M
MagicFriend
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Dear Readers,
I am an online poker player. I play for modest stakes and draw a modest income from it.
For the last few months my chosen site has been InterPoker, who informed me at the start of the month that they would be leaving the CryptoLogic network and moving to IPN. I had a look at IPN and decided that it was doubtful that I would enjoy playing there.
I have a friend whom is a member of Full Tilt Poker, and he suggested that I give them a try. I then recalled that I had opened an account with them in January to have a 'look around', and that I may have still been entitled to a 'first deposit bonus'. I looked at their site, and found that in order to claim this bonus customers are required to make a deposit within 60 days of creating an account. I did not know exactly when I opened my account, so I e-mailled them and they replied that I had opened my account 51 days ago, and was therefore still entitled to this bonus.
I then withdrew all of my funds from InterPoker, namely £200, and immediately deposited the entire amount with Full Tilt Poker in order to maximize my bonus potential. Due to the exchange rate I ended up depositing $250, of which I then withdrew $200 and left myself a $50 bankroll to play with. I also wanted to see how long withdrawals took with them as I am used to receiving funds within an hour of making a request, and to make sure that my account was running smoothly before playing 'for real'.
I spent the next two days playing freeroll tournaments to get used to the software, I even won one. Having also played the weekend freeroll tournaments on InterPoker, my adventure with them had finished and it was time for me to begin one with Full Tilt Poker, although I found on Monday morning that I was unable to login. I composed an e-mail to them about this, and when I sent it, it was crossed with this one from them :-
[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Hello X,
We are contacting you regarding your recent withdrawal request.
Your recent $200 withdrawal request has been declined.
We have determined that you have been depositing funds solely for the purpose of withdrawing them. We have reviewed your account and discovered that you deposited and transferred these funds without any intention of playing on our site.
We offer our services to provide a safe and secure environment to play online poker and not to facilitate the movement of funds.
Please provide an explanation of your recent activity on our site.
Your account will remain closed until we receive a satisfactory response from you.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
Regards,
Full Tilt Poker[/FONT]
I will point out now that I deposited using Netellr, and that I tried withdrawing to the same Neteller account. I immediately sent them this reply :-
[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Hello FTP,
I am shocked to receive this e-mail, although I will explain my actions to
you.
I play poker online, and I have been using InterPoker for nearly a year.
InterPoker are moving to from Crypto to IPN on 19th March, and I am
therefore looking for a new poker site and I remembered the other day that I
had previosly opened an account with you and that I may be entitled to a
first deposit bonus.
I contacted your support team REF ---------------------, and ------ informed
me that I was still entitled to the bonus. I then immediately withdrew my
entire funds from InterPoker, and deposited them with yourselves.
I deposited as much as I could afford, namely $250, to maximize my bonus
potential. I then withdrew $200 as I do not need to have the entire amount
in my account, and also to see how fast your withdrawal requests are, as I
am used to withdrawing money and then having it in my account within 1 hour.
My intention was to start playing at your site in ernest today, although I
have not been able to login and sent an e-mail to your support prior to
receiving this mail.
I am totally disgusted my your actions, and was looking forward to playing
some poker today. Instead, I appear to be suspected of some sort of criminal
offence.
Can you now please return my $250, and I will find a friendlier site and not
darken your door again.
X[/FONT]
Hours and hours passed without me hearing anything, and I could not believe that I had not even received an e-mail simply saying that this was being looked at and that I would be contacted shortly, so I sent a further communication to them, this time set as high priority :-
Dear FTP,
It has now been over 7 hours since you notified me that you were withholding my recently deposited money as apparently you suspect that I am using the enormous some of $250 to run an international money laundering operation.
Actually, after reading your e-mail again, I find that these are not suspicions, and that I am in fact being accused by you of a crime.
I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. If a crime is being committed here then that crime is theft, and your silence suggests to me that it is your intention to keep this money from me.
It is now 4pm in the UK, and if this $250 is not returned to my account by 11pm then I will have no alternative than to issue proceedings against you and to notify your affiliates and customers about the warm welcome that you show new customers.
I believe that I have made myself clear.
X
I have not received any response from them at all, and it is now well over 24 hours since they banned me from their site and took my money, and so I have turned to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission for help as they hold the licence for FTP.
