On June 27, we received calls from one of the victims, Raman Mandal (name changed,) who lost around ₹50,000 due toa technical glitch in the trading app.
Our team took step-by-step initiatives starting from the SEBI Scores portal to file a complaint in Smart ODR and helped the victim in getting more than 50% refund from his broker.
Here is the complete narration:
Raman: Hello ADB, I lost ₹50,000 due to a technical glitch in my trading account.
ADB: That’s unfortunate. Can you please tell me the broker’s name?
Raman: I was trading using Groww app.
ADB: Okay, please provide the details.
Raman: In the morning today, I bought 1 lot of Bank Nifty Put Option at 9:15 AM. But I didn’t wait for long and thought of selling my position at cost-to-cost. However, my order was not executed.
I tried to modify the order and then to cancel it, but all went in vain.
Then, to check, I bought 1000 quantities of Nifty Put Option at ₹64 at 9:25 AM. The order got executed. Then I tried to square it off at ₹67, but again the same error occurred.
I kept trying, but nothing happened. Soon, the premium started falling.
ADB: Did you try to contact the broker?
Raman: Yes, I did first on the call, where I didn’t get any response. Then I mailed them, and they replied that there was a technical glitch. I received the mail almost an hour after taking a position.
By then, the premium of my position dropped to ₹15. I tried to exit again, but by then I had lost ₹50,000.
ADB: Do you have proof?
Raman: Yes, I have a screen recording of the time when I was trying to exit my trade but couldn’t due to an error in the app.
ADB: In this case, you need to file a complaint against Groww. Do you have an idea of how to complaint against Groww App?
Raman: Yes, and have already raised it in the Groww app and even in SEBI, but have not received a response.
ADB: Okay, then we can go ahead with the filing of a complaint to Smart ODR. We can start with proper documentation & drafting of proof.
After around 20 days, on July 18, 2024, Mr. Raman called again.
Raman: I received an email from the broker where they accepted the mistake and got ready to refund the loss amount.
ADB: That’s great news! Just keep an eye on your trading account.
The next day, Raman called again with another update.
Raman: I received a call from an advocate of NSE. He conveyed that Groww compliance officer wanted to have a Video conference with me to negotiate the amount.
ADB: Okay, we can go ahead with this.
Post this, the meeting was scheduled for 23 July, 2024, at 11:00 AM
It was July 23, 2024, at 11:00 AM Groww Compliance Officer, NSE Advocate & ADB sat on a video conference to have a valuable discussion. During the initial discussion, Groww didn’t agree to make a refund by presenting the IBT Clause.
But as per that clause, if there is a technical glitch, then the broker has to provide an alternative to clients to execute their orders. However, in this case Groww team didn’t pick up the call even after the client made 26 calls by client.
On the basis of the above discussion, it was then decided that Groww will refund ₹28,000 to Mr. Raman for the losses that he faced due to a technical glitch in the app on June 27, 2024.
Cases like these are common but the proper initiative at the right time can help you in getting a refund. Here, Mr. Raman took quick action to reach out to market participants.
Further, on guidance by ADB he didn’t delay the case and took immediate action with the help of our team.
So, this is how one of our clients who could have lost all his money had tried to recover some part. If you have encountered any such case in the past and have proof of the same, then you too can take proper action without any further delay.
