Some Robinhood marketers who can’t get in touch with customer service try another tactic: show up at the front door.
A handful of Robinhood customers have driven to the startup’s headquarters in California, demanding to speak with a representative and in some cases vandalizing the property, according to police reports.
A total of 10 reports from January 28 to February 9 obtained by CNBC detail the frustration with the start of negotiations. Some customers tried to explain the bill’s problems to security guards who were outside the one-story unmarked building in Menlo Park, a suburb of the Bay Area, and were given a form paper to fill out. This year there were no reports related to Robinhood before that date, the city police department said.
A Menlo Park police spokesman said the incidents included up to 15 people protesting outside the office and a suspect threw a T-shirt at a security guard. Another suspect sawed a sculpture on Robinhood’s property. A third man threw feces at the front door, according to police.
Robinhood was set on fire by users and lawmakers for restricting the purchase of some shops in late January. Some accused Robinhood of protecting hedge funds with short actions like GameStop. Robinhood said it did not make those decisions based on the interest of market makers or hedge funds and needed to limit operations to increasing capital needs.
Robinhood declined to comment on police reports and customer service complaints.
2,400 miles to Robinhood
Forty-three-year-old Rayz Rayl said he had been using the free trade app for seven years and recommended Robinhood to friends before the end of January. The professional poker player told CNBC that he lost $ 50,000 trading for Nokia, one of multiple stocks limited to the platform due to volatility.
After failed attempts to contact Robinhood customer service, he decided to drive more than 2,400 miles from his home in Sellersburg, Indiana, last Thursday at Robinhood headquarters to close his account. .
“I have money in my Robinhood account that I need for living expenses,” Rayl, who has three children, said in an interview outside Robinhood headquarters. “Right now, my money is hostage to Robinhood. I can’t take it out.”
Rayl said he was locked up for more than ten days. After his interview and CNBC’s request for comment on Robinhood, customer service contacted him and he was able to access his account.
CNBC witnessed another Robinhood customer kicking and knocking on Robinhood’s front door, claiming the start-up had “$ 2 million of my money on hold” and asking me to “lower my account number “. The man refused to talk about his complaint.
In the following weeks, more than two dozen lawsuits have been filed against Robinhood by customers claiming damages. Another lawsuit filed this week against the trade app is from the family of Alex Kearns, a 20-year-old who committed suicide last year after mistakenly thinking he owed more than $ 730,000 after trading options.
Certainly, the Menlo Park incidents only account for a handful of 13 million Robinhood customers. Despite the online reaction and on Capitol Hill, the start-up seemed to add record accounts in the last week of January. JMP Securities estimates that Robinhood recorded 600,000 mobile downloads during GameStop trading week.
Robinhood user policies describe loss potential and trade restrictions. Users agree that “Robinhood may, in its sole discretion, prohibit or restrict the trading of securities or the substitution of securities in any of my accounts.”
Rayl said he knew the risk of losing money when he signed up for Robinhood and that he has lost up to $ 20,000 in a single day of poker. For Rayl, his inability to buy certain shares made this stand out from other losses. He said limiting Robinhood customers ’trades was tantamount to“ taking the carpet off ”customers.
Right now, Rayz is stopping at the stock market.
“I don’t trust Wall Street right now: I’m shifting all the cash and taking a break,” Rayz said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to daily trading after that happens.”