I can finally report on ombudsman's result. They focus on complaints regarding people who have lost money so as I have been making money through spreadco, my complaint did not apply. They saw nothing wrong with the terms and conditions of spreadco. It appears that they can have the statement that you must not open and close trades within three minutes even if you are making a loss. To be frank, it was a waste of time going through them.
I went through them with another case when I lost about 3600 pounds to spreadco. Their platform failed me using a longer term strategy. The ombudsman did not see it that way but at least they welcomed me back with open arms. There was a forced 6 month cooling off period this time imposed by spreadco and as nearly 7 months have passed, I asked if I could get back on the platform. They did not want me back this time even though I said I will change my strategy to meet their terms and conditions. They don't welcome winners it seems.
This is not a spread betting company to be trusted because they are not fair. The terms and conditions were not clear to begin with. I thought I was trading without infringing their terms and conditions. They simply wrote in the old terms and conditions open and close trades. I verified this with my client manager at the time that if you open a trade, you must wait 3 to 5 minutes before closing it. I thought as long as I keep the open trade without closing it in that time, I could open another trade. I carried on doing this for 4 months. Then they tell me I am infringing the terms and conditions. I tried to tell them that their terms and conditions were not clear but they would not listen to me. Second unfair point is that there was some movement to letting me get back on the platform but it was dashed by misinterpreting my email. I wrote that I felt depressed that I could not get back on their platform. That triggered them to reverse their decision and give me a 6 month cooling off period.
I have learnt in my life that if there is unfairness, it is best to steer clear. Do not fall for their gimmicks of zero spreads and 2 percent interest on deposits. I am a sucker for being lured in just as I was lured in by Worldspreads (which offered zero spreads).
Great post. You did a great job here in more than one way. First off you found a way to trade profitably- without that you're nowhere. Then you took this case over your firm's T&C's all the way through the ombudsman process - a long long road. Plus you came back here and reported to users of the forum in spite of the fact that this didn't really go your way. And that's a service to other traders without getting all vindictive with the firm.
I so admire your integrity.
I do think you had a rough deal here, even though the firm doesn't seem to have acted illegally. I hope your future trading meets with greater success and less stress.
Good luck.