Interactive Brokers just removed $100,000+ from my account

[Deuteronomy_24_7]

Do your part and FIX YOUR PROBLEMS! You work in the front-end department? FIX THE FRONT-END! You work in back-end API development? PUT THE LATTE' DOWN and GET OFF YOUR SMARTPHONE and comfy chair, and DO YOUR JOB! Just because IB's offering is "complex" does not excuse them from properly supporting their complex platform. They MADE it complex because they had an army of programmers, and had a vision? Now support the vision you implemented with the army of programmers that made the thing, and fix the errors the programming and lack of QA has caused to exist. NO EXCUSES!

A life lesson: look at what people do rather than what they say. Despite incessant, relentless criticism and complaints, IB is by far the most-used broker/platform by ETers. There's no rush to move to its competitors. It's like the Hollywood liberals who swore they'd move to Canada if DT won the election...

 

[Sig]

A life lesson: look at what people do rather than what they say. Despite incessant, relentless criticism and complaints, IB is by far the most-used broker/platform by ETers. There's no rush to move to its competitors. It's like the Hollywood liberals who swore they'd move to Canada if DT won the election...

I've certainly moved from IB and again if you look you'll see dozens of threads where others indicate they've left as well. It's actually a mystery to me why you'd stay unless you're a masochist or have significantly invested in building software for their API. Good companies don't suffer relentless criticism and complaint, bad one's do. Good companies don't provide excuses and ignore their customers, they fix things and seek input. Bad one's treat their customers like idiots and ignore problems. IB is not a good company, but if it works for you then by all means keep at it! The rest of us will make sure that everyone else is aware of how bad they are before they invest the time and frustration of dealing with them.

 

[Deuteronomy_24_7]

I've certainly moved from IB and again if you look you'll see dozens of threads where others indicate they've left as well.

If all the ETers have left IB, why are there still more new posts and threads about IB than about all other brokers combined?

 

[Sig]

If all the ETers have left IB, why are there still more new posts and threads about IB than about all other brokers combined?

This thread pretty much answers that question, they're so bad they get a lot of threads about how bad they are, almost each of which indicates one more unhappy ex-customer. Again, pretty much no excuse for their platform or their treatment of customers, and let's not even get started with their autoliquidation, arbitrary margin calculations that they incorrectly blame on SPAN, failure to understand even basic concepts like the max loss on a vertical option spreads,....The real question is why the heck anyone would stay with them let alone mount a vigorous defense of what is pretty unquestionably a horrible company.

 

[stevegee58]

If all the ETers have left IB, why are there still more new posts and threads about IB than about all other brokers combined?

Psychologically people are more likely to complain than praise on a message board. Therefore complaints will be over-represented in total postings about IB or any other broker.
Also, complaining takes little or no effort. Changing brokers is a major inconvenience and is much less likely.

 

[Deuteronomy_24_7]

complaining takes little or no effort. Changing brokers is a major inconvenience

So true! ET is full of IB slacktivists...

 

[J.P.]

let's not even get started with their autoliquidation, arbitrary margin calculations that they incorrectly blame on SPAN, failure to understand even basic concepts like the max loss on a vertical option spreads

And don't forget those "exposure fees."

 

[sprstpd]

This thread pretty much answers that question, they're so bad they get a lot of threads about how bad they are, almost each of which indicates one more unhappy ex-customer. Again, pretty much no excuse for their platform or their treatment of customers, and let's not even get started with their autoliquidation, arbitrary margin calculations that they incorrectly blame on SPAN, failure to understand even basic concepts like the max loss on a vertical option spreads,....The real question is why the heck anyone would stay with them let alone mount a vigorous defense of what is pretty unquestionably a horrible company.

There is no one close to IB in terms of its total package. I would not be nearly as profitable a trader if IB were not in the picture and that is just a 100% fact. I do agree that they can do better though.

 

[Ryan81]

For what it is worth, I would never ever let my account at IB get anywhere close to the point where I had to worry about their "exposure fees" or "auto-liquidations". Getting anywhere near that point would indicate to me that I am ignoring basic risk management principles, and way over-leveraged.

 

[Sig]

For what it is worth, I would never ever let my account at IB get anywhere close to the point where I had to worry about their "exposure fees" or "auto-liquidations". Getting anywhere near that point would indicate to me that I am ignoring basic risk management principles, and way over-leveraged.

Autoliquidation can happen to you regardless of your account size. IB can decide that your 5 point vertical spread is down by 17 points because of a wide bid ask and if that puts your $15,000 account over margin they'll sell it all until you're back under margin. Using market orders. Into the super wide bid/ask that caused the stupid autoliquidate in the first place. Causing you to lose a large percentage of your account for no good reason.