My humble contribution " Steer clear from queer brokers"

Well guys, it didn’t take up too much time to fag away at this writing, but I believe it will be helpful for newcomers who just start their trading journey. First of all I would like to thank you for visiting this page and reading my article. Your fair evaluation will be much appreciated.

Pursuing your own ends is a good thing, but if you have knowledge or idea - I think it is better to make it common property. Especially when your contribution can help others to save money. Broker pick is a really crucial issue today, actually I swallowed two baits and was robbed for around 3K $, before I turned on my brain and start to make my own research.
My idea is easy as a pie (followed the rule “Genial is simple”). Asvlong as there is only internet at your hand you can make use of (yeah not much tools for a research) the point is that you have to use those resources which really work. “Work” means helping to resolve traders issues, giving a chance to stand up for their rights in such non-transparent space as Internet. After reviewing about 100 sites devoted to trading, I took a stock of the resource called FPA (forexpeacearmy.com). Just look at their scam folder and court – a lot of issues were resolved in traders favor. It means that members there make serious investigations where real money is involved. It is not a pointless chatting about how good is forex, why forex is a business, blah blah blah, etc. Sound convincing enough, huh… There is really up to no spam, which is a sore point for heaps of forex websites. Unbiased information was the aim of my research and it seems that FPA perfectly met my requirement…But you can use babypips or ff instead these forums are quite solid too ;):wink:

My next step was investigating FPA Review Pages of different brokers. I had my raw list I prepared beforehand, where I included next brokers (based on a brief research of their regulations, trading conditions, period of service):

  • Fxpro
  • Fxcm
  • Avatrade
  • Oanda
  • Alpari
  • Xm
  • Hotforex
  • Octafx
  • Armada Markets

I had a thought that FxPro and FXCM and Avatrade really have a drop on their competitors but BOOM:

FXCM | Online Forex Brokers Reviews | Forex Peace Army
Fx Pro | Online Forex Brokers Review | ForexPeaceArmy
Ava Trade | Ava FX Brokers Reviews | Forex Peace Army

FXCM was fined by their regulators (obvious signal to stay away) and at FxPro page we see big warning sign of lots of fake reviews as well as at Avatrade page. FPA doesn’t recommend to trade with them. Really don’t expect that… Overall rates are below 3. Well there is no other option but to strike them off…:34:

Next on the list Oanda and Alpari and XM.

OANDA | Oanda.com reviews and ratings by Forex Peace Army
Alpari UK | Online Forex Broker Reviews | Forex Peace Army

Well, Oanda has no warnings from FPA but too many bad reviews there and overall rate is below 3.
Alpari got a penalty from regulator. Seems company has serious violations in their operation…, not good for traders at all. XM seems to be quite good with reviews and overall rate but presence of old websites puts me on my guard. It means if something will go wrong with XM, they will just change the website… I think I will try them only if it comes to a pinch.:smiley:

Next in turn are Hotforex, OctaFx and Armada Markets.

Hot Forex | Forex Brokers Reviews | Forex Peace Army
Armada Markets | Forex Brokers Reviews | Forex Peace Army
Octa FX | Forex Brokers Reviews | Forex Peace Army

Hotforex… well company gives pleasing effect, overall rating is 4. Considering 323 reviews left it inspires confidence, no warnings from FPA. However some bad reviews there as well, need to examine them more closely to see how serious are their problems… regarding OctaFX and Armada Markets – again lots of fake reviews, FPA make a warning about that…

Resuming my research: As we can see some brokers often resort to posting fake reviews , but FPA with their sharp-sight quickly bring them out into the open. There are only two brokers left in my list: Oanda and Hotforex. Tend to use HF at first but still not sure, going to check them with some hundreds bucks to see spreads, execution, etc.
Hope this article will help you to stay away from swindlers and keep up your trading career in safe. Bye for now.

Interesting topic, go ahead.
Even IronFX also was marked by FPA that they put fake reviews as Octa and Armada but overall they are still well-known brokers.

Dollace, indeed, everything that is written above on no account should be considered as a final verdict of their dishonesty or problem-prone nature. Just curious finding which can make somebody wonder :53:. Maybe it will show you the path to dig up deeper and find even more effective ways of searching for “trust” in the internet :slight_smile:

Hi profitbaby,

Alpari was fined as a result of an FSA audit in 2010 in relation to administrative failings in checks undertaken during the Account Opening process. No client money was at risk.

