Transferring funds from my bank account into 212, and then back again resulted in a £1,431 loss for me, even though I only actually lost $272 in trades. I was advised to transfer the money out of one initial account, close it, and to open another one, and transfer the money into that one. I was returned £8,600.
I’ve reported this by email, but no one pays any attention. It takes multiple days for anyone to respond, and when you describe failures in communication from the other side on posts here, they delete them, saying take it up in email. But the email system doesn’t work, taking days to get responses, and there’s no accountability for this, and no one will take oversight of the multiple problems plaguing registration and getting started, and the costs are visited on the buyer.\
As explained, at the time being the Invest account wasn’t available in your region. Hence why you had to close your existing CFD account and sign up for Invest.
Can you share a bit more details about why that action made you lose £1,431? Just to be clear that we’re on the same page: any exchange rate & local bank fees regarding deposits are applied at the bank level and is unrelated to us.
As of your other posts - yes, they were deleted. It was explained clearly already: our community is not a place where just by sharing “how bad we are” a case will be prioritized.
If you have constructive feedback - sure, share it.
I would like to know too. I transferred £10,000 into the account via your Bulgarian bank which went out on the 25th and 26th March. These amounted to $11k+ in the account. I ended up $272 down from initial amount. My fault, no one else.
Per your advice, I closed out of all trades on the 27th. As I tried to say in the post that your team deleted, no one told me my transfers had been cancelled or why. They simply asked for more details on the 30th, which I replied with within 12 hours. I patiently waited until the 3rd April (6 days after initial transfer), at which time I followed up. When they replied, they told me they had no signs of any transfer. Only turns out someone cancelled the order at some point (certainly wasn’t me - I don’t think it’s even possible). They ask me to initiate another transfer - only when they ask me, it’s a Saturday - and the transfer doesn’t even initiate until the following Monday - 9 days since initial request.
I wrote to you about it at this point, and your response was to delete my post, and now you accuse me of just posting to attract attention (again). But there is no attention to be gotten. Not by you, or by whoever answers the emails and doesn’t read back through the thread to follow up.
This is my feedback. I’m sorry it’s not constructive, because I don’t design software nor am I professional trader.
My constructive advice is don’t do to customers what you’ve done to me. You can/will not follow across the threads of email/forum communication, but you are the only person who answers in real time. Any communication by the email system is completely bungled, and these bungles cost days of time. This should be improved.
Customers who issue transfers should be warned that their transfers are being cancelled.
Customer service officers who ask for bank transfer information should follow through and use the information they’ve been given to execute the transfer.
And why not answer the question I’ve posted in my emails (which haven’t been responded to yet) - why is it that my colleague can get instantaneous transfers back and forth between her bank and her 212 account, when she banks in the UK. She has never heard of the Bulgarian bank. I bank in the UK but cannot?
It’s one thing to be patient in extenuating circumstances, and a further thing to be effectively told to “hold your tongue” because the forum manager doesn’t think the feedback is constructive, but it really is a third for that patience and silence to be rewarded with quintuple losses.
I’m pretty sure Lloyd’s doesn’t charge 1200 pounds to receive a bank transfer. What the world currency markets have done over the time your team has been hiring new squads but not responding to customers, I can’t possibly explain, because you are the experts in world currency markets, not me. I’m simply an academic historian who has tried to invest the remains of his inheritance from his gran in a mad bid to make something before I retire, and been burned.
I am asking because between 18th-26th March, GBP to USD had pretty big gap 1GBP = 1.18-1.19 USD. I know bank rates are pretty horrendous in EU not sure how it is in UK.
Sending and exchanging money internationally can be very tricky. I would only do it after very careful prior study of all fees that my UK sending bank, intermediary bank (if any) and receiving bank might charge.
It would be worth looking into a Revolut or Transferwise account as good option for exchanging currency and international transfers.
But there is really not much point in having a Trading 212 account in USD if you live and bank in GBP in the UK - much simpler to have a Trading 212 account in GBP. It would then be easy to fund the account using your usual bank debit/credit card.
@Tony.V
If the analyses above are correct, that these losses are all due to Lloyd bank conversion rates, and that I’ve been caught in a bank currency exchange losses (to the tune of 12%), and then I cannot use a GBP account to fund a 212 trading account, then how is this a workable business model?
How are British expats supposed to use 212?
Before you delete this post for “seeking attention” please read critically. The model clearly doesn’t function - or is there one which works? Don’t you think this is an important problem for your company to address?
Upon creating your account, you could see that the only available option for you is CFD. Yet, you received a solution as you asked for switching to Invest.
We’ve made it clear why account-related posts will be deleted. We’re not censoring anyone. I even sent you a DM where I explained all this upon having your previous post delisted:
It is relatively simple: the community is a place where people can share ideas/feedback/request.
The account currency is visible before the account setup.
GBP is available only for the UK.
Not sure why you aim to blame “our model”, while the matter here is pretty straight forward: each bank applies a conversion. You can contact your bank and ask them for further explanation about the best approach in such cases. I’m positive that they’ll be able to share even how much they took from your account.
@Tony.V, you are being very brand loyal without critically analysing the larger discussion. Your “model” may work for some, perhaps many, but it clearly does not work for expats who use British banks, as by your admission, it appears to involve a 12% conversion loss (I’m sure Lloyds is not exceptional here).
Non-residents banking from Britain are forced to lose on currency conversions both ways, since they cannot trade in pounds on 212. It is unworkable to use 212 from abroad using British banks back home.
You won’t acknowledge that? You don’t think it’s important for your customers to know what to avoid?
Transferwise is open to Singapore residents and has good foreign exchange rates. I have not used it myself, but I have noticed several others on here writing about using Transferwise to fund their Trading 212 accounts. This could be worth investigating to solve your problem. You may be able to move GBP from Lloyds to a Transferwise account at little cost and then convert to USD which you can then deposit in T212. I have also read others writing about using a combination of Transferwise and Revolut, for even cheaper foreign exchange and deposit/withdrawal costs. I recall the idea is that you make your first deposit using Transferwise and then subsequent deposits and withdrawals with a Revolut debit card. https://www.revolut.com/en-SG
Personally I prefer Revolut, as they give better FX rates. Minus is not able to use card top up t212 account, but bank wire(free of charge) is pretty swift, usually in same day.
Easy to top up Revolut as well, no fees, using bank card.
I believe Revolut is available in Singapore.
Transferwise has fee for card top up, plus it has FX conversion fee. Only plus is using card top up to t212.
Thanks for the advice @Vedran. Revolut sounds like a very good option for someone like @MSB. I use Revolut for my foreign travel. Their exchange rates are great. With a Premium Revolut account I also get some travel medical and travel delay insurance and unlimited spot rate foreign exchange. Without a premium account the spot rate foreign exchange is limited to £5000 per month.
Seems like user error to me. This really has nothing to do with Trading 212 and everything to do with op making a mistake and looking to finger point at everyone other then themselves (or Lloyds.).