I will let you know what happens.
MF
I am an online poker player. I play for modest stakes and draw a modest income from it.
For the last few months my chosen site has been InterPoker, who informed me at the start of the month that they would be leaving the CryptoLogic network and moving to IPN. I had a look at IPN and decided that it was doubtful that I would enjoy playing there.
I have a friend whom is a member of Full Tilt Poker, and he suggested that I give them a try. I then recalled that I had opened an account with them in January to have a 'look around', and that I may have still been entitled to a 'first deposit bonus'. I looked at their site, and found that in order to claim this bonus customers are required to make a deposit within 60 days of creating an account. I did not know exactly when I opened my account, so I e-mailled them and they replied that I had opened my account 51 days ago, and was therefore still entitled to this bonus.
I then withdrew all of my funds from InterPoker, namely £200, and immediately deposited the entire amount with Full Tilt Poker in order to maximize my bonus potential. Due to the exchange rate I ended up depositing $250, of which I then withdrew $200 and left myself a $50 bankroll to play with. I also wanted to see how long withdrawals took with them as I am used to receiving funds within an hour of making a request, and to make sure that my account was running smoothly before playing 'for real'.
I spent the next two days playing freeroll tournaments to get used to the software, I even won one. Having also played the weekend freeroll tournaments on InterPoker, my adventure with them had finished and it was time for me to begin one with Full Tilt Poker, although I found on Monday morning that I was unable to login. I composed an e-mail to them about this, and when I sent it, it was crossed with this one from them :-
[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Hello X,
We are contacting you regarding your recent withdrawal request.
Your recent $200 withdrawal request has been declined.
We have determined that you have been depositing funds solely for the purpose of withdrawing them. We have reviewed your account and discovered that you deposited and transferred these funds without any intention of playing on our site.
We offer our services to provide a safe and secure environment to play online poker and not to facilitate the movement of funds.
Please provide an explanation of your recent activity on our site.
Your account will remain closed until we receive a satisfactory response from you.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
Regards,
Full Tilt Poker[/FONT]
I will point out now that I deposited using Netellr, and that I tried withdrawing to the same Neteller account. I immediately sent them this reply :-
[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Hello FTP,
I am shocked to receive this e-mail, although I will explain my actions to
you.
I play poker online, and I have been using InterPoker for nearly a year.
InterPoker are moving to from Crypto to IPN on 19th March, and I am
therefore looking for a new poker site and I remembered the other day that I
had previosly opened an account with you and that I may be entitled to a
first deposit bonus.
I contacted your support team REF ---------------------, and ------ informed
me that I was still entitled to the bonus. I then immediately withdrew my
entire funds from InterPoker, and deposited them with yourselves.
I deposited as much as I could afford, namely $250, to maximize my bonus
potential. I then withdrew $200 as I do not need to have the entire amount
in my account, and also to see how fast your withdrawal requests are, as I
am used to withdrawing money and then having it in my account within 1 hour.
My intention was to start playing at your site in ernest today, although I
have not been able to login and sent an e-mail to your support prior to
receiving this mail.
I am totally disgusted my your actions, and was looking forward to playing
some poker today. Instead, I appear to be suspected of some sort of criminal
offence.
Can you now please return my $250, and I will find a friendlier site and not
darken your door again.
X[/FONT]
Hours and hours passed without me hearing anything, and I could not believe that I had not even received an e-mail simply saying that this was being looked at and that I would be contacted shortly, so I sent a further communication to them, this time set as high priority :-
Dear FTP,
It has now been over 7 hours since you notified me that you were withholding my recently deposited money as apparently you suspect that I am using the enormous some of $250 to run an international money laundering operation.
Actually, after reading your e-mail again, I find that these are not suspicions, and that I am in fact being accused by you of a crime.
I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. If a crime is being committed here then that crime is theft, and your silence suggests to me that it is your intention to keep this money from me.
It is now 4pm in the UK, and if this $250 is not returned to my account by 11pm then I will have no alternative than to issue proceedings against you and to notify your affiliates and customers about the warm welcome that you show new customers.
I believe that I have made myself clear.
X
I have not received any response from them at all, and it is now well over 24 hours since they banned me from their site and took my money, and so I have turned to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission for help as they hold the licence for FTP.
I will let you know what happens.
MF
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