I am a 36 yr old player - playing on pokerstars for over 4 years. I also qualified for 2008 WSOP main event via Pokerstars and played there. All my age proof and ids were verified by Pokerstars then as well. Based on some chat while playing some 0.10/0.25 game in a light mood, they have banned my account and kept all the money in it without any access to it.

Chat went something like this:

Other player said something like - you must be 16 yr old.
I said - how old are you? he answered 21.
I said then how does it feel to lose to 16 yr old.

They are calling this an admission of being under age and asking me to send all documents and proofs now to reenable my account. I am very disappointed at these guys - I keep most of my bankroll on Pokerstars site as I (used to) trust them the most. I have told them to check records of my being in live event and enabling it back - maybe they will - but it is just so frustating to see this BS. I really want an apology from these guys - my advice to anyone reading this would be not trust your bankroll with these guys.

My Pokerstars id - JackOPoker.

Attaching their email:

<SPAN>From:</SPAN> "verification@pokerstars.com" <verification@pokerstars.com>
<SPAN>To:</SPAN> XXXX@XXXXXX.XXXX
<SPAN>Sent:</SPAN> Sunday, July 26, 2009 4:37:44 AM
<SPAN>Subject:</SPAN> PokerStars Verification - Account closed - Request for Documents

Hello XXXXXXXXX,

We have recently observed your chat in which you claim that you are
only 16 years old. The minimum age requirement to play on
PokerStars is 18 years of age. PokerStars treats such chat claims
just as airport security treats "jokes" about bombs serious and
factual until proven otherwise. As such, I have closed your account
pending receipt of proof of age.

Please forward to us by Email as an attachment, or by fax to Costa
Rica, a legible copy of government-issued photo ID demonstrating that
you are at least 18 years of age.

Our fax number is:

PokerStars
Attn: Security Department
International Fax: +506-2295-6860
US/Canada Fax: 1-800-631-9050

Thank you for your cooperation in protecting the integrity and
security of our games.

Regards,

Alex
PokerStars Verifications Team

A reminder:
"PokerStars will NEVER ask you to confirm your login credentials or
password in any way"

Thanks for your thoughts.. Point is - they already have my ids verified when I played in Live event.. Do they have no way of keeping records..

So what if I send them my id - they enable it back.. Then they block it again on some chat on another day.. How does the cycle end.. They gotta have some better way than acting impulsive..

the cycle ends simply by you not saying stupid shit in chat....ez game

Its easier said... I do understand your points.. Believe me..

The point still is - How impulsive can the support guys be that they can go look at some chat log but cannot look at the actual verified past records!!

So I'll give you a hypothetical situation:

Someone goes on the street announcing - he was the one who killed Lincoln.. Does he need to be just sentenced even though he wasnt even born at Lincoln's time!

Anyway I have sent them id proof. But I am going to take my BR away from them for sure.. Do you guys think NETeller is safe to keep BR on?

Thanks Jennifear.. Thats what I used to think and why I kept it on PS.. Maybe I should distribute among other sites - so I dont get hosed when some support guy goes crazy in his zeal to snoop thru chat logs to decide account closure actions.. I think banning chat for some time etc is ok for something like this - account suspension is severe! Only glad that I didnt have any tournies signed up for this time... Going to the movie now, while I wait to get this reenabled... No poker sunday todaY!

OP--- realize you were set up by the 21 y/o... HE called a mod and stars support WILL shut you down upon accusation of crime. Stars is not at fault here, mostly the 21y/o and part you cause you got duped. Best to get your revenge on him. Reread stars email to you and put blame where it belongs.

Best thing we can ever do is...forget about chat when we play online poker.. unless we enjoy listen to agrro bs, and b.s.

lol @ at a 36yr old acting like a 16yr old then complaining when he is treated like a 16yr old.

Would you have been mad at PS if your account was hacked by a 16yr old running his mouth spending your $ and they were like "oh it's that 36yr old douche snizzle again no big deal"?

Pstars takes underage players very seriously. Just because you played live means nothing. Ever hear the story about durrr playing underage on his dad's account, and shipped a live tourney and sent his dad. I'm sure they will give you access back, in the future mind your chat.

 

Originally Posted by PhiAlphaMTSU

Seems pretty standard to me. Your the one who said something extremely stupid and now you are paying for it. Ship them a pic of your ID and you'll get your account back, no big deal.

 

Originally Posted by jackofpoker

my advice to anyone reading this would be not trust your bankroll with these guys.

Actually, your advice to anyone reading should be to not even fucking JOKE about
being under the age of 18.

Thanks. We can all learn from your stupidity.

 

Originally Posted by jokerswild

lol @ at a 36yr old acting like a 16yr old then complaining when he is treated like a 16yr old.

Would you have been mad at PS if your account was hacked by a 16yr old running his mouth spending your $ and they were like "oh it's that 36yr old douche snizzle again no big deal"?