This is a matter of public record.

Principle 6 of the FCA’s Principles for Business states, “A firm must pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.”

The Directors and Senior Management of Alpari UK Limited are committed to ensuring that the FCA principle of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) is applied in all areas of our day to day business activities.

In adopting the TCF principle we recognise that fair treatment of our customers is about adding value to the service we offer by aiming to:

[ul]
[li]Protect the interests of our customers at each stage of the product life cycle, from promotion right through to after sales service.
[/li][li]Meet as best we can the needs of each customer by offering a transparent, efficient and professional service, and constantly reviewing our service to identify areas where we can improve.
[/li][/ul]

I’m here to help, so if you have any other questions, please let me know.

Alex


Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

Hi Profitbaby,

Just wondering have you done similar due diligence on FPA?

http://forums.babypips.com/forex-brokers/59865-forexpeacearmy-scam-not-what-you-think.html

Thanks, fine observation. Actually I often linger over their scam section and I was deeply affected by some exceptional dispute settlements where brokers were forced to make a refund to their traders, particularly due to FPA efforts. And it was taken as a foothold for my research. Being my personal opnion it doesn’t ensure absolute veracity…

I haven’t visited FPA in a while. But last time I checked it was just a cesspool of bitter, failing traders who blamed their inability to take a profit from the market on their brokers. The claims of SL hunting on NDD brokers were quite funny.

Thank you for your prompt and in-depth response. But how you gonna explain this thread?

Alpari UK - another possible scam. Your company is truly reckoned as scam there…

Yeah majority of traders there are from Asia. Their trading qualifications is under a big question mark, haha

Hi profitbaby,

We clarified in the thread that the OP has more than one account, and the account which was specifically queried, and to which a response was sent, is not the account number of the statement in the video.

In our initial reply to the client we provided a copy of the statement requested, that CLEARLY shows the unchanged balance. It’s disappointing that the customer evidently did not read it before making demonstrably unjustified claims.

Checking facts before going on the offensive often saves embarrassment further down the line.

Alex


Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

One rather new, but as per their claims “leading” big broker called IronFX is eluding review, perhaps you could do a check on them as well?

As in any business, people do not always agree on interpreting the terms of their dealings, so naturally every large firm will have some negative publicity, it’s only a matter of time. I would be more concerned if a firm looked as tho it had only super happy customers and no bad reviews at all…

I guess the broker question is ultimately about trust.

Thank you for this, very good …

My broker is NSFX i am really, REALLY happy with them… If somebody is interested, visit their Web

Good thread.

As a newbie myself and trading from the UK, I switched from FXCM to Hantec. I had no cause for complaint with FXCM, but the advantage for me with Hantec is the platform trading hours match UK time, so no more trying to work out the time differences anymore, and I think that in general their spreads are a bit tighter than some brokers. Hantec reviews were generally positive and they seem customer friendly, also they don’t hedge against your position, like some brokers do as I understand it.

Alex, anywhay, nothing is stolen without hands. I am sure, if you were trader, and faced the option, you would opt for a broker without regulator penalties and long-pages scam cases. Right? :slight_smile: You will not go against what coherent logic suggests, will you?

Absolutely at one with you. The point is to find one that has the least negative feedback isn’t it?

Hi profitbaby,

I do agree.

Coherent logic does indeed suggest that traders are better off with a broker that has abided by their regulator’s recommendations and also continue to publicly address any concerns their clients may have.

As always, we are happy to investigate any matters that are of genuine concern. If there is something wrong, we’ll be happy to put it right.

Alex


Alexander Chadwick
Alpari (UK) Representative

In Australia it is quite simple to know which ones to go with.

They must be regulated by ASIC. If they do this it means they can face very high fines for deceptive practices. It also means they need to store your funds in a segregated bank account with an Australian bank so even if they go bankrupt your funds are safe.

But because of these requirements there are very few brokers available (about 10). But there is enough competition for the spreads to be ok.

I really don’t trust review sites because what guarantee you have that they are not made by clickfarmers?

Perusing my article would give you a clear answer :wink:

Hello,

Do you have New york close chart