3.1 Q. What do I need before I fill out the PAB form? (proper Email addresses)

All of our PAB communications are carried out via email so that we have a permanent record of what’s happening. These records are an invaluable resource for reference and future issues and we find them absolutely essential to successfully conducting the PAB process. So, the first thing you need is a reliable email address for the ‘contact email’ address requested on the PAB form.

Using email addresses from Yahoo (aka Ymail), AOL, ATT.net or Hotmail is not acceptable: these services often discard casino-related emails, the result being that you may or may not receive emails we send you. They are simply NOT RELIABLE for PAB communications.

The issue with these services — Yahoo/Ymail, AOL, ATT.net and Hotmail — is that they are randomly blocking and/or discarding our emails addressed to you. In our experience these deletions are unpredictable, intermittent and have been going on for 10+ years. Our guess it that it’s their way of discouraging the use of their services for this kind of communications without coming right out and making it an explicit policy.

Please note that this email problem is NOT something you have any control over. It’s done on their mail servers long before the emails ever make it to your Inbox. In other words tweaking your spam filters or whitelists will have no effect on the problem because the deletions happen long before these are ever invoked. The bottom line is that this problem well known to us, hence our insistence on using alternate services.

So, to be perfectly clear:

IF YOU USE AN INVALID ‘contact email’ ADDRESS YOUR PAB WILL BE DELAYED. We have to contact you again for a proper email address, you have to get back to us, we have to correct your PAB details, etc. Please don’t waste our time by using Yahoo/Ymail, AOL, ATT.net or Hotmail addresses here: get a more reliable email address BEFORE you submit your PAB.

FYI, Google Mail seems to work nicely. GMX.com is good too. There are many, many other free and reliable email services. If in doubt Google “free email services -hotmail -yahoo -AOL” and look for hits where various services are compared. You should be able to find one that suits you without much difficulty. We know, we’ve done it time and time again over the years, you can too.

In an emergency — say for instance you’ve been having trouble reaching us via email — feel free to use the Private Message (PM) system on our site to re-establish communication. We will certainly respond but we’ll also immediately ask that you find a reliable email service (see above) so we can return to the preferred method of communication, namely email (as explained above).

Hopefully it is clear that email is the way we do PAB business. As such we typically won’t accept offers to discuss PABs via Skype, telephone, chat, etc. These do not provide the “paper trail” we need and prefer so we don’t use them. We’re set up to do things by email and that’s the way we’d like to keep it.

“But I only have one email address.” Or, “My email address has always worked in the past.”

That’s great, we are happy for you, but our EXTENSIVE experience in these matters tells us that is not the norm. Regardless of how lovely your email address has been for you in the past it’s no good to us if we can’t reach you. You MUST provide us with an alternate address that does work. AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo/Ymail, ATT.net are NOT ACCEPTABLE for our PAB purposes.

Sorry to be blunt but we’d appreciate it if you didn’t argue with us about this: either provide a working email address or don’t, your choice. Time we spend debating the email issue is time that could be better spent working on your, and other, PABs. We will proceed once we have that working email address, until then your PAB will almost certainly be marked as “Incomplete – On Hold” and nothing will be done.

To repeat: please cooperate with us on this, get us that working email address ASAP, and we’ll happily proceed with your PAB.

3.2 Q: Where is the form I need to fill out in order to submit a PAB?

The actual form you’ll need is here BUT …

You should read the rest of this FAQ, the advice here could have a significant impact on the success of your PAB.

When you do move on to the actual PAB form Please read all the instructions there before you fill out the form and submit it.

If you don’t read the instructions you’ll probably make a mistake and that will only waste your time and ours. Read ’em! It only takes a few minutes.

3.3 Q: The PAB form asks for a lot of information, how much of it is really necessary?

All of it! We need all the details requested in the PAB form. If you omit sections we’ll simply have to come back to you to get them and that will only delay the process.

Please provide all the information requested in the PAB form.

Look at it this way: your PAB form and the details you provide in it are a key element of the submission we make to the casino when we ask them to look into your issue. If you don’t put the necessary information in your PAB form then the casino people won’t see it and it’s effectively not part of your complaint.

In general the casino people will not follow links you provide in your PAB form so don’t do it: include the necessary information in the PAB form itself. You may think links to your issue details are sufficient, no one else will. Doing so will only stall your PAB until we have had a chance to come back to you and remind you of exactly what we’ve said here in order to get a proper PAB form out of you.

Don’t waste our time: if your PAB says something like “follow this link for details on my issue” then you are doing it wrong. Your PAB will be down-graded to “Incomplete – On Hold” until you provide the necessary information in the PAB itself.

3.4 Q: There is a “Please explain the problem” section on the PAB form. What guidance can you offer for filling this out?

