Hello guy/girls,
Are we really protected through the regulators? We are all search for the regulated brokers and check at the license if it’s NFA FCA ASIC or any other regulator. If I have a problem with the broker now, how can I complain about it? Can I directly submite a complain about the broker to those organisations? or how does they protect the investors? Have anyone had an experience like this before? And does it make a different from a country to another?
Through some, pretty well.
Through others, effectively not at all.
They and their procedures vary enormously.
It depends where the broker’s regulated. If they’ve chosen to register and be regulated in Cyprus or in the Caribbean, for example, then “good luck because you’ll need it”.
That kind of regulation protects the broker, perhaps, but not typically the customers.
The time to investigate all this, of course, is before you open an account, when you check the broker’s regulatory record.
The regulations vary according to your country of registration, hopefully not present.
I wrote a massive post on this somewhere, maybe about a week ago.
i won’t write it again
in short, NO, We are nor protected, People get taught that we are.
yes i have
I Reported it to ASIC (The Regulatory Board)
the First level of stupidity from them was, they said "we can’t do anything about it, you’ll have to call your broker "
hehe
Riiiight
So… a broker rips me of, yet i have to call the broker to complain… yeah… LOL Right, i’ll hold my breath for that to work.
basically , to be honest, they didn’t even know what Forex was in the beginning
if this is the body that is supposed to be protecting us
THERE IS NO PROTECTION
This is absolute rubbish. It’s just wrong.
The two replies above it are both correct.
@LukasVisser
Mate, i hope you’re right,
but, I CALLED ASIC personally
Nothing happened , they were useless, i couldn’t even file a complaint when i asked if i could file a complaint
they said this “SORRY, BUT WE DON’T DO THAT”
SO… Feel Free to tell me how wrong i am, but i actually went to complain
and nothing happened
How do you explain that ?
I’d need a lot more facts and details, even to start to do that.
But what Charlie said above is completely correct (and he ought to know!)
What Martin States is so true… every corporation in Australia knows that ASIC is a “toothless tiger”…
They use most of their resources trying to stay out of trouble… no chance of them wanting to or even attempting to protect the average retail trader in the FX markets.
Pepperstone, IC Markets and the like use the “ASIC Regulated” stamp as a sales tool… nothing more.
Really…Put forward one example of where ASIC intervened in favour of a retail trader.
You’re on your own boys and girls… be careful out there…
Well of course you need more information
i was just speaking generally
but at the end of the day, I DID COMPLAIN (and that on it’s own merit should say a lot)
the fact that i wanted to lodge a formal complaint and i couldn’t because they literally had no idea what forex was
i then told them they are the regulatory board and i have a complaint about a broker
they told me i couldn’t lodge the complaint because they don’t do that and i should contact my broker
without any further information, that alone should say a lot
now as for Laughing Charlie
he did say…
That kind of regulation protects the broker, perhaps, but not typically the customers.
i would agree with this
he also said it depends where you are
I"m in Sydney
so, i don’t know maybe it’s different here (but i do know that ASIC are a company that is not to be messed with)
also
you said
Why should he “Ought to know” what does he do ? i don’t follow.
@Trendswithbenefits
yeah that’s how it seemed, Exactly right.
nothing happened,
Now Personally , i didn’t consider ASIC a Toothless tiger
but it now seems like they are
and YES, DEFINITELY given that this is the case, and if Brokers know it, it’s basically a Marketing tool
or as i call it… A REGULATED BADGE OF HONOUR that a broker can show off on a website to give the illusion
of Piece of mind
Now. i have not really had a lot of problems of late in the last few years with pepperstone, that’s one thing.
but when people talk to me about regulation, honestly, i doesn’t really mean a lot
i have more piece of mind that the local SUBWAY STORE will put the correct sauce on my Sub than i do in the fact that ASIC will protect me if my broker tries to screw me
THAT’S A FACT
if i have broker issues, i won’t be going to ASIC
i’ll be Getting A Solicitor
but , that sort of defeats the purpose of regulation, doesn’t it ?
