Captaincookscasino effectively stolen my money...

[Gouldster]

Hey all, was directed here for help from a poker forum i post on. if anyone can give me advice it would be much appreciated...



So this is a bit of a long story but I'll try to keep it short.

I loves the slots, and signed up for some CD thing i got through the post: £500 free, keep what you win up to £150, that sort of thing. I know they're pretty much a scam, but. like I say, ilove the slots...

I won a bit, and had to deposit to claim winnings. So I used a pay as you go credit card to deposit, cos its a shady looking site. Captaincookscasino.com or something.

The pay as you go credit card is one I got for my missus a long time ago, she is the cardholder, but it is my account. Like to sign in and check balance and stuff is all my details, but her name on the front of card.

The casino account is in my name, and I guess you can see where this is going. Basically, I cleared the bonus and everything, which was well difficult and a complete scam. You have to wager 30x the amount of the bonus (£150) before you can cash out ANYTHING. Even the deposit you made.

But yeah, I actually won £1000, which I wanted to cash out to my bank. Cashed it out all fine.

This is all over about a week period.

today i get this email



According to our records, a credit / debit card registered on your account is not in your name. As per our terms and conditions, any winnings obtained from a credit card purchase which is not in the name of the account holder will be void.



Please click on the link below for the Terms and Conditions.

http://www.captaincookscasino.com/he...ions.asp#Promo



As per the Terms and Conditions:

"9. If the Credit Card or E-wallet used to deposit and/or withdraw funds is not in the name of the individual registered on the Casino account, then all winnings will be void."



The cashin is void and a check will be sent out in the name of the credit card holder.



Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require any further assistance.



Kind Regards,



Rhys

Casino Risk Management.


SO the question is, am i screwed out of the grand?

I have emailed them back saying the card is actually registered to me and my missus is just the cardholder etc. And sent them a screenshot of the account page with my name and address and stuff. But the wording on their terms and conditions is kinda vague to me. Just says if it is "not in the name..."

As far as I'm aware I'm perfectly entitled to use the card. Whatsmore I've used the card loads of times on other sites, such as pokerstars, fulltilt, coral and bingo liner UK with no problems. also seems a little bit dodgy that they were quite happy to sit on the deposit for about a week and only mentioned this when i won and tried to cash out...

So if any legal minds out there can wanna give their opinion, it would be much appreciated.

Or failing that, who do I actually complain to about this sort of stuff?

[RedAndi]

Pretty sure that is a T & C for just about every casino (at least that I have joined). Whatever you pay with has to have your own name on it, period. Fraud/Theft prevention being the reason I am sure. Gift cards would be an exception as they are one shot deals and have no registered payer name.

I am sure more experienced players will chime in and maybe have better info for you, but I think you are screwed.

The line that throws me off is that "a check will be issued to the name on the card". Not real clear on what they mean by that.

Also a question for you. When you used the card at other places were you able to cash out with no issue? Do some casinos allow CC's with a different name on them if you clear it with them prior to any transactions?

[Jasminebed]

Well, I think that credit cards need to be in your name is a standard term at most casinos. That would apply even for husband and wife. It is very important to read the terms and conditions when joining an online casino.

I can't even have someone else go and put funds on my prepaid card!

Looks like they will send a cheque to the missus for the deposit amount, make sure the address details they have are correct.

You might consider sending a copy of your marriage licence and a signed letter from your wife indicating that you had authority to use the card. I doubt this will get your winnings, but might clear matters up so you don't end up on a blacklist as a fraudster.

CasinoRewards has a rep here, you might contact them for advice.

[Gouldster]

Hey Redandi,

I think the "check is in the post..." line is in reference to the original £50 deposit.

With the cashout thing, I've never cashed out to the card itself, becuase it's a mastercard. But I;ve cashed out to my bank by a wire after having deposited with the card.

