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I’m not sure if this is the correct place for posting this but I’ll allow the Moderators to decide where it is most appropriate…
The first issue concerns Hotel Casino Network. I made my initial deposit of $200 on June 17th. I was issued a $100 bonus which I did not want so I sent a message to support asking that the bonus be removed (this is how the website advises this situation should be handled). I never received a response. I submitted the request again days later. Keep in mind that I never played any games at all. I still received no response. There is no contact information beyond the single email address they have listed on their website, so I continued to send messages without ever receiving any responses. As far as I can tell, there is nobody there! It’s really quite amazing! Obviously I was a bit concerned at this point so I withdrew the $200 I had originally deposited, leaving the $100 bonus in my account since it was not my money. This is the current status of the account and I still have not heard from anyone who has anything to do with HCN.
The second issue I have is with Sandpiper Casino. I have made several deposits with this casino and always lost them until the last time I played there when I was able to put together a withdrawal of $2850. I placed that request on July 11th and it has now been over 2 weeks yet I still do not have my funds. I have been able to reach their support and they told me this on July 24th:
As the payment requests come in, they are handled automatically in that order. If there is a high number of payouts it takes a little longer, since this is all done automatic, pulling your info could lose your place. It should be very soon though. Sorry for the delay.
This explanation does not seem appropriate to me and in fact I get the feeling that I’m being fed a bunch of crap. I’d like to know the real reason why it is taking so long to get me my money. I sincerely hope that someone here can sort this out for me.
Nickpicky,
Was your deposit via Neteller?
I’m also interested in a response to this.
dalster44
Hi NickyPicky,
Many thanks for informing us of your issues with both HCN and Sandpiper casinos. We are not sure why your player enquiries are going unanswered but will do our best to see if our contacts can help. We only handle the affiliate support as we are an independent affiliate network.
We would also like to inform you that we sent an email to our affiliates this week letting them know that the HCN affiliate program was closing in Income Access as of July 31st , 2006.
In regards to Sandpiper casino, once again, we only handle the affiliate support but will do our best to get your issues resolved. Can you please send us your player account information, including your player id, and we will follow it through for you with our contact at Sandpiper. Please send your details to our affiliate team for Sandpiper at [email protected].
Thanks again for getting in touch with your issues and concerns. We’ll do our best to have them resolved.
Kind regards,
Vanessa
Affiliate Marketing Coordinator
Income Access
[email protected]dalster44 wrote:Nickpicky,Was your deposit via Neteller?
I’m also interested in a response to this.
dalster44
Yes, all deposits have been made via Neteller.
Vness wrote:Many thanks for informing us of your issues with both HCN and Sandpiper casinos. We are not sure why your player enquiries are going unanswered but will do our best to see if our contacts can help. We only handle the affiliate support as we are an independent affiliate network.I realize that your activities are independent of the institutions you advertise for promotion, but surely you recognize that your program’s reputation is inexorably tied to the performance of the wagering products you offer. Are affiliates OK with promoting casinos that are substandard when compared to everything else that is CAP certified?
As I only use online casinos, I am unable to comment on your bingo, poker, or sportsbook offerings but these are some things I have noticed about your casino products…
AusVegas and Lasseters; both government-regulated (Australia) properties that seem quite safe. The gameplay and bonus structures are uninspiring but the support is beyond adequate in terms of availability and severely lacking in terms of proficiency. In the name of “security”, the payout system they use is ABSURD.
I made an initial deposit on which I received a bonus. I then lost the entire balance. On my second deposit I was issued a bonus which I requested to have removed. The support agent did this without difficulty. I then played and won and tried to withdraw. That’s when the fun began.
