Resolved: ICMarkets is not a fair broker...when they do a mistake, you are the one they charge!

[BaptisteC]

During the debacle of regional US banks of may 23, I traded instrument US2000 that had a very nice swap rate (I assumed it was coming from future/CFD adjustment in volatile times) but unfortunately even with those good swaps rates I ended globally negative on those trades for -932.23 EUR. I was fine with it, but yesterday they announced their swaps were wrong and they adjusted them to an additional -3112.49 EUR (!!!!), leaving me with a total loss of 4000+ EUR instead.
They refuse to change this even after I complained I would not have entered those trades if they had not make a mistake on their swaps... I feel robbed and not taken into consideration, that is not how a decent broker should behave in my opinion. Beware!

 

[4evermaat]

....I was fine with it, but yesterday they announced their swaps were wrong and they adjusted them to an additional -3112.49 EUR (!!!!), leaving me with a total loss of 4000+ EUR instead.

Can you upload some screenshots of the broker announcing this adjustment?

Did people who had positive swap rates get the positive adjustment?

 

[BaptisteC]

I have no idea for others with negative swaps if they had a positive adjustment, attached is the screenshot of their answer to any objection...

 

[4evermaat]

I can't say it is an outright scam. But I would like to see some more transparency in terms of how they arrived at those swap rates.

I would like to know if you know other people who traded with IC Markets around this time (and traded the same or related instruments). Did they get hit with these fees also?

 

[compu-forex]

This is an industry problem, not a broker problem. I have several times been hit with "swap corrections", from several brokers, so this issue is not limited to ICM. Broker T & C allow for them to correct the swaps retroactively when there has been a manifest error. There is nothing transparent about the swaps. They come from the liquidity providers and brokers actually have little say in the matter, other than any padding that they might take.

I think it sucks but you agree to it when you sign up, so there is no recourse other than social media pressure.

 

[4evermaat]

This is an industry problem, not a broker problem. I have several times been hit with "swap corrections", from several brokers, so this issue is not limited to ICM. Broker T & C allow for them to correct the swaps retroactively when there has been a manifest error.

The problem with this argument is the same as a broker just saying that your trade has been cancelled because it didn't "follow the rules". This is way too arbitrary, and can easily be abused.

You are correct that there isn't an industry standard for the swap rate itself. But there are still principles of fair dealing....mainly that the trade is finalized once the position is opened (initially) and then again when offset (closed, partially and/or eventually in full). What ICM and other brokers are doing is still an asymmetrical reneging.

In short, it's very bucketshop-y type of behavior.

There is nothing transparent about the swaps. They come from the liquidity providers and brokers actually have little say in the matter, other than any padding that they might take.

It is posted in the trading platform what the current rate being charged here. And the broker has full control over what is streamed to the trading platform. To say the broker has little say in the matter implies that they don't have any responsibility to ensure the rates or prices are correct.

Even if we give ICM the benefit of the doubt (that there was a "real" error in swap rate), nearly 10 weeks went by and the broker didn't notice something peculiar? If the rates originally come from the LPs, then where is this adjustment coming from 9+ weeks in?

I really couldn't see any agency model brokerage doing this. Because the rates given to them from LP/prime broker are streamed to them. They add whatever markup and then that's the rate displayed on the platform. The swap rates are refreshed at least once a day at rollover and can be adjusted during the day.

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@compu-forex have you ever received any positive adjustment from these "swap corrections" you were hit with in the past (from any broker, not necessarily ICM?

How many times did you get a positive adjustment swap (missed profit was added to your account) vs a negative adjustment swap (they jacked your account balance for more)?

 

[compu-forex]

@compu-forex have you ever received any positive adjustment from these "swap corrections" you were hit with in the past (from any broker, not necessarily ICM?

No obviously not and I would never expect to see a positive adjustment because I know when a brokers' swaps are incorrect and would never make a trade where I am paying an incorrect amount of swap to the broker. It would be like making a trade at $50 per lot commission - for what?

The problem with this argument is the same as a broker just saying that your trade has been cancelled because it didn't "follow the rules". This is way too arbitrary, and can easily be abused.

Let me correct you - This is way too arbitrary, and can easily be is often abused. My argument is that this is an industry problem and not limited to ICM. A similar issue is when brokers change swap shortly before rollover. I had one broker change swaps from positive to massively negative 30 minutes before rollover, which is simply not acceptable.

Even if we give ICM the benefit of the doubt (that there was a "real" error in swap rate), nearly 10 weeks went by and the broker didn't notice something peculiar? If the rates originally come from the LPs, then where is this adjustment coming from 9+ weeks in?

My take on this is that most brokers do not fully understand swaps and especially have no idea how to calculate them. I regularly see swaps that are incorrect by a factor of 10. The good brokers will simply correct it after a week or two and leave it at that. Occasionally, they will come back to you for the profits you might have made. I had one broker actually seize 14% of my total account because of an issue like this - so in terms of quality of buckets shops, there are far worse things that can happen you.

 

[BaptisteC]

We finally found a solution with the broker after some communication. This solution is fine by me and I don't have any more issue with ICMarkets, shall we close this topic?

 

[FxMaster]

We finally found a solution with the broker after some communication. This solution is fine by me and I don't have any more issue with ICMarkets, shall we close this topic?

It`s always good to see resolved cases. Yo mods, can you please mark and move it to resolved folder??

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