I have a serious problem with my broker that I need some advice with. I placed 4 orders with Robbins Trading on Friday 11th October and at that time I was long 2 US Z2 at 114 and short 3 NG X2 at 3.86 from the previous day. I placed a buy at market open order for 3 Natural Gas and also a buy stop order for 2 Natural Gas @ 3.97. My market open order was missed but my stop order was filled, which still left me short 1 NG X2 @ 3.86. By the time the market opened on Monday Natural Gas was trading at 4.205. If my orders were executed correctly, I would have made a profit on Friday of $750 and by Monday another profit of $4,700. Instead I am left with a loss of $4,550. The net effect to my account is exactly US$10,000, which is a substantial portion of my account. Robbins contacted me and informed me that because my order was emailed they have no obligation to reimburse me for the loss, but said they would give me a commission break of $5 round turn so I can make it up over time. Robbins claims that there are problems when orders are emailed. The only problem I can see is when the email is not received, however, this is not the case here as they did receive the email, which is evident by them placing the second order. So, a confirmation that Robbins was working the order is obvious by the execution of the second order. I have contacted the National Futures Authority but they have not responded and it has been a week since I raised the complaint. I have worked for a broker before trading on the floor of the Sydney Futures Exchange and we always reimbursed clients for our errors and I assumed that this was industry standard. How can someone in charge of such large amounts of money escape responsibility when they have made a mistake? Has this industry no credibility? I presumed that the function of the National Futures Authority was to enforce the stability and professionalism of the futures industry and they will not even respond to my complaint. Perhaps I am just little bitter because of the size of the mistake, but then again I really believe I have a strong case. Do I have any alternatives or should I just close my account and start selling systems instead? Thanks for listening, Peter.
in their disclaimer or contracts you signed, does it say no emails? Have yet to see a broker take orders via email
Have you talked to the CFTC? First step is review your customer agreement. Second, file complaint with CFTC. I am not sure where NFA comes into this, but I would follow up your complaint with phone calls. Robbins knows they are wrong or they wouldn't have offered you squat on a small account. This is just their first offer. No doubt they will go higher rather than face a proceeding. Keep escalating within Robbins.
Hi mdmbud, When joining, it states that the emailing of orders is OK, provided that the customer sign an agreement stating that Robbins cannot be held accountable if the email is not received, which is fine and I accepted that. The issue is not whether they received the email or not, as Robbins have already stated thay they received the email, so the orders were clear. They just forgot to place one. I will send my complaint to the CFTC and see where that gets me. Peter.
Sounds like the wording of the agreement may be in your favor, since they placed some of the orders, but not that one. I'd suggest sending them a proper business letter pointing this out and demanding a fill at the market open price for that order. Paper letters tend to get more attention than phone calls or email. You might be willing to compromise a little, or take some in trade, but don't concede too much. If ever someone was due a fill, it's you. If they don't give it to you, go to the CFTC.