After playing on sky and clearing my welcome bonus and doing ok I decided to join stars and get the maximum matched deposit bonus too. There was a big sun million anniversary coming up so I timed my deposit to play in it. I tried to register and my account was blocked and was told that I had to provide all the ID (including underwear size and colour ;-). Obviously this was not possible to do quickly so missed the tourney. After many attempts of submitting everything and refusing to submit what I thought were private documents I finally gave in around 3 weeks later after hundreds of emails and gave them what they required and was able to withdraw my initial funds as I had lost my bonus earning time. And as a final insult due to the pound going up in value during the 3 weeks I lost around 30 quid without playing a hand
After playing on sky and clearing my welcome bonus and doing ok I decided to join stars and get the maximum matched deposit bonus too. There was a big sun million anniversary coming up so I timed my deposit to play in it. I tried to register and my account was blocked and was told that I had to provide all the ID (including underwear size and colour ;-). Obviously this was not possible to do quickly so missed the tourney. After many attempts of submitting everything and refusing to submit what I thought were private documents I finally gave in around 3 weeks later after hundreds of emails and gave them what they required and was able to withdraw my initial funds as I had lost my bonus earning time. And as a final insult due to the pound going up in value during the 3 weeks I lost around 30 quid without playing a hand
Welcome to the forum, stick around, we need new blood.
That's the 2nd such story in the last few days, though the previous version was posted by an elderly chap, & you know how it is with old peeps, they get confused.
Unfair as it may seem, your ire should be directed at the Gambling Commission, not the site.
The rules now DEMAND that the sites do these things. The sites have no choice, it's not their wish or decision. ALL sites are doing it now, or all street-legal Regulated sites are.
There'll be plenty more stories along the same lines, including here at Sky Poker.
It's a Gambling Commission edict, the sites have no choice.
In a world where multi-accounting, bot farms, chip-dumping and bonus abuse is rife (especially in Eastern European countries where the relative value to be gained is far greater compared to those of us living in a western economy), these levels of account/identity scrutiny should really be viewed as a positive thing in my opinion given their effects in protecting overall game integrity. It may be a pain in the bum at times, but it is a more than worthwhile trade-off.
Additionally, for any of you concerned about such things, a few years ago I was a victim of bank fraud - somehow someone had managed to gain access to my accounts online and, through various means, a total of £20k was taken. My banks response was very impressive indeed and within 72 hours everything was back to how it should be.
Additionally, for any of you concerned about such things, a few years ago I was a victim of bank fraud - somehow someone had managed to gain access to my accounts online and, through various means, a total of £20k was taken. My banks response was very impressive indeed and within 72 hours everything was back to how it should be.
In a world where multi-accounting, bot farms, chip-dumping and bonus abuse is rife (especially in Eastern European countries where the relative value to be gained is far greater compared to those of us living in a western economy), these levels of account/identity scrutiny should really be viewed as a positive thing in my opinion given their effects in protecting overall game integrity. It may be a pain in the bum at times, but it is a more than worthwhile trade-off.
Additionally, for any of you concerned about such things, a few years ago I was a victim of bank fraud - somehow someone had managed to gain access to my accounts online and, through various means, a total of £20k was taken. My banks response was very impressive indeed and within 72 hours everything was back to how it should be.
these levels of account/identity scrutiny should really be viewed as a positive thing in my opinion given their effects in protecting overall game integrity. It may be a pain in the bum at times, but it is a more than worthwhile trade-off.
+2
In my personal opinion on all the comments that have been made on this, if you trust a company enough to give them your money to begin with, that trust should also be in them to keep any other personal information you need to provide safe also (since you've already provided your payment details, which is as sensitive as copies of your identification documents).
Companies have to follow strict regulation that is put in place by the various bodies in the jurisdictions that they operate in, as Tikay has just mentioned, they are not optional. These regulations are there to benefit everyone (both the customers and the company), even if it feels like an inconvenience to you at the time. Also remember, there are heavy punishments when companies don't comply or fail to do so with these regulations.
Additionally, for any of you concerned about such things, a few years ago I was a victim of bank fraud - somehow someone had managed to gain access to my accounts online and, through various means, a total of £20k was taken. My banks response was very impressive indeed and within 72 hours everything was back to how it should be.
Thin "I have £20k" brag. WAL
Haha - I was wish it was all my money!
