Arvind (name changed), from a small town in the east, did the responsible thing, or so he thought. He did not chase a random Telegram tip.
He paid for a proper advisory, a SEBI-registered research service, the kind that is supposed to do the homework so you do not have to.
The fee was not small: ₹33,000 first, then another ₹18,000 – ₹51,000 in all, for “research.”
What he got for that money was not research. It began as guidance and quickly became something else. The calls came on WhatsApp, and they were specific: this trade, this strike, this many lots, right now.
Not a published view he could weigh and act on himself, but exact, personalised instructions for his account, delivered live, one position at a time.
He followed them, because he had paid for the expertise, and the losses began to stack up.
By the time he stopped, two things were gone: the ₹51,000 in fees, and a chunk of trading capital on top of it.
When he came to us, his first assumption was that he had simply made bad trades. He had not. The fees were charged for a service the firm then delivered in a way it was never licensed to deliver.
We have taken up his case, and the part that makes it winnable is the same detail he barely noticed at the time: the lot sizes.
The “Lot Size” Trap: Why It’s The Spine of The Case
This is the line almost nobody draws, and it is the line that matters.
When looking at regulatory boundaries, the core legal question is simple: can research analysts recommend exact lot sizes?
The definitive answer under SEBI guidelines is no, and proving they did it is your key to winning a refund.
A SEBI registered Research Analyst is allowed to sell research for a fee and to publish general buy, sell, or hold calls.
That part is completely legitimate. Paying for research is not the problem.
The problem is what crosses the line:
- Personalised, position-specific instructions. “Take this many lots, in this strike, right now” is not research. It is individual advice tailored to your account, and an RA is not licensed to give it.
- Effectively running your trades. When a “research” service is calling the exact size and timing of each position, it has stopped advising and started steering your account.
- Doing it on a WhatsApp call. Off a recorded channel, position by position. Convenient for them, and a clear sign the activity is meant to stay off the record.
So the lot-size detail is not a small thing. It is the proof that the firm stepped outside the very registration you paid it to operate under.
And that single fact changes what you can recover.
The Double Recovery: Fees vs Trading Losses
Here is what most people who paid an advisory never realise.
When a registered advisory breaches its scope, a claim can be built on two fronts:
- The fee itself. You paid for research delivered within the rules. If it was delivered instead as unlicensed, personalised trade-running, the fee is on the table.
- The losses that flowed from those calls. Losses caused by instructions the firm was never authorised to give are not simply “market risk” you have to swallow.
Recovery is rarely automatic, and rarely the full amount in one shot. The firm will defend itself, settlements get negotiated, and how much comes back depends on how cleanly the case is built and how strong the evidence is.
But the fee-plus-loss claim is exactly what the SEBI route is designed to test.
How Do I Get My Money Back?
If an advisory firm moves beyond providing research and starts telling you exactly what trades to place without the required regulatory authorisation, you are not expected to simply accept the resulting losses.
SEBI provides a strict, legally backed escalation pathway that allows investors to challenge such conduct, seek accountability, and pursue appropriate remedies.
Here is exactly how you report against your research analyst:
1. Direct Complaint With the Firm
Your first move is to file a formal, written, violation-wise complaint directly with the advisory firm.
Clearly name the specifics: the personalised lot-size instructions, the unrecorded WhatsApp calls, and the exact fees you paid.
They must be given a chance to resolve it first.
2. File a Complaint With SCORES
If the firm ignores you, gives you a runaround, or fails to provide a real resolution within 15 working days, immediately escalate the matter.
File an official complaint on the SEBI SCORES portal, attaching your evidence of the license scope breach.
3. Report in SMART ODR
If the SCORES grievance does not yield a fair settlement, take the case to SMART ODR, SEBI’s online dispute resolution platform.
Here, an independent third-party conciliator will review the case to try and bridge the gap between you and the firm.
4. Stock Market Arbitration
If conciliation fails to recover your money, the dispute transitions into formal stock market arbitration.
A neutral panel will evaluate your evidence, acting essentially as a specialised court, to pass a binding order regarding your fees and losses.
Save everything now: the fee receipts, and above all the WhatsApp messages and call logs where the lot sizes were dictated. Those instructions are the spine of the case.
They turn “I made some losing trades” into “a registered firm gave me advice it had no licence to give, and I paid for the privilege twice.”
The detail Arvind missed is the one worth remembering: paying for research is fine. Being handed exact lot sizes on a WhatsApp call is not research at all.
Need Help?
Navigating SEBI SCORES and SMART ODR can be challenging, especially when regulatory procedures and documentation requirements are involved. Even a small mistake or missing detail can delay the resolution of your complaint.
You do not have to handle the process on your own.
Register with us today, and our team will carefully review your WhatsApp chats, emails, trade records, and other evidence.
We will help you prepare a well-documented complaint and guide you through the appropriate regulatory channels to give your case the strongest possible foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. I paid an advisory fee and still lost money. Can I get the fee back?
Possibly both the fee and the loss, if the firm gave personalised, position-specific calls it was not licensed to give. That scope breach is what the claim is built on.
2. They only ever told me lot sizes on WhatsApp calls. Is that usable?
It is the strongest part. Save those messages and call logs; they are the evidence that the “research” was actually unlicensed personalised advice.
3. Will I definitely recover the full ₹51,000 and my losses?
No one honest can promise a figure. Outcomes are negotiated and depend on the evidence. What is true is that a documented scope breach gives you a real, claimable case through SCORES and SMART ODR.
