MansionPoker Rip Off

Back in September MansionPoker changed to the IPoker Network and, as I already had two accounts on this network, I decided to cash out.
Easier said than done !

Put in a cash out request and waited.
After two weeks nothing had happened so contacted them again and received the following reply...

Quote.
“Hello Grunta0
In order to withdraw funds from your MANSION account, we require verification of your identity by the following:
1. Photographic identification, such as a copy of your current passport, photo drivers license or government ID card.
2. A utility bill or bank statement clearly displaying your current residential address (dated less than three months).
3. A copy of the front and back of all credit/ debit cards that you have used to deposit funds into your account. You can cover the middle 8 digits of the card, as we only need to see the first 4 digits and the last 4 digits.
When sending your ID, please make sure that your photograph and signature are clearly visible.

Once we have received these documents, we will confirm this via e-mail. Please allow 3 business days for your information to be reviewed and verified prior to requesting withdrawal.
Should we require further information, we will contact you within those 3 business days.

Please note that you will only be required to send your document once, not every time you wish to withdraw. ( Take note of this !) ” End Quote.

Okay sent them all that and asked why they hadn't informed me I needed to do this but received no reply.
Next Email ...

Quote.
Hello Grunta0
Thank you for your e-mail.
We have forwarded your ID to security@mansion.com.
In most circumstances the documentation you provide is sufficient. However, occasionally we require further information before you are able to request your withdrawal and if this is the case then we will contact you accordingly.
In view of this, please allow up to 72 business hours for this information to be reviewed and verified prior to requesting withdrawal.
End quote.

I waited four days then received the following..

Quote
Dear Grunta0
Thank you for choosing Mansion Poker.
We are glad to inform you that we have processed your withdrawal request, code xxxxxx, for the total amount of $234.06.

End of quote

After four days nothing had happened so I looked at my Mansion account and noticed that the funds were back there so contacted them again to which the reply was..

Quote
Hello Grunta0
Thank you for your e-mail regarding your MANISON account.
When you received an e-mail explaining that your withdrawal was being processed, it was indeed processed. However, it has since failed and we have received a message from our Finance Department asking us to contact you.

They have advised that your Credit Card withdrawal in the amount of $234.06 failed as it was declined by your card provider. They have put the funds back in your account balance and advised that you please use another payment method.
I hope this clarifies the situation and I apologise if this caused any confusion.
End of quote

I sent them the following..

Quote
NO ! It doesn't explain anything ! In fact it sounds like a load of bull###### !

First up I am not trying to withdraw money from my credit card so what reason would visa have for not accepting money into the account.

Secondly I have made withdrawals from five other sites over the last month with no problems.
How come your company (a reputed slow paying organisation) is the only one to have problems.

Fix it !
End of quote

To which they replied.

Quote
Hello Grunta0
Thank you for your e-mail regarding your MANISON account.
Please allow me to apologise to you Grunta0 as the withdrawal from your MANSION account was declined by us and not declined by your card provider.

I can see that your account has not been verified and updated for withdrawals and ask that you please send us your ID documents.
In order to withdraw funds from your account, we require verification of your identity by the following:

1. Photographic identification, such as a copy of your current passport, photo drivers license or government ID card.
2. A utility bill or bank statement clearly displaying your current residential address (dated less than three months).
3. A copy of the front and back of all credit/ debit cards that you have used to deposit funds into your account. You can cover the middle 8 digits of the card, as we only need to see the first 4 digits and the last 4 digits.
When sending your ID, please make sure that your photograph and signature are clearly visible.

Once we have received these documents, we will confirm this via e-mail. Please allow 3 business days for your information to be reviewed and verified prior to requesting withdrawal.
Should we require further information, we will contact you within those 3 business days.
Please note that you will only be required to send your document once, not every time you wish to withdraw.
End of quote

So I sent it all off again with a nice little note.

Their reply. Quote.
Hello Grunta0,
Thank you for providing us with your ID documentation which has been received today and passed to our Finance Department for verification.

