Frequently Asked Questions

The Financial Commission is an external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for consumers/traders who are unable to resolve disputes with financial services providers that are members of the Financial Commission. The Financial Commission set out to provide a new approach for traders and brokers alike to resolve any issues that arise in the course of trading the Forex market. The Financial Commission hears a wide variety of disputes of all monetary values. We give traders a voice so they feel they are treated fairly and we provide brokers a means to respond to any complaints that may have been unfairly lodged against them.

The Financial Commission is not a regulatory body and does not purport to be. The organization is an independent alternative dispute resolution body established exclusively for the purpose of amicably resolving disputes between traders and brokers in a transparent and efficient manner. Traders should refer to our Check Your Broker directory to find out the status of their broker or search financial regulators in order to check the current licensing status of their broker in any particular country. The Financial Commission cannot resolve disputes in relation to any alleged violations against broker members that fall outside of the organization’s Rules & Guidelines, which specifically govern the investigation and resolution of disputes against broker members whose membership status remains in good standing.

The Financial Commission was established to be a neutral 3rd party committee to fairly review and resolve complaints in an effort to facilitate a simpler, swifter resolution than through industry regulators and the legal system.

When the Financial Commission receives a complaint the first step is to ensure the complainant has approached the member to try and resolve it through the member’s own Internal Dispute Resolution process. The Financial Commission’s Rules state that every member must have a complaints contact person and an Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) Procedure in place. The IDR Procedures require you to give a substantive response to a complaint as soon as possible but must be within 10 business days. A substantive response shall include:

• Acknowledging the customers complaint and
• Where appropriate offering compensation, or
• Reject the complaint, providing a reason for the decision

If the customer has been through your IDR Procedure and is not satisfied with the outcome, they are entitled to make a formal complaint to the Financial Commission.

No. We only accept complaints from traders of our broker members who have membership in good standing at the time of the dispute filing. If you are requesting assistance with a dispute against a broker which is no longer a member of the Financial Commission, has been expelled or whose status is ‘under review’ with our organization, we cannot help you and recommend that you should contact the relevant financial regulatory authorities in your country of residence. To find a regulator, use our search tool. Should such authorities require our assistance to handle your query, such regulatory authorities should send us an official request for our consideration.

A complaint is filed with the DRC. The DRC will verify that the proper procedures have been taken and that the client has tried to mediate the complaint with the member first. If the member and client cannot reach an agreement, the complaint will come to the DRC. The DRC will collect information from both the member as well as the client to hear their justification for why they feel the resolution should be in their favor. Once the DRC has collected information from both sides they will review the information provided, if they need additional information they will contact the member and or client for follow up questions. After the DRC has reviewed everything they will issue a decision. This decision will include a description of the complaint, a detailed explanation of the findings of the DRC, as well as a final decision and resolution to the complaint.

The decision-making process and administration of DRC are independent of its members and sectors of the industry which fall within its jurisdiction and which provide its funding. The DRC are:

• Entirely responsible for the handling and determination of Complaints; and
• Are accountable only to the Financial Commission Board.

The Financial Commission Board is responsible for overseeing the operations of the DRC, for ensuring independent decision making on all complaints and for preserving the integrity and independence of the Financial Commission and of the dispute resolution processes. To ensure that the Financial Commission is and continues to be, independent from any conflict of interest, the Board will be comprised of:

• An independent Chairman; and
• No DRC member brokers

The Financial Commission and the DRC are not employed by any financial brokerage or affiliated with any regulatory agency in any jurisdiction.

You can use our Check Your Broker directory to find out the status of your broker, as well as contact details and regulatory information. Further information can be obtained by contacting the broker directly or the relevant regulatory body in the country of incorporation of the brokerage company. The Financial Commission’s Rules & Guidelines prohibit the organization from sharing information on the business operations or services of its current or past members. Nonetheless, the Financial Commission will consider requests from regulatory and law enforcement authorities regarding information about its members where appropriate.

The complaints and decisions will be supplied to the member and the complainant. These will not be published unless the member does not comply with the judgment. Note: The commission may from time to time publish anonymized random complaints for educational and comparative purposes, with any personal identifiable information removed.

The Financial Commission will hear complaints of all monetary values. Any complaint that is for less than $250, it will be heard by 1 member of the DRC. Any complaint over $250, will be heard by a minimum of 3 members of the DRC.

The Compensation Fund is a fund that acts as an insurance policy for members’ clients but is only used should a member refuse to adhere to a judgment from the Financial Commission. It is very important to understand that the fund will only be used for a judgment that has been issued by the Financial Commission. The fund does not cover traders’ possible losses incurred while engaging in self-directed trading and does not apply to a broker member’s entire client base should the broker become insolvent. Further, the Compensation Fund cannot be used for complaints regarding management account trading, trading of synthetic or non-market financial products as outlined in clause 16 of the Rules and Guidelines of the Financial Commission. The Compensation Fund is financed by the Financial Commission through the allocation of 10% of the monthly membership dues to the fund which are held in a separate bank account and cannot be used to finance operations or other activities of the organization. The Compensation Fund will only cover judgments up to €20,000 per client of a Member.