Pokerstars freeroll prizes: can they do whatever they want??

jojobinks · #1 11-20-2005, 09:53 AM

a few weeks ago i finished 18th in the P* blogger championship freeroll and won a 4GB Ipod Nano. woohoo! when it came in the mail, i was a little bummed b/c they sent me a 20GB Ipod.

i'm not crying, please don't chastise me.

here's the question, though. I wanted a nano. i won a nano. they sent me a less expensive, older model.

questions:
1) can they change whatever prizes they want b/c it was a freeroll?
2) can i press the issue? how?
3) has anyone else had an experience like this? if so, how did it work out?

TylerD · #2 11-20-2005, 10:04 AM

[ QUOTE ]
questions:
1) can they change whatever prizes they want b/c it was a freeroll?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes

[ QUOTE ]

2) can i press the issue? how?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, email them. Stars support is the best in the business, it may be a simple mistake, see what they say.

[ QUOTE ]

3) has anyone else had an experience like this? if so, how did it work out?

[/ QUOTE ]

No

#3 11-20-2005, 10:23 AM

I think this is worthy of a Stars boycott! Their software and interface sucks anyway

BTW, they can do whatever the [censored] they want, including on real buy in tournaments. They're just a few netgeeks running an internet server outside of most legal jurisdictions. Your only recourse is

a) Whine
b) Take them to court

The first option is infinitely more satisfying.

Sniper · #4 11-20-2005, 01:16 PM

Did you try emailing support before posting this here?

Let us know what they have to say!

theben · #5 11-20-2005, 02:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Yes, email them. Stars support is the best in the business, it may be a simple mistake, see what they say.

[/ QUOTE ]

stars has great support. if any support team will help you, it'll be them

Lee Jones · #6 11-20-2005, 03:21 PM

Hi Jojo -

I am very sorry for the mistake here. We did, indeed, promise you an iPod Nano (assuming that you finished in one of the winning positions in the blogger tournament). Please keep the one that you received boxed up - you are going to get a Nano. I'm just learning about this, so it may take some time, but we'll get it straightened out.

Again, I apologize for the problem.

Best regards,
Lee Jones

PokerStars Poker Room Manager

P.S. As others have said, it really is faster and more efficient to write support@pokerstars.com directly. Had you done so, that email would have been in my hands in a matter of minutes.

2+2 wannabe · #7 11-20-2005, 03:34 PM

well done Mr. Jones

I have NO IDEA why people post here before they actually contact the poker room itself [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

tubalkain · #8 11-20-2005, 03:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think this is worthy of a Stars boycott! Their software and interface sucks anyway

BTW, they can do whatever the [censored] they want, including on real buy in tournaments. They're just a few netgeeks running an internet server outside of most legal jurisdictions. Your only recourse is

a) Whine
b) Take them to court

The first option is infinitely more satisfying.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shut the [censored] up.

teddyFBI · #9 11-20-2005, 07:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Jojo -

I am very sorry for the mistake here. We did, indeed, promise you an iPod Nano (assuming that you finished in one of the winning positions in the blogger tournament). Please keep the one that you received boxed up - you are going to get a Nano. I'm just learning about this, so it may take some time, but we'll get it straightened out.

Again, I apologize for the problem.

Best regards,
Lee Jones

PokerStars Poker Room Manager

P.S. As others have said, it really is faster and more efficient to write support@pokerstars.com directly. Had you done so, that email would have been in my hands in a matter of minutes.

[/ QUOTE ]

JoJo and Lee Jones:

I am in exactly the same situation -- I won what was supposed to be a Nano, but received the big fat 20GB iPod in the mail yesterday. I was kinda pissed too, because I had already bought all the accessories and docking station in anticipation of receiving the Nano.

I emailed support yesterday (the blogtour@stars email addy) but haven't heard back yet.

What I did was take it to the Apple Store that's actually a few doors down from my apartment -- I was initially happy because the friendly folks there said that they would let me exchange it there. But then came the big surprise. I took the iPod box down there and the clerk examined it and said that it had been opened already (not be me, to be sure), since the cellophane wrapper was missing. He also looked up the player's serial # in the Apple database and informed me that it had already been opened, and possibly used (he couldn't tell for sure, because it had been reset to the factory settings, but he made it clear that they couldn't resell it as a new unit. At the very least, I would have hoped that Stars would have sent me a new / unopened unit!

As for the end result, the Apple Store agreed to give me a $200 store credit (the 20GB iPod stars sent me retailed for $250 new). I told them screw it, I'll take it the Nano for which I had to pay the $75 price difference, since i had already bought the accessories for it. So I'm out around $75 thanks to the Stars mixup, plus a lot of my time.

I hate to look a gift-horse in the mouth, but fact is that i DID manage to finish in the top 30 out of 1450 in that freeroll, so I'm not thrilled I didn't get the prize advertised and I'm "out" $75. Anyway, it sounds like Lee is at least on top of this, so maybe I'll get a satisfactory resolution from the support team once I hear back.

FlyWf · #10 11-20-2005, 07:40 PM

Why in God's name would you do all that before hearing back from Stars? If you tried to buy an Ipod from Apple's store and they sent you the wrong one what would you do? Pawn it?
You got it YESTERDAY. You were materially harmed by an error by Stars and there is a very obvious solution(mail back the 20GB to Stars, get Nano from there).

The saleslady at the Apple store better have been smoking hot.