"too late to cancel."

Crash

My brokerage is TRP. I'm 6 hours behind NYC. I put in a minuscule order, still in the pre-market hours. then i changed my mind. I canceled the order. I checked back, a while later. "Pending cancel." OK, fine. ..... Then I logged-in about the 3 p.m. hour in NYC. I find my original order DID go through. I looked at the record. "Too late to cancel."

BEAVER BISCUITS! If it was too late to cancel, it seems to me that someone didn't want to just do their job, or do their job in a timely manner. The trade was done on favorable terms, but I didn't WANT it. And I told them so. I told them so with PLENTY of time to spare. I was ignored. Can someone explain this to me? TRP had HOURS to cancel the order, according to my wishes. Further, "pending cancel" would seem to indicate that the process, whatever it might entail, was underway. But at the end of the day, their "pending cancel" notice was fucking meaningless, even CONTRADICTORY.

yogibearbull

Pending cancel is just default until something is done. My guess is that your previous order (market or limit or stop) was executed near the market open. So, in the order queue, it was too late for your cancel instructions. But you would have reason to be upset if the execution was well after the open (so check the time of the trade).

Crash

yogibearbull said:

Pending cancel is just default until something is done. My guess is that your previous order (market or limit or stop) was executed near the market open. So, in the order queue, it was too late for your cancel instructions. But you would have reason to be upset if the execution was well after the open (so check the time of the trade).

...yes, you're correct. it was done at 9:31 a.m.

Once again, words and their definitions, their meanings--- have no meaning anymore. MORE big giant doggy poopies. And so it goes. Thanks, yogi.

msf

For Vanguard bashers, I believe (not going to check now) that Vanguard will not cancel a Vanguard mutual fund order that has been submitted on its legacy Vanguard fund platform (even hours before closing). It will cancel orders for Vanguard or other funds placed on its brokerage platform.

hank

Something similar happened to me in late 2007 at TRP. I put through a sell order shortly before 4:00 PM. while traveling in Michigan’s UP after arriving at destination. Markets were in absolute turmoil & their website was really slow.

Anyhow, I appealed their decision not to accept the “sell” order and they kicked it upstairs for review. A week or two later I received a very pleasant call from a supervisor saying they had determined to retroactively reinstate my order. Did oodles to heighten my esteem for the organization back in those days. To me they seem like a completely different outfit today.

Derf

@ Vanguard ; I put in 3 buys all of the same MF. my bad ! Called to straighten out the buy of 3 funds , all different. They fixed my f up. This happened about 3 years ago.

All is good, Derf

hank

@Derf +1

yogibearbull

Yep, the legacy VG mutual fund platform doesn't allow cancellation of orders - says so near the final order Submit link. Elsewhere on the website, VG says to enter an opposite transaction to effect cancellation.

BenWP

@Crash: During our two weeks in HI in April I wondered how I could function in your time zone as a resident. Not just following the markets and trading, but also watching live sports. I rarely place orders after 4PM EST or before the markets open, but I can see how you could run afoul of the rules that seem to set up for the convenience of Wall Street.

Old_Joe

Early to bed and early to wise makes Jack grumpy.

davidrmoran

Crash, send them email noting that your cancel order was submitted 9:15a ET or whatever it was and see what they say, and report back.

Many times over the year with both ML and Fidelity I have submitted buy / sell orders and canceled within the last minute or two, no problem, though the usual 'you are attempting a trade | cancellation close to market close and' yada yada.

Crash

thanks, @davidmoran. I'm pissed off, but not pissed off enough to fight it. At least I did get a good price on that limit-order. The amount involved is better invested rather than in my pocket, though I'd have rather bought shares elsewhere.

hank

@Crash, I like the suggestion from David. Also, I’ve found nothing works as well as a carefully typewritten letter outlining your case and sent to a company’s customer relations department by certified mail. It serves notice that you’re a literate person who might just be willing to enlist your own legal representation, write nasty online reviews, or refer the case to regulators. No need to say that. Don’t threaten. They’ll infer as much if letter is well written. Doesn’t always work, but worth the effort.

However, since you’re not intending to pursue this any further with TRP, I’ve linked some music to lesson your angst from the album “Too Late to Cancel” by Mitch Benn and the Distractions.


“Too Late To Cancel is the third album by Mitch Benn, released in 2004 under the name of 'Mitch Benn and The Distractions' and featuring his backing band composed of Kirsty Newton (of Siskin) and Tasha Baylis (of Hepburn). All songs were written by Mitch Benn. Several had previous versions feature in the radio shows The Now Show, It's Been a Bad Week and Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music.”

Track Listing

"We Haven't Got A Clue" – 2:32
"Never Went Through A Smiths Phase" – 2:17
"Boy Band" – 3:13
"I Want" – 1:17
"Can't Do Disco" – 2:33
"Lonesome Führer" – 2:43
"Stinky Pants" – 2:14
"Now He's Gone" – 2:51
"Never Mind The Song (Look At The Stage Set)" – 3:22
"Tea Party" – 2:39
"One-Way System Blues" – 2:53
"Hard To Shock" – 3:07
"I'm Still Here" – 1:28
"West End Musical" – 3:48
"The Hardest Song In The World To Find" – 3:12
"Please Don't Release This Song" – 3:05
"The Interactive Song (Live)" – 2:58
"Macbeth (My Name Is) (Live)" – 4:48
"Baby I'm Sorry (Live)" – 3:43

Crash

@hank. you're a prince. That is some of the best shit, ever.

johnN

Hi sir crash
Remind me bought a tsla put last month strike price 740...i was aiming to close the put since that price maybe called, but after look at tsla chart appears uptrend, I remember cancelled that put buy to close order but never got confirmation....computer somehow halted after I punch the order...so busy w work and forgot to check later if orders indeed did got through (this is most important steps w any stock investment orders)

Two days later the stock skyrocketed, and they *buy* me the Put because it reached the strike price premium even though i thought i cancelled it....ended up cost me 1.7k!!! I realized the order was closed not cancelled/ still f**king open...

I will be sure to remember from now to make sure the orders are confirmed before leaving vanguard or any other trading apps/firms ...

Thx for sharing

Crash

@johnN. that bites the Big One! I will not even mess with Puts and Calls. Only "long" positions for me.

yogibearbull

Now I always check the Order Status after the order is submitted. I have had instances when either the computer didn't catch/register the order or I just forgot to click the final Submit due to some distractions (phone call, door bell, wife calling honey-do-this). The wireless/wi-fi connections are not as stable as we may like/think.

But I think that the situation that @Crash encountered was different. It was that the cancel-order was queued and by the time its turn came, the pending-order was executed. He can complain but the broker may not do anything. Stuff happens and there is nobody to blame.

Crash

+1.