Even if I promise to behave? On a different note, OnTheEdge, I think I understand where you are coming from, but if you want to stick to you accusation of IB "lying" to you, you might want to consider this: The e-mail from IB did not say "we cannot tell", it said "we cannot assume". If you want to be pedantic, you would first have to explain to them that they need not assume, because they should be able to tell.
I had an IB account and was very unhappy with the customer service. Their employees would be rude for no reason. Like you get an order stuck that will not cancel from your system. You call and they act like it's your fault. I have been day trading for 6+ years I know when I screw up and when the system is not letting me cancel. I always acted polite towards them and often got a smug rude attitude back. There is no reason for that. Also, I had a problem with them answering the phone. It would sometimes ring for 5-10 minutes before you get through. If I have a 2000 or 3000 share order that I need resolution on, I can not wait 5-10 minutes. I should say that this was about 1 year ago, so I don't know how they are now. I know this much, I would NEVER use them again.
Lobster: Good point. I really believe they wouldn't have to assume because they can tell which order would have filled (none would have filled at 5:03) and which was live (the last; 9469) and that it would have filled later in the day. I don't like that they pretended they couldn't tell. They had all the info, including the prices. I am more sensitive to being lied to than some, I think. I can understand that wouldn't worry others the way it worries me. Well, I like you, if only because I am pendantic at times myself. hehe I just want to feel I'm dealing with an honest firm. I already knew they were rude and I was willing to tolerate that. lol
I got very good responses from their tech support and their financial dept early-on. It was the CS department that was rude, unresponsive and also refused to let me talk to a supv. I have several brokers for stocks and options and each has available managerial staff to take calls. I never had a situation before where any broker would not allow calls to a supervisor or manager. That was an early issue and I let it go. This business about the fill under the Limit Buy price, the long time for statusing it, the lies about the inability to know which trade would have filled: that's just over the edge for me personally. I realize not everyone cares if their broker lies to them. For me, it's a big deal, and if they do it about a small amount of money I fear they'll do it about a huge amount of money some day. That worry isn't worth the low commission price for me personally. I fully understand that others would take the low commission and just not worry about IB stealing their money some day. I decided they're "sleaze" and everything that happened since has confirmed that for me. DEF never apologized but instead tried to make it somehow my FAULT that I get bad CS, (I was always brief and polite on the phone with them) -- he started to smear me with that, and saying I should have called overseas when I got the bad fill rather than emailing at 5AM. All he had to do was apologize, admit they made a mistake in saying they couldn't assume which price would have filled, and been nice about it. He is the one who offered to help and intervene. I wouldn't have called on him if he had not! So he should have followed it through like a Mensch instead of a brute. My opinion!
FYI: The National Futures Association oversees these brokerages houses and if there are complaints you can go to them at 800-621-3570. NFA's compliance department is what you'd want. They take the phone complaint and they follow up. They also sometimes want written material to back up the complaint. They also have an arbitration process which is available to settle disputes. In the case of my own complaints, I initially called because someone named Ernest in the Banking Dept of IB told me that no money is sent out for ten business days, even if it comes in as cash, because of the Patriot Act, and reasons of money laundering. I believed this was yet another IB lie, because I have three active brokerage accounts and they do not follow this law. Since the other firms are established, reputable, firms, I think they'd be doing the ten biz day hold just as IB does if it were actually a law. When I told Ernest that I believed this isn't true and I was going to file a complaint about it, he snickered at me. So, I did phone NFA. Compliance at NFA phoned IB's Compliance Officer about this and came back to me with the following. It's not a function of the Patriot Act or related to money laundering, however IB can hold your funds for ten biz days, as the actual law about returning your funds to you is a little vague. They have to give you your money in TWO business days or further time necessary to do due dligence. IB's taking ten biz days is not usual, but NFA isn't going to pursue the issue now, certainly not without a lot more complaints about it, because IB's policy is to not give you your money for ten business days after they receive your money, even if it's cash, and because there is that vagueness in the actual law. I'd bet IB would be hard pressed to show what due diligence they are doing on all of us that causes them to hold the money for eight extra business days, but with only my complaint about it, NFA isn't going to do anything. They do take complaints about trading and other matters and they follow up on them when they audit the company, and each complaint is pursued and it matters if there are a lot of complaints, too. I know for my part, I never bother to file any complaints, but this time I will. That, in regard to the way the statusing was handled and right through to the final lie to me about how they couldn't know what price would have filled. So, I'll then leave it to NFA to pursue and I hope this will make it better for other customers in the future.
How can a trading platform give you NO ACCESS to your positions for hours on a Sunday evening when the markets open? I have been trying in every way to liquidate my long Euro and GBP futures positions to take profit. IB chat first told me the Globex had technical problemds - a lie, since my husband was able to trade on Globex with another broker in the same moment. To my repeated requests to enter orders by phone the person on the Chat did not provide me this option. The last straw is when he said item 3 in the customer agreement says you have to maintain alternative trading systems - how, when my money and my positions are with IB? I have lost well over $1,000 this evening since I CANNOT LIQUIDATE my positions. I have never seen a broker that does not allow you to place a phone order when the automated system is down. Even when the Chat informed me it was back up, I received an error message saying the contract could not be valued. Then the Chat froze and I could not enter any more comments. Did anyone else have this problem? I will be holding IB liable for monies lost.
If you want an alternative try James Oliffs outfit: ffasttrade. This fellow is somebody I know personally from past work at the Merc - He is currently a vice chairman. If anyone could be trusted to have an above board business it would be this fellow. By the way he is doing a chat here: This would be a good opportunity to quiz him on how things are going at the Merc Since the IPO and how they are managing the challenges of being public.
CALTrader: Thanks. that's the one I'm trying to pursue right now. They are new to the Mac platform and not quite ready for me, but I hope they'll work out. they seem like good people. I appreciate your recommendation and that you know the Vice Chairman.
I'm sure ffastrade will be really eager to have QDZ as a customer with his sub $2K account, his endless complaint emails and letters to the NFA.