Have you been scammed by IG Index???

[shafted by IG Index]

By changing their Terms and Conditions, whilst I was already in some trades, IG Index made me £20 000 poorer . I know that there are others here that have had major problems with IG Index but I have started a new thread rather than hijacking someone elses.

I wanted to make sure that it didn't happen to anyone else. I am also hoping that anyone else that has been through this moght be able to provide assistance.

I had an account with IG and traded S&P futures contracts (from June) which expired in Dec 09. I had 6/7 short trades on but the market was going up (the futures contracts didn't expire until December so there was still plenty of time for them to get back into the black)! IG panicked and demanded by email that I increase my account to cover margin. I didn't see the email as I was working in Woking and whilst driving home started to receive constant text messages and when I got home an hour later, I saw the texts were from IG closing my trades. I instantly called them and was told that I hadn't provided the required margin so they closed all of my trades. I explained that I was working in Woking and hadn't seen the email and only found out when they texted me closing the trades - I explained that I had the funds available in my bank account.

Previously, before the change of Terms and Conditions, I was phoned and then emailed by IG concerning margin. Each and every time I was asked for margin - I duly supplied it on time. I even had an agreement that I would supply the margin within 10 days, which again I duly obliged each and every time. IG then changed their Terms and Conditions, the margin was due immediately - I believe that to be Unfair Contract Terms.

To cut a long story short, they wouldn't reinstate my trades even though I had the margin money in my bank account to cover the shortfall. I wrote to their Compliance Department and they basically said 'we can do what we want' - this seems to me to be a licence to print money off unsuspecting punters? They will not return my money nor reinstate the trades (though it is far too late to reinstate the trades now) and said if I was still unhappy my next step was to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service - who take 2 years to answer complaints and they know that.

My message is therefore read every little bit of the T's and C's, even the bit where it states that they can change the T's and C's at any time they wish, therefore - DO NOT USE IG INDEX IF YOU VALUE YOUR MONEY.

I have written to Watchdog, The One Show and local newspapers - bought 2 domain names IGIndexarecheats.com and IGIndexarecheats.co.uk and I will hopefully stop people from falling into the same trap.

All I want is my money back - IG's legal Department have now threatened to take legal action against me for setting my website, saying it was defamatory. I will be duly informing all the bodies above and will not stop now until I gain a listing on the front page of Google.

Any help you can offer to assist me to achieve this would be greatly appreciated, thanks

Richard
[email protected]

 

[CHRISTO9HER]

Its pretty standard that if you don't meet a margin call, your positions will be closed. Admittedly, they could have called you before closing such a large position, but it is your responsibility to keep an eye on your margin!! Did you not think it might be getting close?

 

[N Rothschild]

sounds like tough **** to me

and being short s&p june > december 09 is a losing trade anyway so what you moaning about..prolly saved you money!

just looking for a scape goat for a **** trade if you ask me, pathetic.

 

[oildaytrader]

My opinion is this is your own stupidity.I only trade with maximum drawdown of 30% of my account. anything above 30% is madness.period

 

[Rossini]

Sorry you lost money. Was that 20k?

But two things spring to mind. Firstly a paper loss is still a loss, so assuming the markets you where trading had not moved a huge amount from the time that IG closed you out, could you not have just added money into the account and continue with the trades from that point? The fact that IG made you realise the loss is almost irrelevant, isn't it?

And secondly, if you didn't use so much leverage this would be much less likely to happen. Sounds to me like they where just trying to cover their back.

Not taking sides, just the way it looks to me.

 

[trader_dante]

By changing their Terms and Conditions, whilst I was already in some trades, IG Index made me £20 000 poorer

You think that's bad?

I knew someone that witnessed a huge spike down in the Bund on a fat finger, bought as much as he could at near enough the low, sold it not long after on the way back up and absolutely cleaned up.

The market then went right back to where it was at which point the exchange scratched half the trades, cancelling out all longs and leaving the poor **** net short, a hundred or so ticks offside and completely and utterly screwed.

I also saw someone long FTSE Futures and go to close out but the software didn't register the trade as being closed. The person kept clicking frantically and still nothing. Not long after the market rocketed on a surprise rate cut and the person found that not only had they got out when they thought they had but in their persistent clicking of the mouse, had sold a huge amount short. They ended up bankrupt from a software error.

So what is the moral of these stories?

It's a tough game.

Everyone is out to take your money.

No one likes you.

No one's got your back.

It's f*cking brutal.

And it's most certainly not fair.

Just try not to take it personally.

All the best.

 

[PualoP]

I don't see that IG have done anything wrong?

You on the other hand seemed to have done everything wrong,
- No stop loss
- Praying you position will go "back in the black"
- Too much risk for you account size
- Not taking responsibility for the loss/Blaming IG

You were destined to lose mate

 

[Charlton]

I have to agree with all the others. I don't think that IG have done anything wrong and I don't think they "panicked". It seems to me that they acted quite responsibly in making several attempts to contact about the margin call. It is no good saying you had money in a bank account somewhere and that you could get it to them in 10 days.

