Why is the ‘sell’ option not available on my buy and sell screen?
Answer
If you’re trying to sell your shares online using the ‘Buy and sell’ screens and a ‘sell’ option doesn’t appear for a share you hold, there are several possible explanations:
- You already have an active order for this share. If you’ve already placed a limit order or stop loss order, your shares are ring-fenced for that order. If you want to sell them immediately (rather than wait for the limit or stop loss order to execute), you need to cancel the limit or stop loss order first on the ‘Active orders’ page.
- The shares cannot be dealt online. Some overseas shares can only be dealt over the phone. Please call our Dealing Services team on 0345 54 32 600 to complete your order.
- You're transferring the shares to your account, and they haven’t yet settled. If you’re transferring the shares over from another provider, they’ll show in your portfolio. However, they will only be available to sell once they’ve settled. We’ll send you an email to confirm when all of your shares have settled. You can keep track of the progress of your transfer by logging in to your account and clicking on 'Transfers'.
You can only place a direct deal for shares during market hours. In the UK, these are 8am to 4:30pm. You can set up a limit or stop loss order for UK shares outside market hours – but your order won’t be processed until the market opens again.
As you can’t set up stop loss or limit orders for international shares, you can only trade during international market hours.