FYI: Worst Withdrawl Process Ever

Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Posts
13
I figured I should share my story as a Buyer Beware cautionary tale.

My withdrawal saga began on Dec. 13 / 2010. As of Feb. 5 / 2011 I had not heard anything, so I sent in a support case. It seems that the support case was necessary to even get the ball rolling. I mean, I worked at a bank, how long does it take to process an international money transfer? The answer is 10 minutes tops... so unless they have 10,000 withdrawals to deal with in a month there is no reason the process should take longer than 5 business days. And we all know they barely have 10000 active players (nevermind 10000 withdrawals). My best guess is they deal with maybe 100 withdrawals a month. That is 1000 minutes of work, which is like a half weeks work for one employee.

They are withholding our money for as long as possible... Note that I welcome a rebuttal from Mindark.

Anyways, the support case on Feb.10 asked what is going on with my withdrawal...they said they needed further banking info. I provided the info (which was the same info that they already had) and they said they would pass it along to the relevant department. A few days later I get an email saying my withdrawal has been cancelled as they do not have the info they need. I send in a support case again and they say this time that my banking info was too confusing and that I need to reapply for my withdrawal. So here I am now... over 2 months later with a newly restarted withdrawal process... I called my bank and they are like all the info that they need to send a withdrawal is there... any normal company would be able to process it.

They are clearly working their hardest to withhold my money... every stupid excuse in the book has been thrown at me.

And nevermind that, what the hell is so hard about sending a cheque... like seriously money transfers are more complicated and more expensive... 50 cents buys you a cheque... you have our addresses just mail cheques. I pay $10 for the right to withdraw my own money, you could you know make this process less hellish.

And the icing on the cake for me is that they have these nice sounding ladies answering the phones... every time I call they claim that the billing department is not available and that they do not have voicemail (wtf kinda claim is that - no voicemail - what is this the ice age). I ask to be connected to the CEO or COO and they are never around and do not have voicemail. I am being lied to. And I am pissed.

I used to love this game, but I am a very principled type of person, you screw me around like this and show me no respect like I am some kind of idiot, I am gone. So I am gone... I'm taking the rest of my peds and leaving for good.

I will keep this thread updated with any new news... I would be happy to change my position and continue to support the economy of our fun little universe. But I am not holding my breath... I know when I'm being pushed around and this is a case of that.
 
wow

Wow, WTF.
This is some BS. I never get the stories I hear about WD. I know it's not exactly as easy as me taking $$ out of an ATM, but still. It's like what you said. It's not like working out a treaty with China
MA, wake the F* up! You are treating your CUSTOMERS like crap.
If it is a RCE, but no one can get their money out... then it's NOT RCE. The peds are only as good as the backer. If My peds cannot be functionally withdrawn then they become worthless after my initial deposit.

Bump up this post. Someone take notice. Buyers beware. I get the feeling MA can do whatever the heck they want and we can do nothing about it. That agreement we click covers everything:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Such a sad story.....



I get the feeling that if someone makes a withdraw, MA needs to get the cash from other people losing in game atm... so if someone withdraw 100k ped, peoples loots is going to suck bawls until people have lost totally 100k ped together... just my thought of it all... so that is why i think it all takes so long .. they simply does not have the cash at the time, which is pretty stupid...


I never enjoyed withdrawing from Entropia, takes AGES... poor costumer support for sure :p but I still enjoy the game... it could just have been soooo much better if they started to respect the customers :D
 
This is all very true, even with companies that have a "very strict" no refunds policy can get your money back to you in a very timely manner, hell ive posted a package from the UK to Australia as cheap as i could and it took 1/5th of the time my withdrawal took.

The only reason i can see that they would be hanging on for so long is that they need to "access" the money from elsewhere, aka they are doing something else with all our money and need the time to get it back so they can circulate it back to your bank acccount. All this BS about money fraud and stuff is just taking the p**s, all in all i think that this game has(had? back from a break) THE worst customer service i have ever experienced when i came to anything important.

