FURIOUS with Thrills casino

[colinsunderland]

Yes, I would chargeback now without a second thought.
There's no reason they need a bank statement, but to then reject it, I wouldn't waste more time with them. It's not kyc, all they needed was the transaction. What reason did they give?

 

[Tirilej]

People have adviced you that it can take up to 30 days.
How many days have it been now? You started the thread a week ago? I wouldn't do a chargeback if I were you.

 

[AC7X]

They never gave a reason, just stated they could not investigate without a bank statement.

The deposits were made on the 7th of May and the transactions appeared on my statement on the 8th of May, so it has not been 30 days yet. Part of my concern is that there is a time limit during which my bank can take any action to recover the stolen funds and that time may pass and leave me with no other recourse.

As I am getting nowhere with the CM Rep (ignores my PMs), I will post some very simple questions here in the hope of receiving a reply. @ThrillsRep – please feel free to answer via PM or alternatively you have my permission to answer in the open forum.

1. Can you confirm that amounts totalling £400 were credited to my Thrills.com account on the 7th of May? (in the amounts of £50, £100, £100, £150)

2. Can you advise what steps you have taken so far to identify the “missing” £100 transaction using the ARNs I provided? What have your findings been?

3. Are you able to confirm that you received deposits totalling £500 from my debit card ending 7467 on the 7th of May? If not – what does your information show?

4. Can you confirm that you have a photograph of this debit card on file and that this photograph shows the same account number as shown on the screenshot of my bank statement, thereby confirming that the transactions relate to that card?

5. Can you confirm the current balance of my (now self-excluded) Thrills.com account? (Perhaps the transaction was delayed and is now in my balance).

6. Can you advise what steps you are now taking to help resolve this situation?

It seems to me that there is a very simple way to investigate this claim but no-one at Thrills has provided me an explanation as to what steps are being taken or why something cannot be done with the existing information. My feeling is that it has not been escalated at all and low-level CSR staff are dealing with this using “scripted” responses rather than addressing the issue holistically with all of the pertinent information available.

Question for the forum (not sure if this is allowed):

How do I go about raising a chargeback? Do I need to report the transaction as fraudulent? Presumably you can’t just demand a refund for things you don’t feel like paying for anymore.

I haven’t raised a PAB since I don’t feel like this is an issue of “fair play” that needs to be arbitrated, but Bryan/Max if you’re able to weigh in I’d be happy to hear what you have to say also.

Thanks for your assistance, CM members.

 

[pinnit2014]

You’ve 120 days for chargeback....each banks is different but I’d imagine It would fall under non delivery of goods/services, rather than fraud.

If you decide to do it there’s a tool on which’s site that will take you through it (Rbs have theirs online so FD May have as well)

 

[robby811]

As expected, the bank statement is not acceptable. I sent a screenshot from my online statement (I don't receive paper statements) but it doesn't show my name. That's the way my bank statement is displayed (First Direct).

Is this the time to contact my bank's fraud department to request a chargeback as I am getting nowhere?

In Germany we have also Automates with a Printer where you can get the lastet Bankstatement printed , mostly left or right besight the Cashautomat to find and on the 1 st site is always the Adress frin the Acc onwner.

 

[SpinUk]

Yes charge it back. Thrills made their own mess here.

Without giving too much away, with an ARN I can confirm you can find out within about 20 seconds STP for that payment i.e exactly where/when it left and its final destination. If their relationships is so bad with their payments providor that that they can’t give them a quick call to check this for you without a bank statement, that’s their look-out.

Ok for a chargeback phone your banking customer service, explain beneficiary (thrills) claiming non-reciept and cannot trace the payment. You will get the funds back in your account normally the same day. Thrills will go ballisitic at that point, as they get a hefty charge and can only have a very small percentage of chargebacks a year without incurring further fees, but you have given them ample opportunity to sort it out.

 

[flyingguy]

If it's of any comfort to the OP, this has happened to me a couple of times over the years and I always got my money back. The worst was with Midaur who took double of every deposit I made, though only half showed in my account. It's normally the payment processor that accepts the payment, and the link between them and the casino at the time of the transaction is momentarily lost. It usually takes up to 5 working days for the processor to account for the rogue deposits with no where to go, and then another 3-5 days to be refunded. Its the advantage electronic payments these days, they can always be traced somewhere. If Thrills can't see it on their side, then they need to contact the payment company, though I guess they want to see a bank statement to help them actually find the transaction amongst the thousands received each day.

 

[Valhalla]

Christ alive it is like a bloody SOAP OPERA

Thrills have all the information they need to locate this/these payment(s), there is absolutely no reason for them to be dragging their feet and refusing to investigate.
This is dreadful customer service from start to finish. For the love of God do a chargeback, end this nonsense, and then Thrills can deal with the repercussions of their own ineptitude.

