What to do if…
your brokerage or trading account shows a sudden negative cash balance or margin call

What to do now

1. Pause the account

   • Stop placing new trades.
   • Cancel open orders you do not fully understand.
   • If the platform offers a close-only or trading-restriction setting, use it or ask the broker to apply it until the issue is clear.

2. Record what you can see

   • Take screenshots of the negative cash figure, margin call message, open positions, orders, buying power, and today’s activity.
   • Download or save your latest statement, contract notes, cash ledger, transaction history, and any margin notice.

3. Check the likely cause before acting

   • Look in the cash ledger and recent activity for:
     • unsettled purchases or sales, especially across different products, markets, or currencies;
     • FX conversion entries, currency borrowing, or delayed currency settlement;
     • platform fees, margin interest, stock-borrow charges, market-data fees, or withholding tax;
     • options assignment, exercise, expiry, or contract adjustment;
     • CFD or spread-bet margin changes, close-out notices, or overnight funding charges;
     • corporate actions, dividends, withholding tax, or reversed credits.
   • Write down the exact line item, trade reference, amount, currency, and time shown.

4. Contact the broker through verified channels

   • Use the secure message centre, in-app support, or a phone number from the broker’s official website or app.
   • Ask:
     • “What exactly created the negative cash balance?”
     • “Which trades, fees, currency conversions, assignments, or corporate actions are involved?”
     • “What amount is required to clear the margin call or cash deficit?”
     • “What is the deadline?”
     • “Will you close positions automatically, and under what conditions?”
     • “Are there pending credits, sale proceeds, dividends, or FX conversions that may reduce the deficit?”
     • “Is the account close-only while this is unresolved?”
     • “If this involves CFDs, spread bets, or similar leveraged products, am I treated as a retail client or professional client, and what protections apply?”

5. Choose the least irreversible safe action

   • Use the broker’s written answer and your cash ledger before depositing or selling.
   • If the broker says positions may be closed soon, ask which available actions would meet the requirement with the least irreversible effect.
   • If you decide to deposit, use only the broker’s verified funding route and keep the confirmation.
   • If you reduce or close positions, save the order confirmations and any message explaining why you acted.

6. If you suspect an error, unauthorised trading, or a scam

   • Change your password and refresh two-factor authentication.
   • Tell the broker immediately that you suspect unauthorised activity or an account error.
   • Ask the broker to restrict trading while it investigates.
   • If you recently sent money and now suspect fraud, contact your bank promptly and ask whether the payment can be stopped, recalled, or investigated.

7. Use UK escalation routes if the broker will not engage

   • Check whether the firm appears on the FCA Firm Checker and whether the details match the firm you are dealing with.
   • Ask the broker for its formal complaints process and make the complaint in writing.
   • If you receive a final response you disagree with, or the firm has not given a final response within 8 weeks, you can usually take an eligible complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
   • After a final response, you generally have 6 months from the date of that response to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
   • If the issue is firm failure or missing client money or assets, check whether FSCS investment protection may apply. FSCS does not cover ordinary trading losses or poor investment performance.