IRA Custodian deposited contribution in wrong account opinions please

[Jaxson]

Just getting notice that my IRA Custodian (large discount online brokerage firm) put my 2015 IRA contribution in the wrong account.  The check was accompanied by a full size 81/2 x 11 IRA Deposit Form with Traditional IRA and the year marked on the deposit slip and the check.  Still waiting for them to provide copies of check and deposit form, but they said I had the wrong account number on the check, (having trouble locating the deposit slip) so it was deposited in my minor daughter's account (UGMA) which is a regular stock account and not an IRA account.  As a result it is costing me almost $3,000.00 in taxes, interest and penalties to the IRS.  Do you think they were negligent in not depositing it to an IRA account and should have contacted me?  If so, would it be appropriate to file a claim with the FINRA (Cost of $175.00) or is this regulatory agency just for securities fraud?

[Borsley]

This is unfortunate, but errors happen even within the best companies.  This is just my opinion (and based on some anecdotal  experience),  but I believe this why confirming transactions when you receive confirmation statements and/or quarterly statements is so important.   I believe this will be the firm's stance/protection against having to reimburse you for expenses.   Often times these documents even state that you must notify the company within X time period (e.g....90 days)  if the statements don't reflect your intentions.   As to notifying regulators, I believe the most they'll do (if anything) is to verify that you as the client were given confirmation/statements that should have allowed you to see this error and notify them to correct on a timely basis.