Andrew Jones
Recruit
- Messages
- 8
I have a degree in law LLB, and I see that some people who have been scammed need some basic legal education. Here it is.
1) The first thing about Forex is that you must have a contract with a broker. 2). You must know where that broker physically is and 3) you must know how you will use the law i.e. the police, the courts or a controlling authority e.g. CFTC etc., to enforce your contract if someone tries to steal your money, by not sending it back to you immediately as per the terms of the contract.
SIMPLE TEST
look at the front page of their website. Does it tell you who the broker is? If you have a contract with a broker the broker must be a legal person. I.e. it must be John Jones or John Jones Co. Ltd. Suspicions immediately arise against UFX Bank or Prime4x because they are not companies. It doesn't say Co. Ltd., Inc. Corp. etc. it just says the name but that's not a legal person. You can't have a contract with a bird, a bicycle or a sandwich for example because it's not a legal person. You can't have a contract with the website either. It's not a legal person. So those two webpages do not tell you on the front page who they are. If you look at an honorable company such as GFT or FXCM they tell you immediately on the front page exactly who they are and who is regulating them, so you know how you can get them if they don't honor their contract. The front page of FXCM down the bottom says "regulated by..." And gives you their exact address. Their exact company name and their address. This is the person you are entering into the contract with.
If they don't tell you on the front page or just one click from it you should immediately dump them. Suspicious. In the case of UFX bank, looking at the webpage I do not even know if they are a legal person I can enforce a contract against. All I know is there is a webpage called UFX Bank, some phone numbers around the world and an address in Cyprus and one in London. You cannot take legal action against a phone number and you cannot take legal action against an address. So this is no good. And their address is in Cyprus so who exactly will be regulating a website that gives you a Cyprus address? Can you get a lawyer to take them to court in Cyprus? From the front page of their website, you don't even know who they really are.
The 4 rules below are exactly what you need in every single case. If you don't see these 4 rules fulfilled you should be very suspicious, and you'll need to do some research. If you are not experienced and understand basic legal concepts do not deal with anyone who is not within these basic rules. It is possible to deal with institutions in offshore jurisdictions but you really must know what you are doing.
On the very first page of their website or at least 1 click from that very first page under "about us" or "disclaimer" or something similar you must find the following information clearly stated:
1. The name of the company i.e. at the end it has Co. Ltd. or Inc. etc.
2. The physical address where that company resides must be clearly stated.
3. That physical address must be in a country with a stable, usable legal system. In Asia, where I live, I would only trust Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. Even in a country like the Philippines or Thailand for example it can take too long to enforce a contract. Even if you are right and you have all your documents the legal system is so slow it can take years and years. In other words, it doesn't really work. So a stable country with a usable legal system is a must.
4. When you fill in your account opening forms make sure that you are dealing with the same company on the webpage and that the company is putting your money in a bank account in that same country.
If you follow the above four steps you shouldn't have any problems because you have a contract with the broker and the terms of the contract will say that the broker will send you back your money at your request. If the broker does not follow the contract you can get the contract enforced in the US by the CFTC in Japan by the FSA for example. It will just be the regulating authority and the courts in that particular stable legal system country.
I tried contacting UFX Bank to get information about opening an account with them and because I was immediately suspicious the first question I asked in their online chat was "who exactly is regulating you, which jurisdiction are you in?" The reply I got from the other end was "well we have offices in London, Cyprus, Bahrain" and I said, "no I don't want your phone number I want to know exactly where your company is located and who is regulating them". The person on the other end just immediately hung up.
If you do not follow those four rules you better look very carefully at your account opening contract. Who exactly did you enter into the contract with? Where exactly are they physically located? Because that is the party that you have to get your money back from and that is the country whose legal system you'll have to use. WHICH COUNTRY IS THAT COMPANY INCORPORATED in?
For these people that are complaining about being scammed by different so-called brokers who don't even tell you that they are company on their front page, you may not have much chance of enforcing your contract. You might have to try and go criminal law and get the police to arrest them for fraud. Anyway you look at it you have made a mistake if you have broken my four rules above and I hope you have learnt your lesson. But it is not going to be easy for you guys I'm sorry. Learn to smell a scam from the front page of the website.
