Bitcoin Forum

Historically, people have been able to deposit and withdraw bitcoins on MtGox without verifying identity. So, as long as you didn't want to withdraw to a bank (to fiat) no verification was needed.
Their website always read that you needed verification to withdraw to your bank. They have a statement that reads:
"Attention Users: All withdrawals and deposits require account verification."

That was no surprise since that was understood to mean for bank withdrawals & deposits.  So, I opened an anonymous account simply to trade in/out of the swings of the market. With the only intention of ever withdrawing bitcoins. And MtGox accepted my deposit without verification. So, today I wanted to withdraw bitcoin to donate to the Philippine disaster... What do you know, I see that i can't withdraw bitcoin, and amessage reads:

"Your account is currently pending review, please visit https://mtgox.com/forms/verification"

If it required verification to make a deposit, they should have never accepted my deposit. I should have received that message BEFORE being able to make a deposit. In the scammer world, this is called "bait and switch". Unless there is some misunderstanding, then because of this, I want to close my anonymous MtGox account. The stupid thing is, they may ask for my identity to close an account where I never made a bank transaction.

You have been warned. Don't deposit into MtGox to only swing or day trade bitcoin unless you are willing to jump hurdles and give up your personal info.


UPDATE:
I found this on the MtGox website [my emphasis]. So, my hope is there is some kind of misunderstanding on my part:

"TOKYO - JAPAN - May 30, 2013

Statement Regarding Account Verifications

The Bitcoin market continues to evolve, as do regulations and conditions of compliance for Mt. Gox to continue bringing secure services to our customers. It our responsibility to provide a trusted and legal exchange, and that includes making sure that we are operating within strict anti-money laundering rules and preventing other malicious activity.

As a result, beginning May 30th, 2013 all Mt. Gox user accounts are required to be verified in order to perform any currency deposits and withdrawals. Bitcoin deposits do not need verification, and at this time we are not requiring verification for Bitcoin withdrawals.

In the past two months Mt. Gox has invested in more than doubling our verification support staff, and we are currently able to process most verifications within 24~48 hours.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please visit the Security Center in your Mt. Gox account if you are not already verified, and keep in mind that being careful to submit the proper documents will result in a much faster processing time.

Regards
Mt.Gox Co. Ltd Team."

https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20130530.html

We've known this for weeks to months, that MT.GOX sucks, horrible withdraw services and bitching verification process.  Guys, don't even touch MT.gox, this forum is a lot better, or any other exchange.

I realize they have had issues with withdrawing dollars. But have you known for weeks that MtGox requires verification just to trade only bitcoins in & out of an anonymous account? They have essentially trapped my funds. Maybe, they are going out of business want to cease funds.

Has anyone seen any articles discussing any legal action against MtGox by users?

I'm having this exact same issue with Bitstamp! I've deposited some bitcoins, they've changed the rules and now I'm stuck without any option to retrieve bitcoins without going through verification ... I've even tried the verification and it's not easy as they keep refusing my documents! So both Mtgox and Bitstamp are doing "bait and switch" ... which exchange can we trust ?

EDIT: actually I've just checked and the bitcoin transfer I've initiated yesterday from an unverified Mtgox account worked. So they are better then Bitstamp ;)

What's the most popular alternative to Mt.Gox?

I really hate Mt.Gox...
it has horrible trading engine lag, traps people's funds, takes AGES to withdraw anything.

bitstamp, they are very professional compared to mtgox cowboy attitude

hmm.. i guess i'll give it a shot

i'm starting to think it's better to just buy/sell BTC in person

Let's keep this thread bumped up every now and then to serve as a "flag" in the face of MtGox. In the event they check the forums, we will at least shine light into their house on the problems that they are causing everyday people by separating them from their bitcoins. If they want to end this threads visibility, they can simply respond positively... and quit acting like verification nazi's demanding "where are your papers". Verification might be ok in rare cases. But if a person opens an anonymous account, they should just let the person trade bitcoin, and withdraw or deposit bitcoin without fear of having the nazi's lock up the funds for no common sense reasons.

They defy the spirit of bitcoin. One friend told me this is why people should avoid the exchanges and banking like institutions, and do more person to person transactions. Bitcoin was meant to free people, not enslave them to essentially the same system.

Yeah, that is seeming to be more and more true. It's hard to beat the corporate mentality.