 

[colinsunderland]

People have adviced you that it can take up to 30 days.
How many days have it been now? You started the thread a week ago? I wouldn't do a chargeback if I were you.

And if they were investigating then I would agree, however they are asking for stuff then rejecting it again and again. It's been over 2 weeks now, the rep isn't answering, they haven't explained what happened when they did the trace on the payment, and if they claim they didn't get the payment then they can hardly complain if a chargeback is initiated. If they are telling the truth then there won't be any charges for them to incur as it was never made. However I'll bet they find it without bank statements and arns as soon as he makes a chargeback.

OP yes, goods/services not received

 

[ThrillsRep]

Good afternoon AC7X,

A quick message to confirm that we are genuinely looking into this enquiry and have been in constant dialogue with the payment provider. There is a procedure in place which requests a bank statement with player’s full name and the bank account number needs to be visible. This is our standard due-diligence process.

That said on this occasion we have enough information to discuss with the payment provider. They have formally advised us on three separate communications that according to their audit trail your bank holds the funds.
As we explained in a PM 4 hours ago here on CM, there was no full name showing on the document, we couldn't proceed with the obtaining a resolution but we have managed to get through that process step.

Regarding your query, we will take the opportunity to answer your questions here but cannot provide any information that is personal to your account.
1. Can you confirm that amounts totalling £400 were credited to my Thrills.com account on the 7th of May? (in the amounts of £50, £100, £100, £150)
Thrills: Yes, we can see that there were deposits of all amounts stated above.
2. Can you advise what steps you have taken so far to identify the “missing” £100 transaction using the ARNs I provided? What have your findings been?
Thrills: We have contacted Bombora regarding this and their answer was that possibly the funds are being kept by the bank so we need the bank statement in order to prove that indeed your funds didn’t go through to your Thrills account, however, was deducted from your bank account.
3. Are you able to confirm that you received deposits totalling £500 from my debit card
ending 7467 on the 7th of May? If not – what does your information show?
Thrills: We have received £400 from your debit card ending in 7467 on the 7th of May and the additional £100 is under investigation as the transaction wasn’t successful.
4. Can you confirm that you have a photograph of this debit card on file and that this photograph shows the same account number as shown on the screenshot of my bank statement, thereby confirming that the transactions relate to that card?
Thrills: Unfortunately, we haven’t received a photograph of your debit card.
5. Can you confirm the current balance of my (now self-excluded) Thrills.com account? (Perhaps the transaction was delayed and is now in my balance).
Thrills: The current balance is £0.46 so, unfortunately, the funds haven’t been added back to your Thrills balance :disappointed: This would solve the issue however as the funds are not there, we have to investigate this further.
6. Can you advise what steps you are now taking to help resolve this situation?
Thrills: One last attempt has been made through the payment provider in question to validate with your bank that the funds are held there.

We assure that there is an ongoing investigation and we will get back to you as soon as we have found a solution to get the funds in question back.
We appreciate your patience, AC7X

- Thrills rep

 

[ReggieMac]

This looks like it is going to drag on and on and on. If I were you I would get the ball rolling and Initiate a charge-back, let the bank and payment provider argue the toss between them but you should at least get your money back quicker than this sorry saga is likely going to take!

 

[SpinUk]

The ARN provides specific unequivocal data of exactly where the funds are. Contrary to popular belief there is no “black hole” for the funds to go to, or indeed anywhere in the banking system.

Just charge it back, takes 5 minutes, you get your money this afternoon.

 

[Harry_BKK]

I am surprised that long-standing members are encouraging a charge-back, especially when the casino is still actively trying to find a solution.

Transactions get stuck every day and every bank has a maximum period (i think it is 45 days) where they have to fence that money for the merchant. Should a transaction ultimately fail and the merchant / payment processor doesn't call up the amount, then the bank releases it back to the account. Standard procedure, happens worldwide thousands of times every day.

What can accelerate the return is when the Thrills payment provider confirms that they will no call-up the amount (which is done electronically), then the bank can return it earlier than the maximum time period.

As for the bank, there is little they can do as they can't return the GBP100 until they receive confirmation from the payment processor that the transaction was a "fail".

I would advise the OP to wait. A charge-back can have other consequences.

 

[Borgie]

Charge backs come with consequences. Rightly or wrongly. Can get you banned from other casinos. Last resort imo.

 

[Casinomeister]

This looks like it is going to drag on and on and on. If I were you I would get the ball rolling and Initiate a charge-back, let the bank and payment provider argue the toss between them but you should at least get your money back quicker than this sorry saga is likely going to take!

