"A couple of days" to find out if your order made it or not?! Are you kidding me?? If you have 20+ contracts floating around in a market for days and you don't know if it is actually an open position or not -- that can't be too good! I have always heard good thing about Interactive Brokers, but if they really do experience system problems and have horrible support, I'll gladly pay twice as much in commissions just for the peace of mind of knowing that I will have competant back-up service standing by in the event of a system failure. I knew that "$4.80" round trip was just too good to be true! aphie
Such things happen at other brokers as well. With IB I received an email on the following day offering me a 1000$ rebate in commissions. With my other broker (now ex-broker) I am after months still struggeling with their compliance department and probably will have to file a customer complaint with CFTC/NFA. So what ?
Yeah, all of this is truly outrageous bullshit. My TT front-end gives me a confirmed fill back directly from the exchange. If I have a problem on my end and can't get out, I can call the CME, CBOT A/C/E, or Eurex exchanges DIRECTLY and verify my position and place an order to get out. That's right, I have an account ID with the exchange and I can deal with them directly. I know that I clear directly through a bank but I know FOR A FACT the IB can certainly do that for you, too.
I am not defending ib here, I agree that the support should be better and a knowledgable "person" should answer the phone - that is able to quickly take traders flat when need be. I used to be a longhaul trucker - owner/operator and if/when my diesel puked, I was out no less than 8k for a rebuild. It was part of the game. At least if my trading platform goes down while I'm in the market, I have a chance of making money, if I am on the correct side of the market. There should be a quick response to take a trader flat at any broker.....imo..... especially if you trade with much size. I don't trade size just yet, simply because I don't have a lot of money and I refuse to trade with all of my money. So I opt for the cheaper commissions. But the last time that I was in the market and the system lost globex, I was fortunate enough to have a winning trade, and as it turned out, my exit was much better than my original price target....so it worked out. If, I was trading any size and I wasn't getting what I expected from my broker, I would change brokers. Right now I am willing to accept the risk. I like being able to make 10 round trips for 48 bux cost, it's as simple as that. Maybe if I was trading more size and got burned I would seek a more stable broker.
No. This is not a routine cost of doing business. That's Bullshit. If that's the way IB does business, then walk. What happens when you work your way up from 1s and 2s to 5s and 10s? Got 20 on, and you wouldn't have switched brokers yet. Now, it's a $50K little unfortunate cost of doing business? Sure, you may say, everything's proportional. That doesn't make the pain any less. Traders take responsibility for their decisions. IB should take responsibility for their system. Complain to the CME and the NFA. Outrageous.
I always thought that IB was a very professional outfit that offered a quality service at reasonable costs. Incidentally, I am on the verge of opening an account with them, but looks like I'll have to reconsider. Does Def or any of the other IB reps have anything to say in defence? Thanks. These kind of threads make ET a godsend.
Bone, it seems you are an exchange member. But how can a retail customer of a broker clear through a bank? Thanks.
bone, you have an account number with an exchange, you call them directly. when they or your software has a problem. now take the typical brokerage. assume thousands of people are logged in. Do you think the exchange has thousands of ids? The exchange can tell you a net position but you'll have to go through the details of all the open orders - which at times the exchange is unable to provide due to their problems - before informing a client. If IB knows a position, it can tell the client immediately. If not, then it can't. I assume this is no different for any broker. Keep things in perspective. We do not know the details of the first posters order/trade. IB has earned an excellent repuation - witness the many happy clients on these boards. The circumstances behind these type of orders can be many fold. It isn't fair to comment or assume IB isn't doing the right thing w/o all the details.
def, I am going to open up an account to trade futures in the next few months. When I do, I would like to know that, if something happens, I'm not going to be left to the whims of the market. It is challenging enough to be a successful trader without having to worry about what happens when your broker goes offline and you're stuck with multiple contracts in the e-mini markets. What assurances can you give us, the retail traders, that we have some recourse to action should such a problem arise? aphie