Progress update from Ecogra / GP

[giggles7p]

Received this email today from Ecogra about my claim with GP and thought i should share incase someone does not get this.

2/F Berkeley Square House
Berkeley Square
London
W1J 6BD
+44 (0)20 7887 1480
+44 (0)20 7887 1481
4 January 2010
RE: PROGRESS REPORT : GRAND PRIVÉ AFFILIATES PROGRAM INVESTIGATION
Dear Pat,
Thank you once again for submitting your claim in the above connection.
The deadline for the submission of claims passed on 31 December 2009, and we will shortly begin
the analysis and assessment of claims using a range of information from the Grand Privé Affiliates
Program database, your personal claim and the very constructive and useful feedback that we have
received from affiliates and other interested parties advocating on behalf of the affiliate community.
eCOGRA had received a total of 58 claims by the cut-off date, and I would like to assure you that
these will all receive the personal attention of myself and fellow Chartered Accountant Sean
Roberts, a senior and audit-experienced member of my staff.
We intend to complete the work as quickly as possible, commensurate with the professional
thoroughness that this audit requires, and your patience whilst this process continues would be
much appreciated.
Sean and I will be travelling to the Grand Privé operational base in order to carry out our
investigations on site, with full access to all records and the cooperation of the Grand Privé
management. Our mandate covers:
* Independently investigating the manner in which the Grand Privé Affiliate Program was terminated
and the reasons therefore;
* Carrying out a full and independent review of the program software and data to confirm amounts
owed to claimants;
* Determining a fair settlement for claimants taking into consideration the potential lifetime
earnings of each affiliate’s respective players; and
* Compiling a full and transparent report which will be publicly released on conclusion of the
investigation.
Sean and myself have both the specialised professional qualifications and wide relevant experience
to bring a fair and reasonable conclusion to the project, and we will communicate again with you
once we have something concrete to report and discuss. In the meantime, if you have further
information you would like us to consider, please feel free to email Sean at seanr@ecogra.org.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Beveridge, CA(SA) MBA
Chief Executive Officer
eCOGRA Limited

[Dominique]

I got the very same.

[Anthony]

Thank you for sharing giggles.

58 claims, don't you think Grand Prive had more than 58 affiliates?!

[thepokerkeep]

eCOGRA had received a total of 58 claims by the cut-off date, and I would like to assure you that
these will all receive the personal attention of myself and fellow Chartered Accountant Sean
Roberts, a senior and audit-experienced member of my staff.

* Determining a fair settlement for claimants taking into consideration the potential lifetime
earnings of each affiliate’s respective players

I assume this means that if you did not file a claim, you will not receive a settlement.

Considering the fact they have unrestricted access to all records, there is no reason for affiliates to have to file a claim at all.

What a farce!!!

[universal4]

Considering the fact they have unrestricted access to all records, there is no reason for affiliates to have to file a claim at all.

That pretty much sums it up....all they have to do is look at the true stats and then tell GP to pay everyone.

My guess is they will make many excuses not to do so, and at that point I think that their license to use Micro software should be pulled....and this should include the "new" company....

What a farce!!!

Actually I would have said....oops.... public thread.....lol

Rick
Universal4

[MichaelCorfman]

I would like to point out that I have filed a claim on behalf of all GPWA affiliates, so some of the speculation in this thread could prove to be just that. Attached please find an image of that claim. Let's give the process a chance to work.



Michael

[joeyl]

Bryan Bailey mentioned he wanted to know how many affs are really out of money.

57, + Michael's claim is not enough by half.

They need to reopen the aff programme, run the past 12 months of stats through and get paying.

I don't envy Ecogra's positioning here. This firm have had a year to cook the books, then call in Ecogra.

The tgtr covers gaming transactions, not whether a lead came from a serp, type in or aff link.

That aff database had better be bigger than 57 claims plus the gpwa crew.

[Anthony]

...That aff database had better be bigger than 57 claims plus the gpwa crew.

Of course the affiliate database has more than 58+ affiliates and they know it.

Let's have some transparency here and if this is a genuine effort to do what's right, then do something right. Open the books and deal with the issue head on. You don't need a month and a claim process to investigate what you already know. Just my opinion.

[universal4]

I agree Anthony, They should allow eCogra to see the REAL stats, and then claims should be settled from that, not what affiliates filed and asked for since in some cases the claim would be higher than what is truly owed and in many cases the amount owed is likely far above what was asked for.

Rick
Universal4

[casinobonusguy]

I am one of the 58 who filed , is there anyone reading this who did not file and why?

[MichaelCorfman]

They should allow eCogra to see the REAL stats, and then claims should be settled from that, not what affiliates filed and asked for since in some cases the claim would be higher than what is truly owed and in many cases the amount owed is likely far above what was asked for.

The claim form did not require, or even allow, affiliates to specify the amount that they were owed (there would be know way for an affiliate to know the amount to claim without access to their statistics). Just that an affiliate believed they were owed something. The amount is to be determined by eCOGRA as part of the claim processing process. You can see what the claim form looked like from the image earlier in this thread of the claim form I filed.

Michael

[universal4]

What about bank details Michael?

Do you personally, in YOUR OPINION, think it was necessary for eCogra to have asked for bank details?

And, were these bank details filed on a secure site behind a server certificate?

I personally think there were WAY too many variables and too short of a time frame in order for me to make an honest and informed decision about whether to file.

I had way too many questions that were NOT being answered by eCogra in order for me to make an informed decision, since they were NOT forthcoming with any answers.

Rick
Universal4

[casinobonusguy]

Since these guys are auditors , I figured they wanted to match my bank info (moneybookers) with the payment system to see what i was paid and I had no issues giving them my banking info as they have it in my affiliate account details anyway.

[universal4]

If the bank details are in the account and they have access to that information, why ask for it again so it is in yet another database....and behind what security....and who else is being given access to that info?

And honestly, I am not 100% sure I know what banking method I had last used at GP, but if I would be given access to my account I could see that.

Rick
Universal4

[Caruso]

They should allow eCogra to see the REAL stats, and then claims should be settled from that, not what affiliates filed and asked for since in some cases the claim would be higher than what is truly owed and in many cases the amount owed is likely far above what was asked for.

In order to settle fairly, they require nothing more than the database. What they do with it is another matter, but that gives them the necessary information for a fair settlement. And it's as easy as a login to a webpage.

But eCOGRA has chosen to unnecessarily complicate the matter, with the requirement to file a complaint within a one-month period, and the provision of bank details.

Why?

Easy.

The complaint-filers will be the noisy ones, the blacklisters and bad-mouthers. The minority. The rest won't know.

(Side point: Even then, I'm staggered that only 58 people have made complaints. GP was a big, long-standing group. They will have had thousands upon thousands of affs.)

As such, GP hopes to effectively buy an end to the trouble on the cheap. They figure: shut up the noisy minority and that's the job done.

Question: will it work? It's a damn good strategy, if simple and laughably transparent.

The other thing to note is: do not think the negative press has not affected them. They would not be offering money on the table if they were not suffering financially. Negative press WORKS. It's not all about tender negotiations and fond gentlemen's agreements, the way some would like to paint the gambling industry. These are not born-again Christians.

If 58 applicants are offered a settlement, justice wll not have been done.

[mynuw]

I filed and got an email with a settlement amount...