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I always had problems with Interactive Brokers. These the last 2 issues I am dealing with:
TWS bug:
in option trader or TWS Desktop, if you place a line order and type in your price, if you right click to transmit or check margin before you send order, the software automatically CHANGE YOUR PRICE AND REPLACE IT WITH THE BID PRICE.
Example: if you are selling 10 option contracts, bid is 10cents and asking 20cents, you place your order at 19cents, the order gets submitted at 10cents!!!, for me this cost me few thousands dollars.
I recorded a video of the process and after several weeks with customer service denying the problem or they can not play the video which was sent in avi then swf, they admitted the bug but they said that the way software is designed!!!
Problem2:
I received a wire in USD funds. IB issue automated instructions of wiring instructions. I copied the instructions and sent to my attorney to send the funds. The funds were received in Swiss Francs!!! I was charged conversion rate of 1.222.
I never asked for the funds to be switched and this conversion rate cost me about $2,000 loss. Since then CHF which is in my account went down in value causing more losses.
Again, several weeks still with customer service refusing to admit that their software made a mistake and sending fund to wrong account. I have been going back and forth between IB and my attorney that wired the money till finally IB acknowledging the issue but refusing to take responsibility.
I expressed many concerns about IB before and I intend to take action. You can create as many tickets on their system but the answer is the same, nothing wrong. Phone calls, chats, messages, tickets... also directed to dismiss real issues.
I have a separate thread I created some weeks ago that I am leaving IB and looking for recommendations.
This thread is to warn you if you are thinking about doing business with this company.
I found many issues about IB thru several forums. However, the company has active internet marketing that has agents/members on these forums to defend IB and discredit traders with real complaints.
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Thanks for your input and feedback. I found good choices to replace TWS by IB and evaluating them now.
Lucky to have great group of knowledgeable traders like yourselves.
if you are having so many issues that are costing you actual quantifiable $$$$, why remain with them? there are plenty of other FCM's out there, unless you are after the universal account... and in that case, you are pretty much stuck with them.
For the order entry stuff, you have access to the API and should be able to 1) write your own, 2) use a third party app to get things done... everyone knows TWS is worth very little and error prone.
the whole wire thing is weird, I guess IBKR screwed up on that. Usually only if your base currency is set to something else is where you will get the automatic conversion. I keep an account with EUR base and that happens to me only when I ach USD from my bank.
I have heard very few good things about IB and I have been on the trading scene for sometime. In fact I have heard many horror stories when dealing with them on some type of account mistake. Depending what you trade there are multiple combinations that you would be much better off using from a tools and customer service perspective.
If you are into options thinkorswim is excellent. I know they are now owned by Ameritrade but it seems to run separate from Ameritrade. Fantastic option tools and I have never had a problem with them taking care of any issue in the last 5 years. Not sure if still can but at one time you could call in and negotiate for a better commission. If you are doing futures I would suggest Ninja with a rithmic feed.
I think IB tries to be an all in one and it is one of the reasons they stink at all. Maybe don't look at an all in one but try and get top in each type of trading you do.
"The day I became a winning trader was the day it became boring. Daily losses no longer bother me and daily wins no longer excited me. Took years of pain and busting a few accounts before finally got my mind right. I survived the darkness within and now just chillax and let my black box do the work."
There is a lot of stories like this one an InteractiveBrokers.
Unfortunately, for people who wants to trade multiple instruments, from a lot of different exchanges, from different places in the World, with low commissions, they is not a lot of choices...
going from TWS to NT7 is like trading one hell for another... I paid for the full license for NT7 thinking that it would benefit me following that same though process, and it just does not work. The best IBKR 3rd party out there for trading is ButtonTrader, nothing else.
I have been looking at MC7 with DT lately, but they have their own issues.
I guess it depends on how you are using NT7. I was ready to quit on NT6.5, then NT7 came along, and it was like night and day in terms of stability. I do some pretty crazy stuff with NT to enable my trading, and even with all my unorthodox, unsupported code, NT7 has been pretty rock solid for me. I don't think I could implement the things I need with too many other platforms. What is it that you find does not work with NT?
Buttontrader, an amazing trading interface! No charting but it does have a 'sort of' tick chart built in, which allows you to see the short term trading pace and level very well.
I am a U.S based customer who has not experienced these problems with IB but back in the day, I dreaded having to deal with their customer service. I just trade the ES, NQ, 6E, a few equities and never have any issues at all, including quick wires out.
I do all my charting with IRT/MD... I only use the NT7 DOM with IBKR ... and as to what it does... orders not being sent right away when I click on the DOM, crashing as it sees fit ... I usually have about 8 doms up.. specially if I am doing a spread.. it compounds worst when I do equities at the same time I do futures... and what I find even more screwed up, is that though I have a multivendor license, I cant use TT without having to pay the fees twice because of how they coded their license features..
