I've Been Kicked Off PRT

[Caseynotes]

So, in spite of, and after 5 years keeping to IG's minimum requirement for access to PRT charts they have stopped my access and directed me to the new platform charts which are clearly, obviously, so basic as to be laughable. MT4 has a higher standard. But where to now for IG. Charting for IG is clearly not a priority. 

[umd]

Why did IG stop your access to PRT charts?  Will you ever be able to access PRT charts again?

[Caseynotes]

Hi   I can't say I am too concerned, admittedly I used PRT mainly as a charting package but can't help wondering if there is a creeping, subtle, ongoing change of policy at IG, is PRT about to disappear after the classic platform?

 

Many years ago I was watching an IG webinar hosted by David Jones (who came before Brenda Kelly, who came before the present great bunch of guys. NB congrats to  on becoming community manager). But David was admitting that the old charting package was a bit useless and that you should use PRT and not worry about the surcharge, if at the end of the month you haven't made any trades just enter and exit quickly times 2 and so then you have made your 4 trades (2 round trips) for the month and incur no charge.

 

So I have been telling others this for the last 5 years but things seem now to be changing, IG tell me that although I use PRT to at least the minimum requirement I am not putting enough business though to justify access.

 

There are other very good (free) charting packages available, for several years I have posted the occasional TradingView chart, and don't forget good old MT4.

 

I shall keep watching with interest.

 

 

 

[umd]

Instead of stopping your access to PRT charts,  IG should have charged you monthly fee of £30, if your business volume was small. 

 

Did IG mention to you about £30 fee, which you declined to pay?  

[HannahL]

Hi , thanks for your post.

 

Firstly, I just want to reassure you that we are not looking to discontinue ProRealtime charts in tandem with our own platform; if anything we will be working to improve the duality between the two, and our technical support team would be happy to discuss this with you further if you'd like!

 

With regard to the free access, we have indeed reviewed our free offering of the advanced charting package.  We ourselves are billed by IT Finance for the use of ProRealtime, and a business decision has been made meaning we are not able to offer the free monthly access to as many clients going forward.  The minimum four trade rule which was originally the prerequisite for obtaining the free access has been amended slightly, so a simple enter-and-exit to reach the four trade count cannot automatically qualify you for the free access now.

 

It would be really good to hear any feedback as to why you think the PRT charts are much better - we are aware they are much more advanced in a number of ways, but if there are specific features you like then perhaps our developers can look into them.

 

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

 

Thanks,

Hannah

 

[Caseynotes]

Hi Hannah, thanks for the reply. Am pleased IG is not considering phasing out PRT and have always known that there was a cost to IG for this service but it would seem IG has raised the bar somewhat arbitrarily high as looking over my history I have averaged over 10 trades a month for the first 5 months of this year. They may just be short intraday trades but that's ok because IG only makes on the spread, right. That's on top of keeping a not inconsiderable amount in my IG account. I shall have to be more judicious at the start of each month as to whether to log on to PRT or not.

 

A charting package is not the be all and end all but the main feature on PRT for me has always been the quick change preset and unobtrusive deal tickets constantly on the chart. I'm not so keen on dealing off a watchlist or keeping open the deal tab which takes up a quarter of the chart. The one click function being preset at the previous trade amounts doesn't work for me.

[HannahL]

Hi again Casey,

Appreciate your feedback as always, and I believe one of our technical team will be in touch in due course to discuss further.

 

Thanks,

Hannah

[ewanmain]

As per the OP I was surprised/ outraged/ gobsmacked/etc to have my PRT access cut with pretty much no notice period (2 business days).

 

Over the last 12 months I gave IG more than enough business to pay for PRT for a lifetime - not to mention over the last 6+ years I've been a client -  but just because in the last 4 months I only met the minimum 4 trade p/m criteria I find the "rules have been changed".  

 

So, IG, do you want me to trade more or less? If more then don't cut off PRT access.

 

 

The recent PRT "rule change" is really slimy, nasty and short sighted, and just more grist to my current IG mill.

[umd]

To IG staff, 

What if trader is busy for 2-3 months and doesn't trade in those 2-3 months, will you cut access to PRT charts?  Why don't you charge £30 instead of cutting the access? 

Thanks

[ewanmain]

umd: I'm not IG staff but if my case is anything to go by then yes, a few months of decreased activity will have your PRT access curtailed at a day (or so) notice (*even if you do make the 4 trade p/m minimum*)

 

To IG: maybe you should explicitly state and explain the new rules about PRT minimum trading/£  frequency on your website so new clients know exactly what it is expected of them (in £s and in no. of trades) - it all seems very ad hoc and discriminatory.

[Caseynotes]

Lol    It has been a bit chaotic hasn't it. I stopped using PRT because I simply didn't know anything. I was told originally I could continue to use and pay the monthly fee but found today that even the PRT access from the drop down box on the 'My Account' tab has disappeared.

 

In the meantime I have been having fun on the IG MT4 terminal and can now spread 2 charts on 2 screens, have a countdown timer, have a deal ticket, access in-between time periods, and of-coarse access hundreds of indicators. Loads of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

[ewanmain]

 - good point, MT4 isn't a bad option for charting. Personally I prefer PRT, but now you mention it MT4 does have some nice features.

 

For my purposes, however, I need sub 1m timeframes (10 seconds is ideal) and that's why PRT was useful. 

 

 - to answer a question you posed to another poster earlier in this thread, re why some users prefer PRT over IG's native charts:  

 

• the ability to select your own timeframe period in PRT is definitely a major reason. For example in PRT one has the option of "x seconds" (or x minutes/hours/etc). As I say, 10 seconds is a perfect timeframe for me. 

 

IG's charts do offer granularity down to tick and 1 second data, but that's too fine a detail; a user defined period based on seconds, (/minutes /hours) would be nice.  

 

• Also, PRT's chart drawing objects are far superior to IG's.

 

• In direct comparison, IG's charts have a greater footprint and overheard in terms of memory and CPU, respectively. Therefore if one has several charts open they quickly begin to hog system resources; PRT is much lighter in this respect.

 

In summary IG's native browser-based charts are fine enough but PRT is far superior (but then again, it's a dedicated charting package, so no shame on IG charts).

 

I'm still very annoyed and disappointed with IG's conduct re the PRT charting rebate (changing the rules on a whim without reasonable prior notification), but would grudgingly pay £30 per month if it is still an option.

 

My respect, trust and loyalty to IG has since been irrecoverably lost over this matter. I certainly won't be recommending IG.

[Caseynotes]

Hi   Re; changing the chart time periods on MT4 charts. You might be interested these MT4 programs?

 

There are 2 free programs available,

the first allows you to change to any number of minutes or hours per candle (but not seconds). This I have used myself and it works fine (better than the script period converter that comes with MT4 which needs resetting every start up).

 

The second allows you to have any number of ticks per candle (as in PRT), eg a 100 tick per candle chart. This I haven't tried yet.

 

https://www.fxdayjob.com/custom-time-frames-for-metatrader-4

 

https://www.fxdayjob.com/create-tick-charts-in-mt4