(PAYMENT RECEIVED) Intertops Slow Payment Warning (Player Issue) (PAYMENT RECEIVED)

[NDN]

I've been waiting for a minimal wire from Intertops (as a player) since the 20th of January.

When asked about the delay, I continue to get the runaround and the usual "it should be there any day" response.

I'm concerned because I typically receive wires from Intertops right after they send them.

The best I have been able to discern is that they had some wire problems (which they wouldn't elaborate on) and that's causing the delay.

However, they keep telling me that it was indeed sent on the 20th, which leaves no reasonable explanation as to why I haven't received the funds.

Has anyone else heard anything about Intertops going sour?

[Intertops]

I've been waiting for a minimal wire from Intertops (as a player) since the 20th of January.

When asked about the delay, I continue to get the runaround and the usual "it should be there any day" response.

I'm concerned because I typically receive wires from Intertops right after they send them.

The best I have been able to discern is that they had some wire problems (which they wouldn't elaborate on) and that's causing the delay.

However, they keep telling me that it was indeed sent on the 20th, which leaves no reasonable explanation as to why I haven't received the funds.

Has anyone else heard anything about Intertops going sour?

Hi there,

Thank you for your useful post.

Currently we have an issue with bankwire payouts. However, we put all our efforts in solving this as soon as possible.

For the time being we look into each case, one by one. Should you not have received the funds yet, please contact bet@intertops.eu again and we will do our best to serve you promptly with alternative payout options.

We would like to point out that nothing at Intertops is going sour at all and we thank all customers who keep waiting patiently until we sort this out.

Thank you for your understanding!

Your Intertops Team

[NDN]

I just received an email that attacks my professionalism, and since it doesn't contain any private information, I feel obligated to share it (along with my response):

From Intertops

Thank you very much for your kind e-mail!

Intertops is in the business since 1983 and everybody has always been paid. Please know that our payment team is doing their best – as usual - to get you your money.

On the other hand: I do not think it is very professional to take a payment issue to a message forum, when support is answering every e-mail from you and keeps you in the loop of what is happening with your payment. Taking issues like this to forums only causes a lot of overhead as well as unnecessary confusion; it will for sure not make the banks work faster.

You are receiving an international wire transfer. Transfer times are usually between 5 and 10 business days, but can be up to 20. Please be so kind and have a little more patience.

Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

My Reply

You and I are both well aware of the fact that a typical international wire transfer does not take anywhere near 20 business days to process (nor does it even take 5-10 business days).

I’ll be the first to admit that in the PAST you guys have been nothing but the best when it comes to processing player payments and in each previous instance I have received your wire transfers in 1-2 business days after they were sent. I’ll also be the first to admit that I have never seen a wire transfer (international or otherwise) take 5, 10, or even 20 days to process (from your group or any other).

Truth be told, I am not frustrated about the money, it’s a rather minimal amount. What I am frustrated about is the runaround that I have been getting from your customer service team. Yes, they’ve responded to me via live chat (I have not sent any emails so your bold comment regarding emails was unwarranted), but each time I speak with someone I am told something completely different.

I first contacted your support staff when I hadn’t received the wire transfer after a few days (because I have ALWAYS received your wire transfers 1-2 days after they’re sent). I was told repeatedly that everything was in order and that the money should hit my account any day. When the money never came, I continued to contact your support staff, and I was then told that you were having wire transfer problems and that you would have to send my payment via Western Union and that I should receive an email on what would have been 2/3 regarding Western Union. I never received an email, so I again contacted your support staff, and was yet again told something completely different.

Here is a transcript of the most recent chat session that I had with one of your customer service agents:

