#BoycottZerodha trends after trader takes on leading brokerage for Rs 37,000 refund

Jayraj has been a client of Zerodha since 2021 and said that he had faced several smaller tech issues on the platform but never as big as this one.

A trader's account of losing Rs 37,000 due to a technical glitch on Zerodha's platform has gone viral, reigniting concerns about the accountability of brokerage platforms for such losses. Numerous technical glitches have been reported by traders in recent months, coinciding with a substantial increase in trading volumes.

In a detailed narrative, trader Jayraj Patil shared his experience with Zerodha, describing how a company representative attempted to negotiate a settlement. The initial offer was 20 percent, followed by subsequent increases to 30 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, 90 percent, and eventually a full refund without brokerage fees. However, Patil revealed that another representative withdrew the offer once he pursued legal redress and shared his ordeal on social media.

This incident adds to the growing concern among investors regarding the reliability and accountability of brokerage platforms, especially when technical issues lead to financial losses.

Also read: Trader vs broker: The 2010 case that helped Vijay Gupta win compensation from Zerodha

Patil shared a call recording with Moneycontrol in which an alleged Zerodha's employee can be heard placing a lot of emphasis on Patil's social media posts. The employee warns Patil that it is illegal to get someone else to write tweets for him and even names people he believes may have written the tweets for Patil.

On February 1, nearly 40 days after he encountered the problem, Patil attended a conciliation meeting through the online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanism. The ODR has been set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as an extension of its SCORES platform. At the meeting, Zerodha's representative said that the brokerage had withdrawn all refund offers.

Why not customer care?

Patil told Moneycontrol that he initially sought assistance from Zerodha's customer support but became frustrated with the process. After days of follow-ups and daily conversations with the customer service team, he accepted a 100 percent refund without brokerage. However, a few days later, another executive claimed there was a "miscommunication", and the earlier offer was no longer valid.

Zerodha claims they were processing the refund, but upon the client's approach to the ODR mechanism, they decided to await the ODR's outcome before proceeding with the refund. When questioned about the conflicting statements from their employees, Zerodha attributed it to miscommunication and stated they are investigating the matter internally. The brokerage clarified that the withdrawal of the settlement offer was not due to the lack of authorisation but rather because of the complaint escalation to the exchange.

Also read: Don’t backtrack, keep escalating: Trader on winning compensation claim against Zerodha