Complaint #2
Casino Extra
Failing to block my account while waiting for withdrawal
11 years ago
I deposited at Casino Extra on 11th June 2014, and had a finishing balance of £700. I proceeded to make a withdrawal of the whole balance, but I was met with needing to upload three different types of verification documents, which I did straight away.
I then contacted their live chat to ask how long the process would be for my documents to be verified, which Thijs said would take 24 to 48 hours. I then asked for a self block until this had been done, because I may end up spending my winnings. I have asked other casinos the same thing, and they have always done what they could to help me with this. Following is a copy of the conversation I had with Thijs:
Stacey 01:10:41 am
Ok thanks, is there a way I can self block until my withdrawal has been processed please?
Thijs 01:10:43 am
No there is not
Stacey 01:11:34 am
Could you then please ask for my documents to be done a bit quicker for me, as I can't self block?
Thijs 01:12:45 am
I do not know how many players are before you and I can not ask the payment team yet since they are in another timezone. We will inform you when your account is approved or if we need any additional information
Stacey 01:13:39 am
Ok so I you can't help me with stopping me from being able to spend my winnings?
Thijs 01:14:33 am
At this moment I can not do anything no? I can contact the payment department but will not have an answer from them for some hours
I returned to chat the same day and the next day, several times asking the status of my verification, and if they could please speed up the process, as they said I could not self block in any way. I then logged in later that night and managed to win a extra £100, so I logged out with £800 waiting to be withdrawn. The next day I still kept asking when my documents would be verified, and I was told I would still have to wait. Later that day I logged in and ended up loosing all of my £800.
I went straight to live support, and said that I wanted my account verified and my winnings withdrawn to me because I asked for my account to be blocked several times, and I was told no they can't do anything like that to help me.
They claimed that I did not ask for any such block/ exclusion ( you can see that I did in the live chat above) and kept repeating that my Drivers Licence was in bits ( it is not in bits, it has a few bends in it as it is nearly 10 years old). I then found this on their homepage under "responsible gaming" - 'Sometimes, it's important to take a break to cool off. We can help with a pre-set break period of 7 days or block '. I was not given any of this information by Thijs when I asked him about self blocking, and if I had known this at the time I could have used this service until my documents had been verified.
After my last communication with Nicolas, he sent me a email saying this - Hi Stacey,
Following our conversation I have closed your account as a precaution. It's seems that the request you ask to Thijs to "speed up the verification process" or "block your account the during that time" hides a big gambling issue. Today you mentioned gambling problems so please confirm what you want to do with your account:
- Do you want to self exclude yourself?
- Do you want to set deposit limits?
- Do you want a simple closure?
Regards,
Nicolas
This is shutting the door after the horse has bolted, and he also admits what I was asking for with Thijs.
I feel completely let down by Casino Extra's support agents, and I feel well within my rights to ask for my original £700 to be withdrawn to my debit card, and I will be sending a complaint to CIGA also.
I then contacted their live chat to ask how long the process would be for my documents to be verified, which Thijs said would take 24 to 48 hours. I then asked for a self block until this had been done, because I may end up spending my winnings. I have asked other casinos the same thing, and they have always done what they could to help me with this. Following is a copy of the conversation I had with Thijs:
Stacey 01:10:41 am
Ok thanks, is there a way I can self block until my withdrawal has been processed please?
Thijs 01:10:43 am
No there is not
Stacey 01:11:34 am
Could you then please ask for my documents to be done a bit quicker for me, as I can't self block?
Thijs 01:12:45 am
I do not know how many players are before you and I can not ask the payment team yet since they are in another timezone. We will inform you when your account is approved or if we need any additional information
Stacey 01:13:39 am
Ok so I you can't help me with stopping me from being able to spend my winnings?
Thijs 01:14:33 am
At this moment I can not do anything no? I can contact the payment department but will not have an answer from them for some hours
I returned to chat the same day and the next day, several times asking the status of my verification, and if they could please speed up the process, as they said I could not self block in any way. I then logged in later that night and managed to win a extra £100, so I logged out with £800 waiting to be withdrawn. The next day I still kept asking when my documents would be verified, and I was told I would still have to wait. Later that day I logged in and ended up loosing all of my £800.
I went straight to live support, and said that I wanted my account verified and my winnings withdrawn to me because I asked for my account to be blocked several times, and I was told no they can't do anything like that to help me.
They claimed that I did not ask for any such block/ exclusion ( you can see that I did in the live chat above) and kept repeating that my Drivers Licence was in bits ( it is not in bits, it has a few bends in it as it is nearly 10 years old). I then found this on their homepage under "responsible gaming" - 'Sometimes, it's important to take a break to cool off. We can help with a pre-set break period of 7 days or block '. I was not given any of this information by Thijs when I asked him about self blocking, and if I had known this at the time I could have used this service until my documents had been verified.
After my last communication with Nicolas, he sent me a email saying this - Hi Stacey,
Following our conversation I have closed your account as a precaution. It's seems that the request you ask to Thijs to "speed up the verification process" or "block your account the during that time" hides a big gambling issue. Today you mentioned gambling problems so please confirm what you want to do with your account:
- Do you want to self exclude yourself?
- Do you want to set deposit limits?
- Do you want a simple closure?
Regards,
Nicolas
This is shutting the door after the horse has bolted, and he also admits what I was asking for with Thijs.
I feel completely let down by Casino Extra's support agents, and I feel well within my rights to ask for my original £700 to be withdrawn to my debit card, and I will be sending a complaint to CIGA also.
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