To place a withdrawal it was necessary for me to receive a PIN. That PIN was only issued to me once I provided documentation identifying myself and my address. Once I had this PIN in hand, I realized I needed a “security keyword” that was different from my password. After contacting support I was able to satisfy that step also. As I had deposited through Neteller, I wanted to receive my winnings through Neteller, but this is not possible. Instead, I only have one option available and that is bank draft. That one option has a fee of $5 associated with it and an extensive waiting period since the check is coming from Australia! The claim is that this is another security measure and once you receive your first check, you give them the check number and they upgrade your account so that you can utilize the full suite of options for withdrawals. How nice of them to upgrade players to the level at which every other online casino starts with! I suppose this is the most antiquated system in the entire online gambling industry. Keep in mind I have already submitted documentation and my deposit method is one that conducts an extensive background check also.
After going through all this, I try to make my withdrawal and I receive a message stating that the wagering requirements have not been met. This is interesting considering I expressly requested removal of my bonus so that I would not have any wagering requirements. I contacted support immediately and after 30 minutes of discussion I was informed that the previous agent had made it appear in the system that my first bonus was removed and the second was still in place. Eventually the agent was able to realize the error and he told me that everything was fine for me to withdraw.
I finally manage to submit a withdrawal that the software will accept and it reaches pending status. I felt like throwing a party after this accomplishment. Now I’ll just wait for the check to arrive. I waited for over 3 weeks and nothing came. When I logged into my account to contact support, I notice that my balance is back in my wagering account! I ask support what happened. The same person I spoke with 3 weeks previously tells me that it was reversed because I had not met wagering requirements! I could only laugh at this point. He asked if I had been informed that the money had been sent back to my account. Of course I hadn’t. After yet another lengthy review of my account, he promised me that I would have no further difficulty placing a withdrawal.
I requested that withdrawal 2 weeks ago and I still don’t have the check. I can state unequivocally that this is the worst banking system of any online casino I have ever used.
Keep in mind that even with all this, these two are the best casino products Income Access can offer for promotion. In subsequent posts I’ll discuss the rest of the offerings.
Vness wrote:We would also like to inform you that we sent an email to our affiliates this week letting them know that the HCN affiliate program was closing in Income Access as of July 31st , 2006.For what reason are you ending your relationship with HCN? Are you having difficulty contacting them?
I suppose this is good news for people who might have considered marketing HCN, but I am alarmed that you would be allowing anyone to promote them as of this very instant. It is blatantly obvious that there is absolutely nobody running this operation. I don’t understand how you can continue to have your name attached to this organization.
Casino Webcam is another client of yours. This client also provides only one email address for support issues. As with HCN, there are no phone numbers, no live chat, and no secondary email addresses. Is Income Access comfortable taking on clients such as this?
Jackpot Joy may be your most player-friendly site, but its landing page makes it appear to be a casino portal site. As with most flash casinos, its graphics and gaming are subpar and it just doesn’t “seem” to be the most secure environment.
I’ve now commented on all 5 casino clients you work with. It seems there is not a strong option out of the whole group. I’d love to be able to support casinos that have something unique to offer, but all of these properties are falling very short when it comes to the necessities. Wouldn’t it be in the best interests of Income Access and their affiliates to push these casinos to clean up their acts before they push these casinos to the public? I know that if I were an affiliate (I hope to be soon), I would cringe at the thought of sending supporters of my site to any of these entities.
In many ways I’m trying to vent my frustration, but I’m also trying to remain constructive. Thankyou for being available here and responding quickly.
Jackpotjoy is one of the largest casino sites in the UK, and I have been promoting them for some time, and they are impeccable.
Their front page is exactly the way the target audience likes it.
I have also promoted webcam for some time, and found it attracts mostly above average players.
HCN – I guess is not making it. Happens.
Dominique wrote:Jackpotjoy is one of the largest casino sites in the UK, and I have been promoting them for some time, and they are impeccable.Their front page is exactly the way the target audience likes it.
I have also promoted webcam for some time, and found it attracts mostly above average players.
HCN – I guess is not making it. Happens.
So I guess “happens” is now a reasonable excuse for behavior such as this by online casinos? It gives me the impression that you are only concerned about the affiliate side of the business as opposed to player perception. As long as your getting checks for player losses, everything’s fine, right?
