Account blocked by Grand Virtual casino - Help needed

[Paj]

This has now been cleared up and they added a $75 bonus to my acccount also for the inconvenience caused.

[ugaboga]

Good to hear as I really trust this group of casinos.

Do you mind elaborating more on how the error/mis judgement occured?

[Paj]

I'm not really sure why this happened. They e-mailed me asking for driving license, recent bill and moneybookers screenshot. Provided this and they removed the block.

[vinylweatherman]

I find these stories rather annoying. First the casino accuses the player of fraud, and more or less gives "case closed - no appeal", and will not look into it further. Then casinomeister contacts the casino rep and all of a sudden it's a horrible mistake and player gets $75 bonus.

WHY WAS THIS NOT RESOLVED INTERNALLY IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!

While there is fraud in many of these cases, and Bryan does indeed find them out, here is an innocent player who would probably NEVER have got justice had they not known there was another avenue for appeal. This has happened not with a rogue, or "not recommended" casino, but an accredited one!
Casinos have to take this matter more seriously, and PROPERLY investigate such issues before levelling accusations, trial, jury, and execution at the player involved. This industry is having trouble enough already with it's reputation in some quarters, and must remember that there really is NO official redress for players beyond the intervention of third parties like Casinomeister who independently vet and help with complaints.

No doubt, the casino will never say what went wrong here, as this could allow real fraudsters to create a work around for security features, but such a SERIOUS mistake should not happen in the first place, casinos must be 100% sure before making it a "final decision". By all means, lock accounts TEMPORARILY and request documents before withdrawal if they think something does not look right, but never make it final till the can be sure a crime of fraud has been committed.
For every 4 players that know about such fora, there are 6 who do not, and would stay "screwed over" in the event that they really were innocent of charges but thought that there was no avenue other than the "chargeback" to use in pursuit of justice.
While the casino offered $75 compensation, this is peanuts compared to the possible repercussions were a fully regulated UK business to be found guilty of wrongfully removing money from a player's account with their company, be it an energy business or a bank.
Every time I see a story like this where the player is vindicated in short order after being accused of being a criminal by a casino, particularly one accredited here, my confidence in the ability of this industry to self regulate falls.
The industry are fighting to be allowed back into the US and parts of the Canadian market, while at the same time convincing other countries that the US has overreacted by calling them "criminal enterprises". There has to be an improvement in transparency of behaviour, or this industry could die in it's current self regulated form.
I have been playing since 2004, and I have never before witnessed such a torrent of complaints relating to confiscated winnings and deposits before this year, it is not the PLAYERS' fault that the US have decided to really turn the screw, and those players who continue to patronise the casinos, and keep them afloat, deserve better than the lowest standards casinos can get away with.
If it is really a problem with first deposit bonuses, then develop a new model, perhaps one that treats loyal players better than "cash cows" while lavishing huge bonuses on unknown new players that loyal players will NEVER see again in many cases unless they break with the loyalty and defect to a new casino. This would make sense, a casino knows how a loyal player plays, but they take a gamble that a new sign-up isn't just after the juicy bonus.

[Pinababy69]

here is an innocent player who would probably NEVER have got justice had they not known there was another avenue for appeal. This has happened not with a rogue, or "not recommended" casino, but an accredited one!

I couldn't have said it better VWM. How many players does this happen to that don't know a place such as Casinomeister exists? No day in court, no appeal..guilty, account locked, money confiscated...done deal. It sure doesn't inspire confidence in this industry.

I've said this before but it bears repeating. I pity newbie players who are just now getting into online gaming, and don't have a clue how things work or where to turn when they have a problem. Bonus abuse, white labels, accusations of fraud where none exist, rogue casinos that offer 500% bonuses too good to pass up....the list goes on. Scary.

[BBKPoker]

I'm actually very surprised that Grand Virtual is accredited at all, because when they decide they are going to not pay someone (which happens somewhat frequently from the forum threads I've read and my own personal experiences with them) they not only DON'T pay your winnings (bad enough) they REFUSE to refund your deposit, and tell you that your e-wallet has been permanently blocked from any other transactions (which includes a refund of your deposit).

How can a casino that won't even refund your deposit if they decide not to pay be accredited?

[PSB]

This has now been cleared up and they added a $75 bonus to my acccount also for the inconvenience caused.

Interesting situation. From blocked to released and a $75 bonus.
Why would a casino go from freezing the funds to rewarding the player to return!
Wow, I am new here..but amazed.
I did see it's an accredited casino, so I guess they want to protect their reputation.

To address previous posters, I think there's more than meets the eye in this case. Surely the person who wrote the casino's reply or the persons who were involved were shamed if they ever saw this thread.
and is the casino adjusting their methodology for tracking fraud as a result of this public exposure?

All questions that may remain unanswered.

[PSB]

How can a casino that won't even refund your deposit if they decide not to pay be accredited?

Just a guess, but maybe they suspected that player (not the one subject of this thread) to be connected to a real fraud ring... like credit card fraud or moneybookers fraud or whatever. You know, there must be real fraudsters using stolen funds, other people's moneybookers accounts, whatever... and then trying to turn a deposit into a big win.
Why should those folks get their deposit refunded?
I believe a number of casinos have conditions that say they can freeze all of your account balance, if it comes down to blocking your account for ever.

[Casinomeister]

Perhaps I should have posted this yesterday, but as far as what I have been told, this is not over yet. When I contacted the casino, the fraud squad unblocked this player's account and requested further documents. As soon as these docs are verified, they will release these funds.

Let's not start jumping to a lot of conclusions and start hammering away at a casino that has acted in good faith. They are giving this player a second chance.

[PSB]

I'm not really sure why this happened. They e-mailed me asking for driving license, recent bill and moneybookers screenshot. Provided this and they removed the block.

casinomeister, here's your update.

Paj have you tried logging in since then?
What did you decide to do... hey maybe you can win even more money with this new bonus lol