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Latoya'
xxx: Welcome to our live chat service. How may I help you today?
you: I was told I would be emailed about the status of my withdrawal that was processed back on the 20th, but I have received no such email.
xxx: As the payments Department was closed for the weekend, you should receive an updated today.
you: I was supposed to receive an email on Friday; not over the weekend...
xxx: The request was sent off to them on Friday. It would not have been possible to get a response the same day.
you: When should I hear from them?
xxx: I just spoke with the Payments Department and they advised that you should receive your funds.
you: When?
xxx: It is not possible to give an exact date. I would suggest that you keep checking your account for the funds.
you: No. I need an exact date. This was processed on the 20th! It's now February 6th. What the hell kind of processing time is that? It's far beyond what your terms state.
Latoya: Unfortunately there might have been a delay, however the funds will arrive, but I cannot give an exact date, that is not possible.
you: I can't wait for months at a time to receive my winnings.
xxx: It will not be months.
you: It's almost been a full month!
xxx: The funds were sent off of January 20, today is February 6th, it has not been a month.
Latoya: I am sure the funds will arrive soon.
you: A bank wire takes 1-day.
you: The funds were clearly not sent on the 20th.
xxx: Not an International Bank Wire.
you: Yes. An international bank wire does not take more than a day or two.
you: On Friday, I was told that your bank wires were down at the moment and that my withdrawal would have to be sent via Western Union. Why are you telling me today that my wire was sent on the 20th and that I should receive it "any day now" when that is clearly not the case?
Latoya: The Payments department just advised me, that though there might have been a delay that the funds will still arrive.
you: When?
you: It is IMPOSSIBLE to think that a bank wire that was supposedly sent on the 20th would not already be credited to my account.
xxx: I've already advised that I am not able to give an exact date.
you: And I've advised that I cannot continue to wait weeks (going on months) for a bank wire that was sent on the 20th.
xxx: I am sorry, but there is not much more I can for you at this time. I understand your frustration, but I've already advised that the funds will arrive.
xxx: The delay was due to circumstances beyond our control.
xxx: And we do apologize for the inconvenience.
you: When was my wire sent out?
xxx: January 20th.
you: What's the date today?
xxx: February 6th
you: How many days are in that span of time?
xxx: 17
you: Are you honestly trying to tell me that a bank wire takes 17-days to process?
xxx: I've advised that there was a delay, also weekends do not count as Banks are not open on the weekend.
you: It has been 12-business days. It takes no more than 1-2 days for a bank wire to process (even an international one).
you: When will my wire be sent?
xxx: Please note that there was a delay which was beyond our control.
xxx: The funds will arrive a bit later than normal.
xxx: However I cannot specify exactly when.
you: When will they arrive?
xxx: Unfortunately I will have to end this Chat session as I am unable to assist any further.
xxx: Thank you for chatting. Good-bye.

Now I am all for being patient, and having been a player and affiliate for more than 7-years I am well aware that there are occasional delays, but I have zero patience for the way in which your team is handling this issue. It always baffles me how casino groups (especially ones that have been in business since 1983 as you stated) can put such little effort into communicating with their customers. I’ve had to initiate EVERY instance of contact with your team and had I not done so your actions lead me to believe that I would have been kept in the dark.

In your very own GPWA post (as well as via several live chat discussions) it was confirmed that you are having wire transfer issues, so I feel it’s perfectly acceptable for me to warn fellow affiliates about this issue so that they can take that into consideration when deciding who to promote. Based on how this situation has played out, I am lead to believe that this issue is far more serious than you’re willing or able to admit, so I feel I am perfectly justified in alerting fellow affiliates about what could easily become a major player issue.

Contrary to your beliefs, I am not raising these concerns in an effort to speed up my own payment and I do not appreciate you questioning my professionalism. I am raising these concerns because I consider myself to be a player advocate and nothing upsets me more than when a player is given the runaround as I have been getting for far too long now with regards to this payment.

[NDN]

I'd also like to add that I am sure this will get resolved sooner or later, but it doesn't excuse the fact that Intertops (and many other groups) have some room for improvement when it comes to communicating with their players.

Threads like this wouldn't exist if casinos initiated contact with their players and kept them informed of what was happening.

But since that wasn't the case, hopefully this thread will serve as a learning experience, and will help reinforce the fact that above all other things; communication is key!

Instead of alienating your customers, here's how you can handle this type of situation:

1. Contact your customers FIRST to let them know that there is a problem.
2. Let your customers know how you plan to resolve the problem.
3. If possible, let your customers know an honest time frame for when you expect the problem to be resolved or provide an alternative solution.
4. Use the problem to your advantage to strengthen their loyalty to your brand rather than frustrate them to the point that they will take their play elsewhere.

I've been saying it for years that customer service in general has gone to shit and is only getting worse, so I guess that's why I've dedicated way too much of my time to venting in this thread and dealing with this issue.

It's never about the damn money, it's about companies doing the right thing and valuing their customers so that they can grow their business (and in the case of affiliates - grow our business together).

[maxpot]

+1 to the above, should be first page of the training manual for online poker CS teams.

[NDN]

To update this thread; it is approaching the 1-month mark since I initiated my player withdrawal and since they subsequently claimed to have processed it.

I have yet to receive my payment and it appears as though the affiliate team at Intertops is making no effort to help me resolve this (due to their lack of response to me directly as well as their lack of response to this forum thread).

I once again had to initiate contact with their their player support yesterday and I received no new information.

Today I received an email from them asking for me to send them my bank statement. Is this reasonable for them to request? I'm not sure I'm comfortable sending out my bank statement to an online casino, especially when you can put a trace on a wire (which should have been done by now anyway in my opinion).

I'm especially hesitant to send them my bank statement because I suspect they haven't sent my wire in the first place.

I'd appreciate some feedback on this thread as a whole as well as their request for my bank statement.

[Anthony]

I have been asked for a utility bill, but never a bank statement. I will check in to it.

[NDN]

Update:

I received my payment today, just two days shy of a full month after they insisted it was sent via bank wire, via an alternative method.

My individual payment issue is now resolved, but the way in which Intertops handled this situation is far from resolved and their subsequent silence since their initial response leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

What I take from this is that Intertops has some major payment issues that they are not willing to disclose and that players should be urged to use caution when playing at Intertops (at least USA players).