All i can get from this is that whenever you deposit your money into EU it goes straight into something highrisk that we would all be better off not thinking about :p

Anyway what happened to MA starting up their own bank?
 
As usual... Nothing :mad:
I am sorry to hear that from u OP thats the way of MA losing customers..

Can you imagine MA's bank though?

Go up to an ATM

Put in your card enter pin.... ****

Click withdraw $50,

message pops up:

"Please contact Customer Services to confirm your cash withdrawal, we hope to have the cash to you in 6-20 working weeks, we hope this transaciton isn't urgent"
 
Anyway what happened to MA starting up their own bank?


I think the banking crisis that affected many countries scuppered that plan. Iceland almost going bankrupt and two British banks having to be propped up by the taxpayer shows that I think they made the right decision to defer / cancel it. :)
 
I can't believe that it has come to me leaving the game completely. When I started playing, 2006ish, I had delusions of grandeur. I started with my buddy (not a real life friend) Shango.. We explored, hunted and talked about being Entropia rich. I loved every minute... I discovered how to be a sneaky miner in pvp4 (this was a few yrs after the start), these were my "golden days". Plus I was in Uni at the time so plenty of gaming time.

Then a buddy (a RL friend) joined up and we started upping the antes a little bit... some new hunting eqpt and buckets full of ammo. I was working at this point, so more disposable income, and less gaming time. So it made sense, lets shoot some big stuff and hit the globs. Needless to say we lost. Of course you lose when playing over your head. But it was good tims nonetheless. And I do not bregudge Mindark whatsoever for this. I gave them money and they gave me fun.

My RL buddy quit within 6 months... too expensive he said... so I went back to mining. I currently reside on NI mining all the new lands up there. Was having fun until I tried to cash out my step-up eqpt... cuz it was time to step down. Now its time to sell the rest of my stuff. So sad.
 
Is their some point to this, by your own admission your provided incorect banking info on Dec. 13. On Feb 5 you provided the same incorrect banking info and you are surprised they canceled your withdrawl? Would you have rather they attempted to use the info you provided and then when the transaction got declined and returned to MA you get charged the 700ped fee for incorrect bank info.
 
simple fact is MA have no money, that is why you cannot withdrawn right now, don't believe me ? go to

London stock exchange and search for Mindark
 
Wow... Was not expecting any misunderstanding at this point... once 5 people seemed to understand

Is their some point to this, by your own admission your provided incorect banking info on Dec. 13. On Feb 5 you provided the same incorrect banking info and you are surprised they canceled your withdrawl? Would you have rather they attempted to use the info you provided and then when the transaction got declined and returned to MA you get charged the 700ped fee for incorrect bank info.

On Dec. 13, I provided the correct banking info... directly from my bank... all the info filled out correctly in my banking info page on the website...

On Feb. 5, we clarified that the info is correct... I even provided the info again... spelt out what each banking # was for.

So Mr. Greyfox, do I have a right to be a little pissed? or do I need to bend-over further bro?

Your talking to me about $70 banking fees... I`ve already suggested to MA that perhaps they can mail me a cheque... that costs 50 cents... plus some postage... so lets call it $3 for some cheap snail mail... They make $7 on the deal... I am fine with that.

I am dealing with human beings over at MA right? We can do things differently in specific situations. If my banking info from Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a little confusing. Let`s make it simple, send a cheque. Easy Peezy.

Anyways, I don`t really want to go head-to-head with you Mr. Greyfox, that was not the point of this thread.
 
Well, it always hard to djuge when you only get ono side of the story. Maybe the information is not clear enough or some kind of misundestanding. But i also belive it could be some truth in that MA have some cash problem and must delay the payments.
 
spelt out what each banking # was for.

How many banking numbers do you need to make a withdrawl? I would think only one. Anymore would be confusing.
And why do you have to describe what each banking number is for? Is the withdrawl supposed to be broken up somehow? Are they supposed to pick one? What would the other numbers be for?