So most of you guys dont think anything wrong here.. I get the point.. Just wait till this happens to you though... The point is not - of a 36 yr old acting like 16.. or if some 21 yr old tricked it.. The point is - Is some chatroom comment (which could be for whatever reason as table talk is part of the game) should be ground enough for a Poker site staff to suspend someone's account without checking anything else.. Note, I am fine with chat banned - problem is account suspension.

Now some of you are only here to get a laugh out of this... I get it.. But anyone who is serious enough cannot claim that this action is justifiable.. I dont know how you can trust a site with your money and significant investment of your time, where they can chose to behave like that..

Just imagine, your US bank closing your account cuz they heard somewhere something.... You would of course feel mad! Now why treat poker site any different.. You are trusting significant money with them... Why do you guys are okay with accepting poor customer service when it comes to poker related sites.. I dont get it.

BTW.. My account is back and working.. Here is my recent communication with PS support:

_____________________ To stars___________
I am not in disagreement that you must obtain documentary proof. I am not saying that you should allow underage players to play at all. Maybe you should require age verification and documentary proofs at the time anyone opens real money account. You should have all the ways to ensure that only legit players are playing your site - but dont base it on chat!! My main contention is that you can just choose to suspend/close account based on some comment in chat - which wasnt even made clearly by me. You can tell from my response that I was just playing with him based on his question and assumptions. I am not and shouldnt be under any requirement to give out a truthful record of who I am and how old I am and where I live to anyone who asks in a chat window!

Whenever pokerstars have asked me about any documents - I have provided. Still some chat decides the fate of my account - which is very sad on part of your support. I can only call it whimsical decision and not a planned process to do proper verification of players.

XXXX

<HR SIZE=1> <SPAN>From:</SPAN> PokerStarsSupport <<SPAN id=lw_1248631697_0 class=yshortcuts>support@pokerstars.com</SPAN>>
<SPAN>To:</SPAN> xxxx@xxxx.xxxx
<SPAN>Sent:</SPAN> <SPAN id=lw_1248631697_1 class=yshortcuts>Sunday, July 26, 2009 5:20:39 PM</SPAN>
<SPAN>Subject:</SPAN> <SPAN id=lw_1248631697_2 class=yshortcuts>PokerStars</SPAN> Support - Underage Comments

Hello XXXXXX,

I have been asked to write to you because you are understandably upset
regarding the recent closure of your account. I realise that you feel it
unecessary to request Id based on a remark in chat, however I would like
to explain why there is a need to these policies in place. As I'm sure you
are aware the world can be hostile to online poker sites, and this is just
one of the reasons why we must uphold the highest principles in order to
ensure than only responsible adults play at our site.

You mentioned that you would go to blogs and forums regarding your 'unfair
treatment' however imagine if any player could openly claim that they were
16 and then someone went to the press to say that this was reported and
the site took no action? A screenshot of that comment would be enough to
damage the reputation of all poker sites, and would do no good to all
honest players who enjoy the sport of poker.

This is why in every case where a player claims to be underage in chat we
must take action. We did not single you out, we did not mean any offence,
this is simply a strict policy to ensure our reputation, and to confirm
license obligations to those who govern us. I am sure that any reputable
poker site would have such a policy in place.

It is a simple enough matter to send proof of age Id, and when this is
done we are happy to accept this proof and reopen an account. I am glad
that you were able to have your account reopened in this case, I am only
sorry that this incident has soured your attitude towards PokerStars.

Of course we hope that you will understand our thinking and continue to
play at our tables, but we do wish you luck wherever you play.

Best Regards,

Joanne
PokerStars Support Supervisor

 

Originally Posted by jackofpoker

 

Originally Posted by jokerswild

lol @ at a 36yr old acting like a 16yr old then complaining when he is treated like a 16yr old.

Would you have been mad at PS if your account was hacked by a 16yr old running his mouth spending your $ and they were like "oh it's that 36yr old douche snizzle again no big deal"?

So most of you guys dont think anything wrong here.. I get the point.. Just wait till this happens to you though... The point is not - of a 36 yr old acting like 16.. or if some 21 yr old tricked it.. The point is - Is some chatroom comment (which could be for whatever reason as table talk is part of the game) should be ground enough for a Poker site staff to suspend someone's account without checking anything else.. Note, I am fine with chat banned - problem is account suspension.

Now some of you are only here to get a laugh out of this... I get it.. But anyone who is serious enough cannot claim that this action is justifiable.. I dont know how you can trust a site with your money and significant investment of your time, where they can chose to behave like that..

Just imagine, your US bank closing your account cuz they heard somewhere something.... You would of course feel mad! Now why treat poker site any different.. You are trusting significant money with them... Why do you guys are okay with accepting poor customer service when it comes to poker related sites.. I dont get it.

This wasnt something overheard from a third party or a rumor of some kind. You personally wrote on pokerstars that you were underage and playing on Stars illegally.

Your analogies are way off, like when you compared not knowing Lincoln was assassinated with not knowing that you, whoever you are, are over 18.

Youre being defensive and grasping at straws, so maybe when u cool off youll take the advice in this thread.

You dont get it. /trying