Yesterday (11/14) morning I tried to place an order for 3 Nasdaq 100 NDX Dec 2100 Puts for around $70 while the market was at NDX 2090/SPX 1490. The order was rejected. I tried again and again and the same thing happened. I had more than enough cash in my account and it there were no regulatory issues either. There didn't appear to be an issue with the contract either. It was trading normally. I called IB immediately and was placed on hold for more than 10 minutes. During the hold I attempted to log in using another computer but I was unsuccessful placing the order. I received a error messaging saying I could only close positions for that specific contract. When I finally got through to IB, I spoke to Scott. He was also unsuccessful at placing this order. He speculated that perhaps it was an exchange problem or they were "retiring the strike." I find it very unlikely all the exchanges were suffering from this problem, and I've never heard of the retirement of the strike price for NDX. He said they would investigate and return my phone call. At the market close and earlier this morning they were still trying to figure things out. Scott finally called back and said I would be able to open a position on the contract within 10 minutes. He didn't have an explanation for what happened. I told him I wanted to buy it at $70 not at the $100 it was currently trading. He said even if it was IB's screwup they were not liable and responsible for opportunity cost. They also have no intention of calling me back if they do discover what happened. Is there anything I can do about this? Any explanations on what might have happened? My experience with IB has been mostly positive in the past as I've recommended them to everyone. It's disappointing to see how IB fails to take responsibility when they screw up. As for lessons learned, I should have immediately purchased similar contracts such as NDX Dec 2075 puts, MNX Dec 210.0 puts or QQQQ puts. I also placed too much faith in IB. Next time I'll have equivalent contracts ready in case of a similar problem reoccurring.
Do you really expect them to handle , what is it, 100,000, 200k,probably more , symbols and routings without error 100% of the time? Tooth Fairy and Santa are nice fantasies too.
My opinion of IB becomes more positive almost daily. I am still a casual observer...just seems that they really ain't so bad when it's all said and done. Seems like most problems I hear about here at ET are from people trying to execute highly complex options trades, etc... I may sound totally foolish by making that statement, but that is just what it seems to be right now...I think being a swing trader in the futures market wouldn't be a big deal as far as having issues with IB. Anyone know of any major issues with plain old fashioned swing trades on outright futures contracts?
Sorry to hear about the problem you had executing your trade. Since you said you've been positive on IB in the past, you won't take it the wrong way if I say that by now, everyone here knows their contract explicitly states that they are not responsible for any losses you incur as a result of technical errors on their part, and this means actual losses, and not the less serious (in their minds) lost opportunities. Your best bet is to move on immediately and not waste another second of mental energy or time on this. I use Button Trader as a front end and I am dead sure that this means I will never have any remedy should something go wrong. I had one weird fill today but it was only two ticks away from my stop price on the ES - the first time I did not get a fill at the exact price of my stop. Not a particularly fast market, either, but I'm not even going to bother bringing it up; I'll just wait to see if it happens again.
You ought to be able to track down what happened. I'd double check to see how your strategy is set up, in particular what type of stop is entered, etc. Also, don't know if you're aware, but there is a log created for each day in buttontrader. You could take a look at this to see if anything strange did take place. If you're unable to interpret, you could contact Robert with ButtonTrader via email. He's very responsive. Perhaps send him a detailed description of what happened along with your log. If there is truly a problem he may be able to address it, or at least notify IB. Or, it could be just a function of the market, although in ES that would be unusual since the market is pretty deep. Kinda depends though on where your stop was and what the conditions were. OldTrader
1. No broker takes responsibility for technical glitches that cause you to be unable to enter or exit. The docs very explicitly exempt them. On a great day you might get lucky but that's also a day you should look out the window to see the pigs go past. 2. IB doesn't claim great or even really good customer service as either or strength or an objective so why complain --- its out there plain to see, what do your really expect?
IB sent me a pretty good book "Trading & Exchanges", by Harris and a Interactive Brokers ballcap! Had no idea they were coming. Just showed up in the mail... Who sez IB don't treat ya right (but a stuffed animal would be cool too)!
Hey that sounds pretty cool. Considering how many account holders they have, hell that would be quite a feat!