Please Help - Etrade cost me $2,500 today
- Thread starter tradermike88
- Start date
i can tell you what happened, it happens 1 or twice at scottrade, but actually only in ah when you cancel a "bunch" of limit orders chasing price; that is the one thing good about scottrade, as i cancel a lot of orders when i trade.
but i have an account at fidelity, and they have direct trading access, which is sweet during regular hours, but once ah goes into affect, if you cancel an order after hours, many times you will have to call them on the phone to clear the trade out, it will say pending cancel, or something close to that, it isn`t anything conspiratorial, its just after hours, they don`t have either the same staff on hand, or the same connection with the books, or the same network up and running, all i know is if i plan on canceling an order ah with fidelity, i better have that telephone number dialed at the same time, they cancel without any problem during regular hours.
btw, my ib account hasn`t had this problem with canceled orders getting stuck either during regular or after hours trading.
it sucks b/c i don`t think ibm will get back to 100 for awhile as it has been an 80 dollar stock for the last 2 years, although it was 124.00 in like 2002. but it has been as low as 68-84.00 range for a long time before this recent breakout, and i would be surpised if they paid for your loss.
i think you should sell if it pops anytime in pre-market, as it will probably trade under 90 by 2 to 3 weeks time, just cut your losses, and move on, 2,500 is actually a rather cheap lesson learned in this business.
but i have an account at fidelity, and they have direct trading access, which is sweet during regular hours, but once ah goes into affect, if you cancel an order after hours, many times you will have to call them on the phone to clear the trade out, it will say pending cancel, or something close to that, it isn`t anything conspiratorial, its just after hours, they don`t have either the same staff on hand, or the same connection with the books, or the same network up and running, all i know is if i plan on canceling an order ah with fidelity, i better have that telephone number dialed at the same time, they cancel without any problem during regular hours.
btw, my ib account hasn`t had this problem with canceled orders getting stuck either during regular or after hours trading.
it sucks b/c i don`t think ibm will get back to 100 for awhile as it has been an 80 dollar stock for the last 2 years, although it was 124.00 in like 2002. but it has been as low as 68-84.00 range for a long time before this recent breakout, and i would be surpised if they paid for your loss.
i think you should sell if it pops anytime in pre-market, as it will probably trade under 90 by 2 to 3 weeks time, just cut your losses, and move on, 2,500 is actually a rather cheap lesson learned in this business.
Hi Tradermike88,
Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I worked for Etrade for several years and spent a good deal of time in the trade dispute department. I don't know if they still work the same way (it's been almost 6 years) but I can atleast tell you how we resolved trading disputes.
First, I don't believe Etrade is trying to pull one over on you. Conspiracy Theorists may disagree, but that was not my experience. I can tell you that the very fact they sell their order flow can mean poor execution during market events. We used Knight at the time and I didn't trust them as far as I could throw them, but they were willing to work with us if we were persistent.
The outcome will depend on a few factors.
1. The competence and integrity of the person resolving the dispute.
2. Whether there was a possibilty your original order could have been executed via time and sales. My guess is that it wasn't.
3. The amount of the dispute
The first thing you have going against you is the amount. For $2500.00, they will look for every loophole possible to not resolve the dispute in your favor.
They will also look at the volume and see if there were enough orders ahead of yours to justify the time it took to cancel the order. That was a biggie during the bubble and I don't ever remember that situation going in the trader's favor.
From what you are saying, it sounds like you should get your $2500.00. There should be no excuse under current market conditions to have a cancel order hang for so long. However, if they do not resolve in your favor, there is probably nothing you can do. My guess would be "orders ahead" if they deny your dispute. My instinct is the software is at fault due to volume, though they will try to find a way around that and will very seldom admit software issues.
One last note. I would say that 90% of disputes are from the lack of knowledge on how order execution works. We declined most and were fair in doing so (atleast I tried to be). Here are a couple of tips if they come back against you.
1. Tell them the person you spoke with said it was their fault. By saying this to you, he is "admitting" fault.
2. Ask to speak with a Supervisor. They will atleast, in most cases, look at the data again.
3. Be sure to sound like you know what you're doing. If there is any hesitation, they will pick up on that. If you sound authoritative, they will be more willing to work with you.
I STRONGLY agree that if you plan to trade intraday, especially the trade you were trying to make, you should go with a direct access broker. I think Etrade is a good company and honest in their dealings, for the most part anyway, but not the ideal platform for active trading.
