I unwittingly (ie: stupidly) deposited $500 into a Sports Interaction account in January of 2007 solely for the purpose of betting on tennis. It was the most hellish, irritating, and time-consuming experience I've had with any Internet website (yeah yeah, I know, I should have looked for the SBR site first). 
Anyway I want to briefly describe my adventure to anyone who cares to listen as a way to ward off any new 'adventurers' from that company and to get some sort of recompense (ie: revenge) for the trouble they put me through. Here's a list of all my gripes by date:
1-2007: Joined SI, deposited $500, attempted to place a max $220 bet per their posted rules, but was rejected!; phone call to office found out that I was limited to only $110 (in direct conflict with their posted limit); they said they would get back to me about the reason for this discrepancy but never did; so I just bet $110 (and lost the bet).
6-2007: I tried to bet on tennis again but suddenly it wouldn't allow me to wager!; phone call to office informed me I needed to send them ID & SS#!! Whaaaat?!? I would have none of that so I merely attempted to withdraw my funds. No way -> They wanted ID and SS# crap for withdrawal purposes too! I was irate: Why in the world do I need to give them personal information just to close an account?! I informed the supervisor that: 1. They never asked me for this information before I registered and made my deposit. 2. They accepted my initial wager back in January without stopping me. 3. I was merely attempting to receive payment for an amount LESS THAN I originally deposited so couldn't possibly be gaining anything from this action. 4. If they were afraid of "fraud" then they could merely return the deposit back to the original credit card it came from, no harm on foul. NOT! They insisted on conforming to their illogical rules (ie: they hoped I would leave my $ with them forever); what could I do? - they were in a foreign country far away, so I grudginly complied.
After dozens of emails, delays, and FAXes complete with their annoying requests to "resend due to illegibility etc" BS, I finally got the ok to withdraw my funds; but they, of course, charged me a 'fee' to withdraw.
11-2007: I finally received a check payable to a Canadian bank!; since my bank was U.S., my bank had to charge me a 'fee' to collect on this foreign check!
12-2007: After several weeks of delay, the check bounces!
;SI made some excuse about a closed account, etc (ie: more BS). So do they send me another check in the mail? NOT! They quietly redeposit the funds back into my SI account!!! AND expect me to pay another withdrawal 'fee' to get it out! Is that 'withdrawal pains' or what?; more phone calls, emails, delays later, I convince them to send me another check (minus the 'fee').
3-2008: They sent me a new check to exactly the same address as the previous but suddenly I don't get it!; another phone call reveals that they "cannot mail to a PO Box". Oh, right, but before it was ok? (ie: more BS); more phone calls, emails, delays later I convince them to send me another check to the PO Box.
4-2008: I received the new check (payable to another Canadian bank) and my account gets credited 3 weeks later.
Net Result: A simple transaction that should have taken 1 minute has taken a total of 10months of emails, phone calls, delays, and bank trips and months of aggravation, humiliation, and stress. Is this their idea of being a good 'Sport'?
I have copies of all my emails and the bounced check that can document the validity of my tale for anybody interested.
I hope this story will convince any newbies from participating with this company and to 'promote' SI from a 'D' to an 'F' rating.
Anyway I want to briefly describe my adventure to anyone who cares to listen as a way to ward off any new 'adventurers' from that company and to get some sort of recompense (ie: revenge) for the trouble they put me through. Here's a list of all my gripes by date:
1-2007: Joined SI, deposited $500, attempted to place a max $220 bet per their posted rules, but was rejected!; phone call to office found out that I was limited to only $110 (in direct conflict with their posted limit); they said they would get back to me about the reason for this discrepancy but never did; so I just bet $110 (and lost the bet).
6-2007: I tried to bet on tennis again but suddenly it wouldn't allow me to wager!; phone call to office informed me I needed to send them ID & SS#!! Whaaaat?!? I would have none of that so I merely attempted to withdraw my funds. No way -> They wanted ID and SS# crap for withdrawal purposes too! I was irate: Why in the world do I need to give them personal information just to close an account?! I informed the supervisor that: 1. They never asked me for this information before I registered and made my deposit. 2. They accepted my initial wager back in January without stopping me. 3. I was merely attempting to receive payment for an amount LESS THAN I originally deposited so couldn't possibly be gaining anything from this action. 4. If they were afraid of "fraud" then they could merely return the deposit back to the original credit card it came from, no harm on foul. NOT! They insisted on conforming to their illogical rules (ie: they hoped I would leave my $ with them forever); what could I do? - they were in a foreign country far away, so I grudginly complied.
After dozens of emails, delays, and FAXes complete with their annoying requests to "resend due to illegibility etc" BS, I finally got the ok to withdraw my funds; but they, of course, charged me a 'fee' to withdraw.
11-2007: I finally received a check payable to a Canadian bank!; since my bank was U.S., my bank had to charge me a 'fee' to collect on this foreign check!
12-2007: After several weeks of delay, the check bounces!
;SI made some excuse about a closed account, etc (ie: more BS). So do they send me another check in the mail? NOT! They quietly redeposit the funds back into my SI account!!! AND expect me to pay another withdrawal 'fee' to get it out! Is that 'withdrawal pains' or what?; more phone calls, emails, delays later, I convince them to send me another check (minus the 'fee'). 3-2008: They sent me a new check to exactly the same address as the previous but suddenly I don't get it!; another phone call reveals that they "cannot mail to a PO Box". Oh, right, but before it was ok? (ie: more BS); more phone calls, emails, delays later I convince them to send me another check to the PO Box.
4-2008: I received the new check (payable to another Canadian bank) and my account gets credited 3 weeks later.
Net Result: A simple transaction that should have taken 1 minute has taken a total of 10months of emails, phone calls, delays, and bank trips and months of aggravation, humiliation, and stress. Is this their idea of being a good 'Sport'?
I have copies of all my emails and the bounced check that can document the validity of my tale for anybody interested.
I hope this story will convince any newbies from participating with this company and to 'promote' SI from a 'D' to an 'F' rating.
I called their CS and was told that it was a 'bad line'...all I know is that my wager was accepted and canceled only after the match was final! I'm quite sure that if I had lost that I wouldn't have gotten a refund! I spoke with a CS supervisor, I said that if this situation wasn't reversed that I would find a new book and I was subsequently told to do just that. 
Boy am I glad, I was a little more selective when I chose my next book and I've been with them ever since...7 years. SIA can kiss my white @55! 
