IB charge "debt interest" - what is it?

Did you get this from IB?

Notification
June 7, 2005
Errors in the Interest Postings for May 2005

The amount of interest due (credit or debit) to many accounts was
incorrectly posted on 3 June 2005. The previous month charges/credits were
repeated, rather than reporting the new calculations for May 2005.

We are effecting corrections immediately, which will take the form of a
reversal of the incorrect amount and a reposting of the appropriate credit
or debit charge. These bookings will be reported on the Account Activity
statement of 7 or 8 June (i.e. within the next 1 or 2 days).

We apologize for any confusion and disruption this error may have caused.
Please be assured that we will make all necessary adjustments and please do
not hesitate to contact us if there are any concerns or questions after the
corrections have been reported. For maximum efficiency, we request that
inquiries relating to this topic be sent by email to
help@interactivebrokers.com with the subject "Interest Inquiry".
 
I figured mine out. Actually my accountant wrote me after I told her I was inquiring and told me that I had missed something very basic. The interest from the 3rd WAS STILL THERE in the account. The transaction on the 8th was to adjust that amount, so I wound up getting a slight addition. If you got $20 on the third, then -2.00 on the 8th, then you should still have $18 net. I do not see where they ever backed out the error from the 3rd, they just adjusted it with a single transaction on the 8th.

All is well...my goof.

Is this what happened to you guys?
 
Yes and No.

They backed out the wrong numbers from June 3rd and replaced them with new numbers that were also wrong.

In my case, the debit interest decreased but it should be zero.


The tricky thing is that many people won't even recognize the error. If they are routinely charged an interest expense they won't be able to tell whether the amount is wrong or not, because there is no way to figure out what the exact amount should be. Given the lack of details provided by IB you can only ballpark the number. In my case, it is off about $2 per currency.

Not a big deal, but multiplied by a couple of thousand customers ...

So I advise all fellow IB traders to perform a plausibility check of their interest credits / debits from June 3 and June 8. Although most will find out that it's hardly possible to discern right from wrong because errors are small and hard to track down without details that only IB knows.
 
Quote from Dr._Bob:

They backed out the wrong numbers from June 3rd and replaced them with new numbers that were also wrong.

In my case, the debit interest decreased but it should be zero.
More...


in my case they charged 3 times, and refunded only one of them.

i was never below zero and don't see why i was charged at all. i trade eminis and don't hold anything overnight.

the charges are small so let's all patiently wait for them to sort it out. shouldn't be a big worry.

have a successful week
50
 
The bug is still not ironed out. I have again been charged debit interest without ever having had a negative balance throughout the month.

Help desk wrote on June 10, 'We are currently looking into this matter and will advise as soon as possible.'

Nothing since. Instead, the error occured again.
 
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