That MtGox would freeze an account for fear of AML (anti-money laundering) when the account can't even launder fiat money makes just zero sense. If you put bitcoin in and take it out, you still just end up with bitcoin - no fiat was laundered. And if they are fearing people will use the exchange to obfuscate the history of bitcoin transactions, then that defies common sense. Why ? Other than that who cares, you can obfuscate your bitcoins anyway with easier things like easywallet or bitfog... and apparently dark wallet (coming soon)...and other methods. So, AML really should have no affect any bitcoin-only withdrawals and deposits to accounts.

Please no more anti-gox spam.

Though I can appreciate a possible frustration with the topic from you. You call it spam, but people affected by MtGox negatively don't see it that way. Perhaps, you are a successful customer of theirs, some kind of advocate for them or just bored with the topic. Freedom of expression against a large exchanges harmful practices is not spam. The easy fix, for your concern, is don't read threads with subject headings in which you aren't interested (e.g. those with capitalized MTGOX).

I was never able to withdraw bitcoins from MtGox without being verified, but I'm not a long time user there (about 1 year now).

MTGOX is insolvent!!!

They have no funds (USD) to send out to customers and good luck trying to withdraw your BTC's. Recently a tech savvy person posted proof that MTGOX was double spending.

Stay clear of them.

Where is the double spend proof ?

http://bitcoinmagazine.com/7064/

double spend is an attack to the bitcoin network. What are you referring to ? There is no such thing in that link.

It wasn't a response to anyone about double spending. I posted that for general reading on MtGox. Yet, I think the earlier question about solvency was what triggered me to link it.

I too have a small amount stuck in there. Fuck you gox

I wonder if there is anyone that reads this thread that has an MtGox account they can withdraw from. I'll put up a survey at the top.

I have a MtGox account that I can withdraw from, but I'm not interested in withdrawing BTC at this point (and I only have a negligible sum of BTC there, I'm pretty much 100% fiat at Gox). EUR withdrawals do work although they're hellishly slow and getting slower. I have one withdrawal in the queue and I expect to receive it in January in the best case. Might be several months later in the worst case.

Would you next time rather sell locally? It would probably have less headaches. I never joined an exchange to withdraw fiat. I simply joined to swing trade.

Do they still have that stat on their site that 70% of the world bitcoin trades go through them-? It's not showing on my ipad.  Frankly, I'm amazed that they exist still - I open an account and completed the KYC info, but all I've ever heard was what a chore it is to get money out, so I never proceeded in using them.

I'm verified, and have made several bitcoin withdrawals over the last few days without any problems.  I think one of them was delayed by like 24 hours, but the rest went through immediately.

USD on the other hand is another story.

I wonder how did MtGox still online and trading while they are having so many issues...

We all know USD withdrawal is in limbo, but I have yet to hear a claim of not being honored a BTC withdrawal! It can get 'delayed' and 'tangled' mine took 96 hours but it finally arrived.

They need you verified for whatever reason, well just get verified and you'll get your coins.

I'm not really comfortable selling thousands of EUR worth anything to strangers locally. Especially something as shady as BTC.

You could also deal with those that will wire you the money. There are people out there, if you look. I know on localbitcoins there are some people with good reputations. The website acts as escrow. So, your bitcoins go into escrow, and the other party wires you money. Once you confirm receipt of the funds, the escrow will release the bitcoins to the other person. Do it a small amount at a time so you don't stress as much - MtGox has done that kind of emotional damage on people. Disclosure: I don't do that, I just have heard that it works. And I'm only in Gox to trade the ups & downs, not to go to fiat.

Questions:
How long is ages? How do you know your account is locked from sending in documents - is it stated as such on your login screen?
Are you saying, it is now impossible to verify your account because they won't even accept your paperwork because it is locked?

Do you have to mail in documents? or Do they accept emailed scans of your documents?

I tried to buy something from a website that gave me a mtgox payment page, I made an account and funded it with .5 BTC. The purchase would not go thru so I just tried to withdraw from Mt.Gox and I get "Your account is currently pending review, please visit https://mtgox.com/forms/verification".
So looks like it's verify or lose it.  :-[  and im going to lose it because i refuse to give them a picture my ID or any type. I can prove my address but they are not getting info that can easily be used to steal my identity. Noobs beware!!! I am a noob and learned the hard way.

At some point when you see enough negative posts, threads and opinions about a certain service it should be common sense to avoid using that if possible.  For most people we passed this point a year or years ago for Mt.Gox.  I still think they get way more customers and volume than they deserve.