The responsible thing to do is to not get into a position where a margin call takes place.

I am no fan of spreadbetting companies and use direct access myself, but really this case is your fault, not that of IG.

Charlton

 

[DionysusToast]

Each and every time I was asked for margin - I duly supplied it on time.

 

[A Dashing Blade]

. . . I had 6/7 short trades on but the market was going up (the futures contracts didn't expire until December so there was still plenty of time for them to get back into the black)!

Perhaps not quit the attitude to have but . . .

IG panicked . . . .

Very unlikely

I explained that I had the funds available in my bank account . . .

And exactly how are IG supposed to know that?

I even had an agreement that I would supply the margin within 10 days

Flatly don't believe this.

. . . I wrote to their Compliance Department and they basically said 'we can do what we want' . . .

Yup. Did you read the small print? Clearly not.

Sorry to sound harsh, but if you're chucking more than 5 futures around then you're deemed to be a big boy playing grown up rules.

 

[Hoggums]

Another one here who has no sympathy. You should have known your account was getting close to margin limits and put some money in to make sure you didn't get the call.

Also - you want your money back?? YOU'D ALREADY LOST IT. Ever heard of mark-to-market? Keeping a negative position open doesn't mean that the loss is theoretical - it's real. As rossini said - you should have put more money in and re-opened all those bad positions if you were determined to keep them running. Sounds to me like you were holding on in hope.

Also a lesson in effective stoploss and money management wouldn't go amiss here.

 

[Black Swan]

IG must love advertising on 'ere...:whistling btw, I love the thought of IG "panicking" over 20K...LOL Did you see their latest figures?

 

[shadowninja]

 

[jonty123]

I dont like to kick a man when he is down, but have to agree with all the posters above, this is all of your own doing and you haven't got a leg to stand on.

 

[fxtrader85]

IG must love advertising on 'ere...:whistling btw, I love the thought of IG "panicking" over 20K...LOL Did you see their latest figures?

That made me chuckle too. Go on, latest figures.... (I just know this is gonna make me feel sick!!)

 

[trendie]

This thread reminds me of the "Airplane" movie scene, where we have a string of posters all lining up to beat up this guy with increasingly harsh views.

(although, I agree with the sentiments, expressed so well by Charlton.)

 

[Trader333]

Previously, before the change of Terms and Conditions, I was phoned and then emailed by IG concerning margin. Each and every time I was asked for margin - I duly supplied it on time. I even had an agreement that I would supply the margin within 10 days, which again I duly obliged each and every time. IG then changed their Terms and Conditions, the margin was due immediately - I believe that to be Unfair Contract Terms.

Did IG give you notice that their T&C had changed ? This is the real issue in my view because if they did and you had not realised it then that is an error on your part. However, if they didn't and just made changes without notice then in my view you have a good case.


Paul

 

[fxtrader85]

Did IG give you notice that their T&C had changed ? This is the real issue in my view because if they did and you had not realised it then that is an error on your part. However, if they didn't and just made changes without notice then in my view you have a good case.


Paul

They did. They sent all of their customers an email around January detailing T&C changes. Unfortunately, this guy hasn't got a leg to stand on.

 

[elitejets]

Ummm This is what he said:
"I had an account with IG and traded S&P futures contracts (from June) which expired in Dec 09. I had 6/7 short trades on but the market was going up (the futures contracts didn't expire until December so there was still plenty of time for them to get back into the black)! "

so he was trading contracts that expired long before that e-mail went out.

 

[montmorencyt2w]

I am sure that IG are acting within their own Terms and Conditions and that legally speaking, the OP hasn't a leg to stand on. He should have been aware of the change in their T&Cs. I think I was, and I'm not the most observant person around when it comes to corporate bumf.

Having said that, I am slightly more sympathetic to the plight of the OP than most here seem to be, having been margin-called myself a couple of times (for much less I hasten to add). I'm glad I learned the lesson relatively cheaply, although I still need reminding from time to time.

But morally speaking, I wonder if IG were quite as justified? i.e. Was it reasonable to change their T&Cs in such a radical manner? Should it not depend on the type of customer they are dealing with? We clearly have here a customer who has means (since he has always paid up in the past, and was obviously not running a trivial account. I realise that corporations have to be defensive, especially in post-credit-crunch times, but surely there could/should have been some room for manoeuvre in their Terms?


On a purely technical point, Capital Spreads (as explained in the interview posted at http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/ ) order things differently. The margin requirement is established at the start of the trade and will only change if you move the stop. If you don't have enough available funds, you wouldn't be able to move the stop, and therefore running out of margin wouldn't be the problem: you'd be stopped out first. Stops are mandatory, although not guaranteed. According to the interview, they get hardly any margin calls - presumably it can still occur, but apparently, only rarely, apparently well within their risk criteria anyway. As far as I can determine, the white label partners of LCG are the same in this respect. This seems a much better model to me.