In reality, about £1k was mine and the rest came from them maxing out a credit card attached to my account and successfully applying for a bank loan loan in my name. I am however pleased to report that through much hard work and diligent saving in the years since, I have now bumped that figure up to £1.1k .
these levels of account/identity scrutiny should really be viewed as a positive thing in my opinion given their effects in protecting overall game integrity. It may be a pain in the bum at times, but it is a more than worthwhile trade-off.
+2
In my personal opinion on all the comments that have been made on this, if you trust a company enough to give them your money to begin with, that trust should also be in them to keep any other personal information you need to provide safe also (since you've already provided your payment details, which is as sensitive as copies of your identification documents).
Companies have to follow strict regulation that is put in place by the various bodies in the jurisdictions that they operate in, as Tikay has just mentioned, they are not optional. These regulations are there to benefit everyone (both the customers and the company), even if it feels like an inconvenience to you at the time. Also remember, there are heavy punishments when companies don't comply or fail to do so with these regulations.
I completely disagree. I could never feel that providing anyone with all the documents required to steal my identity would be sensible, or in any way positive, under any circumstances.
To make the statement that trusting a poker site with your money should be enough to trust them with your documents, means you have to overlook the occasions where trusting a poker site has gone wrong. There have been a number of such occasions.
If we were talking Skypoker here, Tikay is the face of Skypoker, and I would trust him implicitly, yet I don't even know any of the people in the company that may have access to this material. I am definitely not saying that I don't trust the people working for Sky, but I would prefer not to send this documentation to anyone.
Could Pokerstars really vouch for the fact that they have never employed anyone in the past who turned out to be dishonest, and will never in the future. To be able to do that would be incredible.
I am certain if you asked Martin Lewis, Which Magazine, Citizens Advice, or your bank manager if you should part with this information, they would all say no you shouldnt.
Someone tried to use my credit card in the USA the other day. My bank stopped the transaction because I was using it in the UK, so they knew I was I wasn't even in the USA. Do you know how this person got my details, because I don't.
If they had got away with this transaction, and I had to admit that I had just sent all my documentation on to a poker site, I am certain the bank would have refused to reimburse the transaction.
I remember working in Portugal in my last job, for an honest and above board company. We had to photocopy the front of customers credit cards, due to money laundering regulations. One of my salespeople took an extra copy, noted the security numbers, left the company, and started ordering stuff with the customers credit cards.
I also worked for a company in Spain who didn't have a credit facility, but offered spreading the cost of a sale for up to 60 months. This was accomplished by debiting their credit every month. They had lever arch files full of thousands of customers details including their full credit card details including the security code, as the staff had to go through them every month. I remember wondering how long it would be before someone stole the details.
If you look at the process of getting a bank account and credit card, it makes these regulations foolish.
To open a bank account I had to turn up for an interview, and complete an application form. I had to take my wife, who also confirmed who I was. I had to produce photo id and a utility bill. The bank will have checked the electoral register, and a credit reference agency. So before opening the account and giving me a credit card they will have been absolutely certain that I was, who I said I was. So you would think pokerstars would be happy too. On top of this, my deposits were made with my credit card. Withdrawals were all made to my bank account. In addition I must have ordered around 25 items from their store, all of which were delivered to my home address. So what are the chances that I am somebody else? Could someone else have deposited with my credit card for 10 years without me noticing? Could I have not noticed the withdrawals turning up in my bank account? Would I not be thinking where are all these pokerstars t shirts coming from? It is difficult to see what these regulations are in place to accomplish. One thing is for certain. Had the attempt on my credit card been made around the time I had sent off the documentation, I would have put two and two together, whether they were to blame or not.
Poker sites should really make it clear to everyone at the application stage that they intend to steal all the money in your account, if you don't drive, and haven't got a passport.
Sites will let you deposit without checks but when it comes to withdrawing its a different story.
I just try and stick to the main/big sites now as you have to put your trust in them. You don,t have any choice.
I keep my documents on a pen drive to save me having to upload them all again. I had problems with this before. They wouldn,t accept my utility bill as it didn,t show all four corners of it. yet when I panned out on my phone to cover all 4 corners they said they couldn,t make the address out as it was blurred.
