Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch
Trading app Robinhood is expanding its live customer support following a heated Congressional hearing this month.
The company said it will double the number of full-time representatives this year and expand to new areas.
Representatives grilled Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev last week after a GameStop stock trading frenzy in January.
Stock-trading app Robinhood is expanding its live phone support and doubling the number of representatives after the company s lack of customer assistance came under fire at a Congressional hearing last week.
In a blog post Monday, Robinhood said users will have access to a registered financial representative by phone to help with a broader range of issues, including account security and open or recently expired options positions. It plans to expand to more situations as well, such as trading and transfer issues.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the assets of his platform s users have collectively grown by more than $35 billion. Tenev was challenged on this point by lawmakers,
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February 18, 2021
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The much-anticipated GameStop hearing went on for hours, with lots of confrontation between the witnesses and the dozens of committee members, and the day trader behind the Reddit-fueled GameStop craze firing back.
“The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors is preposterous, said Keith Gill.
Keith Gill is the Reddit user who inspired a flock of investors to pour money into GameStop and other shorted stocks, sending them to record highs before prices crashed, a so-called “short squeeze.” He defended himself in a virtual hearing with the House Committee on Financial Services Thursday, saying despite previous jobs in insurance and finance, he’s not a savvy investor. He insists his posts boosting the company were nothing different than what people do with family or friends.
Lawmakers to grill Robinhood CEO, Roaring Kitty Thursday in hearing regarding GameStop stock
John Minchillo/AP
Pedestrians pass a GameStop store on 14th Street at Union Square, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Robinhood and other online trading platforms are moving to restrict trading in GameStop and other stocks that have soared recently due to rabid buying by smaller investors. GameStop stock has rocketed from below $20 to more than $400 this month as a volunteer army of investors on social media challenged big institutions who has placed market bets that the stock would fall. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)