Just did a small transaction person to person with a friend, he sent me the coins, mtgox says it's on the way, nothing on blockchain.

WTF Mark Karpeles?!?! Who's keeping the coins?

Ok, got the funds after 20 hours, but seemed like an eon. This is dodgy business.

I have just over 47 BTC in gox and I'm able to deposit and withdraw as normal :/

sucks for me, as I can not get verified.  I do not have the papers they demand.  I live extremely off the grid, but up until last week I was able to withdraw bitcoins... today, no.  Does this mean I will never get my coins back!? These guys just became worse than the banks!

Sounds like PayPal  ::)

I'll pass.

Can you guys withdraw your btc from mtgox to your wallet in pc?

i am verified, i have limit, i have btc and even when i try to send 1 btc to my wallet, it tells either i exceed daily limit or i dont have enough funds.

i have the btc, no - i did not exceed the daily 1000  btc withdraw limit... my acc is verified...

UPDATE:
(i was noob, the problem was that i had open sell orders... i could withdraw perfectly after i cancelled my sell orders)

For those that are not verified, but have bitcoins trapped in MtGox:

If a legal case were brought up against MtGox in Tokyo, would you be willing to write a letter which would identify yourself only to be used as evidence for a legal case to sue MtGox? The end result is to force MtGox to allow those with bitcoins in accounts to withdraw them without verification. I'm not even sure why MtGox requires verification when accounts can only deposit and withdraw bitcoins.

Also, would you be willing to pay the lawyer(s) upwards of half of your property recovered, or something like BTC5 - whichever is less?

I'm not so sure this message will be read by many. I might have to add a new survey.

false, mtgox made millions upon this month alone. they make a lot of money of their trading fee. more than you think. i think you should take a look at their fees before making any "rational" judgement. mtgox is a bitcoin buying company at the moment until things are resolved.

i doubt that even the japanese people would support your refusal to id yourself as the sole basis of your claim.

what kind of reason would a person have to lose HALF their money in order to just not identify themselves?! how much drugs were you selling!?

i mean i feel what you are saying and i understand your frustrations and annoyance. this is bitcoin- where rules are made up on the spot and you should be glad that mtgox hasn't run away with your coins. however, pursuing a legal case on the sole basis of not wanting to get verified seems ?.

Japan has laws on business practices. I think ethical business practice would be more important than how some might perceive it. Japan is a land that we have been branded with the image of being a people of honor - I've been there and think this is probably fitting. And it seems it would be obvious that a business practice that is perceived as 'bait and switch' - whether this is intentional or negligent - would be more frowned at by the Japanese people & legal system.

 I'm not into bitcoin for illegal purposes. You're right that one could interpret it that way, but one could interpret it in a few ways on how it seems to them.  All are just opinions among with one simplest possible motive. Basic privacy. One's identity should not be taken for granted. And giving up your identity to a company that didn't makes require it before is odd after they have taken your property without properly informing you - that is unethical if not grossly irresponsible, imo. There are plenty of people that don't trust MtGox at that level - so, they should not be treated as criminals if they protest & desire to force them to be ethical. The feeling of beating them in court might be worth it to many. Exchanges aren't even a good or practical place to hide or smoke up your bitcoins, there are already free mixing services that can obfuscated transaction histories.

You also have to realize that in Japanese court, one would obviously be revealing their identity. Even if you win your case, you would still be associated with the deposits you made since the accounts would probably go on some kind of public record - unless the court somehow kept your ID in secret. It's purely principle. Everyone knows someone that might more likely take the easy road and verify, but there are also those that get spitting angry when confronted with such either grossly negligent or intentionally deceptive business policies.

I'm just probing interest in the idea. I've not set out to pursue this yet, and may simply be one of the people that cave in and verify. Though, I'm still spitting mad at how they handle this.

I wouldn't touch any exchange unless I had incorporation documentation and a business account otherwise you just get hassles and delays. Trade on IRC or here/localbitcoins

Hi i have similar problem.

My verification process takes ages!! I have send them all the papers and they refuse to verify. My  BTC is stucked!!!

Maybe u can try to withdraw a small amout of BTC from Mtgox everyday.

Many people want to convert USD to BTC and withdraw BTC out of Mtgox.  So Mtgox has very high pressure. U need tactics of withdraw and good luck. Maybe no time to be waiting and wasted.

Good luck.

Unfortunately i cannot withdrawn not even 0.01.

They don't even respond to emails....

