PlusOption
Not Bad 6.3/10
  • PlusOption

  • Regulated:  No
Broker Name: PlusOption
Platform: SpotOption
Founded: 2014
Bonus: 100%
Return/Refund: 75-81% /0%
No. Of Assets: 148
Regulated: No
Demo Account: No
Minimum Deposit: 250
US Traders: Not Accepted
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PlusOption Review

by Martin Kay

Why Doesn’t PlusOption Suck in 50 Words

Their list of assets is pretty big with around 150 assets and they offer all of the standard SpotOption types of trading such as long term, pairs, ladder, one touch, and FX/CFD.

 

Why Does PlusOption Suck in 50 Words

PlusOption sucks because they are not regulated and the website looks like a horrible bucket-shop which someone quickly put up in WordPress. In addition, after only 45 days of being inactive, your account will be charged 49.90 currencies per month which is way too much and way too soon.

 

Is PlusOption a Scam?

PlusOption was founded in 2014 and is operated by Redfield Markets Ltd registered address at Fanshawe House, Pioneer Business Park YO30 4TN, York, UK and operational address Sofia, Bulgaria, 7th Floor, 9 Professor Fridtjof Nansen Str. Redfield Markets Ltd is a new company and was incorporated 4th of May 2017.

Their payment services are operated by ACV Operations S.R.L which is registered in 13th Stejarisului st, Section 4, Bucharest, Romania. Their support can be reached at [email protected] or at this UK number: +442038070195. PlusOption is not a regulated broker.

PlusOption is not regulated and the website doesn’t strike us as a seriously operated business. In fact, a little research dug up complaints regarding withdrawals such as account managers refusing to forward withdrawals. This is the standard trait of a scam broker and the lack of regulation makes it impossible to solve your disputes. In addition, there are complaints regarding account managers deliberately making traders lose, change passwords to their accounts, and then ignore them once the funds are depleted.

Regarding the website itself, it’s poorly made and the support ignored me after answering a couple of simple yes/no questions. Overall, not much effort has been made to create a unique broker that would attract clients. In fact, we found the good old “*Insert broker name* is today’s leading binary options trading platform” which has become a slogan that all lazy white labels keep repeating. Furthermore, there is no demo account which sucks.

Recently, PlusOption added the following to their disclaimer: “Unfortunately, we don’t accept traders from Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, US, Canada, and Australia. Likewise, residents who have double citizenship that includes the listed above countries, are not allowed to trade the binary options”

We also noticed that now there are only a UK and South African number available.

Moving on to the company itself, not much info about PlusOption is shared. Except for the address that is an obvious virtual office (Marshall Islands). Another suspicious sign we found was that they provide Belgian/British and Australian phone numbers. In Belgium, binary options are banned and it is a matter of time before PlusOption gets on the blacklist of the authorities like FSMA but also ASIC and FCA for claiming to have office/phone support in those countries (already warned against in Bulgaria).

The platform is the standard SpotOption and there is nothing unique here to get too excited about. They do have a large asset list but of course, not all of them will be available at all times. In conclusion, PlusOption makes us want to turn around and go somewhere else, to a regulated broker that makes a good effort to provide a unique platform with beneficial terms and conditions.

OBS! Since May 2017 the company owner and address have changed. The new name is Redfield Markets Ltd and the Marshall Islands address is no longer found on their page but is instead replaced with a Bulgarian address: Sofia, Bulgaria, 7th Floor, 9 Professor Fridtjof Nansen Str. Interestingly, PlusOption is warned against on the FSC.bg, Bulgaria’s financial regulator. Overall these are not signs of a trustworthy broker.

Notice!: Trading Binary Options with a non-regulated broker carries risk. It is highly recommended to Start trading a regulated broker.