Seriously bad advice.

Charge backs come with consequences. Rightly or wrongly. Can get you banned from other casinos. Last resort imo.

You can also find yourself banned from this forum as well. We do not condone charge backs - only if you are being defrauded by a casino would this be appropriate.

1.10 – Members who commit player fraud (chargebacks, fake accounts, gnoming, multiple accounts, etc.) will be banned from the forum.

Forum Rules and Regulations - Casinomeister

 

[ThrillsRep]

Good afternoon all,

Great news! The payment provider has finally got back to us explaining that the funds got stuck from their side and that is why we never received the funds into Thrills account.
We have now sent the funds to AC7X bank account and it will take 1-3 banking days to receive them.
Keep in mind that we are doing our best to find any kind of solution to assist our players, however, sometimes it takes longer than planned.

Thank you for your patience and trust in us,
- Thrills rep

 

[spurs1882]

How about giving the player back their £400 losses as a goodwill gesture for the fiasco they had to experience?

 

[AC7X]

I'm glad it has finally been resolved. Although I'll never get back those hours I spent arguing the toss with Thrills support, hopefully I will at least get the £100 back.

I would encourage everyone to check their bank statements immediately after any session as I guarantee this has happened before and it will happen again. Even when you identify a discrepancy - you can see from this thread how frustrating it can be to deal with.

As for Thrills - I deposited and withdrew from them previously without issue (net loss) and I don't think they're scam artists. I do think that they need to take a look at their customer support team to identify training needs and to empower them to actually assist customers more effectively. In this case there was a clear lack of communication, lack of availability of managers, and lack of operational knowledge on the part of the CSRs. I will give them that they were polite throughout, even when faced with my, at times, curt e-mails. Even if I weren't SE'd, I would not be depositing here again. I'm not confident that the matter would have been resolved at all were it not being actively discussed here at CM.

I did contact my bank's Card Dispute Team to discuss a chargeback and if the refund does not appear in my account within three banking days I am prepared to go down that route. I don't consider it "player fraud" to do so, and if a ban from CM is the outcome then so be it. I will update this thread if/when the funds are returned to my account.

As pointed out by the above poster, a goodwill gesture would be nice but I think there is more chance of meeting Elvis in Tesco!

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Good afternoon all,

Great news! The payment provider has finally got back to us explaining that the funds got stuck from their side and that is why we never received the funds into Thrills account.
We have now sent the funds to AC7X bank account and it will take 1-3 banking days to receive them.
Keep in mind that we are doing our best to find any kind of solution to assist our players, however, sometimes it takes longer than planned.

Thank you for your patience and trust in us,
- Thrills rep

There should be a simpler way to resolve such issues, they are not that uncommon.

First Direct is an "online only" bank. It has no branches and everything is online. What you see online is how your bank statement is, the only way to add name and account number is either to edit the image to place them there, or to screenshot an additional page.
Asking a player to provide something that does not exist is almost certain to make them feel they are deliberately being given the runaround, and in turn this increases the risk that the player will use their own powers to resolve the issue, and the chargeback would be one perfectly legitimate means to do this as provided for in UK consumer banking law.
This player was lied to several times. The bank said they didn't have the money, the casino said the bank had it, the payment processor initially didn't have it - but in the end it turned up at the payment processor's end. If the money really was still with the bank, a request for a chargeback would be purely internal to the bank, the merchant would never know. If anything, the bank would quickly discover it had the money all along as soon as it began the chargeback process.

Any regular consumer advisor would also suggest a chargeback in similar circumstances albeit as a last resort - not within mere days of the incident, where the bank and merchant both claim not to have the money, and the merchant is making the customer jump through unreasonable hoops before it will even investigate.

 

[Valhalla]

Seriously bad advice.

You can also find yourself banned from this forum as well. We do not condone charge backs - only if you are being defrauded by a casino would this be appropriate.

Forum Rules and Regulations - Casinomeister

And I got caught up in all this furore like a sheep.

Glad to see Thrills got it sorted, let's all breath again.

 

[colinsunderland]

Seriously bad advice.


You can also find yourself banned from this forum as well. We do not condone charge backs - only if you are being defrauded by a casino would this be appropriate.


Forum Rules and Regulations - Casinomeister

I'm confused, how could this be player fraud? He made a payment, it wasn't added to his account and Thrills denied recieving it. They then gave him a massive run round for weeks. He paid for something, didn't get it, surely that is exactly what the chargeback system is for? Bearing in mind the rep stopped replying too, surely it would be justified?

 

[AC7X]

The money was refunded to my account.