I also got hacked on one site where they changed my payment details and deposited and withdrew to another account and used my account to play HU poker (think it was something to do with chip dumping). The frustrating part was it took months to sort out and I couldn,t even correspond or speak with the security department as it was explained to me from customer services that they were "uncontactable". My account was blocked for over 6 months
I understand what you are saying about Stars and they can,t guarantee every member of staff is 100% honest and above board but I think this applies to most companies nowadays. I still pay some bills over the phone and still feel a bit awkward giving my card details to a random stranger in India over a phoneline.
I just check my bank account on a daily basis now so if anything out of the ordinary appears I can query it straight away and touch wood I,ve never had to yet. (And I,ve gambled for many years on many different sites)
In line with our internal security processes, we carry out periodic business risk assessments on randomly selected accounts.
We regret to inform you that your account has not passed this recent screening process, which has resulted in the permanent closure of your account.
As stated in section 8 under "Breach":
8.1. Without prejudice to any other rights, if a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, Rational Group or any other company within the Group which provides services to the User reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement or any other agreement in place with the User, immediately blocking the User's access to the Service or to any other service offered by the Group, terminating such User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group, seizing all monies held in the User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group and/or taking legal action against such User.
Our Terms of Service can be found on our website at:
2 years ago stars suspended my account. They informed me by email.
I replied to the email asking why. They replied stating that it was because they had been unable to verify my email address. I said that the fact that we were exchanging emails initiated by them did prove my address-took a month and 3 people in "customer service" to be able to lose on there again...
In line with our internal security processes, we carry out periodic business risk assessments on randomly selected accounts.
We regret to inform you that your account has not passed this recent screening process, which has resulted in the permanent closure of your account.
As stated in section 8 under "Breach":
8.1. Without prejudice to any other rights, if a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, Rational Group or any other company within the Group which provides services to the User reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement or any other agreement in place with the User, immediately blocking the User's access to the Service or to any other service offered by the Group, terminating such User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group, seizing all monies held in the User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group and/or taking legal action against such User.
Our Terms of Service can be found on our website at:
In line with our internal security processes, we carry out periodic business risk assessments on randomly selected accounts.
We regret to inform you that your account has not passed this recent screening process, which has resulted in the permanent closure of your account.
As stated in section 8 under "Breach":
8.1. Without prejudice to any other rights, if a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, Rational Group or any other company within the Group which provides services to the User reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement or any other agreement in place with the User, immediately blocking the User's access to the Service or to any other service offered by the Group, terminating such User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group, seizing all monies held in the User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group and/or taking legal action against such User.
Our Terms of Service can be found on our website at:
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Regards,
Gianina Stars Security
Legal action would be really interesting.
I am not sure the last bit of their email was sincerely meant, after stealing my money, and threatening legal action?
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
Well if you’ve refused to send what they requested then they have little choice. I think Ryan and a few others said to just give them the information required a while back. As has been mentioned it is entirely standard procedure now. Why have a fight you won’t win and lose your money? Maybe be worth listening to people every so often?
I don't see either of the last two posts as fair criticism. This has nothing to do with the height of my horse. I am not prepared to do what they have asked. I have actually put my money where my mouth is and forfeited my money to stand by my decision. If Pokerstars were a decent company they would have refunded my money before closing my account. Why do they want to steal my money? Whether these regulations were instigated by Pokerstars, or some governing body, they are still wrong. I have been a member of numerous poker and gambling sites for the last 15 years and none have asked me to provide similar documentation at any time. Although I did have to provide Sky with additional id when I last qualified for a Vegas trip. They say in their email that I didn't pass a screening process. What screening process? How does it work? As I said in a previous post I received a transfer of funds from another player in 2009. Since then, I have deposited funds, withdrawn funds, and made purchases from their store using my points. That's it, nothing else. I have deposited more funds than I have withdrawn. So if I have failed the screening process, by depositing funds and withdrawing some, how could anyone pass this process. On that basis everyone that deposits and withdraws will fail. So what is the point of a screening process that everyone fails. It is disappointing to lose the money in this way, but I wont be sending them the documentation. I find the threat of legal action pathetic. Are they going to take me to Court for depositing, withdrawing, and buying T shirts. You could probably get 10 years in jail for that, but I am still not sending it to them. What would happen if you just couldn't provide all the documentation? If there are regulations regarding id, shouldn't they ask for it all up front. If this was the case you could decide on whether you were prepared to provide it, or go and play elsewhere, and hang on to your money, rather than donating it to a poker site, that clearly doesn't need it.
