Traders Union
Complaints and Protection of Trader Rights

Complaints and Protection of Trader Rights

To protect themselves from potential issues, every trader should understand how financial regulators work, which licenses ensure a broker’s (or crypto exchange’s) reliability, and what actions to take in case of unfair broker practices.

This guide explains how to verify a broker’s legitimacy, outlines the procedure for contacting regulators and details measures to minimize financial risks.

How to protect your funds and defend your rights?

When a broker breaches its obligations, it is crucial to act swiftly and consistently. Know that you have options to safeguard your funds.

Follow these steps to improve your chances of defending your interests.

Key steps:

Gather evidence
Document all violations: save screenshots of correspondence, your user account, and trade history from the trading platform or application.
Contact customer support
Initially, try to resolve the issue directly with the broker, seeking possible solutions.
File a regulatory complaint
If the broker is licensed, file a formal complaint with the supervisory body, providing all relevant evidence. (See below for a list of regulators and their websites.)
Submit a claim on our website
You can post a complaint as a review on the broker’s profile page on the Traders Union website. This will impact the broker’s rating and alert other traders, potentially prompting the broker to address the problem.
Seek legal counsel
For complex situations, we advise consulting a lawyer specializing in the specific field to protect your rights and pursue compensation for losses.

Risk Warning

Keep in mind that statistics show that 75% to 89% of traders experience losses, while only 11-25% profit. Forex, CFD, futures, and options investing demands a careful approach, understanding of market mechanisms, and effective risk management.

Before trading, it is recommended to complete training, test strategies on a demo account, and only invest fundsyou can afford to lose without significant financial hardship.

How to file a complaint on our website?

Don’t let unscrupulous brokers escape accountability!

Share your experience in the reviews, our experts analyze them and factor them into broker ratings. Your feedback can help other traders avoid financial losses.

Financial Regulators

To protect themselves from potential issues, it is important for every trader to understand how financial regulators work, which licenses ensure a brokers (or crypto exchanges) integrity, and what actions to take if dishonest practices by a broker are discovered.

This guide covers methods for verifying a broker’s legitimacy, the procedure for contacting regulatory authorities, and measures to help minimize financial risks.

A financial regulator — is a supervisory body that oversees brokers’ activities, protects investor interests, and ensures market transparency. It sets requirements, licenses companies, and monitors their compliance. A license from a reputable regulator confirms a broker’s legitimate operations.

Tier-1 – the most reliable licenses with stringent requirements: substantial capital, client fund segregation, regular audits, and strict reporting.
Tier-2 – licenses with moderate capital and reporting requirements, providing basic trader protection.
Tier-3 – offshore licenses with minimal oversight and weak client protection.
Unlicensed brokers, registered in jurisdictions without mandatory regulation (e.g., Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), pose the greatest risk to investors.

If you fell a victim of fraud by a regulated company, file a complaint with the relevant supervisory body. To do so, visit its official website, find the complaints section, and complete the form, providing the company’s details, a situation description, and attached evidence (correspondence, contracts, payment documents, etc.). The regulator will review the complaint within its authority, which may include requesting more information, conducting an investigation, and taking appropriate action.

Country

Regulator

Abbreviation

Website

Tier

Australia

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

ASIC

asic.gov.au

Tier 1

Austria

Financial Market Authority