Neteller Question: What Would You Do?

[MrX]

Okay, strictly hypothetical. Say you have $80,000 in Neteller. You have been speaking to customer service and it's clear that there is no solution around the corner for EFTs or checks.

You think your money's probably not going away but you're still pretty uncomfortable with the situation. Do you:

A) Sit tight and wait for weeks or months for them to figure out the EFTs or checks.

B) Wait for your Neteller card to arrive and begin taking out $1000 a day, minus fees, for approximately 3 months.

C) Have your Canadian friend set up a Neteller account, peer-transfer your account balance, minus 1.9% fee, minus whatever conversion fees apply, and then have that friend wire you the money (all the time really hoping they are a GOOD friend!).

D) Something I haven't thought of.

Thanks for any input.

[rolemand]

I'm practically in that situation and I'm only considering A and B right now.

[The Genius]

Good Idea about peer to peer transfer 1.9 fee.

The only draw back could be when ur friend transfers the money to you. You would get red flagged by ur bank and they would make an inquiry as to why you are getting a large volume of money from someone.

Then pray the US Govt does not get involved then you u will never see ur money again

[dodif]

i did B
but only had $2000

peer to peer would be my choice depending on the friend

[DrSlamm]

fees for ATM card is about 4 bucks per 1000 if i remember.. why not just start with that plan and then switch to plan A when possible

[MrX]

Good Idea about peer to peer transfer 1.9 fee.

The only draw back could be when ur friend transfers the money to you. You would get red flagged by ur bank and they would make an inquiry as to why you are getting a large volume of money from someone.

Then pray the US Govt does not get involved then you u will never see ur money again

I'm not too worried about that. I pay my taxes, I live in a state where sports betting is legal, and all money transfers would take place before the new laws go into effect.

To me the downsides of C) are:

- Higher fees than the other solutions.

- By the time I do all the steps required, others may have received their EFTs and checks, making me feel foolish.

- Friend decides they like $80k more than me (not really likely, but I shouldn't completely ignore the possibility)

The obvious upside is I could could actively get a jump on getting my funds which feels much better than the nervous thumb-twiddling I've been doing.

[Korchnoi]

If that money wasn't a significant portion of my bankroll, I'd sit on it for a while and try to find Neteller merchants and buy stuff I need. I think US citizens will be able to get their money out eventually.

[MrX]

fees for ATM card is about 4 bucks per 1000 if i remember.. why not just start with that plan and then switch to plan A when possible

Yes, I should point out that no matter what, when (and if) I see that magical debit card, I'll begin chipping away. I really wish I had applied a long time ago, it was a dumb choice not to.

It would feel much better to be getting SOMETHING right now.

[rolemand]

fees for ATM card is about 4 bucks per 1000 if i remember.. why not just start with that plan and then switch to plan A when possible

That's pretty much my plan. The EFT's are still pending and the card is "in the mail".

[Dead Money]

1000 bucks a day boys. If you don't have the card, GET IT ASAP.


I just have feeling this is not going to be resolved anytime soon( I hope I am wrong).

Less than two weeks now and I'll have all my money!

[David]

Is it possible to open a Canadian neteller account (linked to a Canadian bank account) and transfer your funds into the new account?

[MrX]

If that money wasn't a significant portion of my bankroll, I'd sit on it for a while and try to find Neteller merchants and buy stuff I need.

If there were a Neteller merchant selling gold bouillon or mutual funds, I bet they'd be doing a lot of business right now.

[MrX]

Is it possible to open a Canadian neteller account (linked to a Canadian bank account) and transfer your funds into the new account?

Yes, but you need to provide proof of Canadian residency.

[David]

Yes, but you need to provide proof of Canadian residency.

Do you know what kind of proof they require?

[TLD]

I’ll take B, but here are my thoughts on each:

A. There’s no indication EFTs or checks will resume any time soon, though no one really knows (at least no one who will say). About the only reason people have offered in favor of A over B is “I don’t want to lose my place in line.” But I think this is a trivial consideration. It’s not as if Neteller is fulfilling as many of these requests each day as they can but have fallen behind due to volume; all evidence points instead to the hypothesis that—apparently like many sportsbooks—they have stopped paying and are fulfilling ZERO payout requests each day. So the “line” isn’t moving currently, and if and when they resume paying the “line” will go away very quickly, as I don’t believe for a second it’s some vastly time-consuming, complicated process to make a few keystrokes to send an EFT. Your place in line isn’t helping you at all while they’re not paying, and once they’re paying it will help you only very minimally.

B. I would say this is the obvious choice, but what concerns me is “Wait for your Neteller card to arrive” implying you don’t yet have one. What we know is that 1) People who already have Neteller cards have been able to use them, 2) Some people who ordered Neteller cards before the recent policy changes regarding U.S. customers have subsequently received them, and 3) Some people have ordered Neteller cards after the recent policy changes regarding U.S. customers and have had those requests accepted. However, what we don’t yet know—at least I haven’t seen any evidence of it in any of the forums—is whether those more recently ordered Neteller cards will ever in fact be sent out to the U.S.

If they are, then great. Start draining that Neteller account for the maximum ATM withdrawal every day, and don’t even consider switching to A unless there is unambiguous evidence that EFT and/or check payments have resumed.

