If you spot a mistake when you’re reading your statements and transaction confirmations, what do you do? Chances are it’s an honest mistake — for instance, your broker might have bought a different stock than the one you intended. Or money could have been incorrectly transferred between mutual funds.
The first thing you should do is contact your broker right away and let him or her know what you’ve found. That may be enough to resolve the situation, especially if it was a misunderstanding. It’s always smart, though, to keep a log of your conversations and write a letter confirming your call.
If the problem isn’t settled promptly, you should write to your broker’s manager. Explain exactly what went wrong and how you would like it corrected. If you’re not satisfied with the response, you can contact the company’s compliance department.
If you think other investors are at risk, you should contact your state securities office, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
As a general rule, the more money that’s at stake, the higher you may have to go to reach a solution.
If you’ve lost money, FINRA advises you to consider arbitration. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get your money back, but it makes the issue a matter of record and may result in disciplinary action against the broker or firm. You can learn more about what to do if problems arise at the FINRA Web site, www.finra.org.
Always check your account
statements to see if your trades were made for the right securities
in the right amounts, at the times you expected. You should also look
for fees you don’t understand or transactions you didn’t
authorize. If there’s anything you don’t recognize, you
should make sure to follow up.
