scorecard
  1. Home
  2. stock market
  3. news
  4. Reddit and Twitter users are lashing out at Robinhood's back-to-back service outages. Here's what they're saying.

Reddit and Twitter users are lashing out at Robinhood's back-to-back service outages. Here's what they're saying.

Ben Winck   

Reddit and Twitter users are lashing out at Robinhood's back-to-back service outages. Here's what they're saying.
Stock Market3 min read
reddit trading screen
  • Robinhood experienced its second straight daily outage during Tuesday's hectic trading session, prompting fresh backlash from clients online.
  • Markets slipped as the day progressed as investors mulled the Federal Reserve's first emergency rate cut since the 2008 financial crisis.
  • The discount brokerage experienced a "system-wide outage" during most of Monday's session after an infrastructure issue locked users out of their accounts. The Tuesday error restored by 11:54 a.m. ET, according to a Robinhood tweet.
  • "Fool me twice, shame on me. I'm out," one user said on Twitter.
  • "If yesterday's catastrophe wasn't enough, this will seal the deal for sure," a Reddit user wrote Tuesday morning.
  • Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

Outraged Robinhood users are lambasting the discount brokerage amid its second straight daily outage.

Stocks dropped on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve issued its first emergency rate cut since the financial crisis. Yet Robinhood users were unable to cash out amid the intense price swings.

"Robinhood taking that whole 'disrupting' trade thing a little too literally," @Hipster_Trader tweeted Tuesday morning.

The latest issue follows a "system-wide outage" that took the platform offline for most of Monday trading. It stemmed from an infrastructure issue that prevented key systems from communicating with each other, according to a company spokesperson. The error kept users from locking in gains during the biggest market rally since December 2018.

Tuesday's outage is related to the same infrastructure problem, a representative told Business Insider. While Monday's lockout arrived as equities gained, Tuesday's errors came amid a sharp market reversal.

Robinhood announced services were "fully restored" at 11:54 a.m. ET, according to a company tweet. By then, users online had torn into the brokerage and its troubled start to the month.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I'm out," @QuintonThurmond wrote in a 9:57 a.m. tweet.

"The worst part is that the only functioning part of the app is being able to see how much money I'm losing/could be cashing out on..... it's like torture," Reddit user mcpax wrote.

"Trying to liquidate so I can leave this mess behind and all I'm getting is a massive headache," user bobbiscotti wrote in the Robinhood sub-reddit. "If yesterday's catastrophe wasn't enough, this will seal the deal for sure."

Read more: From the investing club at Notre Dame to a hedge fund managing millions: Here's how two 20-somethings are defying traditional stock-market logic in order to crush peers

The company clarified Tuesday that no personal information was lost in the outage and that funds held in accounts were safe during the affected periods.

"We realize we let our customers down, and we're committed to improving their experience," a Robinhood spokesperson said in a statement. The brokerage is reaching out to customers with information on conducting case-by-case compensation reviews. Afflicted clients may receive billing credits or other compensation from the firm, according to a spokesperson.

While some threatened to take their investing business to rival brokerages, others looked to organize collective action against the company. A recently created Twitter account named "Robinhood Class Action" already has nearly 5,800 followers and is encouraging clients to file complaints with federal authorities over the outages.

The account has repeatedly linked to a Change.org petition calling for Robinhood to be banned from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The petition had 933 signatures as of 12:30 p.m. ET.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Coronavirus chaos creates an 'attractive entry point' for internet stocks, UBS says

GOLDMAN SACHS: Commodities markets are facing their biggest demand shock since the financial crisis

Electric cars and self-driving tech have gotten off to a slow start. Companies like Tesla, GM, and Waymo are hustling to change that in a big way.


Advertisement

Advertisement