C. There is one potential drawback to C to keep in mind before trying this. In another forum a poster reported that Neteller closed his account (he was able to get it reopened after discussing it with them) for doing peer-to-peer transfers with a U.S. customer. Apparently Neteller regards any attempt of a U.S. customer to transfer funds to a non-U.S. customer as a way to get around their rules and indirectly fund their gaming site accounts, and they are flagging such transactions.

For now the ATM card “loophole” is open and you can, slowly, get your money that way. But the peer-to-peer “loophole” is shakier and you’re putting the non-U.S. customer’s account at risk.

[louis]

Move out of the United States

Canada sounds good, but you need to be a resident to get provincial id and/or open up a bank account there.

[goldengoat]

i would not do C

[MrX]

TLD, thanks for the reply. Wow, scary about the peer-to-peer news. I specifically asked the Neteller representative that I just spoke with if that would be an okay solution, and she said that it would be fine.

I guess if I were to attempt this route, I'd communicate EXACTLY what I was doing and make sure that it was alright.

Do you know what kind of proof they require?

I believe a government issued ID card and a utility bill, but I'm not sure.

[TLD]

This was the post:

As a favour to an American friend I agreed to move his large Neteller balance to my Neteller account, then onwards to Pinnacle from where it would be easy to get him his money safely in a timely manner.

We were able to move the money into my NT account through peer-to-peer transfers after which Neteller closed my account because in their judgement it was activity that facilitated an American to be able to gamble online. According to a recent change in Neteller policy they will close any account that appears to be doing this.

Once I got the person responsible for this action on the phone we ended up actually having a very friendly conversation and he reopened my account with the understanding it wouldn't happen again. I'm just posting this as a warning for anyone else thinking of speeding up their Neteller "withdrawals" in this manner. If you try it it won't be as easy as it looks.

I have no idea how reliable the poster is or anything, so give it whatever weight you think is appropriate. I do note that the money went from the U.S. account to the non-U.S. account to Pinnacle, so maybe it would have been different if no sportsbook had been in the loop and the non-U.S. customer had simply withdrawn the money and sent it to the U.S. customer.

[PeterWellington]

I just got my Neteller card today and cancelled my pending EFTs (I completely agree with what TLD said in regards to losing your place in line -- I don't think it will really matter). By the way, if you get a customer service rep who tells you your withdrawals can't be cancelled just keep calling until you get a rep who will let you.

I'll start my daily ATM trips tomorrow. It's worth the trouble of those trips and fees to have the peace of mind that I'm slowly getting my money back. Who the hell knows when those EFTs will get processed?! All I know is the date keeps getting pushed further and further back. If they go through sooner, then great, I'll just stop using the card and make my requests again. I really think that's the best route to go. If they take several months or do something even worse I'd be kicking myself for not doing something about it when I had the chance.

[Sam Odom]

fees for ATM card is about 4 bucks per 1000 if i remember.. why not just start with that plan and then switch to plan A when possible

[pags11]

TLD,

my option is D...stick my head in the sand during the day and follow college hoops, then call up neteller late at night and bitch at them...it's kind of theraputic (and at the same time primative)...just what's working for me...noting what TLD said, I've not heard of one person actually receiving an EFT yet that requested it on the 15th or later...

[Bgee]

Mr. X, I would go with the option of taking a grand out a day. You'll feel better getting something every day instead of worrying if you are going to see a cent. Believe me when that $ comes out of the machine you will feel better.

B

[bside]

This might be completely naive and maybe you cant even do it but doesnt Neteller have brick and mortar shops in London or something? Buy a plane ticket fly to their headquarters and have them cut you a check. They wouldn't be breaking any laws because they are not transferring by wire, right? Plane tickets pretty cheap compared to 80K.

[wrongturn]

It is not naive, it is just not making sense. If they can cut you a check, then why can't they just mail the check to you instead of you flying over there as fedex pickup man?

[MrX]

Believe me, at the first confirmation that I would receive cash, a check, gold, silver, whatever, I will gladly fly to their headquarters, but I don't see that happening.

I'm also very much in favor of using the debit card, but my request for the card is still 'Pending Approval.' I would feel much better getting a grand a day, or even knowing that the card is in the mail, but my current feeling is pretty helpless.

[pags11]

changed my mind and just requested the ATM card last night...this appears to be the way to go...

[TeddyDaRussian]

ATM card is no longer working - I am in the same boat and dont know what to do...

[capitalist pig]

Me, I dont feel real good about this anymore. Had a pending eft, and cancelled it to get a net card and get $ that way.

At this point Id just go online and spend the $ if I could find any neteller merchants. The problem is is I cant find but one, and its a fing coffee shop. Then I thought well maybe someone on e-bay takes them, all I could find there is a poster shop.

I dont really think they ever had any online merchants, it was just a site to transfer $ to gaming sites. If Im wrong here please post a merchant or two that takes neteller.

I hope there not just buying time to announce bankruptcy and not have to pay anyone their $ back. I was more optimistic a couple days ago, but now am feeling like we may not see the $ at all. Hope Im wrong, but at this point, Im not betting on seeing any $ from them.

Later

[pags11]

I'm kind of feeling that way too capitalist...