Caught in the act.
Spreads went up to 10 pip. that is 100 pip on 5decimals.
I caught them in the act too with multiple Live Screen video recordings on repeated slippages and requotes, but they still got the audacity to deny any unscrupulous manipulation activities outright.
For Stop hunting scenarios I did notice that too, but not captured on video.
Alpari UK may be a big company, but my experience with them made me feel like they are more a huge bucket shop. See my comments below:
Although I see many good reviews in the Review page, my encounters with them has been shocking despite that they are prompt in their response, though. I started with a small account of $7,700. It was OK initially when I suffered losses for more than half of my account with infrequent slippages and requotes. However, when I started to recoup my losses with over 90% of Win trades for several consecutive days, all hell broke loose from 31st May 2012 onwards.
There was also an incident that a Closed trade even went missing totally into thin air. The order was not displayed in my account history after closing, and my profit was also not added into my account balance. When I reported to them, they said it’s normal at first, but later came asking me for the order number. This time, I didn’t want to waste my time providing them with all the clues and facts only to hear back that everything is normal. I would, nevertheless, provide this evidence only to the relevant authority doing the investigation.
When slippages and requotes became rampant, I decided to record my live trade entries and exit in video clips as proofs.
I provided them with my MT4 platform logs, my video clips (recorded live from the screen to show every detail of the problems occurred) of each incidence with a corresponding detail report illustrating what occurred as shown in each video clip and the corresponding order number, but they repeatedly claimed that all the incidences were normal after their thorough investigation.
For every trade I was made to pay many more additional pips (as much as 5 to >10 pips per round trade) via slippages and requotes.
As I trade many orders a day, all these could add up to a very substantial amount.
Anyone interested to have a copy of my detail report and all the video clips can download from the links below :
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/ReportForFPA.pdf
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/1_Order30643544.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/1_Order30658677.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/2_Order30645479.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/2a_Order30659038.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/2b_Order30659038.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/3_Order30659054.wmv
http://www.dpherbal.com/alpari/4_Order30663890.wmv
If anyone wishes to view the video clips in larger screen sizes please email me at
wealth007@gmail.com and I can send you separately.
From the video clips, can such occurrences really be normal or is this broker's system being programmed and calibrated to force traders into paying multiple folds more pips than the spread via unusually long period of slippages and multiple repeated requotes for both trade entries and exit???
Following are briefs of some incidences I encountered and are recorded in video clips during non-volatility period, and even during Asian open hours:
1) Slippages lasted more than a minute just to enter or exit a trade. And while the system says 'order accepted' it will prompt a requote price. If not accepted, it will continue prompting requote price. And when I chose to Cancel order, then will the order either get through, or it will again prompt a requote price.
2) Nine times of repeated failure in executing a Sell order for the GBPUSD pair during an obvious bearish move. Each time after clicking the SELL button it will popup a window to say ‘Trade Context is busy.’
3)Three times failure in executing a Sell order for the EURUSD, with similar ‘Trade Context is busy’ during an obvious bearish move. Looks like their system knows that the price is likely to move in my favor if my orders were executed, thus it refused me entry.
3) Three failed repeated attempts to Close my existing EURUSD opened position which has a floating profit. I had to close and reopen the platform twice.
4) When I clicked the SELL button for GBPUSD, Bid price was @1.53847, but requote price was asking for 1.53828 – that’s forcing me to pay 1.9 pips more when the price action was actually flat, as shown on the live chart captured in video clip.
5) Took me about one minute with multiple attempts to Close a trade in vain. It just kept requoting even after it says ‘Order is accepted.’
6) Took more than 10 secs wait after I clicked to Open a SELL trade for AUDUSD, and the order was still not executed. It was only accepted the very moment when I clicked Cancel Order (such scenario also repeatedly occurred to many other orders).
At the time when I Clicked the SELL button the Bid price was 0.96830, and when the order was executed (after I clicked the Cancel button) the Bid price shown on the right axis of the platform was 0.96852
However, the system still captured the executed Price @0.96830. So, when their system failed to lure me into waiting until the price moves lower(to my disadvantage for a SELL trade), when it executed immediately the moment I cancelled the order, the system still ripped me off by an additional 2.2 pips by capturing the entry price as 0.96830 instead of 0.96852.
7) Tried closing an order in vain. Only when I decided to click Cancel order then would the trade exit successfully.
8) Failed repeatedly to close a trade. While this time the response time was fast, but each time it responded with ‘Invalid prices.’ The very moment when I decided to click Cancel Order, it responded with ‘Order is accepted’ but immediately followed up with another popup window with a New quote. After more than 1 minute, and I could still not Close my trade!
9) Could not close an order repeatedly, but once I clicked Cancel, it immediately it prompted with a popup window to ask if I would accept a new Requote price.
In many instances, an initial good floating Profit would end up with a Loss or a reduced profit caused by the repeated hassles of Requotes and Slippages.
These occurred because I could not Close, and Price reversed, forcing me to set my Stop Loss, and I was quickly Stopped Out!!!
Other instances occurred by forcing me to execute and close trades with many pips more via long waits in slippages, and repeated requotes that lasted for a minute and longer.
Hope to receive feedback from the trader community here too, if such scenarios are really normal as claimed by Alpari-UK.