My Correspondance with "Fast Poker" (long)

[augie00]

I put Fast Poker in quotation marks in the title because at this point I am having a hard time believing they are an actual poker site. There is a better chance it's all an elaborate scam to sucker a few people in to depositing a couple hundo and then refusing to pay the cashout.

So, for your amusement and bemusement, I present to you, my correspondance with "Fast Poker."

Well, first, a little background. My friend Justin noticed that there was a mighty sweet 10/20 game going on FastPoker. There were 3 or 4 going to nearly every showdown, massive pots. We both decided to make a deposit, and I deposited $500 through Firepay. Then, we realized that FastPoker does not credit your poker account with your full deposit immediatley. They HOLD YOUR MONEY for FOURTEEN days, for seemingly no aparent reason.

I am immediatley disgusted and want my money back at once. I go to their cashout page and notice that I am not allowed to cash out through Firepay for some god forsaken reason, so I send them the first of many e-mails.

I begin,

Hello. I wish to have a withdrawl credited back to my firepay account. If this isn't possible, will you assist me in transferring my funds to my US bank account? Thanks.

They respond with this gem...

Hi Brad,
You need to request a withdrawal on the fast poker site. You will then
be
advised if anything else is needed.

Thanks

Alan


Well done. You didn't answer either of my questions.

I respond,

Wow...you've got to be kidding me. All I asked is if it's possible to withdraw to my FIREPAY account. Can you answer me that question?

They Respond...

Hi Brad,

Unfortunately it is not possible to withdraw by firepay. Withdrawing by
bankwire is fine though. We offer one free Standard Bank Wire refund
per
calendar month. You can request this on the site. Bank Wires should
reach your
account within 4-6 working days.

Regards

Alan

So all it took was a little insult to get a legitimate answer out of these people. Okay, so you are mentally handicapped and can't simply cash me out through firepay, like nearly every poker site can. That's fine, bank wire it is. I request a cashout, and...

Dear Brad,

Casino Craze is committed to ensuring safety and security for all members. As part of an ongoing 'Know Your Customer' initiative we are required to request documentation from you following your request for a withdrawal.

A copy of an Identification Document (Drivers License or Passport)

A copy of bill showing your name and home address

A copy of the heading from your debit/credit card statement that you use to fund your FirePay account (in the interests of privacy we would only wish to see the name address and card number/account number)

Faxes should be sent to +44 207 117 1516 and include your Customer Account Number - ensuring that copies are clear and easily read will assist us in processing your withdrawal.

Documents may be sent as an email attachment - please ensure that your Customer Account Number is included in the subject heading.

All documentation is treated as private and confidential, full security is applied.

If you have any problems please don't hesitate to call on (please supply the number that is applicable for the country of origin).

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, our commitment is to quality customer service - accordingly we are required to ensure security for all our customers.

Kind regards,

Declan


I instantly get pissed off and respond with...

Is this a joke? I am not withdrawing a cent of winnings...just my own ORIGINAL DEPOSIT. I'm taking back my own money, nobody elses. Why didn't you ask for all this crap when I originally deposited? Furthermore, why wasn't I aware that any of this information was required to withdraw? I am not a happy customer.

I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with this, but I wanted them to know that I am not fooling around, and I intend to recieve my money.

They respond,

Dear Brad,

While we understand that this process can be frustrating, it is
necessary to
assure the security of financial transactions on our site. Internet
fraud is
a reality, and as a publicly traded and internationally respected
casino, we
must be diligent to prevent it. While this may inconvenience our
legitimate
customers, we do this for your and our protection.

Unfortunately, we cannot proceed with any account transactions until
the
requested documentation has been received. Please forward the
requested
documents to us at your earliest convenience so we can clear this
matter as
soon as possible.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding what needs to be
sent.

Thank you again for your cooperation!

Kind Regards,

Paul

While this is nothing but a BS form-letter response, answering none of my questions, I decide to be a good little boy and send them what they want.