In most circumstances the documentation you provide is sufficient. However, occasionally we require further information before you are able to request your withdrawal and if this is the case then we will contact you accordingly.

In view of this, please allow up to 96 hours for this information to be reviewed and verified prior to requesting withdrawal.
Thank you for choosing to play at MANSION. End quote

LOL
So now I am waiting for the next episode in the saga !

As can be seen the sum in question is not a large one so I am glad I found out what these people are like before I built it up further.
Also I never deposited any money in to this site so if they rip me off I have only lost time.

I strongly advise anyone who is thinking of joining this site to not do so and anyone who is already a member should try to get their money out before wasting any further time playing there.
If you play and lose that is just bad luck (or bad play) but to win and then be unable to cash out is criminal.

Footnote. Notice that half their people can't even spell Mansion correctly.

sounds like they are incompetent, but i dont know that anything else is afoot here. somebody goofed looks like and nobody wants to admit that so its time to pass the buck and blame somebody/anybody else. hope you get your money soon.

Wow, that sucks, the ID and other personal information required to withdraw is STANDARD however now with pretty much ALL poker sites. You must jump thru their hoops if you want to get your money out.

Thats why full tilt, and pokerstars, are the best sites to work with as they have hassle free withdraws for the most part. You take your own risk gambling at a lesser known poker site.

Still this sucks, usually its not that bad... when I had to send my stuff to Cake poker, they did it very quickly and efficently. I got my cheque in like 2 weeks from them.

Ive never ever heard of mansionpoker, so theres your first clue.

In your first sentence you stated you had two accounts, might that be the problem? Just asking

Three

No I actually have three accounts on the IPoker network (Titan, CDPoker and Mansion) which was the original reason for my cashout request.

As my online names and sign on names are different this shouldn't matter but good thought anyway.

Mansion is reputedly a reasonably large site supposedly run by the government of Gibralter.

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments made about PokerStars. I have cashed out several times from that site this year and my money normally arrives in 4 to 6 days.

Thanks for the replies !

ongoing

SO the saga continues.

After contacting them I received an email apologising for the delay and telling me my cash out request had been turned over to Security.

I then receive an email from security saying they needed to verify my ID.
So I sent it to them again (third time.)

A couple of days later I get an email from security saying my ID has been accepted closely followed by an email from accounts saying my cash out is being processed.

Today I look at my Poker account and find THE MONEY IS BACK IN THERE AND MY WITHDRAWAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

These people are TOTAL MORONS.

Wow..........what an unreal bunch of BS they are putting you through. It's now beggining to sound like there might be something criminal going on as this many mistakes and "passing the buck" (pardon the pun) doesn't seem plausible. Thank you for informing us all, let us know progress, and you might want to contact someone in admin here or at the internet gaming commission to see if these guys are going under. Your time is probably worth more than chasing it, but that may also be part of their current operating procedure. If they just keep putting everyone on the "mistake list", it may be a sign they are about to go under. Better Luck!!

Mark
dejrfan57

It isn't run by the Gov of Gibraltar, it's a registered company there. I withdrew my funds from there a long time ago. Didn't have a problem there, just didn't see the point as I also have CD and Titan.

I recommend them...especially since they used to be famous for their freerolls and MTT Overlays (that they always paid). I also like the fact that a sportsbook and casino are attached.

I have grown a little concerned with what seem like frequent site hickups and technical problems

This is the first I have heard of an extended payout problem. I will look into more to see if I should continue to recommend.

grunta0 said:

No I actually have three accounts on the IPoker network (Titan, CDPoker and Mansion) which was the original reason for my cashout request.

As my online names and sign on names are different this shouldn't matter but good thought anyway.

Mansion is reputedly a reasonably large site supposedly run by the government of Gibralter.

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments made about PokerStars. I have cashed out several times from that site this year and my money normally arrives in 4 to 6 days.

Thanks for the replies !

Click to expand...

ipoker sites shouldnt be a problem. I have Titan CD, bet fred, bet365, nobles and mansion and Im ok withdrawing

IPoker sites aren't normally a problem but Mansion is !

