Sissy, the reason I addressed my question to you instead of to NavyMom is because you are the one who came here to say you thought they were now a good site. Also, from all I've seen at BPU, NavyMom appears to be an active and well-respected member, so I thought it strange that if she were treated poorly there (banned for being a member of BPU and complaining about the site), that you would be cautious of recommending a site that would treat a valued member that way. Also, if they are a sister site to BingoIsUs and BingoKnights, as she stated, that your concern would be even greater.
As far as my experience with the site, there were a lot of problems that led myself, and a lot of roomies, to leaving the site.
All of the chat hosts and staff were from India. Many of them were kind and intelligent individuals, but there were some communication issues. While their English was pretty good, many things were misinterpreted. Most of the chat hosts were young men who spent most of their time hosting, flirting with women who, unfortunately, acted like dogs in heat. The chat hosts shared emails with anyone who wanted them, and would send pictures of themselves to these women who would come back on and spend even more time flirting with the cute, young men instead of paying attention to the needs of the roomies.
They were constantly taking long breaks for teas, prayers and meals. They'd announce they were going on a break for 15 minutes and come back 45 minutes later, including those in 'live chat' and those in accounting working on trouble tickets. One may be running low on funds and wishing for chat games to earn bonus bucks, but were out of luck for those long breaks. Or, one may have just made a deposit and since the bonuses weren't automatic, have to wait until a trouble ticket got answered to credit your account, after the long breaks.
There were chat games involving side games (slot machines). Unsavvy bingo only players would be encouraged to play those little chat game tournaments in which they were offered 25 bbs if they spun the most features to pop up in the slots. Since you could play pennies, it seemed like a smart decision to participate. I can't tell you how many of those individuals went to cash out a day or two later and found out that because they played slots, their play through requirements weren't met because there were now attached a 15 times play through. When the bonuses they got for their deposits (usually 300 - 400%) were factored in, there was a slim chance they could meet the cash out requirements by playing longer. While it is true they should have read the 'terms,' many didn't, for one reason or another. It's one thing if someone chooses to play slots on their own and didn't read the rules, and it's another to be encouraged by chat hosts to venture out of their comfort zone (bingo), to earn bbs by trying the slots. I felt it was entrapment.
Then there were other oddities like roomies becoming discouraged because they had made many deposits and not won any games, to announce their displeasure. Many roomies figured out that if they had been on a losing streak, if they announced in chat that they just made their last deposit and if they don't win a game or two, they are gone, the very next bingo game or two, that person would win.
The jackpots were virtually impossible to win because the numbers of balls one needed to jackpot, were set so one couldn't win a jackpot. Have you ever seen anyone win a blackout in 50 numbers? During my time there, I saw one jackpot won. That person's win and picture were on the website for at least a year. I think that was because that was the only jackpot won in a year.
Also, for a period after Neteller shut down, the staff of 123 disappeared off the face of the earth. They left the site up and people somehow managed to deposit (so there must have been at least one person there processing payments through), but trouble tickets went unanswered and chat hosts were no longer online and 'live chat' was disabled. I never received a single email from the site saying they were shutting down or going out of business or experiencing difficulties. If they weren't going to 'work the site,' they should have taken it off-line so people couldn't still log on and deposit. I played at numerous sites that went out-of-business due to Neteller. Every single one emailed members to inform them. Not 123!
I understand your pleasure and excitement that a manager of the site addresses concerns at your board, but I don't think that is a reason to support or recommend a site. There have been a couple of managers from Virtual Casinos who have addressed concerns at numerous sites and appeared available to assist disgruntled players, but I highly doubt that anyone at any of the boards they have been active at, would recommend to any of their members that they continue to play there or deposit there. I think that situation is similar to this situation. I would instead like to see that you are letting people know that there are some lines of communication open, but to proceed with caution; if only for the reason that one of your most active and respected members has had problems there.
I know I have personally talked to staff at one site that BPU was critiquing and asked why they didn't come to BPU to address BPU's concerns personally. They felt like it was a 'no win situation' that nothing they would say would change the minds of your members and staff, and they weren't going to subject themselves to the 'attack mode' of the staff and members of BPU. So, just because one or two sites come to your site to address concerns, doesn't make other sites bad because they don't send representatives, and doesn't make the bad sites good because they send representatives.