Ok, in a nutshell that section should be a clear, brief and self-contained statement of your issue.
Here are a few Do’s and Don’t:

  • DO describe your problem in clear, concise statements.
  • DO be brief, 50 to 100 words please.
  • DON’T ramble on with gory details we don’t need. Again, 50 to 100 words. More is almost never better.
  • DON’T include emails, Private Messages, chat transcripts, etc unless absolutely necessary. Generally speaking, if we need that stuff we’ll ask for it.
  • DON’T make statements like “I sent a PM yesterday that described my problem, see that for details”.

The bottom line is that in this section we are asking you to briefly describe your problem so it is clear to us from the statement you give here what is wrong or needs attention. Other people — casino and Casinomeister staff — will be reading this form but almost certainly won’t have access to external documents, PMs, etc.

A good rule of thumb is to re-read your response to this section once you’ve written it and ask yourself this: if the statement I’ve given was the only statement of the problem that I had to work with would I understand what the problem is?

  • If “yes” then you’re probably good to go.
  • If “no” then maybe it needs some work before you hit the “Send” button.

REMEMBER! Clear, brief, and self-contained: 50 to 100 words should do it.

3.5 Q: I have a ton of supporting material (emails, screenshots, chat scripts, etc) to support my claim. How much of this should I include in my PAB?

None of it, at least not at the beginning. Let us know you have it and we’ll ask for it if we need it.

3.6 How to submit a PAB: DO’s and DON’Ts

DO these things to improve your chances of a successful resolution to your PAB:

  • DO: Be calm, present your case clearly and concisely.
  • DO: Be honest: if you misrepresent your case it will be discarded and you will be permanently banned from Casinomeister.
    See also Members who make false complaints.
  • DO: Present all the requested information in a clean, easy to read format (paragraphs, some white-space, etc).
    • One big, fat block of unformatted text is hard to read and a PITA.
      No one likes slogging through ugly blocks of unreadable text, including us.
    • Excessive whitespace — such as sometimes occurs in cut-and-pasted emails — is almost as bad.
      Take a minute and format emails, if it’s necessary to include them at all, so that your PAB form isn’t bloated with whitespace and scrolls on for 15 pages.
    • The bottom line is this: decent formatting will significantly improve the chances of your submission text being read, re-read and respected.
  • DO: Pay particular attention to the “What do you want done?” section of the PAB form:
    • Be clear and specific about what you want from the PAB process, that is, what you feel would be a successful resolution.
    • If you are saying that the casino owes you money, clearly specify how much is owed. (what amount?)
      Again, if you don’t we’ll have to go back to you and ask “How much?” before we can proceed.
      Do yourself a favour: specify the amount you expect from them up front and be done with it!

DON’T do these things, they’ll damage or cripple your chances of a successful resolution:

  • DON’T: Rant about, abuse or insult the casino people. You’re asking for their help too, be polite.
  • DON’T: Tell lies: nobody likes to be conned. If we catch you, we’ll ban you for life.
  • DON’T: Hide information in the hopes that it won’t get noticed. Again, this will seriously increase the chances that we’ll discard your PAB and ban you from the site.
  • DON’T: Be lazy and submit a PAB form that says “go look at this forum thread for info on my complaint”.
    If you can’t be bothered to fill out the form why should we trouble ourselves to fill it out for you?
    Fill out the PAB form in full as requested.
  • DON’T: Make unreasonable demands: asking for the moon will only annoy everyone involved and may get your PAB tossed for being unresolveable.
  • DON’T: Demand compensation for having been inconvenienced, it will only prompt the casino to disregard your complaint.
  • DON’T: Increase your demands as the PAB process progresses: doing so can scuttle an otherwise successful PAB negotiation.
  • DON’T: Continue to play your balance when your PAB is about that balance, you will almost certainly invalidate your PAB and it will have to be discarded.

NOTE: using email addresses from Yahoo, AOL or Hotmail is not a good idea since these services routinely discard casino-related email as spam. If you use one of these services as your ‘contact email address’ on your PAB form your PAB will not be accepted until you correct this error. There are multiple warnings posted about this so there is no excuse for doing it.

To repeat: do not give us a Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail email address as your ‘contact email’ address. If you do your PAB is incomplete and cannot proceed. Get a more reliable email service: for example GMail (aka googlemail) is free and seems to work nicely.

3.7 Q: I posted about my complaint on the forums. Can’t you simply take the PAB information from there?

No, forum posts are one thing, our PAB form is another.

If you’re serious about seeking a resolution to your complaint you can take the time to fill out the PAB form.

Failure to fill out the PAB form indicates that you’ve got better things to do. So do we.

3.8 Q: My issue has been debated at another website, can’t you simply go there to get the PAB information you need?

No. Our PAB process is independant, unbiased and based solely on our own efforts. If there is material that you think we need to be aware of then that should be included, in brief, in your PAB form when you submit it to us. Under normal circumstances we WILL NOT follow links to offsite discussions of your case.

If you’re serious about seeking a resolution to your complaint you will take the time required to include your case details when you fill out the PAB form. But remember, brevity is very much appreciated: mention what you have that you think might be important, we can always ask you for the details later.

From our point of view you should take the time to present your case details to us as we’ve asked for them. If you can’t be bothered then obviously you’ve got better things to do. So do we.

