After going through 14 pages of posts...I'll throw in my 2 cents. You did not have to go with this broker!! You could have gone with a full service broker who "MAY" have made you whole from this trade. But, you chose to go with a discount broker. You get what you paid for. You chose to sign the arbitration agreement. YOU CHOSE TO DO IT!! I would think a small claims court judge would require you to arbitrate...Without prejudice. All full service or discount brokers require you to arbitrate. Yes, you could get a seat on an exchange...Would cost you millions. I do not think that is for you?? In court or arbitration, the first thing the broker will bring out is your signed disclosure of great knowledge of options. You did sign one?? You did read it thoroughly did you not?? You did state you had years of experience in complicated option contracts?? You did state they were suitable for your situation did you not?? If you did not get conformation your position had cleared, IT WAS OPEN!! It was not settled. Just maybe you are more suited of SPY or QQQ buy and hold...Or dollar cost averaging. Even if the broker made the mistake, I would find it hard to pin it on them. You were in a unsuitable futures position... One last thought...You could have been in SLV. A lot safer move...But you chose differently. Live and learn.
Oh fuck you. Let me tell you something too. Your point is basically that we should pay for the most expensive item or service to get a service where its employees fulfill their fiduciary and regulatory duty. If we instead go to Walmart we should not be surprised if entire aisles collapse on us and employees shoot their guns and accidentally hit us. You are fucking nuts. When I phone my broker and I receive false answers and piss poor advice and that results in severe damage then I will definitely consider whether the broker is partly at fault. Just because we don't request handholding service does not mean we need to bend over and wait to get raped. Get a grip man.
The OP never confirmed he explicitly asked how to place a stop order that would be filled during extended hours trading. If he did not, he did not get bad advice.
I would agree if that in effect transpired that way. As I said earlier I don't think any of us can comment on this specific case for lack of detailed information. But I can guarantee you that if a grandma replaced OP and stood before the judge and explained that she called to ask how to set a stop order and the broker rep did not mention about the the gtc qualifier then it would not look all that good for the broker. See, we can argue for the rest of the days about responsibility on part of the user to educate him/herself before making risky decisions. And I fully agree. But we don't know the exact wording of the conversation with the broker. And it does matter here. So I am not claiming the broker is at fault. I am claiming it's retarded to laugh off the possibility of part broker fault. If a customer bought a rife from a gun store and that rifle had a very unique safety mechanism then we can claim its the absolute responsibility of the buyer to inform himself how to use it. BUT imo it's also the absolute responsibility of the gun shop to make the buyer aware of that. The broker should have informed the investor how to set a stop order in all eventualities when being asked generally how to set a stop order. The intent of a stop order is to TRIGGER if price trades through, hence it does need to be explicitly mentioned by the inquirer. My point is about the general attitude that some companies give out piss poor advice or even factually wrong information and nobody holds them accountable because the lemmings just bend over all the time.
When you walk into Walmart you KNOW the quality you are getting. Buy a pair of jeans and they fall apart in weeks/months!! WOW, I never knew it could happen??!!! Yes you did...You could have gone to a farm supply store, paid double and have a good quality pair that would have lasted much longer. Slightly different, but the general thought...The same with brokers. Except, the full service broker would be sitting across from you telling you in person, this may not be the right investment choice for you. They would have you sign, then document their conversation with you...Cover their back side. But today it is a crap shoot in options and brokers. Let's play oil futures...What could possibly go wrong??? Unless you were ready to take possession of 10,000 gallons of crude oil, YOU WERE IN THE WRONG PRODUCT!! Back to Walmart...They use to sell guns. You would walk into Walmart, show you ID, wait the correct amount of time, then buy your gun and bullets. Oh, and you didn't bother to read the instructions on the gun or bullets. You walk out into the parking lot, load the gun and start doing target practice shooting out into a field. No problems right?? Others buy guns there and do target practice right?? No, every other sane person would have read up on guns, (how to shoot, using the safety, putting in the bullets). Many would go to a gun safety class before would start shooting. But no...Lock load and fire!! Wait, why am I in jail???
You came up with an unrelated example. When you get into the store you expect that their roof does not crash. If it does you hold the store accountable, regardless whether it's a shit store or a top rated department store. Equally with any broker, small or large, premium or discount you expect that questions you asked them that have directly to do with their software and execution mechanisms are answered correctly. If the person on the phone does not know then the expectation is that that person consults with someone who does know. Really that simple. That's what regulators also expect of any and EVER broker personel.
Again, like the oil situation...The OP was trying to clear a position on a futures contract over the weekend!!! No one has ever had problems with derivatives over a weekend!! Wait, derivatives almost took down the western world in 2008... Why do we hear about back testing so much?? The broker was trying to be helpful. The position not clearing is up to him in the end. You know, I am wrong about that. The OP should have had two or three of his high priced options/derivative attorneys on retainer, to facilitate this transaction. Run with the bulls...See what happens.