A WARNING ON MONEX..Please Read

[bbwh29]

Please visit BADMONEXX.COM and BBBSOUTHLAND.ORG. The BBB has Flunked MONEX with an "F" grade. Its lowest. Read, learn and dont get Ripped Off. Be very careful when picking a Coin Dealer. MONACO FINANCIAL is also a division of MONEX. Be careful. Please email me at BWH37@HOTMAIL.COM. Thanks BW

[mmarotta]

Sorry, but this will not fly. I am sure that people lose money every day, especially in commodities, whether cocoa futures or bullion on delivery. If you have that kind of money to invest, then you must have the acumen to go with it. You cannot expect that your losses can be blamed on your broker without substantial proof.

 

If you cannot resist being "talked into" something on the telephone, you have problems that that BBB cannot help.

 

I appreciate the fact that it is possible that your orders were not followed. What documentation do you have to support your claim?

 

The laws of agency in California are fairly strong. If your Monex agent failed in her fiduciary duty, that may reflect poorly on Monex's ability to cold read the people they hire. However, it says nothing about the firm itself, which is old and well-respected.

 

From the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau report on MONEX:

 

"This company does not take responsbility for client losses, regardless of advice offered by account representatives. Keep in mind, precious metal investments are considered risky; results are dependent upon relavent commodities markets which tend to fluctuate rapidly. Rather than making an immediate decision, insist upon confirmation of the offer, and all verbal promises in writing. Before making your decision, discuss the offer, and risks involved, with your attorney or trusted business advisor. Find out what qualifications account reps, brokers, or advisers have to assist you in making investment decisions.

 

"Of the complaints we have received against this company, in at least some cases, the complaint allegations are very serious. Complainants allege that the company's account representatives use high pressure sales tactics, and misleading information to pursuade them to make investment decisions that are not in their best interest. Customers complain that decisions made based on advice and coaching from account representatives caused them substantial finacial losses. A few clients complained that account representatives did not follow directions or instructions on how to apply their investments, and as a result, suffered losses they would not have if directions had been followed. Another complainant alleges a terminally ill elderly man who lived in her home was solicited repeatedly by phone and even received threatening letters from account reps soliciting investments.

 

"The company responds to some complaints by disputing the allegations, denying requests for refunds or monetary compensation, or by agreeing to remove complainants names from their database and stop unwanted solicitations. In one case a partial refund was issued, but was conditional upon signing a release waiver composed by the company. Allegations of high pressure tactics and deceptive practices are generally not addressed. In some cases, the company failed to address the complainants' allegations."

 

"We know of no government action taken against this company."

 

By the way, the total number of complaints on record is 11 (eleven). As the BBB itself says: "Keep in mind, precious metal investments are considered risky ..."

 

http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/General/Home.aspx

and enter MONEX in the search box.

[jtryka]

Well, much as the BBB can be helpful against coin shops and retail establishments, in this case, dealing with futures I looked them up on the NFA (National Futures Association) website. The NFA is responsible for licensing CTAs, and associated persons (i.e. reps who must pass the Series-3 Exam). Their file can be found here: http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Detail...id=0002366&rn=Y. They did have one arbitration case in 1989-90, with an award of $12,500 for a number of alleged violations, including misrepresentation of risk of loss, breach of fiduciary duty and the ubiquitous failure to supervise. They also have 37 CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the commodities version of the SEC) Reparations cases, but you would need to call the CFTC to get the details for each case. If they were as bad as the website listed above implies, I would think they would have more arbitration cases against them with the NFA and or CFTC. As for their coin business, I get solicitation from them every few months, but I usually just toss them. The coin side though offers much greater opportunity for taking advantage of people through unreasonable pricing and deceptive practices, in my opinion anyway. And that is not just the case for Monex, but for virtually any coin business.