Message Center User Guide

 

 
 

 

 
 
 
Your Message Center allows you to submit questions directly to IB Customer Service in a secure and authenticated manner and provides the following features:
  • every inquiry is assigned a case number ("ticket"). This reference number can be used to efficiently track the progress of the inquiry.
  • the real-time status of an inquiry is always available via an overview screen. You will know if the issue has been picked up by an IB service expert, which expert is handling your issue, and whether it is being addressed by our main help team or by a specialty team.
  • both customers and IB staff can refine or add information to the ticket, permitting easy clarifications or follow up to the original inquiry. In addition, customers can cancel or close tickets once the issue has been addressed giving them greater control.
  • History Overview of both open and completed inquiries
  • Fast Response: Tickets will be assigned to an IB representative usually within a few minutes and always within 2 hours during European and North American trading hours. During Asian trading hours, response times may be longer.
 
 
 
 
This screen presents an overview of all inquiries in a tabbed view. 
  1. Open tickets are presented in the default view with date/time of submission, a brief description of the question, the most recent response from IB staff, the name of the IB Expert handling the inquiry, and a status indicator.
  2. A second tab shows closed or resolved inquiries going back 1 month.  This allows customers to refer to the solutions or information provided by IB and save them on their computers in a document system of their choice (simple cut-and-paste). Status indicators allow customers to know at a glance where their inquiry is in the process.  A key for the meanings of the various states are provided at the bottom of the overview screen. Action buttons (edit/view, close, cancel) permit customers to manage their inquiries directly.  
  • Resolve/Close : use this when you are satisfied with the response provided by the IB service expert. This will move the ticket onto the "Closed" tab.  Please note that IB staff may also close a ticket if they feel the inquiry has been completely addressed.
  • Cancel Ticket https://www.interactivebrokers.com/cstools/webtkt/v3/images/actionCancel.gif: allows customers to retract an inquiry even if it has not yet been fully addressed.
  • Edit/View: customers can add additional information to an inquiry or respond back to an IB Expert's request for more detail.
 
 
 
  1. Click New Ticket in the menu bar. This will open a new window (you must allow pop-ups on your browser).
  2. Select the main Category and a SubCategory for the inquiry. The category will allow us to route your inquiry to the IB Expert who is specialized or is most experienced for your issue. We recommend choosing the category accurately to get the highest quality and speed of response.
  3. Enter a brief summary of the question.  This is the text you will see in the overview screen.
  4. Enter details about the problem as needed. Please be as specific and complete as possible (for example, exact dates/times, TWS version, etc) , as this will allow us to accurately research your inquiry to give you the best / fastest response.
  5. Click "Next".  This will take you to a confirmation screen that will allow you to review and submit your inquiry
  6. You will get a confirmation of receipt along with a ticket reference number.  Note this reference number (it is also viewable on the Overview Screen) and please use it in any follow up to your inquiry (for example, over chat or by phone).
  7. The inquiry will show in the Overview Screen with the status=New.
 
 
 
 
 
  1. On the Overview Screen, select the open ticket you wish to update, and click on the Edit icon at the end of the row.
  2. A new window will open showing the history of the "conversation" to date, along with a text entry box for the new information to be added.
  3. Click "Send" to submit. After some seconds, you will get a confirmation from IB that the update has been received by our system.
 
 
 
 
 
  1. On the Overview Screen, select the open ticket you wish to update, and click on the paperclip icon.
  2. A new window will open showing the history of the "conversation" to date, along with a text entry box to add information about the attachment(s). Below the text box there is a section called "Attach Files" with the possibility of adding 3 attachments. Click "Browse" to find the file to be attached. Please note the max upload size is 2Mb per file with a 6Mb cap for all files.
  3. Click "Send" to submit. After some seconds you will be fowarded to the preview ticket mode where the attached file(s) name will be visible in the comment section.
 
 
 
 
 
To Cancel an Existing Open Ticket:
  • Use this when your inquiry has been resolved outside of the IB CIMS environment (for example, an exchange access problem that has already been fixed). This will move the ticket to a "Closed" state (CLS) immediately and will inform IB staff that there is no further need to investigate the issue.
  1. Just click on the Cancel https://www.interactivebrokers.com/cstools/webtkt/v3/images/actionCancel.gificon on the appropriate ticket row. A confirmation page will be provided.
To Close/Resolve a Ticket
  • Use this when you have received a satisfactory answer to your inquiry. This will change the ticket state to "Closed" (CLS). We request that you close tickets as soon as possible once you are satisfied. IB Customer Service managers may close tickets in cases where the ticket appears to be fully answered but has not been closed by the customer.
  1. Just click on the Close icon on the appropriate ticket row. A confirmation page will be provided.
To Reopen a Ticket
  • The IB-Expert might close a ticket after responding if he/she believes the inquiry was fully and satisfactorily resolved. It may be the case thaat the Client does not agree that the question was properly answered so we provide a way to reopen recently closed tickets. Just click on the Re-Open link on the appropriate line of the overview page. The ticket status should show LV1 and the IB-Expert who handled the ticket will be notified.
  1. Just click on the "Reopen" link on the appropriate ticket row. A confirmation page will be provided.
 
 
 
 
 
There are a million possible questions and IB staff cannot possibly know all answers to all the possible questions equally well. Proper selection of the Category for your inquiry will allow IB to assign the best qualified Expert to your inquiry. It may take a few seconds more to find the right Category/SubCategory combination but this small time investment will be rewarded by a faster and higher quality response.
 
 
 
 
Customers can provide feedback to IB management regarding their service experience. Feedback surveys consist of four questions relating to overall experience, quality and speed of answer and courtesy which you are asked to rate.  Respondents also have the option to submit free form comments requesting additional follow-up or in recognition of exemplary service.  Feedback surveys are made available immediately upon closure of a chat session or webticket and are periodically sent via email following a telephone inquiry. While all surveys are not responded to, each is reviewed by our Quality Assurance team as a means of improving the overall quality of our service.