They said they couldn't cash out to my credit card (although I have done it several times from other sites) so I said "send me a cheque".

They said they don't do cheques so I said do it by money transfer.

They said register the details of your account from the list of banks provided. They deal with only one bank in Australia and I don't have an account there.

It seems they are just trying to make it as difficult as possible and hoping I will give up so they can keep the money.

I posted this on a couple of other forums and several people said that they had also been ripped off by Mansion.

This isn't really a mansionpoker issue....the UIEGA or whatever forbids a bank from doing business with a casino/poker site. I haven't looked into mansion at all..but there HAS to be a way to get your money out, I'm sure that it probably won't be easy, but keep trying, from what I've read here, they're all reputable companies.

Wonka22 said:

This isn't really a mansionpoker issue....the UIEGA or whatever forbids a bank from doing business with a casino/poker site. I haven't looked into mansion at all..but there HAS to be a way to get your money out, I'm sure that it probably won't be easy, but keep trying, from what I've read here, they're all reputable companies.

Click to expand...

That's interesting !

How can other sites (PokerStars, Titan and Absolute to name a few) pay me out this way if it is illegal ?

Onward and (hopefully) upward !

Sent an email to Mansion in which I called them co######ers and several other names. How surprising, got an answer immediately

Quote
"Hello Grunta0,

We refer to your recent communication.

Your card provider has imposed the restrictions on your card and as advised you will need to request an alternative method of withdrawal.

You may withdraw via bank transfer and you can register your details by accessing the cashier.

We do not issue cheque payments so unfortunately this is not an option available to you.

However, we would ask that you refrain from sending offensive e-mails when requesting assistance from this department.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation in this matter.
End quote.


I went to the Cashier to put in my details but they only do business with one Bank in Australia and I don't have an account there. I informed them of this and their reply was.

Quote
Hello Grunta0,

Thank you for contacting MANSION Member Services with your enquiry.

First of all I would like to offer you our most sincere apologies for most recent responses you have received advising you to attempt to withdraw via Bank transfer after you had already informed us that you do not possess a Bank account.

Your details have been forwarded to our Finance department for them to further advise on the withdrawal options currently available to you, we will contact you as soon as we have any update on the situation.

We thank you in advance for your patience and hope this matter has not inconvenienced you in any way.
End of quote.

LOL

Contacted Visa (by phone) with regard to the "alleged" attempt to transfer funds to my account by Mansion. They informed me that they had not received any transfer request and at no time had they refused to accept deposits to my account. They also quoted details of deposits by other poker sites over the last six weeks.

I emailed Mansion this information.

I also sent an email to the Gibraltar Government ,Department of Commerce informing them of this matter and received a reply this morning.

Quote.
Dear Sir,

It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance and please excuse any delays in response.

However, with regards to e-gaming complaints I suggest that you get in contact with the relevant department directly, namely:

Nicholas Macias

Assistant Gambling Supervisor

Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

Suite 811, Europort, Gibraltar


Tel: +350 20074636

Fax: +350 20072166

Email: nicholas.macias@gra.gi


Nonetheless, should you require anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.
End quote.

I also received an email from Mansion this morning.
Quote
Hello Grunta0,

Please be advised that your first withdrawal was declined and put back into your account, whereas the second has been processed and should arrive within 3-4 business days.

Please perform a new withdrawal for the funds that were put back into your account as it should be processed without any problems as your documentation has been received and verified.

Our sincere apologies for the delay.

Thank you for choosing MANSION and please do not hesitate to get back in touch if we can be of any further assistance.
End quote

Note that in the first paragraph it says the withdrawal "has been processed" and in the second it says "perform a new withdrawal".

Why would I need to perform a new withdrawal if it's already been processed ?

Five minutes after I sent the sixth/seventh (I've lost count) pay out request I received this.

Quote
Dear Grunta0,

My name is Justin and I am contacting you on behalf of the Security department at Mansion.com, with regards to your withdraw.

Please note that, unfortunately your withdraw was cancelled and the funds reimbursed onto your account, due to the fact that the chosen CFT method is not supported by the card used to withdraw.

