TLDR: False advertising of 15 minute turnaround time to get your coins. Expect 24+ hours before Wall of Coins even attempts to transfer your coins through the blockchain (which, recently, has entailed an even longer process if the right miner’s fee is not in place), during which there will be little to no communication. There are also additional security “checks” that eliminate your anonymity, including taking a picture of yourself. After beginning the deposit process at 6PM Friday, Wall of Coins credited me the coins on Tuesday of the following week.
Hello all, I am a longtime lurker of this site and it has provided me with great value, especially in navigating the use of Bitcoin for deposits. Since SBRForum mentioned Wall of Coins in its “How-To Bitcoin” training videos, I am here to provide a review about Wall of Coins for those who are considering using it.
1. All of the following points are referencing Wall of Coins and their internal processing time, so this post is not even going to delve into any processing time required on the blockchain itself. In the past, transactions would be complete in under an hour and I would have received my coins in a very timely fashion. As of late, they have changed and now the process is extremely slow, despite the website advertising a 15 minute turnaround and cold storage of the coins. In my last two deposits using Wall of Coins, they have taken over 24 hours to get the funds deposited into my blockchain wallet. During these deposits, they have used stalling techniques under the guise of additional security, beyond the typical 2 factor authentication (email+phone number). After you deposit cash into someone else’s bank account, you have to take a picture of the deposit receipt and write a special message on it. This is standard procedure. However, they have recently used stalling techniques to cover up their slow processing times. My most recent transaction took 3+ days to process. In addition to the standard aforementioned procedure during this most recent transaction, they then required me to send a picture of my license and the deposit receipt, which is contrary to the anonymous spirit of Bitcoin itself. My hands tied at this point, I sent a clear picture of both the license and deposit receipt and they acknowledged receiving it. After 3 hours of “processing,” they then asked for another set of pictures, this time one that included myself holding the receipt and another one with the receipt and my license again. By breaking this process up into 3 different communications with me, they effectively stalled considering that it takes them 2-6 hours to respond in between emails. My response time to them has all been within 30 minutes. By the time all of this was done, a transaction that began around 5:30 PM Friday had been extended to 7:30PM Saturday. What little communication they had ceased on their end after 7:30PM Saturday and at the time of this writing it is Sunday, during which of course they have given me the impression that they do not operate (even though they still accept deposits on Sundays on their website!) because I received no communication at all from them on Sunday. I understand the need for security, but I am a repeat user with a history of nothing but successful transactions in the past, and all of this had led me to the conclusion that they are simply stalling for some reason. Here are a couple of other gripes that I have:
2. Very slow response times (up to 6 hours to respond) and the 800 number you can call to request information never leads to you talking to anyone.
3. No response from them to emails asking about updates on already lengthy deposit processes. Even after a successful deposit, they do not even apologize for the wait. They seem not to care - - even though their website advertises “15 minutes” as the turnaround time to get your coins.
In conclusion, for a service that absorbs 10%+ at minimum of your deposit through their fees and the seller’s stated price, Wall of Coins is not worth the stress and hassle. They are seemingly understaffed by design and, in my opinion, not worth doing business with. I have not used LocalBitcoins yet, but I will certainly undergo more thorough vetting than I did with Wall of Coins before attempting any transactions at Local Bitcoin. I am surprised that there are so few user reviews on Wall of Coins. Most of the reviews through a quick google search are sponsored by what are likely paid-advertisement websites and these reviews appear to be both out of date and out of touch - - they praise a quality-service, expedient Wall of Coins that no longer exists.
Hello all, I am a longtime lurker of this site and it has provided me with great value, especially in navigating the use of Bitcoin for deposits. Since SBRForum mentioned Wall of Coins in its “How-To Bitcoin” training videos, I am here to provide a review about Wall of Coins for those who are considering using it.
1. All of the following points are referencing Wall of Coins and their internal processing time, so this post is not even going to delve into any processing time required on the blockchain itself. In the past, transactions would be complete in under an hour and I would have received my coins in a very timely fashion. As of late, they have changed and now the process is extremely slow, despite the website advertising a 15 minute turnaround and cold storage of the coins. In my last two deposits using Wall of Coins, they have taken over 24 hours to get the funds deposited into my blockchain wallet. During these deposits, they have used stalling techniques under the guise of additional security, beyond the typical 2 factor authentication (email+phone number). After you deposit cash into someone else’s bank account, you have to take a picture of the deposit receipt and write a special message on it. This is standard procedure. However, they have recently used stalling techniques to cover up their slow processing times. My most recent transaction took 3+ days to process. In addition to the standard aforementioned procedure during this most recent transaction, they then required me to send a picture of my license and the deposit receipt, which is contrary to the anonymous spirit of Bitcoin itself. My hands tied at this point, I sent a clear picture of both the license and deposit receipt and they acknowledged receiving it. After 3 hours of “processing,” they then asked for another set of pictures, this time one that included myself holding the receipt and another one with the receipt and my license again. By breaking this process up into 3 different communications with me, they effectively stalled considering that it takes them 2-6 hours to respond in between emails. My response time to them has all been within 30 minutes. By the time all of this was done, a transaction that began around 5:30 PM Friday had been extended to 7:30PM Saturday. What little communication they had ceased on their end after 7:30PM Saturday and at the time of this writing it is Sunday, during which of course they have given me the impression that they do not operate (even though they still accept deposits on Sundays on their website!) because I received no communication at all from them on Sunday. I understand the need for security, but I am a repeat user with a history of nothing but successful transactions in the past, and all of this had led me to the conclusion that they are simply stalling for some reason. Here are a couple of other gripes that I have:
2. Very slow response times (up to 6 hours to respond) and the 800 number you can call to request information never leads to you talking to anyone.
3. No response from them to emails asking about updates on already lengthy deposit processes. Even after a successful deposit, they do not even apologize for the wait. They seem not to care - - even though their website advertises “15 minutes” as the turnaround time to get your coins.
In conclusion, for a service that absorbs 10%+ at minimum of your deposit through their fees and the seller’s stated price, Wall of Coins is not worth the stress and hassle. They are seemingly understaffed by design and, in my opinion, not worth doing business with. I have not used LocalBitcoins yet, but I will certainly undergo more thorough vetting than I did with Wall of Coins before attempting any transactions at Local Bitcoin. I am surprised that there are so few user reviews on Wall of Coins. Most of the reviews through a quick google search are sponsored by what are likely paid-advertisement websites and these reviews appear to be both out of date and out of touch - - they praise a quality-service, expedient Wall of Coins that no longer exists.
