PP has frozen my father's accout w/ $500

ThePimpulator · #1 09-05-2005, 12:58 PM

Amazing. I am currently in Greece. My parents are staying here for the summer. They are from the UK. I just opened an account for my father at party yesterday and put $500 in using his UK debit card.

The money went out, and he played a little 0.5/1 last night. Now today the account is frozen. A frustating call to CS and it turns out that the problem is that he is connecting from Greece. I guess there is concern about card number theft. What bullshit. I'm connected to my Eurobet account just fine from here and my billing address is in the USA. And its funny how they took the money from him and let him play for the night first, connecting from Greece!

Anyway, they want [censored] proof that we are in Greece. Utility bill or something. He doesn't have anything like that! He is from the UK. So he says just put the money back on the same card it came from if you think its stolen because I don't want to play at your site anymore anyway after this. They won't! They are saying they can't do anything until the account is unfrozen and they can't unfreeze the account until they have proof that he is living in Greece right now. This is [censored] crazy.

Is there anything I can do about this or anywhere, any website, I can send this story to? I know it probably won't do any good but I feel like just kicking up a stink anyway.

My father will eventually be able to get stuff sent to them that will be appropriate obviously, but perhaps not until late Octber when he goes back to the UK. Does anyone have any suggestions for anything I can do in the mean time just to make a bit of a fuss? Does that "pitch a bitch" site that casino whores go to about casinos apply to all gambling sites, or just casinos?

Can't believe this bullshit. I feel like a bastard now too for getting him into it. Its already cost two international calls.

Thanks for any advice.

ThePimpulator.

pyroponic · #2 09-05-2005, 01:07 PM

Enjoy Greece, probably not missing much from $.50/1 for the mean time =)

hemstock · #3 09-05-2005, 01:24 PM

Had the same problem. They wanted me to send them proof that I'm studying in the UK. I sent them documentation about 10 times before they unlocked my account.

IggyWH · #4 09-05-2005, 01:31 PM

HOW DARE THEIR SECURITY ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB!!! THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!!

You'd be the same person bitching that if someone stole your UK credit card and used it in Greece that Party should have known that something is wrong and froze the account.

BruinEric · #5 09-05-2005, 01:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
HOW DARE THEIR SECURITY ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB!!! THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!!

You'd be the same person bitching that if someone stole your UK credit card and used it in Greece that Party should have known that something is wrong and froze the account.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aside from having the benefit of protecting the player, this primarily protects Party themselves.

It is my understanding that a threat to Poker sites is that people use stolen CC info to get an account going (using money that will never end up being paid to Party Poker because the charge will be contested or reversed) and then chip-dump/money-launder.

Stuff like this is a serious threat to online poker rooms.

This is the cost a few of us bear for the luxury of instant account-crediting. The alternative COULD be that the poker site holds your deposit until it clears and they receive full settlement from your credit card company. This is obviously not in your interest nor theirs from a have-fun-playing-poker standpoint.

ThePimpulator · #6 09-05-2005, 03:25 PM

Hi BruinEric,

Nice to get a reply from someone that's not a typical zoo moron. Anyway, I understand what you are saying about protecting themselves and I guess the reputation of the industy, but they have been very clumsy and inefficient about it.

For a start, its a debit card not a credit card and they have got the money right away. No problem with them not being paid. And they let him start playing with it. If they are worried about not being paid, why let him start playing? As it happens he just played around 50 hands of 0.5/1 for a loss of about $6. But if it really was fraud, he could have already blown the lot at the 50/100 by time the account was closed.

Secondly, the entire pogram download, sign up, and payment was done from the Greek ISP I am connecting from now. Its not like we were trying to hide our location. It was no suprise to them us being in Greece. If its a security issue, why take the money in the first place? The payment should have simply been rejected. Its pretty easy for a system to compare billing address given and where the IP address is originating from. Neteller does it. I'm sure others do. It seems pretty disorganized to take the money then freeze the account.

Finally, if the fear is that its a stolen card number, then surely they would want to put the money back to the same card. My father, obviously frustrated after two international calls and unable to furnish appropriate documentation until late October, said "fine, simply close the account and put the money back where it came from." Seems safe and logical to me, but they won't do that either.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. I have chilled out about it now. I was just frustrated at the time of posting having just listened to the conversation my dad had with a script reading CSR. I of course can't be bothered doing anything about it now. What can I do to the Microsoft of the online poker world. I will just get him set up somewhere else when it gets sorted.

Regards,
ThePimpulator.

Wake up CALL · #7 09-05-2005, 03:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
For a start, its a debit card not a credit card and they have got the money right away.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know about the UK but in the US it does leave your account immediately but it doesn't go to the intended destination immediately. If I purchase groceries with my debit card my online account will say transaction pending usually for two business days. That money is in limbo I suppose but it certainly isn't yet in the account of the merchant from whom I purchased my groceries.

pyroponic · #8 09-05-2005, 03:33 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi BruinEric,

Nice to get a reply from someone that's not a typical zoo moron.

[/ QUOTE ]

hahaha the irony.

BruinEric · #9 09-06-2005, 12:23 AM

Your reply was nice as well.

Let it be said that I totally understand your frustration and would be frustrated as well. Compounding said frustration would be the usual challenge of dealing with technical support, which is often a comedic enterprise if all the e-mails cut/pasted on this board are true.

I have never used a credit card to play online, so I was spared this challenge. I actually made my first deposit using those calling cards (which is an option explained in detail by Party.)

Of course, my CC company refused my first attempt to purchase online phone cards because such an online purchase is a sometimes-sign of trouble. After I called and asked for approval personally, I was able to place an order.

After that, I learned the ways of Neteller, etc, but I've been lucky enough(or bonus enriched enough) that this original calling-card stake was all I needed to stay playing.

Ro-me-ro · #10 09-06-2005, 06:20 AM

[ QUOTE ]
For a start, its a debit card not a credit card and they have got the money right away. No problem with them not being paid.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's simply incorrect. You can dispute a debit card transaction in the exact same way you can dispute a credit card transaction.

However I do agree with you that to refund the transaction to the same credit card is a perfectly reasonable request from you -- once the transaction is redeemed, their liability via repudations is only $6 and I think that they can afford it.

Rom