Therefore I kindly suggest that you visit our cashier and select an alternate method of withdrawing you funds that is offered
If you have any queries or require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Kind Regards,

Justin

MANSION.COM Security Team

security@mansion.com

Unquote

Followed by...

Quote.
Hello Grunta0,
Thank you for your email. We do appreciate your frustration, the withdrawals were processed how ever the payments have been rejected by Visa, our web site does state:
You will only be able to select and make a withdrawal to a card from which you have previously made a deposit. Due to card scheme rules we are not able to process non UK mastercard withdrawals.
We are also temporarily unable to process UK Mastercard withdrawals. Visa withdrawals can be made to cards issued in countries other than prohibited countries.

The prohibited country list is: Australia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, india, Japan, Malaysia, new zealand, South Korea, United States.

We are liaising with our Finance Department to have your funds returned back into your MANSION Account.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience in this matter. If you have any further queries or require any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us again.
End Quote.

What F$##@#n patience !

Then I sent them all of my bank details and asked them to do an EFT which should take about one minute.
Reply.

Quote
Hello Grunta0, Thank you for your email.
We have every intension of paying you your funds, it is unfortunate that Visa do not allow deposits back from us.
We of course can process a bank transfer, please enter the cashier and click withdraw then choose bank wire fill in your bank details including the IBAN number ( international bank number) and we shall be happy to process this for you.

Please be advised that the funds will reach your account in 5-7 days from the date your withdraw is processed. If you have any further queries or require any assistance in the future, please contact us again.
End quote.

Round and round in circles. Total Effin morons.

ok i've an idea- i have an account their we sit heads up, you intentionally lose all your money to me. then i'll withdraw it and send you the money, sounds good, yes?
i wont rip you off honestly, why would I ? getting a cheque for £15,000,000 any day now from (should not really tell you) a new friend in Kenya that works for a bank and he has access to a dead egyptian multi - millionaire business mans bank account. yippeeeeeee good times are coming.

anyway let me know if you want help.

shiver said:

ok i've an idea- i have an account their we sit heads up, you intentionally lose all your money to me. then i'll withdraw it and send you the money, sounds good, yes?
i wont rip you off honestly, why would I ? getting a cheque for £15,000,000 any day now from (should not really tell you) a new friend in Kenya that works for a bank and he has access to a dead egyptian multi - millionaire business mans bank account. yippeeeeeee good times are coming.

anyway let me know if you want help.

Click to expand...

Don't count ur sheckles yet. I've instructed my attorneys to file an injunction to prevent them from giving you any of my inheritance, as I am the sole surviving heir to the entire fortune.

Your friend at the bank is gonna get his butt in big trouble for giving away any of my money.

what you saying? but i gave him all my bank details as well he told me he tried to find any relatives and failed. dang, he also told me not to discuss it at all till it had gone through.

Wonka22 said:

This isn't really a mansionpoker issue....the UIEGA or whatever forbids a bank from doing business with a casino/poker site. I haven't looked into mansion at all..but there HAS to be a way to get your money out, I'm sure that it probably won't be easy, but keep trying, from what I've read here, they're all reputable companies.

Click to expand...

UIEGA only pertains to Americans so it has nothing to do with grunta who is from Australia

grunta, there is another helpful option. You can go to Casinomeister which is a casino watchdog and player advocate and includes a forum to discuss problems. They will mediate problems as well. I understand your frustration, but sending obscenities will only hurt you.

shiver said:

ok i've an idea- i have an account their we sit heads up, you intentionally lose all your money to me. then i'll withdraw it and send you the money, sounds good, yes?
i wont rip you off honestly, why would I ? getting a cheque for £15,000,000 any day now from (should not really tell you) a new friend in Kenya that works for a bank and he has access to a dead egyptian multi - millionaire business mans bank account. yippeeeeeee good times are coming.

anyway let me know if you want help.

Click to expand...

This sounds really good !

Where do I sign up ?

