Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeTheMirage
I went into live chat a few days ago to ask if there was a June one and they told me to use JUN100PK.
Initially it wouldn't work (not like normal where you have to ask them to apply it afterwords, but the system actually rejected the code and wouldn't let me proceed with the deposit) but I was still in the chat so the agent told me to deposit without it and then he applied it successfully.
Warning - long post. Sorry!
Lucky you, SeeTheMirage. I did find out that Sportsbook now has Live Chat again. However, I had a thoroughly unsatisfying chat with Poker Support Team rep Steve Garcia, which started out with me trying to get the bonus credited, and ended up lasting an unbelievable 1 hour and 10 minutes. Maybe this guy is just a poor representative for the company, I don't know. However, he made me so angry and gave me the impression that Merge is so totally screwed up internally right now, that I told him I would not be playing there anymore after 9 years as a faithful customer. I also said I would post the details to 2+2. Sorry this is gonna be kind of long because the chat was long, but I'll condense it as much as possible.
Yesterday like SeeTheMirage, I tried to deposit on Sportsbook and the bonus code was rejected, so I went to Live Chat. Steve Garcia tells me, "Feel free to submit the deposit without the code, I will manually add it", but then says, "You just need to let us know once funds are credited to apply the offer". So right away I'm ticked off that I'm going to have to contact them again, because it seemed like he should have been able to flag it to be applied, or as I now know, he could have had me deposit right then and applied it. Anyway, I say, "how do I do that? On here?" and he says, "yes or email". I tell him I've emailed several times in the last couple of months and never gotten a reply, and he says, "We have answered your question about the HUD around 3 times." I verify their email address, he verifies mine, and I ask him to resend the last email.
He says, "The email states as follow " We're sorry for the inconvenience, however we do not support or allow any third party apps used in conjunction with our poker software, the usage of ANY could get your account banned at perpetuity and the confiscation of all funds." I thank him for the answer and then ask again for a test message, and say I don't understand why I'm not getting their emails since I've never had a problem before in the 9 years I've been a member. He says, "I just sent you the last email from June 6th , what we can suggest is to use a different email address; we have had these problems in the past with accounts ending in ".net".
This also makes me unhappy, since my "net" account is my main one that I check all the time, but the test email didn't show up in my inbox or my SPAM folder. He says, "It is not recent , it is not a problem on our end either. Your email provider might be selecting our emails as spam and you are not getting them at all." This makes no sense to me since then they should be in my SPAM folder, and they're not. I've also continued to receive emails from Bet Online and Poker Stars during the times he said Merge's emails were sent. Plus I see an email from Sportsbook dated January 2018, and am pretty sure I received emails from them in February and March too.
Then he gets a bit of an attitude and says, "Well we are sending them, and I know for a fact that your provider is the problem. Do you have by any chance an alternative email address so I can copy the last email?." I give him a hotmail addy and receive what he says is the June email, but the text says something totally different than the email he quoted me earlier in the chat.
It says:
"We regret to inform you that as per management decision we no longer allow third parties to collect our information, that being said, you are free to use any poker tracker program you may find online, however the information you might obtain or see on that particular software wil not be accurate, since as we mentioned previously our data is not shared or provided to other sites.
In regards to increasing micro stakes games, from time to time these offerings are adjusted based on a variety of factors including popularity, time zone considerations, seasonal fluctuations, just to name a few.
(I had told them I wished they would try to attract more micro stakes players, because often I can't get in a game because there aren't enough players, but their answer really doesn't address the issue of their dwindling traffic.)
We take pride in listening to our player feedback and we will be sure to pass along your comments to Management.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
Steve Garcia
Poker Support Team"
So the first email he quoted says you can't use HUD's or you'll get banned, but the one he sent says you can use a HUD if you want, but the info may not be correct. Now I'm really getting pissed because these two messages are the complete opposite of each other. I tell him that and he starts acting like I'm an idiot or something and says, "Forget about all emails it looks you are getting confused , I forwarded the last email sent back on June without reading it as you asked me to sent you a test message. Lets start from zero." I tell him I'm not confused, I just don't understand why these two messages state completely different policies. He says the first one he quoted is correct (that HUD's are banned) and to disregard anything that says differently, so I ask why he sent me what was supposedly their latest reply to me, which says I am free to use a HUD if I want to, if that's not the correct policy. So he says, "With all due respect , I'm here trying to help you out. In the past we were allowing third party software to have access, now we don't. The email you received does not contain accurate information and I apologize for that mistake. What was posted on this conversation and I have quoted different times, is the information we are handling now a days." So I say, well then your emails were just backwards from what you just said, if the one you quoted me first was sent to me previously saying HUD's were banned, and the one you just sent that you told me is the latest one you sent in June says I'm free to use a HUD.
I'm really, really pissed now, because I say what if I had only gotten the June email and thought it was ok to use a HUD? I could have gotten banned and my money confiscated and it would have been due to an email that YOU sent me. Steve says, "The information that we do not allow third party software is posted since months ago on internet; looks there was an honest mistake sending you an email ( you did not received ) with invalid information.
(Note: the third party software policies that they have posted within the poker app are very confusing the way they are worded, and don't clearly say you can or can't use a HUD, which is why I told them I was writing for clarification). However, I'm explaining you how it is handle now days and I do not quite understand why are you upset for an email you did not receive until just a few minutes ago.
"
So that's when I tell him I really don't need the hassles of having to re-contact them to get a bonus applied, not being able to get email from them at my main account address when I always could before, and finding out the messages that supposedly were sent contained contradictory information, when I'm already struggling to play on the site due to poor traffic. Therefore, I'm not going to play there anymore and I'm going to post about our chat and these issues on 2+2. He says, "We understand and respect your choice.", but then he continues for 10 more minutes to repeat the same explanation that didn't make sense the first time, saying that what the June email said was a mistake and that he's sorry.
Anyway, I just wanted you all to know this is how really screwed up Merge is these days, so you can decide for yourselves whether you want to continue playing there. I realize that management is much more to blame for things being messed up than Steve Garcia is unless he is part of management. However, he is their customer service representative, so why is he sending out emails with outdated, incorrect information regarding their policies. Yes, mistakes are always gonna happen, but that's a pretty big one when a player could get banned if they acted on incorrect information sent to them, and the mistake was not found out until this chat because I never received the email.