I mean my problem is with the wording in their terms and conditions, doesn;t say the casino account holder must be the name that appears on the card. Simply that the card must be in the name of the casino account holder. The card is registered to me, and is therefore, in my name.

I dunno, I guess you could say I'm stupid for not studying the T&Cs. But the whole thing has me very annoyed.

[takethemoney]

The problem you have and the reason the casinos are this way is because if your Girlfriend, or whomever's card you borrowed were to come forward at a later date and dispute the charge, the casino would have some explaining to do and could not fight the chargeback.

[RedAndi]

No you're not stupid.
I am sure most have run into issues with T & C at some point. You just have to be super careful when it comes to the T & C as we all know most casinos will go to great lengths to find ways to avoid paying due to the minutest details within them.

I would try to PM the rep like jasmine (I think it was jas) suggested. Worth a shot to talk to them about the card holder name thing. Good Luck!

[Gouldster]

thanks all,

yeah i posted this message to their rep before I put it on here. Still awaiting a reply from the casino themselves actually.

[vinylweatherman]

Hey Redandi,

I think the "check is in the post..." line is in reference to the original £50 deposit.

With the cashout thing, I've never cashed out to the card itself, becuase it's a mastercard. But I;ve cashed out to my bank by a wire after having deposited with the card.

I mean my problem is with the wording in their terms and conditions, doesn;t say the casino account holder must be the name that appears on the card. Simply that the card must be in the name of the casino account holder. The card is registered to me, and is therefore, in my name.

I dunno, I guess you could say I'm stupid for not studying the T&Cs. But the whole thing has me very annoyed.

This looks very odd to me, so no doubt it looks odd to the casino. I know that credit card accounts can be set up with more than one cardholder, but what is odd in THIS case is that although YOU have the account registered in YOUR name, the ONLY card on it belongs to your WIFE

The reason you have not had this trouble before is because you have been LUCKY. When a casino gets a NEW player, they run enhanced checks, and this is how they picked up on the card. When they took the money, it probably had your wife's name attached to it as a reference, which did NOT tally with the name on your casino account.

As with insurance companies, they look for an excuse NOT to pay, especially on a sign-up bonus, "common sense" has little to do with it, the terms allow them not to pay the winnings.

You should either have got yourself a card on this account, or had the casino account registered to your WIFE (with her permission of course), and played it jointly.

You should tidy up your card affairs BEFORE you run into this problem again, and remember to KEEP spent prepaid cards for quite a while after using them up, because some casinos ask the near impossible, a picture of back & front of a prepaid card long since used up and thrown away. It saves a lot of trouble to simply have this "in stock", just to surprise them

[RedAndi]

You should tidy up your card affairs BEFORE you run into this problem again, and remember to KEEP spent prepaid cards for quite a while after using them up, because some casinos ask the near impossible, a picture of back & front of a prepaid card long since used up and thrown away. It saves a lot of trouble to simply have this "in stock", just to surprise them

I keep them all AND I sharpie on each one the casino initials and the date I used it at said casino .

[Gouldster]

Hey,

yeah its not like a throwaway card. i dunno, its tuxedo-eccount one. you top it up in shops and stuff. when i joined up i set myself as the account holder, with my wife - my then girlfriend as the named cardholder.

the reason i got it for her was she never had a bank account as she was new to the uk. but then after she got a bank account she never used it. so i kept it for using online.

i dunno, as far as im aware, as the account holder i can use the card. its my name and address on the account page when you check online. and my details to log in. plus the card is linked to my paypal account with no problems, and if i remember correctly when buying goods online ive had to type my name in as billing info with it.

as far as i can see there's no issue of fraud here. they just think i didnt comply with the T&Cs... I think i did! I have contacted tuxedo tho, to make 100% sure i am correct in thinkin i can use the card.

anyway, i guess ill get some replies to my emails tomorrow. I will keep you informed.

Thanks for the imput guys

if nothing else, i'll be reading those terms and conditions next time