If you’re an active investor, you’ve no doubt had your fair share of trade executions that are, shall we say, less than optimal. 

Another way of saying it is, “You were screwed.” 

Bad executions are a part of trading. Sometimes you’re looking right at the offer price and inexplicably get filled at a higher buy price. Other times, you get a sell executed lower than the bid. It can be frustrating and costly. 

Most people simply take a bad fill price and move on to the next trade. It’s something that I’ve learned to live with. 

But occasionally I get a trade filled at such a bad price that I can’t take it lying down. However, instead of taking my wrath out on my loved ones or the family pet, my broker becomes the focal point of my anger. 

Here’s how to combat the bad broker-bad trade…
 

How To Get Compensated for Bad Execution 

I use one of the online discount brokers. And because I’ve been a good customer for years, if I ever have any complaints, the company usually looks at my account and sees that I’m someone they’d like to appease, if possible. 

For example, when I’ve received fill prices that I believe are unfair, I call the 1-800 number and explain the situation. 

The representative will then take a look at the time and sales history, showing exactly what the bid and ask prices were at the time the order was routed. 

However, customer service representatives are usually powerless to do anything about the execution once it’s happened. And 99 times out of 100, though, they’ll insist it’s a valid trade. 

Possible reasons for a bad fill include the brokerages quotes not updating in time - and even a slight delay could cause the discrepancy. 

However, brokers have disclosure statements saying that they’re not responsible for bad quotes, since they obtain them from a third party provider. 

So you’re stuck, right? Perhaps not…
 

Go For A Goodwill Gesture 

In this case, what I always do is complain a little more (just so they know how unhappy I am as a valued customer) and then ask for a few free commissions as a goodwill gesture. 

While this might not make up the difference between the price you received and what you thought you should, the bottom line is that the trade isn’t going to get reversed.