Hi All,
Few months ago, I opened an ICMarket account and they asked that I provide my citizenship document to show that I am an Australian Citizen and my Australia Drivers License. My opened was opened and I then deposited my funds ($54,000) using my husband’s debit card since he has a larger limit. ICMarkets didn’t decline the transaction and was happy to take the money. Since the account opening, they have made a number of sudden changes to their trading platform and I decided to leave. Here is where the problem started. They started asking for more and more documentation and was giving us the run around and would not refund my account. For a regulated broker, they act like scammers. Had I known this was going to be a problem, I would’ve used my debit card to fund the account and avoid all of these issues. But they were happy to take the money and look the other way, but when it was time to get my money back, all of a sudden they require all of these additional documentation. They have poor controls when it comes to funding the accounts. Their customer service is a joke and they just respond using standard language. Its like no one is reading my emails and a robot is just responding.
Now I am in this position where they are not releasing my funds and it has been close to two weeks now. These guys are scammers. I am so frustrated and I need my money, but they just want to keep it. Please stay away from this broker. I am spreading the word to anyone who will listen. Stay away from these guys. They are nothing but scammers.
The usual reason why reputable brokers are sticky with re-funding deposited funds is that they are being asked to do something which they cannot verify is legitimate - i.e. they might the be becoming accessories in money laundering. The penalties for money laundering are much stiffer than those for incompetent or poor customer service so they have to be serious about these things.
Now right away, you have put yourself in a difficult position. Firstly you openly state you deposited funds which were not yours.
Secondly, may I ask where are you trying to get the money re-funded to? It will be difficult if you want the money to go to another account than where it came from.
Secondly, as the card used was your husband’s, what is he doing in this?
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IC markets are NOT scammers. I’ve traded with them for years, and their customer service is currently vastly improved. E-mail them with all the documents they require.
Respond to Tommor’s questions. They are obliged by regulatory law to return money to the same account from where the funds originated, i.e. your husband’s. Otherwise they will be heavily fined by their AUS regulator.
As far as they’re concerned, YOU could be the scammer by requesting money to be returned to YOUR account instead. Hmm.
In other words, get real, you’ve brought this upon yourself. I have little sympathy for your situation, apart from advising you to now contact the regulator.
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Thanks for the response. I recognize I put myself in this position. I did ask them to refund the funds back into the original account and they are refusing to do so. My husband is doing everything he can to sort out this situation. He has provided every document asked of him.
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Thanks for the feedback. I understand they have to return the money to the original source. I can’t even get them to do that. And please, if you dont have anything valuable to add to the conversation, no need to belittle. Either way, thank you for your feedback.
I had the same palaver with IG when I changed banks - no doubt it will get sorted don’t worry.
Keep at it. Get your husband to say it’s his account and he deposited it. And that he would like it to be refunded back to his account. Keep yourself out of this discussion. If you’re already involved then send all documentation and get your husband to say he funded your account.
Next time read the terms and conditions especially on money laundering. And do your research. I already recently posted that I don’t recommend icmarkets because they do some dodgy tactics now and again. As they are regulated they will eventually hopefully give your money back. As a last resort you can contact their regulators. Please keep us updated.
I’ve been a trader with ICmarkets for 4 years. I’ve never had a problem with withdrawals and I withdraw profit every month.
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That sounds good.
Usually, you cannot instruct the broker to send your money to a third party. If you want money returned to you, it will have to go to the account that was originally deposited from. In addition, you will have to be prepared to prove that it was your money when it was deposited.
If this process indicates that you have breached the T^C’s pf the brokerage, they will still send the deposited money to where it can legally go - they cannot simply confiscate it - but they are unlikely to allow any profits to be withdrawn - profits made as a consequence of breaching T&C’s are normally forfeited.