon of the law firm Cotchett, Pitre, Simon &
McCarthy of Burlingame, California, Schwab's counsel on the case. "They agreed
to stop, acknowledging the inaccuracy of their advertisements. However, instead
of honoring their promise, they continue to make false statements, leaving
Schwab no choice but to pursue this case."

Since 1975, Schwab has been one of the leading innovators in lower-cost
investing, providing high-quality investing services with low transaction
costs.

The suit accuses TD Waterhouse of fraud and deceit, unfair competition, false
advertising, disparagement of reputation, trade libel and breach of contract.
The complaint seeks damages and an injunction to stop the advertisements.

About The Charles Schwab Corporation

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE / Nasdaq: SCH), through its operating
subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage and financial services to
individual investors and the independent investment advisors who work with
them. With over 7 million individual investor accounts and more than $1
trillion in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the
nation's largest financial services firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co.,
Inc. (member SIPC) provides a complete range of investment services and
products, including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning
and investment advice; retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based
investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for
independent fee-based investment advisors. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank,
N.A. (member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) provides banking products and
services. The Corporation's other operating subsidiaries include U.S. Trust
Corporation (member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC). These
companies' Web sites can be reached at http://www.schwab.com/,
http://www.schwabbank.com/, http://www.ustrust.com/, and
http://www.cybertrader.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab



CONTACT:  Greg Gable of The Charles Schwab Corporation, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.schwab.com/

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