Sorry, I have never made a withdrawl and I am confused.
 
Sounds like your getting the run around, no voice mail in this day and age hell most people have it. GL with the it hate to see people leave but I can understand why.
 
To make a withdrawal internationally you would need the SWIFT code of the bank you are withdrawing to plus the account number of the holder. Also would need the correct name/address match to confirm that the account belongs to person withdrawing. Once you have that it takes no time to effect the transfer, within a day basically. In europe banks usually move money in 3 daily tranches so within few hours of submitting the info the cash moves. Unless of course MA is holding the cash not in a segregated account, but using it for other investments...which may border on illegal if they do not have enough cash on hand segregated to at the very least guarantee the TT value of all accounts...
 
MA takes the money they need to pay for withdrawals out of the money that they receive from deposits for the month. They send the actual money out the following month. It's called an accrual. It allows them to gather all the cash they are going to receive for that period and then use it to pay the withdrawals in the next period. This is why you have to wait 30+ days for a withdrawal. MA is not like a bank where you can easily take money out as you wish. Fact is, the money that you believe is yours is not even yours once you've given it to MA. You legally have no claim to it anymore.

Though it sounds like the real problem here is more of a misunderstanding of account info. Hopefully you can get it worked out.
 
To make a withdrawal internationally you would need the SWIFT code of the bank you are withdrawing to plus the account number of the holder. Also would need the correct name/address match to confirm that the account belongs to person withdrawing. Once you have that it takes no time to effect the transfer, within a day basically. In europe banks usually move money in 3 daily tranches so within few hours of submitting the info the cash moves. Unless of course MA is holding the cash not in a segregated account, but using it for other investments...which may border on illegal if they do not have enough cash on hand segregated to at the very least guarantee the TT value of all accounts...

Yes, which is what i was hinting at,

Considering back in my day i did a large deposit to MA via swift and it took i think 1-2 working days to get there, (approx 30k peds worth) and cost me 15$ i think to do so via my bank, (0.5% of cost)

My withdrawal was half that amount, cost me 10%! (or something like that IIRC) and took 6 weeks to be credited to my account!

I cant possibly see what could take them so long to get my money back to me!
 
to get my money back to me!

Once you deposit it is no longer your money.




It is just an assumption that due to good business practice that MA will return USD in exchange of their PED taken from the account that you control.




Please show me the EULA or other document that says otherwise.
 
Can you imagine MA's bank though?

Go up to an ATM

Put in your card enter pin.... ****

Click withdraw $50,

message pops up:

"Please contact Customer Services to confirm your cash withdrawal, we hope to have the cash to you in 6-20 working weeks, we hope this transaciton isn't urgent"

Hehe well that isnt fun waiting
 
Your talking to me about $70 banking fees... I`ve already suggested to MA that perhaps they can mail me a cheque... that costs 50 cents... plus some postage... so lets call it $3 for some cheap snail mail... They make $7 on the deal... I am fine with that.

You ever try to cash an international cheque in Canada? Not a fun process. I also live in Canada and the two withdrawls I have made so far went off without a hitch so it's not MA's fualt that the banking info you provided could not be used.
Sorry if I was not clear in my first post. I was trying to point out that you must not be providing the correct information they need, perhapse clarifying what information they need, then maybe ask your boss to clarify that you are providing the right info to MA.
 
It is true that MA is slow in their withdrawels but I never had any problems like yours ...

You sure you supplied the correct information as asked? BIC/IBAN/SWIFT?
 
If your bank account details are valid you don`t even need to send support cases. You can just fill out the ingame withdrawal form and that`s about it.

MA improved A LOT regarding withdrawal time. It used to take around 3months in the early days. Today it takes 2-3 weeks and 2-3days for ex-debit Entropia cash card owners.
 