Their support team is inundated with support tickets right now (as is their AML Team). They've recruited many more staff to try to help reduce the load (but staff training isnt instant!). Multiple ticket submissions won't help and just slows down the process.

If you have a super urgent ticket, you could try their support channel #mtgox on freenode. There is usually a support member in there during JPY and EU hours.

Del

(Also all NEW accounts require verifications to Deposit and withdraw. Existing non-verified accounts can do both as long as they've not been flagged by their AML security checks)

The facts you are presenting maybe accurate.

Although as a customer who his funds are seized with no particular reason this is unacceptable.
Also the most annoying part is that i do not get a reply for the progress when it's been 20 days
this far.

I do not care about the internals of a Fortune 500 company, i want my job done.

Bullshit, withdrawing BTC just fine since 2011. Never had any problem. Very good luck or you are talking about non-verified customers?

i wonder if its possible to sell/transfer an old gox account to someone else.  say i've already been verified but no longer use the account. could i sell it to someone and they just add their bank info?

No, they check the name and address when verifying bank details.

My bitcoins are trapped in gox too.

I submitted for account approval on 13 of november 2013. Denied the 27 of november 2013 although I used the same docs i used at Bitstamp.
Meanwhile as I could deposit bitcoins at gox I legitimately thought I could withdraw them back later but that was not the case.

I submitted for account approval again on 12 of december 2013 with fresh documents I asked to my phone provider. Still no response as of today 4 of january 2014.

I'm jobless and hopefully have some money aside, but if i'm not approved by the end of the month I'll be in trouble.

Do Gox understand that when they say validation process request will be reviewed within the next 10 business day, I'm waiting for at least a response within the next 10 business days so i can stick to my plans ?

This is totally disrespectful and I feel the same as if they had run away with my money.

P.S. Within the last days their validation time changed to 20 business days on their homepage...
managing  work overload by extending the delays... bloody crap

Same here, I applied for validation on 3 of december 2013 and still haven't received any mail or notification.
I also opened a ticket a week ago and still nothing...
Really bad service.

Yup I experienced this also.

Why they do this is to in my view trap your bitcoins at their exchange. For what reason I do not know. It is essentially BS.

Before you are allow to deposit any BTC they should walk you through the verification process first and get that all squared away.

well, you could in theory, but the account holder would only be able to withdraw BTC

I should have heeded the warnings.  I opened my Gox account in April 2013.  I've able to both deposit and withdraw BTC without verification... until today.  Today, I got the dreaded "your account is pending review" message when I tried to withdraw a small amount of BTC.



Sooooo.... the message "All withdrawals and deposits require account verification." appears on the BTC deposit page where I'm provided a BTC deposit address.  Hmm, well, one might therefore assume that the verification applies to fiat transactions only...  and one might be wrong.

I'm done with Gox.  They're doing bitcoins a disservice.  The problem is that while I'm very reluctant to go through the verification process to reclaim my coins, I'm also quite reluctant to "donate" my coins to them in this manner.  Grrr.

I'd recommend everyone with BTC at Gox (especially if you're unverified and wish to remain so) to do a test withdrawal to see if your account is also "under review" now.  I'd further recommend that if you're successful, you continue to do test withdrawals until you've cleaned out your account. :)

Oh, and please share your experience with this forum...

Verified Gox account here.  Currently waiting over 36 hours with no blockchain confirmation on my bitcoin withdraw.

It'll probably come. It appears to be a pretty common issue.

I only wish I were more aware of the MtGox verification woes prior to transferring a small amount from my coinbase account. It's been about three weeks since I sent photo proof of two bills and my drivers license & no sign of verification. Apparently I cannot even send my coin BACK to coinbase, so that money is sitting in limbo.

Ugh. Good thing it was only a .4 tester transaction.

Personally I have got verified very quickly within about 2 weeks and had fairly good support.
Support usually responds within about 4 days.
I felt I had to post this because from reading most of the posts here, people seem to be ranting about how bad gox is when it's mainly their own fault.
I mean, if they require you to be verified then just do it. What's the point complaining about it. They are providing a great service if you do what they ask of you. Comments like this are pointless:
"I was never able to withdraw bitcoins from MtGox without being verified, but I'm not a long time user there (about 1 year now)."
Well then get verified derrr... What are you afraid of? You think Gox is going to report your id to the cops or something? i don't really understand the fear of having Gox verify your id? Isn't that partly to protect YOU?

And you created an account just to post that?

Apparently your lying because it works for 6 out of 10 people. Gox works great rite