Robinhood trading app crashed today and customers were unable to take profits even before the app’s crash. Now, users have taken to social to voice their outrage.
Robinhood’s crash angers the platform’s traders
Robinhood trading app’s latest update appears to have broken the platform, causing significant downtime and blocking customer access to funds. The company did tweet a statement acknowledging downtime issues earlier today, but for now the app is still offline.
Our system is experiencing downtime issues that are affecting all functionalities on our platform. We are aware of the issue and are working to have all systems up and running as soon as we can. We’re so sorry this is happening!
— Robinhood Help (@AskRobinhood) March 2, 2020
Robinhood’s support team is in damage control mode, trying to pacify the platform’s irate customers, who complained that they were unable to take profits before the app’s crash, which took place right before the markets opened.
This couldn’t have come at a worse time for both Robinhood traders and the Robinhood platform, as the market is reeling from volatility due to the panic surrounding the Covid-19 outbreak and its potential impact on global markets.
I've been a huge supporter of @RobinhoodApp for what theyve done to disrupt the retail brokerage industry. But this outage today is completely unacceptable. The first trading day back from one of the worst weeks in market history. Robinhood cost alot of ppl alot of money today
— Michael Roger (@trnmariner) March 2, 2020
Many customers have complained that the app’s failure has cost them significant amounts of capital, and several have threatened a class action lawsuit. Many others are simply asking for a human response from Robinhood support, which has repeatedly tweeted a generic automated support message.
Our system is experiencing downtime issues that are affecting all functionalities on our platform. We are aware of the issue and are working to have all systems up and running as soon as we can. We’re so sorry this is happening!
— Robinhood Help (@AskRobinhood) March 2, 2020
Customers threaten legal action
Many of the platform’s customers have sworn to take legal action, as well as close their accounts and withdraw funds as soon as the platform is back online. This couldn’t come at worse time for Robinhood, which is about to launch in the UK.
UK regulators have already expressed concerns about Robinhood’s lax regulatory-compliant business model. They have already stated that they would hold Robinhood accountable.
The platform launched in 2015 and was groundbreaking in that it offered commission free trading, and allowed retail investors to purchase stocks in sub-share amounts.
Robinhood has been in regulatory troubles in the past due to questionable business practices. The trading site was fined $1.3 million by FINRA, for directing trades through market makers that paid them kickbacks at the expense of the platform’s traders in 2019.
Robinhood is no longer the only brokerage offering commission-free trading. This was the initial draw that caused them to take a huge share of the retail investing market. When it launched crypto trading, they received millions of additional signups, however, they are not the only place that offers crypto trading now either.
This is happens all of the time with Robinhood. It's not worth the risk anymore as to many other options offer free trading.
— Chase Bergeron (@BergeronChase) March 2, 2020
They impacted the market and forced competitors to adopt a similar business model to stay competitive, but now their pioneering impact may come back to haunt them as traders leave the platform for more stable trading experiences.
What do you think about the Robinhood app crash? Let us know in the comments!
Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @BergeronChase @AskRobinhood @trmariner @