My withdrawals took 3-4 weeks, but no issues with bank information. Also, the bank info form was fairly straight forward.

Sorry to hear the process didn't go smoothly for you. :scratch2:
 
And the icing on the cake for me is that they have these nice sounding ladies answering the phones... every time I call they claim that the billing department is not available and that they do not have voicemail (wtf kinda claim is that - no voicemail - what is this the ice age). I ask to be connected to the CEO or COO and they are never around and do not have voicemail. I am being lied to. And I am pissed.

It's a cultural thing. I'm the product manager for a popular voicemail system and many Swedish companies do not use voicemail to take messages. We have a feature in our product specifically for the Swedish marketplace that instead of taking a voice message, tells the caller that the person they are calling is out of office and when they will be back so that it's on you to call back later rather than on them to call you back. So, I doubt they are lying to you about not having voicemail.

As for talking to the CEO or COO, be realistic, no company is going to transfer you to them. The best you can hope for is the billing department manager.
 
Taketh

Just FWIW:
I've had prety good luck pulling money out, as long as the SWIFT and account name match, its usually less then 25 days. Maybe it helps that I had the debit card (and actually used it when you could) but the process still works if the information is correct.
Depending on the amount, I suppose you could always find someone you trust to pull it out for you?
Either way, Good luck!
Vaps
 
I started a withdrawal about a week ago will keep people posted.

Lets see how long it takes. Maybe US players should get a priority in the que now that the only instant way to take money out is not available in the US.
 
i never had problems in withdrawals...actualy..my last ....few days ago..was made faster then usual. I think if all the info's required are there...you should not have any problem. I'm almost 100% sure..is something mising from your dates..or bank account or something was wrong info.
 
I don't know how canadian banks works, but hasn't there been "problems" with american (USA) banks?

The core of the problem was something like, in USA there is nothing like IBAN/BIC, instead they use something called "routing number" (something simular to swedish "clearing number"). To add to it, there are banks that doesn't handle international transactions themselves, so it's either not possible to deposit to them or it requires too much work (basically, the bank doesn't handle international transactions by themselves, so the money has to go through another account in another bank that do handle international transactions).
 
I pay $10 for the right to withdraw my own money, you could you know make this process less hellish.

You worked in a bank they charge you for all sorts of stupid things! Lloyds TSB in UK charge £17 a month for bank account which offers you all the things you can get for less if you want, but they make it sound so good for ONLY £17 lmfao! Royal Bank of Scotland number 1 current account in UK (as voted by thier own customers) wtf is the deal with that?

Anyways this all does not excuse the crap you are being thrown at you it sounds a bit silly and i'm with you that there is much cheaper and easier ways for them to deal with our money, but if you check a post made recently about MA's accounts the guy says that it takes upto 30 days to process your withdrawl due to the fact they need deposits for the month to pay for it as they no longer have the TT value of our accounts in a bank somewhere, so X amount of depo's is now needed to pay your withdrawl.
 
It's a cultural thing. I'm the product manager for a popular voicemail system and many Swedish companies do not use voicemail to take messages. We have a feature in our product specifically for the Swedish marketplace that instead of taking a voice message, tells the caller that the person they are calling is out of office and when they will be back so that it's on you to call back later rather than on them to call you back. So, I doubt they are lying to you about not having voicemail.

As for talking to the CEO or COO, be realistic, no company is going to transfer you to them. The best you can hope for is the billing department manager.

You learn something new everyday... that's actually hilarious... I was soo mad that they lied to me about Voicemail but apparently they weren't lying. Can some Swedes confirm? Do you or do you not use voicemail?

Anyways, the Saga continues... no new info to report at this point but I am still working on getting the withdrawl sent through. I called my bank again just to make sure MA has everything they need to make the transfer and my bank is pretty confident that if they were in Sweden sending a transfer to their bank it would be pretty quick and easy with the info provided.

Oh and hey JW... long time bro... I hope all is well with you. :)
 
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