Has anyone ever had trades attributed to them that they didn't place. I was trading ES using jtrader this morning and logged out around noon. When I logged on PM, I had a position in the mkt that I didn't place. When I contacted my broker, he said they were from my logon and were my orders - and referred me to the trade details in my status screen, which showed them to be my trades. I am as sure as I can be that I didn't place the trades. Even if I left limit orders by mistake, I would have been given a warning popup when logging out. I have been using the same broker & platform for over a year now and nothing like this has happened before. My question is, has this happened to anyone else - and what was the outcome?
happened to me once. but it was because PHILLIP MORRIS was going through a name change (ALTRIA GROUP) and when i covered my short position at the end of day , i logged on the next morning with a long position in MO. it took a lil while but then it was fixed. this cant be your case though since you were trading the es, but mistakes can be made !
You should ask for a printout of all your attempted orders, filled or not. Check for partial fills and be sure you have reference numbers for the orders that correspond numerically to the time that you were on your machine. If your machine was in fact used to enter an order after logging out (pretty doubtful on the surface), then you can ask for an IP check of the access address. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in your brokerage agreement you signed away your rights as far as order entry errors, but if you can logically prove that the order did not come from you, then you should have a case for arbitration. Don
Just a note. It can be disturbing to find trades in your account that you feel might not be yours. There are several precautions you should take when you are trading via the internet. Be sure that only you have the password to your software and never leave your trading software on when you are not at your computer(even at home). Always keep track of your open orders and make sure they are entered correctly. A common mistake is entering a GTC order , instead of a day order. A GTC order will not be cancelled at the end of the day. If you trade on a direct access software platform , ECN orders(on ISLD & ARCA) may still be active after regular trading hours(until 8pm EST). If you want to cancel orders after you leave your tradestation, see if your order entry platform has a "cancel all orders" feature. We have "cancel all orders" on REDI+ and I always make sure I cancel all my orders at the end of the day, if I do not want any orders left after hours on ECN's. Check all orders and make sure they are entered by you. It is possible that your introducing broker or clearing firm could place an order on your system in error. Your IP address and the order #'s, can help you and your clearing firm identify any orders placed in your account in error. REDI+ , for example , can identify who placed an order by user# and the IP address . If you placed the order, your IP address where the order originates from , will be unique . If you think an order is not yours, call your introducing broker or clearing firm as soon as possible and let them know the problem. If the order is not yours, they will "bust" the order. Gene Weissman E-Brokerage, LLC info@ebrk.com
Thanks guys for the quick feedback. It's good to know that there's a way to get past - "no i didn't" - "yes you did" - mode It's not an enormous amount of money but still. The trading platform was upgraded a few days ago and i wonder if that might give potential for an error.