Comments
I tried to register and my account was blocked and was told that I had to provide all the ID (including underwear size and colour ;-).
Obviously this was not possible to do quickly so missed the tourney.
After many attempts of submitting everything and refusing to submit what I thought were private documents I finally gave in around 3 weeks later after hundreds of emails and gave them what they required and was able to withdraw my initial funds as I had lost my bonus earning time.
And as a final insult due to the pound going up in value during the 3 weeks I lost around 30 quid without playing a hand
Welcome to the forum, stick around, we need new blood.
That's the 2nd such story in the last few days, though the previous version was posted by an elderly chap, & you know how it is with old peeps, they get confused.
Unfair as it may seem, your ire should be directed at the Gambling Commission, not the site.
The rules now DEMAND that the sites do these things. The sites have no choice, it's not their wish or decision. ALL sites are doing it now, or all street-legal Regulated sites are.
There'll be plenty more stories along the same lines, including here at Sky Poker.
It's a Gambling Commission edict, the sites have no choice.
Additionally, for any of you concerned about such things, a few years ago I was a victim of bank fraud - somehow someone had managed to gain access to my accounts online and, through various means, a total of £20k was taken. My banks response was very impressive indeed and within 72 hours everything was back to how it should be.
In my personal opinion on all the comments that have been made on this, if you trust a company enough to give them your money to begin with, that trust should also be in them to keep any other personal information you need to provide safe also (since you've already provided your payment details, which is as sensitive as copies of your identification documents).
Companies have to follow strict regulation that is put in place by the various bodies in the jurisdictions that they operate in, as Tikay has just mentioned, they are not optional. These regulations are there to benefit everyone (both the customers and the company), even if it feels like an inconvenience to you at the time. Also remember, there are heavy punishments when companies don't comply or fail to do so with these regulations.
In reality, about £1k was mine and the rest came from them maxing out a credit card attached to my account and successfully applying for a bank loan loan in my name. I am however pleased to report that through much hard work and diligent saving in the years since, I have now bumped that figure up to £1.1k
I could never feel that providing anyone with all the documents required to steal my identity would be sensible, or in any way positive, under any circumstances.
To make the statement that trusting a poker site with your money should be enough to trust them with your documents, means you have to overlook the occasions where trusting a poker site has gone wrong. There have been a number of such occasions.
If we were talking Skypoker here, Tikay is the face of Skypoker, and I would trust him implicitly, yet I don't even know any of the people in the company that may have access to this material. I am definitely not saying that I don't trust the people working for Sky, but I would prefer not to send this documentation to anyone.
Could Pokerstars really vouch for the fact that they have never employed anyone in the past who turned out to be dishonest, and will never in the future. To be able to do that would be incredible.
I am certain if you asked Martin Lewis, Which Magazine, Citizens Advice, or your bank manager if you should part with this information, they would all say no you shouldnt.
Someone tried to use my credit card in the USA the other day. My bank stopped the transaction because I was using it in the UK, so they knew I was I wasn't even in the USA. Do you know how this person got my details, because I don't.
If they had got away with this transaction, and I had to admit that I had just sent all my documentation on to a poker site, I am certain the bank would have refused to reimburse the transaction.
I remember working in Portugal in my last job, for an honest and above board company. We had to photocopy the front of customers credit cards, due to money laundering regulations. One of my salespeople took an extra copy, noted the security numbers, left the company, and started ordering stuff with the customers credit cards.
I also worked for a company in Spain who didn't have a credit facility, but offered spreading the cost of a sale for up to 60 months. This was accomplished by debiting their credit every month. They had lever arch files full of thousands of customers details including their full credit card details including the security code, as the staff had to go through them every month. I remember wondering how long it would be before someone stole the details.
If you look at the process of getting a bank account and credit card, it makes these regulations foolish.
To open a bank account I had to turn up for an interview, and complete an application form. I had to take my wife, who also confirmed who I was. I had to produce photo id and a utility bill. The bank will have checked the electoral register, and a credit reference agency. So before opening the account and giving me a credit card they will have been absolutely certain that I was, who I said I was.
So you would think pokerstars would be happy too. On top of this, my deposits were made with my credit card. Withdrawals were all made to my bank account. In addition I must have ordered around 25 items from their store, all of which were delivered to my home address.
So what are the chances that I am somebody else?
Could someone else have deposited with my credit card for 10 years without me noticing?