The documents requested are provided as three seperate attachments to this email. My latest bank statement is "bankstatement.jpg" my drivers liscense is "liscense.jpg" and my bill for community college is "bill.jpg" Once again, my account number is xxxxxxx. Thank you.

Brad Augsburger

A nice response follows, and for a brief period of time, there is hope in my eyes

Dear Brad,

Thank you for supplying the requested documentation. These have been
forwarded
to the relevant department for verification. Your pending withdrawal
will be
processed once verification of your documents has been successfully
completed.
Under normal circumstances, this process should take no longer than
24-48
business hours and we will contact you via e-mail as soon as we have an
update.

Many thanks for your assistance with our "Know Your Customer" Policy.
We
understand that this processs is an inconvenience to our legitimate
customers,
but it is necessary to assure the security of financial transactions
on our
site. Internet fraud is a reality, and as an internationally respected
gaming
site, we must be diligent to prevent it. Again, we thank you for your
cooperation.

Kind regards,

Larry


I recieved this letter on 5/20. FOUR days later (two days after I'm already supposed to have my money, I get this:

Hi Brad,

Thanks for your email,

All documents we received have been perfect, thank you. I do apologize
for the
delay here. Your funds will be sent in the next 24-48 hours. I know
you`ve
heard this before but what I say is fact.

Kind regards

Jonathan

You're right, Jonathan. I have heard this before. Four days ago. Well, I am happy, because at least I am getting my money, right? Wrong. I send another unhappy email after the 48th hour has passed, and I get this one SEVEN days after my cashout was supposed to have gone through.

Dear Brad,

Thank you for your email. There is a delay in processing withdrawals
and we
sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we do not
process
withdrawals at the weekend and since Monday is a bank holiday in the
UK, we
will not process withdrawals this Monday. The withdrawal should be
processed
on Tuesday and we will contact you via email after it has been
processed.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kindest regards,

Gearoid


I respond with an email which is basically "what the hell happened" and they respond with,

Dear Brad,

There is a slight backlog in the accounts department. As advised this
should
be processed on tuesday.

I apologise for this delay.

Kind regards

Alan


Well, at least I know this wasn't a form letter response (although it is obvious BS) because he spelled the word APOLOGGIZE wrong. Good work. I wait another FOUR days, e-mail them back saying "uh, where is my money" and I get another doozy:

Dear Brad,

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, your pending withdrawal has
not been
processed yet and we have sent a request to our accounting department
to
process the withdrawal. We sincerely apologise for the delay and we
will
contact you soon with confirmation via email after it has been
processed.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kindest regards,

Gearoid

I respond immediatley with, "yeah, um, yeah, what's the problem?" Their answer?

Dear Brad,

There is a backlog with withdrawals being sent at the moment. We are
working
hard to have all funds processed and sent ASAP. We have again contacted
our
accounting department to inform them that you have yet to receive your
funds.
We are hoping that this delay will be rectified very soon.

Again, we apologise for this delay. Should you have any further
questions
please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,
Rosie.



In a nutshell, I've been dealing with these lame ass mofos for 11 days now, and I still don't have my money, or even a letter saying that they are going to send my money.

If you're even thinking about playing at fast poker, don't. Unless you don't like money for some reason. Updates sure to follow (unless the quit emailing me).

[QTip]

It's common for those in Europe to spell the words that we end in "ze" with "se". Just FYI.

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

[krazyace5]

Thanks for the warning, hope you get your money back.

[gila]

FWIW, I too had a hassle with the withdraw from FP, but did get paid eventually

[augie00]

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW, I too had a hassle with the withdraw from FP, but did get paid eventually

[/ QUOTE ]

That is good to hear. Thank you. Did you have a bank-wire transfer as well?

[gila]

No, it was either neteller or firepay; must have been neteller considering your attempt with firepay. I had to send the doc.s though, and had to wait a little while. It really pissed me off and will probably not go back, which is to bad cause the games there are even juicier than pacific. EVERYBODY in almost every hand at 5/10 full.

[bpb]

Keep in mind that Fast Poker seized $1500 from a player for unlimited raising while heads up with the nut flush. So while you are hitting those juicy 10/20 games, be aware that your bankroll may be confiscated if you play well.

