I want an appropriate law firm to get involved in this kind of a matter or anyone has already started a class action I would like to be included in it.
I am a person on disability since 2000 and was looking for a way in 2008 to provide additional support for my family working from home, especially last year when fuel was nearly $5 a gallon in IL.
June a friend of mine and me responded to an info ad for a company named "Better Trades" that told how the guaranteed you could earn your tuition back from them within six months and be profitable in no time.
They don't tell you that the subscriptions to their trading platforms are alone over $3,000 to start and not competitive. And that the trading tools they offer additionally at a fee are most often given at no charge when you open an account with other companies, buyer beware. See Think or Swim, now owned by TD Ameritrade, Scott Trades, and Options Express. We sat in the meeting thinking this would be good, could we do it, I had no financial background.
My firend want to help me made the commitment and jumped in taking on the "education pitch" which for their classes, on line seminars (BTW you have paid for these on line seminars, YET they erased them within month six so you couldn't review them on your web based learning center) BUT you CAN BUY additional trading classes ($1,500 to $1,800each) AND KEEP THOSE ON DVD's to learn other trading strategies, when you haven't even gotten the first simple ones to be profitable.
IT WAS VERY HARD TO FOLLOW THEIR INFORMATION AND THERE WAS NO COACHING ADEQUATE ENOUGH TO START MUCH WITHOUT SITTING ON THE PHONE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE, who would say they can't really help you in what your doing, what decisions you make, really.
This May I attended free classes offered by the Chicago Options Industry Trading Council. Taught by CBOE traders for 3 hours at the Marriott. When some of these traders brought up some of the trading strategies (that Better Trades wants to teach you and sell you) I learned the CBOE traders recommended them for only seasoned traders with more that advanced financial training. Not for new bee's like us. Some of these strategies are for hedge fund managers and this professional traders warn you not to waste your time with complex moves!
My trading partner paid about $10K for our education package and funded a good trading account with $5,000. I had got some additional package of theirs to review with other student that had bought more courses on my own.
I start the live trading in March, only after seeing enough practice trades to think I cold start to watch the market daily. I started to gain some confidence when getting some help from discussion with others outside of Better Trades.
As the year of our subscriptions came to a close, we told them we didn't want to renew, but wanted to keep the trading account if possible until we closed the trades at an more profitable time. I was really angry as Better Trades customer service could not give me a defined statement of what was going to be affected.
I was told a "grace period" of the system running, 1 day, 3 days, or 7 or 10, as I told them I had trades pending. But did not want the renewals on the subscriptions. BECAUSE OF MIS INFORMATION we closed the account last week with a loss of $2,900., rather than risk being charged another $3,000 for renewing subscriptions thinking the trading platform was a part of it and it was not. The charting tools and Dedicated Trader, trade finder subscription was, but that was not made clear.
I closed the trades not being told this from their customer service people and because my partner had enough. Our subscription ended June 24th to Dedicated Trader and Extreme Charts, but it was not made clear that the trades themselves HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE SUBSCRIPTION FEES.
Hind sight I learned that the Track Data account and practice trades didn't cost anything a month to run and do the trades as long as the account was funded and the trading fees paid on transaction. It's still running today with my practice trades in the green now and my live account closed. STUPIDLY!
THIS WAS NOT MADE CLEAR AT ALL! We closed the trades not being told this from their customer service people. Our subscription ended June 24th to Dedicated Trader and Extreme Charts, but it was not made clear that the trades themselves HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE SUBSCRIPTION FEES.
My partner feared being charged another $3,000 so we pulled out of the trades last week of the subscriptions bottom of the DOW dropping 200 pts with historical lows at a loss of more than half our trading account. Only to see Real Time Markets still running today and with the DOW recovered now we would have not had any losses.
THIS IS NEGLECT. Their vagueness follows the pattern of everything else. I was working on this nearly full time since October and my friend as well; my trading partner threw in the towel in January, so I could handle it myself.
This being said, I started looking on website about Better Trades and scams and have found allot of complaints on different sites. Their free classes are just marketing their paid classes, the carrot on the stick. No meat to it.
Is there any legal recourse with a class action?
I kindly wrote to them in March and asked for 6 months additional trading time on their subscription service. THEY COULD HAVE SAID THEN, THAT TRACK DATA WOULD RUN AS LONG AS IT WAS FUNDED.
THEY DID NOT / I had gotten a letter that had I complained in December they would have given one additional month at that time, since I did not make my tuition back, nor did my partner.
But my request was rejected; since I didn't write them "soon enough" I guess they could have written that into their contract offer too.
I think options are a great way to earn additional income, but Better Trades should have been more honest and MORE REAL in their approach.
They are way out of the ballpark with the Charting and Dedicated Trader subscription package, since they charge so much to use it. The costs of the transactions themselves are still high too at $14.95 for each buy or sell transaction, and yet compare themselves to other trading companies, who provide the software and online access at no charge, but may have the transaction fees at a lower price $7 each transaction or some free for a while lower (lately), see Zecco.
I am very angry, as I spent the time, had the funds, did what they advised, then start to look for more help elsewhere to piece things together, not even a blog between thier subscribers.
In a time when america is fighting for its economic health and integrity i think better trades needs to bail out there students with atleast refund of $2,500 each minimum as a stimulus payment to regroup from the damages they blast into homes with increase credit card debt, frustration and relationships in the past few years especially when 401k have fallen to pieces and jobs are lost.
They know what they are doing!
Mr. Obama, BETTER TRADES is a part of Wall Street on Main St. That needs investigation along side of all the actions on derivitatives. The common man once properly educated can make income from our US markets and support our country, but not after being cleaned out in the name of education and poor support.
It's been said in life, Pain is Evitable, but Misery is OPTIONABLE and Better Trades has invited lot of company to misery, while few profit.
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