Any problems with the Empire PlaySep bonus?

[Schwartzy61]

So I got elapsed for my PlaySep bonus just now. My last cashout was Sep 03 at 5:00 am which isn't technically during the bonus period is it? Bonus period was supposed to be Sep 04 00:01 to Sep 06 23:59 right? I'm waiting for a response from Customer "Lack of" Support, and was just wondering if anyone else had any issues with this bonus...

[Afrosquad]

Getting the same thing.

[Schwartzy61]

Follow Up. They credited the bonus to my account after the following E-mails...

Dear Patrick,

Thank you for contacting us.

A bonus of $100 has been added to your bonus account. You are required to play
1000 raked hands before 07-SEP-2005 00:52, as per the release restriction. The
amount will then be credited to your real money account. You can always check
the status of your bonus and how many raked hands you have played by clicking on
the "Cashier" option on our Lobby, and then on "Bonus Account".

A raked hand is any hand in which a rake (house drop) is taken out of the pot.
To accumulate raked hands, just participate in hands (any live game, any limit)
where a rake is taken. There is no rake taken in tournament hands, hence you
cannot obtain raked hands through tournaments. The amount of rake collected
appears as a small chip stack next to the dealer tray.

We have an exciting promotion running at the site called Tell A Friend. You can
refer new players to our site and avail bonus. You get $50 and your friend gets
$25. For more information please visit the Tell A Friend page of our site.
Please visit the link mentioned below.

http://www.empirepoker.com/tell_a_friend/index.html

Note: Please do not disclose your password to any individual/organization
claiming to represent us. We will never ask you for the password to your
account. If you receive any email or phone call from anyone requesting you to
provide your password please report it to us immediately.

Have a great time ahead!

Regards,

Shilpa G.
Poker Customer Care.




--Original Message--
From: schwartzmechanical@hotmail.com
Date: 2005-09-04 00:32
To: info@empirepoker.com
Subject: RE: $100 has been added to your Bonus account[#3569869]

Dear Empire Poker Info,

My bonus account says this bonus is elapsed, I followed all the terms and
conditions why is my bonus coming up as elapsed when I just deposited for
it?


>From: info@empirepoker.com
>Reply-To: info@empirepoker.com
>To: schwartzmechanical@hotmail.com
>Subject: $100 has been added to your Bonus account
>Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 00:30:18 -0400 (EDT)
>
>
>Dear schwarpa,
>
>You have been awarded a bonus amount of $100 and the money has been added
>into your Bonus account. All you need to do now is to play play 1000 raked
>hands raked hands and the bonus amount will be released to your Real money
>account.
>
>The bonus offer expires on 07-SEP-05 EST. Hence, you have to play these
>hands by 07-SEP-05 EST. If the above conditions are not met, your bonus
>will expire. For details and disclaimer click
>http://www.empirepoker.com/offers/cashout_restriction.htm .
>
>Hope you are having an exciting time playing at Empire Poker. Do check the
>latest promotions by visiting our monthly events calendar.
>
>VIP club member? You deserve more! We have just launched The VIP Customer
>Support Team - 24/7, personal, fast, and efficient.
>EXCLUSIVE for our VIP Players Club.
>
>From now on, contact us anytime at vip@empirepoker.com
>
>Sincerely Yours,
>Customer Care Manager
>info@empirepoker.com
>www.ep.com
>
>NOTE: Please do not disclose your password to any individual/organization
>claiming to represent or representing "EmpirePoker.com".If you receive any
>email or phone call from anyone requesting you to provide your password
>please report it to us immediately. Our Customer Care Department is
>available 24/7 to assist you via email.

[jzpiano14]

I am having problems with mine too.

[fullhouse]

No probs here...

[SonOfWestwood]

I deposted at around 11:15 PST and had no problems.

[PokerGoblin]

I deposited at about 12:08 EST and got the error you describe. I emailed Empire about it at that time. I have yet to get a response.

I hadn't withdrawn from my account in about 4 days so I can't imagine that's the problem. Probably a software glitch.

PG

[ QUOTE ]
So I got elapsed for my PlaySep bonus just now. My last cashout was Sep 03 at 5:00 am which isn't technically during the bonus period is it? Bonus period was supposed to be Sep 04 00:01 to Sep 06 23:59 right? I'm waiting for a response from Customer "Lack of" Support, and was just wondering if anyone else had any issues with this bonus...

[/ QUOTE ]

Mine was exactly the same. I emailed them and they fixed it immediately.

[Escape]

Everything went smooth here.

[KKbluff]

The only problems I'm having are with the tables freezing...