3.9 Q: What happens to the information I submit in the PAB forms?

Once we receive your PAB details, and have ensured that all the necessary information is there, then we process it and submit the package to the casino. At no time is your PAB information publicly viewable.

3.10 Q: Who sees the information I give to you guys in the PAB form?

Of course the Casinomeister staff see it first. Once we’ve processed it we then passed it directly to the casino or their appointed representative.

Your information is never seen publicly nor can it be accessed by anyone other than Casinomeister staff.
In other words, your information is considered private and personal and is treated accordingly.

3.11 Q: What am I agreeing to when I say “YES” at the bottom of the PAB form?

Once you’ve submitted your PAB we look upon it as though we have entered into an informal contract: you’ve asked for our help and we are working to help you provided you cooperate with our well-established PAB process.

Your part of “the contract” is three-fold:

  1. be available to assist in the processing and pursuit of your case:
    • you must be reachable — and remain in contact — via the ‘contact email’ address you provided in your PAB.
      Note: Yahoo, Hotmail, ATT.net and AOL email addresses are not reliable for Casinomeister emails, please find some other email service.
    • you must respond (via email) in a timely fashion:
      • responding in a day or two is ok.
      • several days is pushing it.
      • a week is too long.
      • longer than that and we’ll have no choice but to take action: your PAB may be cancelled and you may be black-listed from the PAB service.
      • if you’re going to be away from your email address for a few days, or whatever, while the PAB is in progress let us know. If we can’t reach you it is a problem for us so please do us the courtesy of informing us in advance if you’re going to be unreachable.
  2. don’t sabotage your PAB:
    • if your PAB is about the balance in your account, or some portion thereof, then stop playing with that account while the PAB is in progress. If you continue to play your balance then you will almost certainly invalidate your PAB and it will have to be discarded.
    • don’t post about your issue on the forums: wait until the PAB process has ended before you discuss it on the forums.
      (see item 2.6 for details)
  3. inform us if you’ve decided to drop your PAB or the casino has resolved your issue for you.

When you actually submit your PAB you are asked whether you accept and agree to the PAB requirements. If you proceed and submit the PAB you are entering into an agreement that binds you to the responsibilities listed above.

You must treat this process with respect since it costs us time and money to pursue the issue on your behalf. Failing to properly fulfill your PAB responsibilities will, at our discretion, be taken as sufficient grounds to deny PAB service to you in the future.

Failure to fulfill your PAB responsibilities includes negligence such as ignoring your PAB once you’ve filed it or repeatedly failing to respond to emails sent to you regarding your PAB.

3.12 Q: What are my responsibilities once the PAB is submitted?

Once you’ve submitted your PAB we look upon it as though we have entered into an informal contract: you’ve asked for our help and we are working to help you provided you cooperate with our well-established PAB process.

Your part of “the contract” is three-fold:

  1. be available to assist in the processing and pursuit of your case:
    • you must be reachable — and remain in contact — via the ‘contact email’ address you provided in your PAB.
      Note: Yahoo, Hotmail, ATT.net and AOL email addresses are not reliable for Casinomeister emails, please find some other email service.
    • you must respond (via email) in a timely fashion:
      • responding in a day or two is ok.
      • several days is pushing it.
      • a week is too long.
      • longer than that and we’ll have no choice but to take action: your PAB may be cancelled and you may be black-listed from the PAB service.
      • if you’re going to be away from your email address for a few days, or whatever, while the PAB is in progress let us know. If we can’t reach you it is a problem for us so please do us the courtesy of informing us in advance if you’re going to be unreachable.
  2. don’t sabotage your PAB:
    • if your PAB is about the balance in your account, or some portion thereof, then stop playing with that account while the PAB is in progress. If you continue to play your balance then you will almost certainly invalidate your PAB and it will have to be discarded.
    • don’t post about your issue on the forums: wait until the PAB process has ended before you discuss it on the forums.
      (see item 2.6 for details)
  3. inform us if you’ve decided to drop your PAB or the casino has resolved your issue for you.

When you actually submit your PAB you are asked whether you accept and agree to the PAB requirements. If you proceed and submit the PAB you are entering into an agreement that binds you to the responsibilities listed above.

You must treat this process with respect since it costs us time and money to pursue the issue on your behalf. Failing to properly fulfill your PAB responsibilities will, at our discretion, be taken as sufficient grounds to deny PAB service to you in the future.

Failure to fulfill your PAB responsibilities includes negligence such as ignoring your PAB once you’ve filed it or repeatedly failing to respond to emails sent to you regarding your PAB.

3.13 Q. How many PABs can I submit at once? Can I have more than one in progress at a given time?

Generally speaking we’ll accept one PAB per person at any given time. In other words if you have a PAB in progress then you’ll have to hold off on other issues until your PAB-in-progress is complete.

And remember the “One Shot Rule”: only your first PAB can be against a non-Accredited casino; subsequent PABs will in general only be accepted if they concern an Accredited casino.