[Tapin]

Heh, any chance we can hear the rest of that story?

(No, I'm not skeptical -- it just sounds like a good story, probably particularly since I wasn't the one who had my money confiscated.)

[Just The Facts]

[ QUOTE ]
Keep in mind that Fast Poker seized $1500 from a player for unlimited raising while heads up with the nut flush. So while you are hitting those juicy 10/20 games, be aware that your bankroll may be confiscated if you play well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is it not a tad bit possible that his money was seized along with the non-nut flush player who was dumping chips to him?

Half facts are a better story, yes. But rarely truthful.

JtF

[Synergistic Explosions]

I read the whole story line at ECD forums about this player who got screwed. I believe him, and so did everyone else. In fact, another poker room called PokerRewards reimbursed him what was stolen from him.

I thought that was pretty classy for a poker site to do that wasn't even associated with Fast Poker.

[Eder]

Thx for the heads up...I don't trust any site that is slow or require hoops to jump thru to get paid...(Intertops)

[phuc]

From a lot of posts that I've read regarding FastPoker, they will eventually pay out, but you almost always have to provide documentation and then there is still a delay. I say almost always because for some random reason, I was one of the lucky ones to have a good experience with FastPoker. I deposited a mere $100 there to try them out. I heard that their $1/$2 NL games were very juicy and it was totally true. I was planning on depositing more if the game was worth it, but the $100 quickly turned into $1000 after a few sessions so I decided to withdraw that for the time being since I wasn't going to have time to play for a few weeks anyway. I was all ready for the "documentation request" and the waiting time, but lo and behold, my withdrawal was credited to my Neteller account the following morning after my withdrawal request. No documentation and very little waiting...and I cashed out 10x my original deposit. I figured I was going to have to jump through some hoops for sure, but it was a good experience. That doesn't mean I'm ever going to put my money back there again though. I've heard too many horror stories since then.

[illunious]

Found that story, link (http://www.ecasinodeals.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1299)

[augie00]

Wow, I really wish I had known about this story before I thought about depositing there.

[stir]

bump...just bcause it might prevent 1 or 2 others from making a mistake.

[augie00]

A little update for those who care. I am getting the runaround once again. Today is Tuesday, the day that they said they would process my cashout. I had to email them on my own accord of course, would you really expect them to actually get back to me on time? Here are a few gems:

Hi Brad,

I have contacted the accounts department to ask them what the status of
your
withdrawal is. We will contact you as soon as we hear back from them.

Sorry for this delay.

Kind regards

Alan


I wait three hours, and no follow up email. I send them a message, asking what the "accounts department" had to say (as if there is actually an accounts department). They respond with:

Dear Brad,

Thank you for your email. We have requested status update from the
Cashier
on your withdrawal. We will contact you via email when we receive a
reply
with further information, unfortunately the head office is closed for
the
day, so we should have a reply by tomorrow.

Regards,
Larry


The BS continues to pile on.

[augie00]

Ah, they sure did respond quickly. But with little substance:

Hi Brad,

Thank you for your email,

I have forwarded your concerns to our accounting management but
unfortunately
due to a backlog it may be a couple of days before there is a response
from
them, I do apologize sincerely for this.

In this case please allow 12 hours for a response.

Kind regards

Jonathan


Live chat transcript coming soon.

[augie00]

I opened up their handy live chat:

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'George'
George: Hi Brad
George: How may I help you today?
Brad Augsburger: hi
Brad Augsburger: I requested a cashout, and I want to know how that is going
Brad Augsburger: i have sent several emails but have recieved no actual answer
George: Please bear with me while I look up your account details.....
Brad Augsburger: okay
George: It appears your documentation was verified last week but for some reason your withdrawal has not yet been sent
George: We have sent a request to our withdrawals manager to get this sent as soon as possible
Brad Augsburger: I have already recieved several emails that say that
George: Hopefully this will be done in the next day or so now
Brad Augsburger: Why has my withdrawl not yet been sent?
George: I do not know
Brad Augsburger: well can you do me a favor and call them personally, right now, to see that my cashout is processed?
Brad Augsburger: you do have phones in your establishment, correct?
George: No, I cannot. The withdrawals department have closed for the night
Brad Augsburger: Will you personally send them an email, marked urgent, that will see that my cashout is processed tomorrow?
Brad Augsburger: Do all cashouts normally take over 12 days?
Brad Augsburger: Something seems to be very wrong, but nobody is telling me about it.
George: I have already sent the email
George: No, withdrawals do not usually take that long
Brad Augsburger: So then there is a special reason mine is taking so long. What is this reason?
Brad Augsburger: And if you do not know this information personally, I would appreciate it if you could find out what the reason is.
George: That is what I asked in the email
Brad Augsburger: I have only one more request of you, could you forward me the email that you sent to the "accounts department" on my behalf?
George: No, we do not copy customers on internal emails
George: You have just been replied to by a colleague though
Brad Augsburger: Excellent. Your colleague said that it will take a couple of days for the "cashier" to simply reply to the email
Brad Augsburger: That doesn't sound very urgent to me.
Brad Augsburger: You said yourself that cashouts do not normally take over the 12 days that I have already waited.
Brad Augsburger: Why am I now forced to wait anoter couple days for a response? There is no way for you to simply make sure that my email is read first?
George: We have emailed the withdrawals managers directly, that is all we can do from our end
Brad Augsburger: You have no way of communicating directly with the accounts department without waiting 2-3 days?
Brad Augsburger: Why is this all so bizarre?
George: We email them, they process your withdrawal. That is not very bizarre
Brad Augsburger: Quoting the email, I must wait a couple days for a simple response due to a "backlog"
George: There has been a delay, but we have not been informed as to the cause of it
Brad Augsburger: Can I email the "accounting manager" myself?
George: No, you cannot
Brad Augsburger: Is there anything you can do to help me?
George: I have done everything I can
Brad Augsburger: Okay George, thank you for your "help"

[TXTiger]

I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your experience with fast poker. I was planning on signing up here. My affiliate offers rakeback at fast poker so I was gonna give em a try. They definitely lost my business between this thread and the link to the other thread where they basically stole.

[Voltron87]

Brad Augsburger: you do have phones in your establishment, correct?
George: No, I cannot. The withdrawals department have closed for the night



what a gem

[bpb]

Note that SportingBet shares the same room as fast poker. Same software, same players. My Sporting Bet cashout did not require ID.

However, I am not convinced that the two are separate entities. When I cashed out at Fast Poker, my cashout was processed by "Sporting Bet". The mods over at ECD seemed to think they were separate nonetheless, and had nothing but praise for Sporting Bet.

Maybe someone could do a little research to confirm that sporting Bet isn't tied to Fast Poker. If so, I would recommend using them as the doorway to these disgustingly bad players. (

[Tapin]

Have you pulled out the, "I'm going to be forced to tell several major online poker discussion groups about the bizarrely poor service I've been receiving..." line?

I've only used that once, but it's amazing how fast the poker room jumped as soon as it came up.

[MarkSummers]

i had a problem with these morons few months ago and posted here. do a search for it and you may find something. service is aweful and getting to know the customer BS is luda.

It's too bad, if it was a normal site, I would play there 100% of the time. the term "Fishy games" is thrown around a lot on here when we see somoene make a few mistakes on party or something but, these games are truly the fishiest of the fishy. I rememember 60% flop at 10/20, it was beautiful.

hopefully this site learns their lesson by going broke.

[augie00]

Wahoo! All my BS, badgering, and harassment worked!!

Dear Mr Augsburger,

Thank you for your e-mail. We can confirm that your refund has been
deducted from your Fast Poker account as per your request and passed to
our
Accounts Department for processing.

This amount will be credited back to your Firepay Account and these
funds
should show as a credited on your Firepay card statement within
approximately 6 bank working days.

Kind Regards,
Seb
Fast Poker Customer Services

At least there is a happy ending. And it only took 13 days! I will take this money and put it in my stars account, where it rightfully belongs.