Wow, after reading some of these disasters I am reminded of some of my own.
I won' t bore you with the details, which I have no desire to stir up for sake of my sanity, but I have an age old solution to share with you.
Tenacity, persistence and a heavy dose of pain in the a--.
I was given a horrendous fill which even the brokers at Web ST agreed was bogus. US Clearing was in charge of the fill and didn't want to correct it. Time and sales proved beyond doubt I deserved a $1,200 improvement yet US Clearing didn't give a hoot.
Web St had a choice. Fight with US Clearing to get it corrected, tell me to jump in a lake, or pay the fix out of their pocket and collect (try anyway) , from USC.
I spoke with various Web St brokers and executives until I realized the system was stacked against the investor, even with flawless proof in my favor.
They didn't seem to have any influence over USC so what could I do?
I did what I had to. I inundated them with phone calls. I phoned every broker, techie, executive and customer service rep I could. Until everyone there knew me and my issue. And then I called them again. I sent emails. I called them at busy times. After weeks of this, (ok , figure an average of 5-8 calls per week), guess what.
A VP finally said he'd pay the difference and try to collect from USC.
My account was whole again. BTW, he phoned me remarkably, while I was on the phone with US Clearing tracking down the person in charge. I was about to start bugging them too.
What happened was a case of causing them so much trouble and wasted time trying to deflect my calls, that they felt it was cheaper to pay up and make things right than to tie up their people on the phone with me.
I know because they told me so.
It was a pain, but well worth it.
I have since cut my trading volume with them by about 60% having added two new brokers to my arsenal. Next is a direct broker like MBTrading or CyberCorp. Word is they provide fast executions and fills, even in busy periods.
Now, when I get frustrated with one broker, I trade elsewhere. So far so good. F-- 'em, they don't want to provide service, they can jump in a lake.
Just like most situations, persistence wins. Good luck to all. And good trading.
I must say, the people at Web St were extraordinarily courteous and genuinly empathized with me and tried to help. A really good bunch overall. It's the rules and the system that are flawed. |