As I said before, Jackpot Joy is likely the most player-friendly of all the Income Access clients primarily because it is a glorified chatroom. There is certainly a market for that but it doesn’t make their functionality more desirable to a real player at all. Contrasting that with a solid institution such as 32Red makes a player feel like she/he is dealing with 2 completely different industries. If by impeccable you mean they leave much to be desired, as a player I would agree with you wholeheartedly.
Casino Webcam is nothing more than the “live” offering of Playtech which is handled much more effectively by industry heavyweights such as Aspinalls or Top Card. How many of your “above average” players are willing to stick around with Webcam when their direct competition offers a better product and multiple support channels as opposed to one email address that “promises” to be answered in 24 hours. Additionally Casino Webcam has the following subpar rules taken directly from their website:
Withdrawals are processed once per week, generally on Saturdays or Sundays.
The maximum withdrawal limit for winnings is set at US$5,000 per 30-day period.
Casinowebcam reserves the right to freeze and forfeit player accounts due to actual or suspected Fraudulent activity;
– Attempts by the player to circumvent the normal odds of the game played via electronic or other methods,
– and/or employing playing methods, including but not limited to the following; such as observing and/or recording deal outcomes over a period of time via login to Casinowebcam and/or Licensee sites,
– Using a system of progressive betting for example on Roulette over an extended period of playnickpicky wrote:The second issue I have is with Sandpiper Casino. I have made several deposits with this casino and always lost them until the last time I played there when I was able to put together a withdrawal of $2850. I placed that request on July 11th and it has now been over 2 weeks yet I still do not have my funds. I have been able to reach their support and they told me this on July 24th:As the payment requests come in, they are handled automatically in that order. If there is a high number of payouts it takes a little longer, since this is all done automatic, pulling your info could lose your place. It should be very soon though. Sorry for the delay.
This explanation does not seem appropriate to me and in fact I get the feeling that I’m being fed a bunch of crap. I’d like to know the real reason why it is taking so long to get me my money. I sincerely hope that someone here can sort this out for me.
This arrived in my email a few hours ago:
Hi David,
We have just been informed that Sandpiper Casino will be closing down effective August 1st. The Sandpiper affiliate program will therefore also be deactivated.
We apologize for the last-minute notice, but we wanted to let you know about this as quickly as possible so that you don’t risk losing any traffic beyond July 31st. Please remove all your links to Sandpiper on your site. Any outstanding commissions will be paid to you in the next commission payout period.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to assist. Thanks for your participation and support in the Sandpiper affiliate program.
You can replace your Sandpiper links with our other Income Access casino properties. Have a look at our merchant list at http://www.incomeaccess.com/merchants_overview.asp.
Once again, our apologies for the short notice.
Engineer wrote:This arrived in my email a few hours ago:Thank you, David. I guess it “Happens”.
So this is the second casino Income Access will be removing from their program this month and we’ve been notified of the removals a week before they are going to occur. Should I avoid writing further negative comments about Casino Webcam?
Is it standard practice for affiliate programs to be out of touch with the clients they are supporting?
Way to go Nick, that’s all i gotta say
I play poker and bet on sports(rarely play casinos), and if i ever had to go through anything like that with a place i conduct business with, i would just snap
Just keep it coming, tell it like it is, i am a player 1st, then affiliate, i wanna know these things
Any place that requires you to make more of an effort to withdraw funds than you would to deposit funds is good for a permanent blackmark in my book
I just received an attractive promotional email from Sandpiper detailing some exciting reload bonuses and how they have “fast payouts”.
The longer I receive no answers from Income Access, the angrier I become. I am beginning to attach their operation with the fact that I am being scammed out of over $3000. Apparently Income Access is OK with that.
Hi guys,
Many thanks for the comments….both negative and positive. Nickpicky, your concerns and ALL player concerns for that matter are indeed very important to us and our partnerships with our merchants. As my collegue Vanessa stated, whilst it is not in our direct control, we strive to work with our partners to get ALL player issues resolved. Naturally we realise that this is an integral part, if not the most vital part of successfully running an affiliate program.
