It is a huge red flag! I am almost at the point of reporting the charge on my credit card to my credit card company as fraudulent since i am not getting what i was promised.
Exactly. But my main issue is that they are not offering what they promised and refuse to provide a solution for the issues. I have asked to forward my emails to someone who could help me, i asked for the email adres of a manager or one of the founders, i reported the issue multiple times, they asked for screenshots which i delivered, they promised to investigate, ... All i get is nothing, no more replies, no solutions. A friend of mine who also wanted to sign up with them asked them about the issues i was having and they told him: "We are working on that case so we can give a proper answer to the user". Funny how they never mentioned that to me, i don't believe it either. My friend then asked why it has been going on for weeks now and surprise surpise, no more replies.
They did reply to my friends email, yet another surpise. They now said: "every user in Speed Up Trader is receiving appropriate service, even those who don't read our responses, a situation that makes it difficult to provide them with an optimal service." "The commissions work fine with all the accounts and tests and funded accounts." Even though i did provide them screenshots proving that isn't the case. So now they are not only calling me a liar, i asked them for a screenshot of the last reply they sended me from which they claim i ignored it, i wonder if i will ever get a response, but they are also making false statements to potential new customers. Is that even legal? Anyway, here are the screenshots that i also provided to SpeedUp but never got a reply to. These are from a few days ago. 1. This screenshots shows my balance which is the starting balance of the day as $50452,5, the purchasing power is $51112,5, which is exactly the same as my starting balance + the realized PnL of that day which was $660. 2. This screenshots shows the trades i took that day. My first trade were 2 contracts on CL making 10 ticks, so the gross PnL on that trade is $200. Speedup charges $5 per contract round turn, so the net PnL should be $190. The second trade were 2 trades on NQ that i had open at the same time. The first one made 12 points and 1 tick which is $245, however with commissions this should have been $240. The second one made 10 points and 3 ticks or $215, however with commissions that one should have been $210. So my gross PnL that day was $660, but since i traded 4 contracts the net PnL should be $640. So my purchasing power shouldn't be +$660 compared to the previous day balance, but +$640. 3. This screenshots shows the next days starting balance, so no commissions were deducted. Not while opening the trades, not at the end of the day since the starting balance is the same as the previous days starting balance + previous day gross PnL.
I don't suspect it's going to get any better for you, you already kind of said what I would be thinking too. Do you even want to be funded by them if they are dicking around this much. Not that I have a say, but I'd go the route you were thinking, dispute the charge, write it off as an experience, and go with one of the other companies that is more reputable. Not the first person I've heard of not have a great time with Speedup
I guess you are right, Speed Up also charges $120 on completion so i guess it would be better to use that money somewhere else.
I have done some research and i will probably go with LeeLoo for my next evaluation account. They have some very interesting options, including some with no trailing draw down for both evaluation and live account. Even 1 express account that only lasts 10 days, but if you pass they refund the initial fee. Now i know 10 days is very short and isn't a good metric to manage performance, so i probably wont go for that account. Still have some more research to do. Initial reviews that i could find seem good anyway.
I'm funded with LeeLoo, its all been good. There's no frills, there's no fancy dashboard like TopStep for example. What you might want to focus on is the rules after funding, that's a big deal breaker for some. LeeLoo's withdraw rules are worse than the others. Withdrawals are only once per month (processed last week of the month) where all other firms are once a week. As well you have to wait 30 days before you are eligble for a withdrawal. As well in the evaluation phase, the big gotcha is the trailing draw down doesn't stop at the initial balance, and as well it trails your open P&L. So a trade you are in could go up $1K in possible profit, but comes back and you get out for $500 in profit. Your drawdown reflects the fact it was pulled up $1K. All that said, if you know the rules and are okay with them, I can LeeLoo has been fine. Not my first choice, but not a bad choice. I put together a site with my review/overview of the programs I've been through - Earn2Trade, LeeLoo, TopStep and OneUp. There's discounts on some of the programs they gave me to give out if you want. https://www.CanadianFuturesTrader.ca
Fund your own account instead of paying subscription fees and demo trade for free. If you're as good as these programs require you to be - you don't need them. And if you're not that good - you won't make it anyway.