GameAccount, 'Site Credit', and Dormant Accounts

[London Colin]

I know this is not an issue that can affect many forum members, thanks to the UIGEA, but nevertheless ....

I had a shock recently when I discovered that, after not playing at GameAccount for about three months, nearly £400 had been deducted from my balance, described as an 'inactivity fine'. [I only found out by logging on; there wasn't even an email to tell me this had been done.]

It turns out that various bonuses, accrued over the years, were awarded as 'site credit', and this never gets used up so long as you have any real money remaining in your account. That is, you need to withdraw all your real cash (or lose it, I suppose) before you can gain access to your site credit.

Having 'not used it', it was taken away.

After complaining, I was able to get the £400 back (though I had to be fairly persistent about it).

Looking at the T&C's, it would appear that 'Site Credit' is not the only issue here. My account was presumably considered 'dormant', and on its way to being 'abandoned'.

Any Player’s account will be deemed a “Dormant Account” in the event the Player fails to use their account for a single continuous period of 90 days or more for the purposes of a financial transaction such financial transaction to include the purchase of one or more tournament entries; placing one or more wagers in a multiplayer game; depositing funds within the Player’s account; or withdrawing funds from the Player’s account. All Dormant Accounts with funds remaining shall be subject to an inactivity charge of £5.00 (or foreign currency equivalent) for each calendar month following and including the first month in which your account is deemed a Dormant Account.

After your account has been deemed a Dormant Account (as defined above) and has subsequently been dormant for an additional nine (9) calendar months, the Player’s account shall be deemed an “Abandoned Account” and the sum total of cash held in your account will be donated to charity.

In the event that You return to the site in order to carry out any one of the previously stated financial transactions and your account has been previously deemed either a Dormant Account or an Abandoned Account and therefore subject to one or more inactivity charges or donation to charity, please contact Customer Services for a review of your account.

 

[zweeky]

"donated to charity", that's a good one.

Thanks for telling.

It's been a while without an exciting bj tournament there. It seems they put their efforts on backgammon...

 

[LeftNut]

Well, I can see why they'd want to have a way to eventually eliminate unused accounts, but it seems they weren't exactly upfront about it. Hiding those disclosures deep within the rules is mighty sneaky, and not indicative of a company which is truly interested in good customer service. In addition, they should have procedures in place to attempt notification of the account owners when they're about to cross that 90-day threshold.

Sounds like yet another shady online gaming website.