The colluding Oil companies have been laughing at them for over a decade (3 ASIC Governors) and the Financial sector cannot wipe the smile of it’s face. Just this week a Bank Investment Advisor forged clients signatures on dodgy investment products, the investor lost $1000’s and the Advisor (Bank) copped a $3k fine… ASIC hard at work right there…
It’s no wonder the Government has called for a Banking Royal Commision… ASIC has no control in the Financial Sector… my Grand Mother would leave more teeth marks on your a$$ than ASIC…
And the Brokers know it… It will just come down to how correct you can “legally afford” to be… Cheque Book Justice.
LOL… I’m not even going to contest that LOL
And… i , in turn have realized that they know it
EXACTLY MY POINT
kind of renders the whole ASSURANCE OF REGULATION to a certain level of B.S. doesn’t it
the rest of what you said, i didn’t know that, but thank you
but yeah, when i called up
it was close to RETARD LEVEL of knowledge (no offense to retarded people)
Common sense would dictate that if you call a police station and ask a police officer is stealing against the law
YOU WOULD THINK that he would know WHAT THE LAW WAS hehe (let alone what is illegal under the law)
well. when i called ASIC
the lady said, she had never heard of FOREX
i then said FOREIGN EXCHANGE / Currency Trading
she said, she has never heard of that, then replied with “sir, is there something else i can help you with that we do deal with”
i said, but, YOU ARE THE REGULATORY BOARD IN AUSTRALIA
the broker has it on their site that ASIC is the regulator
if i call the Financial Ombudsman he will tell me ASIC is the regulator
i also know that this is a fact because i looked into what is required to become a broker and one of the steps are , it is advisable to be registered with a regulator such as ASIC
I SAID ALL THIS
i had to even explain what a forex broker was and does
and after all that
She still said "oh, so it’s sort of like the stockmarket… yeah, we don’t deal with that"
LOL
I KID YOU NOT
THIS WAS STUPID BEYOND BELIEF
and they said, contact the broker if you have a complaint
so… (as stupid as it seemed) i did that
obviously i very politely got the middle finger hehe
i then called around to a few financial people, Banks (were not much help unless i wanted to open an account)
Tax Agents, Financial Advisors, Accountants
all of them said… YOU SPEAK TO ASIC
at one point, i actually asked ASIC (in a different phone conversation) How do i become a broker and get a financial licence
THEY SAID “We don’t know” (i swear i am not making this up… ok)
they said you could try going to TAFE
and i said Which course do i do
They said… YOU GUESSED IT… “We don’t know”
i said, but how does a broker become a broker in the first place, i mean
if i want to be a registered electrician , i call the Regulatory Board and ask HOW DO I BECOME A REGISTERED ELECTRICIAN (i know this because i recently ask on behalf of a young bloke i know)
and they usually say
do An Electricians courst in TAFE
Get your Certifications
Then get 3 industry References
have 12 months experience under your belt
come back to the regulatory board and apply TO BE REGISTERED
simple
you’d think the process is similar for a broker
they just said,
ASK A BROKER OR ACCOUNTANT
and i said “But how do they get registered with you to begin with if you don’t know anything about forex,
there must be a form or something… right ?”
in a nutshell
they said
speak to the broker or accountant
now to speak to those guys about this is like spitting in their face, but i asked anyway
they said, MATE, CALL ASIC AND ASK
this is how stupid is was
I SERIOUSLY KID YOU NOT
after a while i just said, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, HAVE A NICE DAY
what else could i say ?
so yeah
CONCLUSION
FROM ASIC - Regulation means nothing, it’s a pipe dream to satifsfy newbies that don’t know any better
if you want to complain HAVE DEEP POCKETS AND A LAWYER OR… SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN
simple as that
The problem for ASIC is they are fully aware that the LP’s (the men behind the curtain) are OS and legally untouchable, truth beknown the Brokers in this country are merely the front counter for OS players, they cannot penalise the Australian Fin. Sec… they have no chance against global financial leviathans.
yeah, i didn’t think so.
so as far as the newbie is concerned then
BOTTOM LINE - Regulation means… JACK
Now another question. Can I return to the court? can I contact a lawyer to help me solve a problem with the broker? With “Problem” I mean then, the broker refuses to return my money back or they cheat somehow against the terms and conditions. @anon81929759, in your case, why didn’t you contact a lawyer, if you and the broker are in Australia?