Regarding the closures of HCN and Sandpiper casinos, we informed our affiliates as soon as our merchants informed us of their desire to end our relationship. The timing of this was beyond our control and indeed, your comments are very valid regarding our reputation. It is for this reason that we took the responsibility to inform our affiliates so that they could take appropriate action.
Regarding Aus Vegas, we will be sure to pass on your comments to our client as your feedback is invaluable. Both Lassters and Aus Vegas are indeed reputable brands and we are certain they will do whatever they can within their capacity to improve on the comments you have made. As they are government regulated, their flexibility is limited on a number of administrative processes in comparison to other online casinos. Nonetheless, your feedback is constructive and we will pass it on.
Regarding Casino Webcam, they have been around as a live dealer licencee before most of the other live dealer operations came on. They do attract a certain player base as Dominique pointed out and have had a good run with retaining players. We have affiliates earning revenue from players they referred in 2004. Nonetheless, as they say, “To each his own” and if Casino Webcam is not to your liking, then fair enough.
I hope we have addressed most of your comments. As nick777 said, yes, please keep them coming as this is the type of feedback that helps us to improve the quality of the casino affiliate programs we work with.
More importantly, as my collegue Vanessa previously stated to you, please send us your player details so that we can follow-up your case with Sandpiper and do our best to find out about your withdrawal request. Ditto for that Aus Vegas check that you are still waiting for.
Key thing is to distinguish preferences from issues. We will do our best to help solve your issues, and those of all our affiliates and players, and where possible, perhaps your player preferences can be accommodated.
Many thanks,
Kind regards,
Sara
Sara wrote:More importantly, as my collegue Vanessa previously stated to you, please send us your player details so that we can follow-up your case with Sandpiper and do our best to find out about your withdrawal request. Ditto for that Aus Vegas check that you are still waiting for.My most pressing concern lies in the fact that the only places from which I am having slow-payment/no-payment problems happen to be your clients exclusively. I have been waiting a month and a half for $1200 in withdrawals and over 2 weeks for $2850. I sent a message to the email address advised by Vanessa and copied her also, but I have yet to receive any kind of reply.
Everyone at Income Access seems really nice and I’m sure you guys have lots of friends on this forum, but I have to say that it is unsatisfactory that the only casino accounts I have problems with happen to be clients of your program. To take it even further, Income Access seems either unable or unwilling to take the steps necessary to make sure I am paid prior to ending your relationship with these scam websites.
This just in from HCN:
Dear Nickola,
Congratulations on your win!
We have just received your first withdrawal request.
As this is your first withdrawal, we require you to follow a ‘one time’ only security procedure designed to provide you with maximum protection. Also it will allow you to make future withdrawals much more quickly.
All you have to do is send us the following photocopies via fax making sure the information that you send through is clear and easy to understand:
1) Two valid photo ID’s, For example you may send Passport and Driving license;
2) One Utility bill that shows your name and address.Please note scanned copies of the documents mentioned above and sent via email are also accepted.
On receipt of the above documentation, we will send you the above withdrawal amount as soon as possible.
Thank you for playing at the Hotel Casino Network, where your security, privacy and protection is our number one priority.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Hotel Casino Network Support Team. We are available 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week.
With Best Regards,
Natalie CarverThis is the first contact I have received from any human being over at HCN. Every other message I have received has been an automated Playtech procedural message. I can only speculate that I am receiving this message as a result of some kind of intervention by Income Access. For that I am definitely grateful.
Now, concerning the message itself:
First of all, this was not a win. This is a request to have my original deposit returned to my Neteller account from which it originated. A document request is not even warranted in this case.
Secondly, you just received my withdrawal request? I requested it 33 days ago. I have emailed support (the only way to contact HCN) no less than 4 times without any response.
Thirdly, I have NEVER dealt with a casino that requires TWO forms of identification to be able to process a cashout.
Finally, you’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?! Now that’s just funny.