Hope this is helpful. Please let us know the outcome.
Sincerely,
Ashmat
Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I worked for Etrade for several years and spent a good deal of time in the trade dispute department. I don't know if they still work the same way (it's been almost 6 years) but I can atleast tell you how we resolved trading disputes.
First, I don't believe Etrade is trying to pull one over on you. Conspiracy Theorists may disagree, but that was not my experience. I can tell you that the very fact they sell their order flow can mean poor execution during market events. We used Knight at the time and I didn't trust them as far as I could throw them, but they were willing to work with us if we were persistent.
The outcome will depend on a few factors.
1. The competence and integrity of the person resolving the dispute.
2. Whether there was a possibilty your original order could have been executed via time and sales. My guess is that it wasn't.
3. The amount of the dispute
The first thing you have going against you is the amount. For $2500.00, they will look for every loophole possible to not resolve the dispute in your favor.
They will also look at the volume and see if there were enough orders ahead of yours to justify the time it took to cancel the order. That was a biggie during the bubble and I don't ever remember that situation going in the trader's favor.
From what you are saying, it sounds like you should get your $2500.00. There should be no excuse under current market conditions to have a cancel order hang for so long. However, if they do not resolve in your favor, there is probably nothing you can do. My guess would be "orders ahead" if they deny your dispute. My instinct is the software is at fault due to volume, though they will try to find a way around that and will very seldom admit software issues.
One last note. I would say that 90% of disputes are from the lack of knowledge on how order execution works. We declined most and were fair in doing so (atleast I tried to be). Here are a couple of tips if they come back against you.
1. Tell them the person you spoke with said it was their fault. By saying this to you, he is "admitting" fault.
2. Ask to speak with a Supervisor. They will atleast, in most cases, look at the data again.
3. Be sure to sound like you know what you're doing. If there is any hesitation, they will pick up on that. If you sound authoritative, they will be more willing to work with you.
I STRONGLY agree that if you plan to trade intraday, especially the trade you were trying to make, you should go with a direct access broker. I think Etrade is a good company and honest in their dealings, for the most part anyway, but not the ideal platform for active trading.
Hope this is helpful. Please let us know the outcome.
Sincerely,
Ashmat
You did not work for E-Trade.
If you did, then you would know that ALL brokers in the industry operate off recorded phone lines. You cant simply tell a lie saying the rep admitted fault. They will replay the tape to see what was exactly said. . .
I wouldnt worry. IBM will probably be up next fall back to 100 and then you can sell for a profit.
If you did, then you would know that ALL brokers in the industry operate off recorded phone lines. You cant simply tell a lie saying the rep admitted fault. They will replay the tape to see what was exactly said. . .
I wouldnt worry. IBM will probably be up next fall back to 100 and then you can sell for a profit.
Ok, I am trying to be helpful, not dishonest. You don't have to believe I worked for anybody. I made that comment based on what was in the original thread. See below.
"My order has been frozen for 20 minutes & this cost me $2,500. He agreed that it was their fault that the order froze and I could not sell my shares for 20 minutes and said he would file a trade dispute."
So, if the broker agreed it was their fault, it is simply something he could use in his favor. And yes, Etrade records every single call and has since the beginning. They will pull that call if it becomes an issue.
Please read everything before you decide whether I am being honest or not. Again, having worked for them for close to 4 years, I thought I could be of some help. That was the only motivation.
Take care!
Ashmat
"My order has been frozen for 20 minutes & this cost me $2,500. He agreed that it was their fault that the order froze and I could not sell my shares for 20 minutes and said he would file a trade dispute."
So, if the broker agreed it was their fault, it is simply something he could use in his favor. And yes, Etrade records every single call and has since the beginning. They will pull that call if it becomes an issue.
Please read everything before you decide whether I am being honest or not. Again, having worked for them for close to 4 years, I thought I could be of some help. That was the only motivation.
Take care!
Ashmat
Where did your order go to what route? The specialist stops at 4pm so if you order was with him I don't think he would cancel it right away.
TorontoTrader, I used their "auto" function to submit the order originally so I am not sure where they route those orders to. Obviously, I will never use this "auto" function again. So is it possible that I routed my order to the NYSE specialist on this stock when I placed it before the close and the specialist are gone at 4 so the order cannot be canceled? I could understand this on a day when no news is coming out, but not when you have quarterly earnings coming out.
Mike
Mike