EmperorOfCanada
Apr 5th, 2009, 04:39 PM
Posted here: http://consumerist.com/5198894/worst-april-fools-ever-online-brokerage-zecco-pretends-to-give-away-millions-panics-when-people-start-spending
Online brokerage site Zecco somehow failed to predict that surprising customers with multi-million dollar trading balances for April Fools would encourage their customers to make actual trades with their newfound riches. When Zecco realized what was happening, they responded by panic-selling the purchased stocks at a loss and charging the balance to customers, along with a $19.99 broker-assisted trading fee. One poor schmo bought $1 million worth of shares that were later sold for less than the purchase price. Let's dive into Zecco's forums to see how their thoughtless joke went over...
* md_abbas007: My Order got executed!!!! whats going to happen now? Will they come after me to collect the money? :-(
* slkrol: DITTO HERE. As an April Fools joke, I placed several ridiculous orders and they were ACCEPTED!!!! Let's see what happens.
* ballen06: Unfortunately, zecco actually executed an order that was for 3200.00 when i only have 2k in the account, all of which was in settlement so I should not have been able to buy anything. I called and e-mailed Zecco immediately and sold the stock within seconds since I was scared to hold something that wasn't mine. Zecco initially assured me it would be takeN care of but is now telling me I have to eat the $800.00 loss. Essentially they executed a trade that should have never been executed.
* west: ummmm, this is ridiculous. so i thought it was an april fools joke, put in an order for SKF, and it went through then Zecco just sold it —-- more than likely making me take the loss please let me know if any of you experienced this! lol....and they charged me $19.99 for commission
* ctb242: I am new to Zecco, and equally new to stock trading. As you all noticed yesterday, we woke up with an exorbitant number in our accounts. I waited a few hours thinking that this was surely an error, but when it didn't change, I thought let me test this and buy some stocks and immediately sell. Which I did - I bought approximately $14,000 worth of stocks, sold when it was up $70. The money was immediately replenished after that sell, and I didn't touch my account again. By the end of the day, it seemed the issue had resolved itself. However, today, my buying power is -$14,000, approximately the amount of the transaction. Did this happen to any of you that did the same thing? It doesn't seem that this is right since the money was immediately repaid, and if anything, I might just owe zecco that $70 profit. I would appreciate thoughts on this.
By 10 a.m., Zecco had posted the following notice to all accounts:
Important notice
Some clients may experience incorrect display of Buying Power and Account Balances. Please know that in most cases you may view your correct Start of Day balances under Account Records on the trading platform.
If you need to confirm your Buying Power in order to place a trade, please email Customer Service at customerservice@zeccotrading.com or call 877-700-STOCK (877-700-7862). We thank you for your patience as we work to correct these issues.
Zecco's customers should have known that they didn't really have millions in their accounts, but that doesn't make the gag any less stupid.
I don't see any proof listed that Zecco really did this on purpose as an April Fools joke, but the timing IS rather suspicious. In any case joke, or hacked or whatever, assuming these people are held accountable for their trades, some people might have just had a really really bad start to April.
Online brokerage site Zecco somehow failed to predict that surprising customers with multi-million dollar trading balances for April Fools would encourage their customers to make actual trades with their newfound riches. When Zecco realized what was happening, they responded by panic-selling the purchased stocks at a loss and charging the balance to customers, along with a $19.99 broker-assisted trading fee. One poor schmo bought $1 million worth of shares that were later sold for less than the purchase price. Let's dive into Zecco's forums to see how their thoughtless joke went over...
* md_abbas007: My Order got executed!!!! whats going to happen now? Will they come after me to collect the money? :-(
* slkrol: DITTO HERE. As an April Fools joke, I placed several ridiculous orders and they were ACCEPTED!!!! Let's see what happens.
* ballen06: Unfortunately, zecco actually executed an order that was for 3200.00 when i only have 2k in the account, all of which was in settlement so I should not have been able to buy anything. I called and e-mailed Zecco immediately and sold the stock within seconds since I was scared to hold something that wasn't mine. Zecco initially assured me it would be takeN care of but is now telling me I have to eat the $800.00 loss. Essentially they executed a trade that should have never been executed.
* west: ummmm, this is ridiculous. so i thought it was an april fools joke, put in an order for SKF, and it went through then Zecco just sold it —-- more than likely making me take the loss please let me know if any of you experienced this! lol....and they charged me $19.99 for commission
* ctb242: I am new to Zecco, and equally new to stock trading. As you all noticed yesterday, we woke up with an exorbitant number in our accounts. I waited a few hours thinking that this was surely an error, but when it didn't change, I thought let me test this and buy some stocks and immediately sell. Which I did - I bought approximately $14,000 worth of stocks, sold when it was up $70. The money was immediately replenished after that sell, and I didn't touch my account again. By the end of the day, it seemed the issue had resolved itself. However, today, my buying power is -$14,000, approximately the amount of the transaction. Did this happen to any of you that did the same thing? It doesn't seem that this is right since the money was immediately repaid, and if anything, I might just owe zecco that $70 profit. I would appreciate thoughts on this.
By 10 a.m., Zecco had posted the following notice to all accounts:
Important notice
Some clients may experience incorrect display of Buying Power and Account Balances. Please know that in most cases you may view your correct Start of Day balances under Account Records on the trading platform.
If you need to confirm your Buying Power in order to place a trade, please email Customer Service at customerservice@zeccotrading.com or call 877-700-STOCK (877-700-7862). We thank you for your patience as we work to correct these issues.
Zecco's customers should have known that they didn't really have millions in their accounts, but that doesn't make the gag any less stupid.
I don't see any proof listed that Zecco really did this on purpose as an April Fools joke, but the timing IS rather suspicious. In any case joke, or hacked or whatever, assuming these people are held accountable for their trades, some people might have just had a really really bad start to April.