In a summary, how can I get my money back if the broker refused to return them back? this is the main questions. How can I invest money if I’m not sure that I’m protected. I already invest some cash but the amount I’m investing now doesn’t mean a lot to me. I was thinking about pumping a huge amount right now. But unless I’m sure I won’t face any problem, I’ll never even think about it.
@eloss
oh sorry mate, i see what this has caused… My Bad
LET ME CLARIFY A FEW THINGS
with my posts on this subject i am collectively referring to 2 things, as opposed to telling 2 long stories
they had an issue where Funds were not being returned upon withdrawal
anyway, without getting into the details
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION
I will always insist that a broker is in Australia and has an Australian Business.
that way they can be searched
they can be found
they can be sued
simple as that
Generally if a company is going to be sued, the individual that gets ripped off gets paid upfront, and the collections company and their legal team, or your lawyers or mine, goes after them and sues for damages and costs
so that’s how you get your money back if the broker doesn’t want to pay
now. there are circumstances where you won’t get it back… that’s true
because the legal firm will only pay you out upfront if they have enough legal information on them to track them and find them and garnish assets to recover the costs
even if the company goes into Receivership, it doesn’t matter, these things can go on for like 10 years +.
the people affected get paid upfront.
but again, this requires money to get a lawyer or solicitor or Barrister
but it can be done
but, … if the broker is offshore, Australian Law does not apply
simple as that
now. with what i said,
if ASIC actually took action
and Regulation was a Real Thing
They’d be stuffed
at the least they would have to explain
I HAD VIDEOS of Trades being closed without me closing them, while they were in profit
then the trades got replaced by opposite trades
and when i asked where are the previous trade numbers
i was told they didn’t exist
i have all this on recording Audio and Video
Now, i could easily give this to ASIC, they could pass it to the broker
and have a PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS hehe
but they didn’t even take the report
so, the only other way to get them if they are an Australian business is… Sue them
Well it depends on the regulators and the country location I guess. Bottom line is that the procedure is a bit complicated and could take some time for the relevant authorities to lead the investigation and have some results. But first each regulator will ask you if you have already contacted the broker to file an official complaint and what was their response. Everything should be in writing and documented in order to be used as a proof. If you are not satisfied by your broker’s decision and response, you can escalate that complaint to the regulator by again filing a report or contact the financial ombudsman. His function is to usually solve conflicts between clients and companies which offer financial services. Unfortunately the procedures with either the ombudsman and the regulators are slow, I don’t know why it takes so much time and efforts, bureaucracy I guess…
If none of the above gives a result, the last option is to hire an attorney and take the issue to court but this step might be quite expensive.
I know how trivial it sounds but basically we need to choose our brokers very carefully.
Definitely , we do
and yes, Lawyers are expensive, approx $600 - $2000 per hour depending on who you get
It all depends on the company with which you choose to operate, they have different regulations in different countries, that inform you of them!
This is just completely wrong, Martin.
Not only is it completely wrong, but you’re actively misinforming inexperienced beginners about one of the most important things there is, for them to understand before they deposit funds anywhere.
I know you mean well.
But your posts are full of incorrect and misleading information.
It’s REALLY important for beginner traders to understand how to check a broker’s regulatory record, and to learn how important that is. It’s one of the single most important things they need to appreciate.
You do seem to offer an awful lot of these factual inaccuracies and mistakes in your posts. Luckily, at the moment, there are still some experienced members left who often correct them, but it would be much easier all round if sometimes you asked yourself, before submitting a post, “Now - do I actually know that this information is correct?” Just look at the mistakes you’ve acknowledged recently (not to mention the ones you haven’t) and I think you’ll maybe start seeing this issue from other members’ perspectives a little?
PLEASE???