Fellow traders, have you faced similar challenges with brokerage firms avoiding transparency or dodging client requests? Here's my current dilemma, and I’d really value your insights. After my positions were liquidated—even though I met the margin calls and provided screenshots—I requested a proper account balance breakdown that reflects all liquidations, fees, and credits for account closure. Seems reasonable, right? Instead of addressing my request, the firm sent vague screenshots and boilerplate policy explanations. When I pushed for more clarity, they shrugged it off, claiming that their status as a “self-directed brokerage” releases them from providing this information. Despite a polite but firm follow-up email emphasizing the importance of transparency, their response was equally disappointing. They began the reply with, “I want to apologize for being unexpectedly out of the office…” and went on with platitudes that offered no concrete solutions. Key Issues That Worry Me: Lack of Communication: Position liquidations without clear notice or explanation shouldn’t happen, especially when a client provides proof of compliance with margin calls. Operational Gaps: An “out of office” excuse for critical account issues is unacceptable. A reliable brokerage should have systems in place to prevent such lapses. Evasive Transparency: The refusal to provide a detailed final balance breakdown leaves me questioning their integrity and professionalism. The broker’s actions have once again shown their commitment to avoiding direct responses rather than addressing a simple request from client. Systems should ensure that no client's queries or accounts fall through the cracks. Anything less feels dismissive and erodes trust—not just mine, but in the institution itself. This made me wonder... It’s unreasonable to expect a final account balance after all liquidations and fees before closing an account? Does the “self-directed brokerage” argument hold any weight, or is it more of a convenient excuse? If you’ve dealt with similar challenges, how did you push for accountability and ensure transparency? Did taking legal or regulatory action help, or is this a self-governing industry? Sharing your experience would mean a lot as I try to advocate for fairness and clarity in the financial industry. A "simple apology" without addressing these glaring failures feels dismissive. This situation requires accountability, a clear explanation of the processes, and concrete steps to restore trust in the financial institution, ensuring other clients don’t face similar losses. Looking forward to your thoughts and advice! Thank you.
TrastyTrader111- Most brokers have secure portals you can log into to gather all that information yourself. Some are easier to use than others, but it is likely all the fees are booked to your account in some capacity, even if hard to find. The Lightspeed Portal offers the following reports, most of which have an export feature. Margin calls are all emailed with details of the required funds and when that is due. They are also listed on the margin summary tab. Risk calls are emailed to the customer to require the customer to add funds or reduce unless the account is near going under. For Hedge Funds and RIAs, we supplement these reports with reports from Nirvana Solutions. We do accept application from Singapore.
I realized I did not directly answer this question. As a trader for many, many years and now a sales rep for a broker, I think it is "unreasonable to expect a final account balance after all liquidations and fees before closing an account", if the data is all available on their portal. They should provide the information, but are not required to put together a summary in an email for data you can gather.
I never had a margin call but every time I fucked up a position and had to close it, the very next day I got an email reminding me what I did in a statement. That's normal for all brokers that are regulated.
58:00ish speaks to your situation tldr: Broker wouldn’t allow him to close his position (in profit), the market reversed and blew up his account.