WEC said:

UIEGA only pertains to Americans so it has nothing to do with grunta who is from Australia

grunta, there is another helpful option. You can go to Casinomeister which is a casino watchdog and player advocate and includes a forum to discuss problems. They will mediate problems as well. I understand your frustration, but sending obscenities will only hurt you.

Click to expand...

WEC thanks for your reply.

Just went over and had a quick look at the site and it is worth a try.

Have another couple of irons in the fire at the moment.

1. Sent an email to the Minister for Gambling in the Gibraltar government.
2. Opened a Moneybookers account and am trying to cash out that way.

See how we go !

grunta0 said:

WEC thanks for your reply.

Just went over and had a quick look at the site and it is worth a try.

Have another couple of irons in the fire at the moment.

1. Sent an email to the Minister for Gambling in the Gibraltar government.
2. Opened a Moneybookers account and am trying to cash out that way.

See how we go !

Click to expand...

Im sure Moneybookers will work for you

Let us know

Here is the next mind bogling chapter !
Sent them my Bank details again and received this reply.

Quote.
Thank you for contacting MANSION Member Services with your enquiry.

First of all I would like to offer you our most sincere apologies for most recent responses you have received advising you to attempt to withdraw via Bank transfer after you had already informed us that you do not possess a Bank account.
Your details have been forwarded to our Finance department for them to further advise on the withdrawal options currently available to you, we will contact you as soon as we have any update on the situation.

We thank you in advance for your patience and hope this matter has not inconvenienced you in any way.
End quote.

So I sent them another email advising that they should have my bank details.

Reply. Quote.
Please be advised that your first withdrawal was declined and put back into your account, whereas the second has been processed and should arrive within 3-4 business days.

Please perform a new withdrawal for the funds that were put back into your account as it should be processed without any problems as your documentation has been received and verified.

Our sincere apologies for the delay.

Thank you for choosing MANSION and please do not hesitate to get back in touch if we can be of any further assistance.
End quote

Followed five minutes later by...
Quote.
My name is Justin and I am contacting you on behalf of the Security department at Mansion.com, with regards to your withdraw.
Please note that, unfortunately your withdraw was cancelled and the funds reimbursed onto your account, due to the fact that the chosen CFT method is not supported by the card used to withdraw.

Therefore I kindly suggest that you visit our cashier and select an alternate method of withdrawing you funds that is offered

If you have any queries or require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. End quote.


Okay so we have discovered a few things about Mansion.
First they are all total effin morons.
Second they don't like to pay out and third ... They have two departments Cashier and Security who do not speak to each other.


So I sent them an email and asked (very politely) if they could possibly contact each other by phone and discuss the problem, then get back to me and let me know what I need to do next.

Reply. Quote.
Thank you for your email.
We do appreciate your frustration, the withdrawals were processed how ever the payments have been rejected by Visa, our web site does state: You will only be able to select and make a withdrawal to a card from which you have previously made a deposit.
Due to card scheme rules we are not able to process non UK MasterCard withdrawals. We are also temporarily unable to process UK Mastercard withdrawals. Visa withdrawals can be made to cards issued in countries other than prohibited countries.
The prohibited country list is: Australia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, United States.

We are liaising with our Finance Department to have your funds returned back into your MANSION Account.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience in this matter.
If you have any further queries or require any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us again. End quote

Hmmm is it just me or does everyone get the feeling we are going in circles ?

Sent them an email saying that it was obvious they had no intention of paying me and that I was contacting the Minister for Gambling of Gibraltar.
Sent him an email as well.

Reply. Quote.
Thank you for your email. We have every intension of paying you your funds, it is unfortunate that Visa do not allow deposits back from us.
We of course can process a bank transfer, please enter the cashier and click withdraw then choose bank wire fill in your bank details including the IBAN number ( international bank number) and we shall be happy to process this for you.

Please be advised that the funds will reach your account in 5-7 days from the date your withdraw is processed. End quote.

Didn't I get this email last week ?

As I had already sent them my bank details a couple of times I decided to try a different approach. Opened a Money bookers account and sent them all the details along with a cash out request.