 

PlusOption Complaints

Despite being so new, founded in 2015, there are already a number of complaints regarding failure to withdraw from PlusOption. There is nothing worse than withdrawal complaints when it comes to binary options. I mean, if a broker is no good, you should always be able to withdraw, bonus or no bonus, good or bad service, freezing platform or fast-acting… You should always be able to withdraw – and when you can’t, it screams scam. “Withdrawals were again denied because they raised the requirement restriction by the 1000 dollars unrequested bonus.” – wrote a client.

They also seem to be involved with various autotrader scams such as “Quantum code” and “Cambridge method” and similar “get rich quick” scams and that is alarming too. We have researched for more recent complaints and there are a bunch of newly scammed victims. The account managers over at PlusOption are promising big and quick profits only they don’t deliver. Afterward, “recovery managers” talk the victim into depositing even more money in order to “recover” the losses. One source for such stories is Forexpeacearmy.com. The real bad news is that PlusOption is hiding behind virtual addresses, it’s impossible to make a complaint once your funds are stolen. You are pretty much being ripped off by a ghost.

 

PlusOption Regulatory Announcements and Warning

21.06.2016 – The Financial Supervision Commission, FSC in Bulgaria, adds PlusOption and their owner “Tradeplus Solutions Ltd” to their list of warnings. According to FSC, PlusOption is not authorized to offer services in Bulgaria.

10.05.2017 – ASIC regulator warns against PlusOption because “they could be involved in a scam” and because they have made unsolicited calls or in other ways contacted clients in Australia without holding a license. Source: ASIC’s MoneySmart

19.09.2017 – In the latest updated list of non-approved domains on the CySec regulator’s website PlusOption is mentioned. Source: CySec.gov

 

PlusOption Bonuses

Their bonuses go up to 100% and the required turnover is 30x total bonus amount. The bonus policy is not straightforward. In the bonus policy it states that you can withdraw and cancel the bonus after accepting it but under withdrawal policy, it says that your withdrawal request will be canceled if you try to withdraw and have not met the minimum volume requirement. The turnover of 30x the bonus is actually okay but still, we can never recommend accepting bonuses from unregulated brokers.

 

PlusOption Withdrawals

Before withdrawals can be processed, you need to verify your account in accordance with AML policies. After that, withdrawals can take up to 14 days for wire and bank transfer – according to their terms and conditions. The minimum size is 100$ per withdrawal but no mentioning of any fees with exception of your own bank’s fees and transaction/exchange costs.

 

PlusOption Ratings

User Friendliness 14/20

The website comes in English, Russian and Arabic, and German. The design and overall time spent working on the page are poor and disappointing. The market review page was empty but on the plus side, there were working videos to watch.

No. of Assets and Expiry time 16/20

There are 23 currencies, 100 stocks, 7 commodities, and 18 indices coming up to a sum of 148 assets which is pretty big. The expiry choices are the standard SpotOption, short-term, intraday, and long-term.

Commissions, Support, and Effective Return 12/20

The terms and conditions state that fees might be charged depending on your own bank but no standard fees are mentioned from PlusOption’s side. Returns reach up to 81% but there seem to be higher payouts for VIP members of deposits of 50K or higher. The support on the live chat was a bit slow and only answered two of my very simple questions before she disappeared and ignored the third question. There are no commissions but regarding fees, there is a dormant account fee of 49.9 $/€ that is applied monthly already after 45 days.

Deposit, Payment, and Bonus 15/20

Bonus terms require 30x the bonus before you can withdraw them. The bonus policy states that you can withdraw your deposit despite not reaching up to the required volume but the withdrawal policy conflict with that statement and states the opposite: your withdrawal will be canceled if you have not reached the required volume. It’s confusing and unreliable, to say the least. The following deposit methods are approved: VISA, MASTERCARD, Skrill, Webmoney, and Yandex Money. The minimum withdrawal amount is 100$ and may take up to 14 days.

Website Extra’s 9/20

There are no unique features for this broker specifically.

 

PlusOption Overall Rating: 63/100

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