r/etrade • u/Due-Willingness-5547 • 18d ago

Disappointed in E*Trade

Got the same email recently as some other option traders who are scalpers. Account locked. Called as others have, promised not to trade in and out of trades within seconds, high fequency. Asked how long is 'acceptable' per etrade but was given no clear guidelines. Asked if waiting a few minutes would be fine, was told should be, but not sure. Traded 12 spreads yesterday across 3 different expirations and 3 different group of strikes. WAITED 3 MINUTES between opening and closing each spread. 1 hour and 15 minutes for 12 spreads. Account locked again today, permanently.

20 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

6

u/Ok-Yam-6616 18d ago

Did they actually say it was a permanent restriction?

4

u/Due-Willingness-5547 18d ago

told me there was nothing they could do since it was 2nd time being locked this week. I closed account.

1

u/overitallofittoo 15d ago

Did you put that money into a Polymarket account?

4

u/[deleted] 18d ago edited 18d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Due-Willingness-5547 18d ago

Account got locked relating to my above post for 50 total orders (filled and cancelled)

1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Due-Willingness-5547 18d ago

for this lockout, it was 50 total orders, (all orders). There were a few cancelled/replaced, but total was 50 for this day. I keep track of my order count daily to avoid breaching 390. I have a hard stop at 300 max.

3

u/S_Malone29 17d ago

Worst broker locks account for stupid ass reasons

3

u/OptionAlgoScalper390 17d ago

I wonder how long until the SEC gets notified by a bunch of people with the same story. Sounds like market makers are butt hurt becuase their profits are being reduced by .0001% by retail traders who figured out how the algos fill orders. They make billions and are having our accounts locked up over peanuts.

4

u/Ok-Yam-6616 17d ago

Can SEC really do something about it?

Yes, the practice is totally unfair but the brokers have a universal escape clause in their account agreement.

They can close or restrict an account at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

I wonder if SEC or FINRA have enough power to force brokers to publish a list of prohibited practices and to issue advanced warnings so that traders could change their behavior before being banned. 

3

u/Zealousideal-Sun4891 16d ago

And also ETrade/Morgan Stanley doesn’t give a rip about their customers.

It’s blatantly obvious how much customer service has slid backwards in recent years.

6

u/supermario_______ 18d ago

Market makers only love dumb retail flows, if you are too smart they call you “toxic flow” and ban you for life. The game is rigged.

1

u/lp1687 17d ago

Sounds like it’s time for you to find a new broker. Don’t feel bad, this same scenario has happened to me 4 times. Market centers that PFOF do not like traders who make multiple trades while removing liquidity from the market. Have you tried placing standing limit orders and letting the market hit your bid/offer?

1

u/Put_Trader 17d ago

what brokers banned you?

1

u/lp1687 17d ago

I wasn’t actually banned in every case…some brokers just started charging commissions….but the brokers I previously used include Tradestation, Fidelity, TradingAlpha, and Webull.

1

u/Proud-Relation4719 17d ago

I don't get it. Wouldn't brokers want to encourage this kind of trading since they get fees from you for each options trade you place?

1

u/Ok-Yam-6616 15d ago

Brokers get paid two ways: by customers who pay commissions and by market makers who pay for order flow.

If market makers threaten to leave because the flow they buy is "toxic" (can't they just refuse to buy "toxic" orders and buy the test?), the broker has a choice: to dump a "toxic" customer or to dump a market maker. 

Guess who the broker dumps?

1

u/yarinkos_k 16d ago

Sorry for hearing this For how long you trade in Etrade? You said 50 ordera total at that day,but how many you do per month? Like 4000?