Investigating KingstonGates: A Comprehensive Review
The CFD brokerage market is full of suspicious companies that use every possible trick to attract inexperienced traders and their money. KingstonGates positions itself as a licensed company with very high trust and good trading conditions. Nevertheless, the brand has existed only since 2024 and has all the hallmarks of a fraud. Customer reviews are negative, and accusations have appeared. Let’s find out whether this company is a scam or not.
General Info
Key Takeaways
- Fake broker’s achievements and low usefulness of the official website.
- Issues with account registration and the risk of data leakage during verification.
- Increased withdrawal fees.
- Manipulative trading conditions with high leverage.
- Lack of a license from the UK regulator FCA.
Overview of KingstonGates
Now let’s take a closer look at the founders’ presentation: one specific story, several achievements, and a number of supposedly existing advantages of KingstonGates. Further on, we review the features of the official website, issues of account registration, and trading via the terminal.
Broker History
The founders of KingstonGates constantly try to persuade novice visitors that they are reliable and work within the framework of the law. They claim years of experience as a trading intermediary and use standard clichés about tech development and professionalism.
However, none of these supposed “advantages” stand a closer look and seem to be manipulative. Moreover, their website lacks up-to-date regulatory information.
Kingstongates.com Website
This company’s website is full of shortcomings that prevent traders from feeling comfortable and even block access to most services. For example, some sections of the KingstonGates portal don’t load at all. The same thing happens with the account registration, which will be discussed below.
The portal is based on mediocre templates, and its structure and design are the same as many other fraudulent broker sites. In digital documents, information is presented in such a way that customers cannot find what they need. For example, your browser’s search engine won’t help you find details about commissions, spreads, fees, or withdrawal terms, since all the terms are provided in PDF format.
Registration Process and Personal Account
KingstonGates has failed to establish a decent website and account functionality for traders. After attempting to open an account, clients get endless page loading on their site, though the “Open Account” buttons appear numerous times. This will happen regardless of the browser, device, or location you try from.
However, the company tries to verify its clients. The site has links to AML and KYC documents, and they ask for an impressive list of documents: passport pages, proof of residence, and payment method details. Judging by the platform’s reputation, all these measures seem to be just a pretext for refusing to withdraw funds.
Although it is impossible to register independently, the company’s managers are nevertheless willing to offer individual partnerships, often forcing newcomers to contact the support service to access the account. All this leads to financial losses for customers, as KingstonGates representatives sell non-existent services and privileges.
Trading Platform
KingstonGates does not provide access to any kind of high-quality trading software. For instance, clients cannot use MetaTrader 5, apply indicators, advanced oscillators, or strategies. There is no option to download an app for portable devices, which is yet another disadvantage and a red flag.
The company forces clients to work in a browser-based terminal with minimal functionality. The interface of this platform is represented by the order book and asset selection. The liquidity is always close to zero, which means that deals cannot be concluded for very long. Besides, trading through WebTrader often results in losses after several trading sessions.
Contacts
The administration of KingstonGates indicates the following contacts for feedback: email — support@kingstongates.email; phone: +44 127 728 2822.
However, these methods are neither reliable nor efficient. It means clients should not expect good and quality service from the company. Also, the firm does not reveal the real location of its headquarters or its legal registration address.
Analysis of Services Offered by KingstonGates
This section examines the key trading conditions, the procedures for funding and withdrawing money, and highlights the additional services offered by KingstonGates.
Funding and Withdrawal
If anything, KingstonGates is systematic in performing transactions, though not considerably varied, with credit cards, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies. At the same time, cryptocurrency is emphasized as the most anonymous method for depositing funds into an account. The minimum withdrawal amount is $100, while the maximum processing time for the request to withdraw is 10 business days. The fees stand at $30-$300 per operation.
One of the conditions required to withdraw money is verification, which in itself consists of several steps: uploading documents proving your identity, address of residence, and confirmation of the payment instrument used.
KingstonGates Trading Conditions
The dealer offers its traders the following account types: Basic, Silver, Gold, Platinum, VIP, and Kingston Club. Almost all the account types have major weaknesses in addition to unprofitable trading conditions and poor variability of financial instruments.
Deposits range from a minimum deposit amount of $250 to as much as $1 million, while the spreads on this account vary beginning from 0 above 1.5 pips. In reality, prices vary but this is not reflected, although VIP users will enjoy “ultra low commission”.
It seems suspicious that the leverage is between 1:100 and 1:300. Such high leverage can only be used by scam brokers to help traders empty their balances faster. Let’s remember that British and European regulators strictly limit leverage to 1:30 or 1:50 to protect traders.
The instruments available to be traded are currency pairs, stock, indices, commodities, and crypto; however, this dealer is much more focused on the product, which naturally has to suffer huge losses. Around 84% of CFD trades on the platform fail.
Unique Features
KingstonGates administration claims several additional services, provided in a wider range with the account’s level and size of the initial deposit. E-books, webinars, and daily market analyses are given to the clients. Arbitrage, trading strategies, and private sessions with analysts — all these services are openly offered online.
There is a separate VIP Program for those who can deposit $250,000 and more. It promises 24/7 customer support, faster withdrawal processing, risk management plans, and exclusive investment offers.
Is KingstonGates Trustworthy and Reliable?
This section explores the regulatory status of the dealer and its compliance with legal standards in the UK and Europe.
Assessing Legitimacy
KingstonGates does not admit the lack of a valid license; it brags about its reliability and security instead. For example, there are links to some AML and KYC documents on the website, as if to assure future clients. This is actually misleading, as there is no evidence of legal registration or regulation.
A search of the UK FCA register confirms the dealer is not a regulated entity. However, it continues to attract funds from traders without offering them a legal framework for operating.
Established Track Record
KingstonGates does not indicate a founding date. The About Us section says it has been in business for several years, but a Whois lookup of the website domain shows the company was founded in 2024. It is because of its recent founding that it has a low trust rating and a number of fraud claims against its name.
Implications for Traders
KingstonGates gets a minimalist rating of trust and credibility. The broker does not operate under a license from the UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority; he has a bad reputation among clients and has been accused of fraudulent modus operandi.
Strengths and Weaknesses
- There is customer verification, links to AML and KYC policies.
- The dealer operates illegally with no licensing in hand from any European or offshore financial regulators.
- Negative feedback from customers.
- It is not possible to sign up without the interference of a support representative.
- Access to additional services and privileges is limited.
- High withdrawal fees, too frequent account blocking, and inability to withdraw funds.
2 Reviews about KingstonGates
Support on kingstongates com is completely unresponsive. All the contact details are fake, so there's no point in expecting any help. Avoid this fraud company!!!
I have traded here for a few days and lost more than $2,000 for nothing. And after each withdrawal request, it was declined. KingstonGates is definitely a scammer.
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