Quick Summary
Manoj Rana (name changed) was offered free advisory calls, provided he opened a trading account through a specific broker link. His claim totalled 3,50,000. The advisory was not free at all. It was funded by an undisclosed commission tied to Manoj’s trading volume. Our team recovered 2,00,000, a 57.1 percent share.
Manoj (name changed) thought he had found a simple deal: free daily trading calls with no advisory fee.
The only condition? He had to open his trading account through a specific referral link.
He followed the instructions and started taking the calls. Over the next five months, the recommendations became increasingly frequent, with quick entries and exits becoming a regular pattern. By the end, Manoj had lost ₹3,50,000 through trading losses and charges.
Then he discovered something he had never been told.
The representative was earning a commission linked to Manoj’s trading activity. The more Manoj traded, the more the representative could earn, whether Manoj made money or lost it.
That changed the entire picture.
The “free” calls were not necessarily free from a financial incentive. The specific broker referral was the link connecting the representative’s earnings to Manoj’s trading volume.
We dug deeper and found another important detail. Clients who opened accounts with their existing brokers were not offered the same daily calls. The free service appeared only when the referral arrangement was in place.
We consolidated Manoj’s trade history, receipts, referral-link evidence, and account details to establish the connection between his trading activity and the undisclosed commission structure.
What looked like a free trading service had a financial incentive sitting quietly behind it.
How we Exposed the Undisclosed Referral Link?
The referral link was where the real story began.
We traced the link Manoj used to open his trading account and found that it carried the representative’s unique referral code. That gave us a starting point to investigate whether the “free” calls were actually connected to his trading activity.
Step 1: Follow the money behind the referral
We examined the broker’s referral structure and established that the representative could earn based on the trading generated through the referred account.
Step 2: Connect the calls with the trading pattern
Manoj’s records showed frequent calls followed by frequent trades. We matched the timing of the recommendations with his trading history to demonstrate how the volume kept building.
Step 3: Put the undisclosed incentive at the centre
The issue was not that the calls were free. It was that Manoj was never told the person giving those calls had a financial reason to encourage more trading.
Step 4: Take the evidence to SEBI SCORES
We submitted the referral-link evidence, trading records, and call pattern through SEBI SCORES. The representative maintained that the calls were simply a promotional service.
We challenged that explanation with the one detail that mattered most: the representative’s earnings were connected to Manoj’s trading activity.
The ₹2,00,000 Recovery Came Before the Matter Went Further
Once the referral arrangement and trading pattern were placed together, the dispute moved toward settlement rather than a formal hearing.
Manoj recovered ₹2,00,000 out of his ₹3,50,000 claim, giving him a 57.1% recovery.
The matter was resolved within 12 weeks of filing the SCORES complaint.
If a “free” advisory came with a referral link, there may be more behind it than meets the eye.
Register with us and let our team trace the commission trail, build your complaint, and escalate it through SEBI SCORES or SMART ODR for recovery.
Conclusion
Free advisory tied to a mandatory broker link is rarely as simple as it sounds. You may not pay an invoice, but your trading volume can become the real cost.
If someone asked you to open a trading account through a specific referral link, keep that link. It can reveal a financial relationship the representative never disclosed.
If the broker relationship itself raises concerns, we can also escalate through NSE or the SMART ODR portal after exhausting the SCORES route.
Report. Recover. Stay Fraud Free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Look for a referral link or code used when you opened your trading account. Our team can help trace whether it carries a volume based commission.
Not always, but free advisory tied to a mandatory broker link deserves a closer look at how the advisor is actually compensated.
Not on its own, but frequent advice paired with a volume linked commission structure is a pattern worth investigating.
Our team can request this information directly as part of building your file, since it is often available through the broker's records.
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