Reply. Quote.
Thank you for choosing to play at Mansion Poker!
We have received your withdrawal request for the total amount of $234.06, together with your preferred payment method of Money bookers .

Please be advised that all withdrawal requests are processed 4 business days following the request date, as per our Withdrawal Policy, unless stated otherwise according to your VIP level advantages.
Your withdrawal request will be displayed in the "Pending Withdrawals" section of the casino's Cashier (located in the casino Lobby) until the day it is processed.

PLEASE NOTE: All withdrawals will be first credited to your FIREPAY cards (if you use this payment method) up to the total original amount that was deposited per card. The balance will then be sent to you via your choice method. Please also note that we can no longer issue credits against previous MasterCard and Visa deposits.
End.


Also received a reply from the Minister.
Quote.
Thank you for your email below, I confirm safe receipt of it.

Please be advised that I have other work commitments and projects today that require my immediate attention, and cannot therefore tend to your issue straight away.
I expect, however, to revert to you very shortly.

Yours sincerely
Nicholas Macias,
Assistant Gambling Supervisor
End quote.

Now we are getting somewhere !

Next email. Quote.
Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve your withdrawal.

Our Finance Team have contacted me to inform me that they can not process your Money Bookers withdrawal you requested on the 07 - 11 - 2008 at 03:48:08 due to the incorrect information given to them.
When requesting a Money Bookers withdrawal, they need the email address registered to the money bookers account so they can process it back to the right account.

Unfortunately the detail provided in this instance was incorrect and your withdrawal is still waiting.
If you have a MoneyBookers account could you please double check the details and email me back with them or the second option is;

If you do not want to proceed with Money Bookers we can perform a bank transfer and return the funds to you that way.
In order for me to instruct my Finance Team accordingly I will need the following details:

Your Name on your Bank Account
Your Bank Name
Yuur Bank Address
Your BSB code
Your SWIFT code
(If you are unsure of any of the above please speak to your bank and ascertain the correct details required for an international bank transfer otherwise the Bank Transfer will not complete). End.

Okay I guess I have to be fair here. It is possible that I have more than one email address (but as I gave them the account number I can't see what difference it makes.) Sent them my email address.

Reply. Quote.
We are glad to inform you that we have processed your withdrawal request for the total amount of $234.06.
For your convenience, please note the withdrawal details: The total amount of $234.06 will be credited to your Moneybookers account xxxxxxxx within 24 hours.
End.

Great (that was yesterday).

This morning...
Quote.
Thank you for your e-mail regarding your MANSION account.

Our Finance Department have advised that they are not able to process your Moneybookers withdrawal due to an invalid username. Your Moneybookers username should be your registered email address.

If you could kindly provide the correct username we will then be able to process your withdrawal. We thank you for you for your patience and cooperation, in the mean time, if you require any future assistance, please contact us. End

And

Quote.
Good afternoon

My name is Lyn and I am contacting you on behalf of the Security department at Mansion.com, with regards to your account

Our finace department have contacted me to inform you, that the swift code you have given us is not the correct one, I ask that you contact your bank and ask them for the correct code.
Please rest assured that I am personally dealing with your account and can assure you that I am doing my utmost to ensure, that these funds are processed without any further undue delays .

Please reply as soon as possible with the correct information, for without this we cannot process these funds. End.


WTF. These people are definately not on the same page.

OK, here is the finale to the fiasco.

Seven more emails to Mansion.
One more email to the Minister for Gambling, Gibraltar and one more cash out and THEY PAID !

I think it was the last email to the Gambling Minister that did the trick.

The first thing I did was check my moneybookers account to make sure the money was there then I DELETED MANSIONPOKER FROM MY HARDDRIVE.

All in all it took something like 50 emails, 5 identity verifications, 4 bank account verifications, 3 moneybooker account verifications and 2 emails to the Government of Gibraltar.

I thank all of you who offered advice and/or answered my post.

If you know, or hear of, anyone contemplating playing at Mansion then direct them to this post and then, if they still want to play there, that is their problem.

All the best.