1) The first thing about Forex is that you must have a contract with a broker. 2). You must know where that broker physically is and 3) you must know how you will use the law i.e. the police, the courts or a controlling authority e.g. CFTC etc., to enforce your contract if someone tries to steal your money, by not sending it back to you immediately as per the terms of the contract.
SIMPLE TEST
look at the front page of their website. Does it tell you who the broker is? If you have a contract with a broker the broker must be a legal person. I.e. it must be John Jones or John Jones Co. Ltd. Suspicions immediately arise against UFX Bank or Prime4x because they are not companies. It doesn't say Co. Ltd., Inc. Corp. etc. it just says the name but that's not a legal person. You can't have a contract with a bird, a bicycle or a sandwich for example because it's not a legal person. You can't have a contract with the website either. It's not a legal person. So those two webpages do not tell you on the front page who they are. If you look at an honorable company such as GFT or FXCM they tell you immediately on the front page exactly who they are and who is regulating them, so you know how you can get them if they don't honor their contract. The front page of FXCM down the bottom says "regulated by..." And gives you their exact address. Their exact company name and their address. This is the person you are entering into the contract with.
If they don't tell you on the front page or just one click from it you should immediately dump them. Suspicious. In the case of UFX bank, looking at the webpage I do not even know if they are a legal person I can enforce a contract against. All I know is there is a webpage called UFX Bank, some phone numbers around the world and an address in Cyprus and one in London. You cannot take legal action against a phone number and you cannot take legal action against an address. So this is no good. And their address is in Cyprus so who exactly will be regulating a website that gives you a Cyprus address? Can you get a lawyer to take them to court in Cyprus? From the front page of their website, you don't even know who they really are.
The 4 rules below are exactly what you need in every single case. If you don't see these 4 rules fulfilled you should be very suspicious, and you'll need to do some research. If you are not experienced and understand basic legal concepts do not deal with anyone who is not within these basic rules. It is possible to deal with institutions in offshore jurisdictions but you really must know what you are doing.
On the very first page of their website or at least 1 click from that very first page under "about us" or "disclaimer" or something similar you must find the following information clearly stated:
1. The name of the company i.e. at the end it has Co. Ltd. or Inc. etc.
2. The physical address where that company resides must be clearly stated.
3. That physical address must be in a country with a stable, usable legal system. In Asia, where I live, I would only trust Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. Even in a country like the Philippines or Thailand for example it can take too long to enforce a contract. Even if you are right and you have all your documents the legal system is so slow it can take years and years. In other words, it doesn't really work. So a stable country with a usable legal system is a must.
4. When you fill in your account opening forms make sure that you are dealing with the same company on the webpage and that the company is putting your money in a bank account in that same country.
If you follow the above four steps you shouldn't have any problems because you have a contract with the broker and the terms of the contract will say that the broker will send you back your money at your request. If the broker does not follow the contract you can get the contract enforced in the US by the CFTC in Japan by the FSA for example. It will just be the regulating authority and the courts in that particular stable legal system country.
I tried contacting UFX Bank to get information about opening an account with them and because I was immediately suspicious the first question I asked in their online chat was "who exactly is regulating you, which jurisdiction are you in?" The reply I got from the other end was "well we have offices in London, Cyprus, Bahrain" and I said, "no I don't want your phone number I want to know exactly where your company is located and who is regulating them". The person on the other end just immediately hung up.
If you do not follow those four rules you better look very carefully at your account opening contract. Who exactly did you enter into the contract with? Where exactly are they physically located? Because that is the party that you have to get your money back from and that is the country whose legal system you'll have to use. WHICH COUNTRY IS THAT COMPANY INCORPORATED in?
For these people that are complaining about being scammed by different so-called brokers who don't even tell you that they are company on their front page, you may not have much chance of enforcing your contract. You might have to try and go criminal law and get the police to arrest them for fraud. Anyway you look at it you have made a mistake if you have broken my four rules above and I hope you have learnt your lesson. But it is not going to be easy for you guys I'm sorry. Learn to smell a scam from the front page of the website.