More Neteller BS

[GrandMaster]

I think it is time to complain to the FSA.

[winbig]

Originally Posted by vinylweatherman

This is affecting MY withdrawal to a UK bank. I was promised last Saturday that it would be sorted in 2 business days (now passed). This follows on from the promise on Friday that it would be sorted on Friday!
They have now breached the promise a second time. They are having trouble processing ANY payment request, and have trouble even keeping promises made to non-US customers that they need not worry about being seriously impacted.
I consider £6000 trapped like it was $6000 for a week "seriously impacted". They cannot claim it is down to processors on this. It seems that non-US customers are heading for the exact same delays as US customers.
As far as casinos are concerned, they might like to note that my ability to deposit and play has almost seized up as a consequence of this delay, and the expectation that any future attempt to withdraw will suffer the same fate. The £6000 is NOT ending up in a casino, it will stay there as long as it takes, and I will be unable to "refill" my alternate deposit methods, and thus will have to abstain shortly from all but bonus hunting for +EV situations and "abusing" the hell out of them just to keep a gambling float till Neteller improves.

If it wasn't for this being Neteller, one would assume it's a rogue casino.

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by GrandMaster

I think it is time to complain to the FSA.

I was actually thinking of drafting a complaint, when lo and behold I had a call from Neteller.

Guess what, they cannot pay to my registered bank. WTF says I (although a little more politely worded to the young lady at the other end ) you have been paying to this bank since I registered it. Ah, says she, we changed to a new system on 1st January and we now can only pay to international banks (those with a SWIFT/IBAN code rather than just a UK sort code). How did you go about informing customers then? says I, "I'm informing you now", says she. Damn lucky for her I was in a fairly good mood
She suggested I register a new bank, or contact my existing bank to see if they had also a SWIFT code. I knew full well this would introduce a further delay while I E-mailed the bank, waited for a reply. Using my other account would require the repeat of the validation process, an even longer delay.
How long for a cheque? Asks I - After a brief consultation she says, "about a week, and they are indeed sent from London". Knowing that cheques used to arrive in 2 to 3 days, I remembered the one about "the bird in the hand....", and asked her to cancel my bank transfer and I would have a cheque this time and sort out the bank accounts later.

Cheque duly requested and now sitting "pending", I start my stopwatch all over again. The obvious question is, why was I not told this the first time I asked on Friday, or indeed why was the change not either E-mailed to me (as I was directly affected), or posted on the website alongside the update for US customers.

So, if you are a non-US customer, BUT originally did not provide a SWIFT or IBAN code when first registering your bank, as of Jan 1st you need to add this info, or they won't be able to make the transfer - whether they tell you straight away, or leave you floundering with BS excuses for a few days is up to them.

Maybe this is the cause of some of their problems paying US players, worth checking if they have your SWIFT or IBAN codes so they can't spring that one on you later.

[wangpoker]

I am proud to be in Canada.
I got my two latest checks overnight.

[pokerpal]

Originally Posted by wangpoker

I am proud to be in Canada.
I got my two latest checks overnight.

This is a sign that the coffers are full and has plenty of willingness for people to get paid. In my view there is tonnes of money. In one forum I read that the money deposited is held in trust accounts separate from what the company earned. Its just a matter of the DOJ keeping its nose out of whats not their business and let the company pay what it owes.

[whatwedontknow]

Net-betting crackdown freezes funds
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
Updated 2/1/2007 10:12 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO — The federal crackdown on online gambling has tied up the funds of thousands of U.S. patrons of two of the largest services.
The crackdown on BetOnSports, which no longer takes sports wagers from the USA, and Neteller — an Internet payment service popular among gamblers — is intended to put a dent in the $10.6 billion industry.

And it has: Following federal charges against executives from both companies, dozens of the more than 2,300 websites that service online gambling have stopped taking U.S. wagers.

Still, the actions against BetOnSports and Neteller have left the online accounts of their U.S. customers frozen until legal issues are resolved.

"The truth is that the money is in limbo and the companies are not required to refund any money until a successful prosecution or settlement takes place," says Michael Tew, principal of gaming consultant CapitalHQ. "This could take years." Funds from other gambling sites are not tied up, Tew and others say.

Most U.S. customers of BetOnSports have been waiting to cash out money in their accounts since July, when a federal grand jury issued a 22-count indictment charging CEO David Carruthers with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud. BetOnSports handled $1.77 billion in bets during its 2005 fiscal year, with more than 90% of wagers from the USA. An attorney representing the company declined to comment.

Neteller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre were arrested in January on a charge of conspiracy to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling.

Though money-transfer companies such as Neteller do business with financial institutions and merchants, many also allow gambling companies to transfer money collected from U.S. gamblers to bank accounts outside the USA. Neteller last month closed its U.S. Internet gambling services, erasing about two-thirds of its business.

Neteller offers few instructions for customers trying to cash out their accounts. "We are working to resolve all withdrawal issues, but in the meantime we continue to maintain these funds in trust on your behalf," says a posting on the company's website.

Neteller declined to comment. The company processed more than $7 billion in online gambling transactions in its 2005 fiscal year. FBI Agent Neil Donovan says funds from Neteller are being held in court as potential evidence. Some customers may get their money back, but he did not provide a timetable.

A law signed by President Bush in October bans the use of credit cards, checks and electronic fund transfers for Internet gaming. U.S. residents place more than half of all bets to major offshore casinos.

BetOnSports has settled civil charges with the Justice Department, but not criminal charges. Carruthers' case is separate.

You can see this article here:
Net-betting crackdown freezes funds - USATODAY.com

[pokerpal]

Up till all this bs started happening back in October, netteller had nothing but a good rep, as any online gambling site had the neteller option. The DOJ is doing a great job of ruining the reputation of a stand up company that provided a great service the short tenure it had since the company started out god knows when. It almost looks like they do it this way to tarnish any good reputation the company had. After its all said and done and everyone is proven innocent, the reputation is tarnished. Surely there is a big lawsuit against the DOJ that is immenant. If US customers are not being paid, people need to point the blame where it belongs. The freezing of the funds? Now who has the power to do that? hmmm

Betrayal

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by pokerpal

Up till all this bs started happening back in October, netteller had nothing but a good rep, as any online gambling site had the neteller option. The DOJ is doing a great job of ruining the reputation of a stand up company that provided a great service the short tenure it had since the company started out god knows when. It almost looks like they do it this way to tarnish any good reputation the company had. After its all said and done and everyone is proven innocent, the reputation is tarnished. Surely there is a big lawsuit against the DOJ that is immenant. If US customers are not being paid, people need to point the blame where it belongs. The freezing of the funds? Now who has the power to do that? hmmm

Betrayal

Neteller are not the innocent. Some US players found a way around Neteller's problem with being able to send EFT's to the states, and this was by using peer to peer to get their money into another persons account (whom they trusted to do "the right thing" with it). Neteller offer peer to peer in their conditions, and it is up to the CLIENT to determine whether the service offered is genuine. Now, Neteller have stepped in to prevent US players getting their money moving by this method - clearly they INTEND the funds to remain where they are, as they have not offered their own alternative to using peer to peer as a way round the problem. For small amounts of money, this is not illegal in the US (when I entered, it seemed to be amounts of $1000 or above that had to be formally declared, whether in cash or securities - similar limits seemed to apply to money leaving too).

[pokerpal]

Laundering:The illegal practice of moving cash through a variety of financial vehicles to hide its source under a long trail of transactions and placements.

The DOJ sees P2P as laundering. Use some common sense.

[Casinomeister]

If your funds are tied up at Neteller, please contact me via PM.