Could I have not noticed the withdrawals turning up in my bank account?
Would I not be thinking where are all these pokerstars t shirts coming from?
It is difficult to see what these regulations are in place to accomplish.
One thing is for certain. Had the attempt on my credit card been made around the time I had sent off the documentation, I would have put two and two together, whether they were to blame or not.
Sites will let you deposit without checks but when it comes to withdrawing its a different story.
I just try and stick to the main/big sites now as you have to put your trust in them. You don,t have any choice.
I keep my documents on a pen drive to save me having to upload them all again. I had problems with this before. They wouldn,t accept my utility bill as it didn,t show all four corners of it. yet when I panned out on my phone to cover all 4 corners they said they couldn,t make the address out as it was blurred.
I also got hacked on one site where they changed my payment details and deposited and withdrew to another account and used my account to play HU poker (think it was something to do with chip dumping). The frustrating part was it took months to sort out and I couldn,t even correspond or speak with the security department as it was explained to me from customer services that they were "uncontactable". My account was blocked for over 6 months
I understand what you are saying about Stars and they can,t guarantee every member of staff is 100% honest and above board but I think this applies to most companies nowadays. I still pay some bills over the phone and still feel a bit awkward giving my card details to a random stranger in India over a phoneline.
I just check my bank account on a daily basis now so if anything out of the ordinary appears I can query it straight away and touch wood I,ve never had to yet. (And I,ve gambled for many years on many different sites)
P
Hello,
Thank you for your email.
In line with our internal security processes, we carry out periodic business risk assessments on randomly selected accounts.
We regret to inform you that your account has not passed this recent screening process, which has resulted in the permanent closure of your account.
As stated in section 8 under "Breach":
8.1. Without prejudice to any other rights, if a User breaches in whole or in part any provision contained herein, Rational Group or any other company within the Group which provides services to the User reserves the right to take such action as it sees fit, including terminating this Agreement or any other agreement in place with the User, immediately blocking the User's access to the Service or to any other service offered by the Group, terminating such User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group, seizing all monies held in the User's account on the Sites or on any other sites operated by the Group and/or taking legal action against such User.
Our Terms of Service can be found on our website at:
https://www.pokerstars.uk/poker/room/tos/
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Regards,
Gianina
Stars Security
I replied to the email asking why. They replied stating that it was because they had been unable to verify my email address. I said that the fact that we were exchanging emails initiated by them did prove my address-took a month and 3 people in "customer service" to be able to lose on there again...
Legal action would be really interesting.
I am not sure the last bit of their email was sincerely meant, after stealing my money, and threatening legal action?
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
I think Ryan and a few others said to just give them the information required a while back. As has been mentioned it is entirely standard procedure now. Why have a fight you won’t win and lose your money?
Maybe be worth listening to people every so often?
^^^^^
Louder, please, he can't hear you up there.
This has nothing to do with the height of my horse.
I am not prepared to do what they have asked. I have actually put my money where my mouth is and forfeited my money to stand by my decision.
If Pokerstars were a decent company they would have refunded my money before closing my account. Why do they want to steal my money?
Whether these regulations were instigated by Pokerstars, or some governing body, they are still wrong.
I have been a member of numerous poker and gambling sites for the last 15 years and none have asked me to provide similar documentation at any time.
Although I did have to provide Sky with additional id when I last qualified for a Vegas trip.
They say in their email that I didn't pass a screening process.
What screening process? How does it work?
As I said in a previous post I received a transfer of funds from another player in 2009.
Since then, I have deposited funds, withdrawn funds, and made purchases from their store using my points. That's it, nothing else. I have deposited more funds than I have withdrawn.
So if I have failed the screening process, by depositing funds and withdrawing some, how could anyone pass this process.
On that basis everyone that deposits and withdraws will fail. So what is the point of a screening process that everyone fails.
It is disappointing to lose the money in this way, but I wont be sending them the documentation.
I find the threat of legal action pathetic.
Are they going to take me to Court for depositing, withdrawing, and buying T shirts.
You could probably get 10 years in jail for that, but I am still not sending it to them.
What would happen if you just couldn't provide all the documentation?
If there are regulations regarding id, shouldn't they ask for it all up front. If this was the case you could decide on whether you were prepared to provide it, or go and play elsewhere, and hang on to your money, rather than donating it to a poker site, that clearly doesn't need it.