What exchanges are you using? I'm currently using Bitstamp, I have no issues so far, it inspires security to me. However, it only offers a small variety of coins (BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, LINK, XLM) and a few others, at the same time though, its fees are quite high, at 0.5%.
Looking back and my transaction history, I've spent a respectable amount in fees, which is definitely a waste of money.
I've also used Kraken, but didn't really like its design and layout, I don't remember why I moved my funds to Bitstamp though, long time has passed since then, and I've got no clue.
Don't use Bitstamp. They've got a notorious reputation for draconian KYC as well as being super nosy about proof of income and stuff like that which are usually not assessed in normal KYC/AML.
0.5% fees are also absurd imo. It doesn't make sense to pay that much unless a) this is your only way of getting fiat into BTC and b) you are definitely planning on holding BTC for the very long haul.
I never had any issues with verification and so on, I remember verifying with my ID/Driver's license only and wasn't asked anything else since then. However, I've heard about harsh KYC measures and other incidents from other members here. I wouldn't be really happy if it ever happened to me. I have these coins since 2014, I can't even remember how I got some of them, if they ever ask me.
If you are an active day trader making numerous bid and ask orders just in a single day, that 0.5% will really hurt you a lot. Imagine making 10 orders in a day, you are already charged 5% all in all with that. That's too high.
I know, I hadn't thought about it till I opened my transaction history. I'm not a daily trader, but depending on the circumstances, I'll trade 3-4 times a week, if we take into account 0.5% for every trade, it's a tremendous amount I could have saved if I was in another exchange. (for 0.01 BTC which costed somewhere around 370€, I'd have to pay approximately 2 + 2 euros to buy and sell. It might not seem excessive at first, but if you totalize your 10,20,30 transactions, multiply it by 2 Euros it would be 20,40,60 Euros respectively.