[Cygnus]

My first bonus was elapsed. I emailed and they added a second PLAYSEP bonus 2 hours later, but didn't count any of the hands I played for the first 2 hours. Still awaiting a reply. Anyone else have this happen?

[hemstock]

Everything went good for me. 300 hands left.

[Schwartzy61]

My hands are counting but I didn't start clearing it until 12 hours after it was credited.

I've emailed support 3 times since yesterday and my bonus is still showing as elapsed. I don't suppose there is any way to contact empire other than by email?

[KramerTM]

Also having this problem. Will e-mail them now. Anyone know if they will count the raked hands I play before they correct the error?

I think they've got even bigger issues at the moment:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3325881

[ibankonu]

I'm still having problems with them crediting the bonus.

[RevAgain]

Send an email to info@empirepoker.com. My brother just did so and got a reply in an hour, mine in 30 minutes. According to his cashier history he withdrew whilst the bonus was on, but he says he didn't, maybe that's when they actioned the withdrawal. They gave the bonus anyhow and their email suggested that he just hadn't seen it (obviously not the case as the expiry date is 3 days from their email) and didn't credit him for the hands he played to date (a couple of hundred maybe - he really should have checked it was credited before he started playing). Same for me, bonus applied but no hands credited for what I had played, as that was only about 5 before I noticed though, no big deal.

And after all that, I bet neither of us gets round to actually clearing the sodding thing.

I am impressed by the speed of response of Empire anyhow, they must be totally different staff to Party?

[PokerGoblin]

I have emailed them three times without any response or action from them. It is irritating.

I have never had a problem with party's support contrary to other's experiences.

[ QUOTE ]
I have emailed them three times without any response or action from them. It is irritating.

[/ QUOTE ]
They have had a rough weekend, I think (especially with the whole Party system essentially going down - think that generated any e-mails? /images/graemlins/wink.gif).

But I'd still see if they might not extend the bonus period or do something. I don't think they hire enough support people to handle bonus rush times.

Mine went through fine - cleared it a couple of hours ago.

[manpower]

I just deposited, seems to have worked fine. Only 45 mins left for anyone not already on this.

[OrianasDaad]

I had/have the same elapsed problem, and got the following gem:

----

Dear *OrianasDad*,

The reason why the bonus has not been issued to your account is because you have made cash out on 02nd September 2005 01:28:41 EST. Any player, who has made cash out within the validity period of the bonus (04th September 2005 00:01 AM EST to 06th September 2005), does not qualify for this bonus.

This is a decision taken by the management and has come into effect immediately. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused due to this. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this regard.

Regards
Madhavi
Poker Customer Care

----

I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping to get someone a bit more... not dumb.

That e-mail should be placed into some sort of Bad Offshore Support Hall of Fame.

I could forgive the ESL verbiage, but surely even a foreign national knows that the 2nd comes before the 4th.

[Schwartzy61]

[ QUOTE ]
I had/have the same elapsed problem, and got the following gem:

----

Dear *OrianasDad*,

The reason why the bonus has not been issued to your account is because you have made cash out on 02nd September 2005 01:28:41 EST. Any player, who has made cash out within the validity period of the bonus (04th September 2005 00:01 AM EST to 06th September 2005), does not qualify for this bonus.

This is a decision taken by the management and has come into effect immediately. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused due to this. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this regard.

Regards
Madhavi
Poker Customer Care

----

I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping to get someone a bit more... not dumb.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's funny right there, I don't care who you are, that's funny.

Instant Classic, that's all there is to say...

[OrianasDaad]

[ QUOTE ]
I had/have the same elapsed problem, and got the following gem:

----

Dear *OrianasDad*,

The reason why the bonus has not been issued to your account is because you have made cash out on 02nd September 2005 01:28:41 EST. Any player, who has made cash out within the validity period of the bonus (04th September 2005 00:01 AM EST to 06th September 2005), does not qualify for this bonus.

This is a decision taken by the management and has come into effect immediately. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused due to this. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this regard.

Regards
Madhavi
Poker Customer Care

----

I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping to get someone a bit more... not dumb.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for contacting us.

We apologize for the confusion caused by the previous email. We have checked our records and found that your cash out was done before the deposit, but not during the validity of the bonus.

...

Regards

John
Poker Customer Care

Well after at least an email a day for the past 4 days not only did they not fix the elapsed bonus problem but I have still yet to even get any kind of response from them even a dumb one. I really don't care what kind of problems they had this past weekend. If customer service can't respond to a question within four days then they suck. All the emails I sent them were polite even to the bitter end and I sent each email to info@empirepoker.com and cashier@empirepoker.com