In case anyone is still listening to Todamont at this point, this isn't true.

We have not changed any information on our website and are not covering any tracks.  The website's encrypted database is currently down so it can't respond to verification requests for a few more hours while we get it fixed.

We stressed the database too hard in doing some testing this afternoon and I don't have the expertise to get everything back in order, so we're waiting on the next shift of developers to come in and get things sorted.

If anyone needs any coins redeemed or verified, just email us at guardians@titanbtc.com and we'll get you sorted.

I'm not surprised that they took the auction down.  We used to list coins on eBay in 2013 before they banned BTC related items.  At one point they were taking down auctions for stickers because they featured the bitcoin symbol.

The Chinese created counterfeits of our Titan One Silver coin in 2014, albeit poorly done counterfeits and without any hologram.  We regularly request that eBay take these counterfeit coin auctions down, so it is possible that they took that one down because of the keywords in the title.

The last time I looked at the rules eBay had set forth for physical bitcoins, they were allowing them to be listed in the eBay classified section but not in the auctions.  It's possible that the coin was listed in the wrong section.  

That may be outdated info though...so take it with a grain of salt.

[Edited]  To be clear, we did not request that the auction in question taken down.  We encourage Titan Bitcoin owners to sell on eBay as they can command a very nice premium there.

You've really made a concerted effort to bring this down to the level of personal attack, but I'm afraid I must insist that you're still my customer and I'm still working to help you. 

You may accuse me of whatever crimes you like, but I will still work on this issue until we've made it right for you. 

The website's Database is still down at the moment, as the developer that set up that part of the system had to step away to take care of his family.

As I stated above, I will update this thread when its back online.  

Anyone needing customer service is welcome to contact us, and we're standing by until the site is back up.

[Edit] No coin states have been, or will be altered while the Database is down.  

We don't normally do server work that requires intensive DB queries during the day because the encryption system we use encrypts the entire DB, and its pretty temperamental.  I made an exception today, because I'm eager to finish this work and determine whether we have any active security flaws.

We're putting some stress on the server to try to replicate a scenario where that "not yet funded" page can show up after a coin is redeemed through some fault of the Database server.  That's what killed the system.

My apologies to anyone trying to redeem a coin at this moment.  If you're in a hurry, please email guardians@titanbtc.com and they will take care of it for you manually.

At this very moment, we were running some commands on the encrypted DB and brought everything down.  The website verification is down for all coins.

I'll post here when its back up so you can see that coin ID in question. 

Todamont, you're making a choice to subject your claims to scrutiny by bringing this issue to the public forum.  

Your choice to do so is what brought about the scrutiny of your side of the story, but honestly that need to "defend yourself" is really something you created.  

You don't need to defend yourself to me, because I've never suggested you're not telling the truth and I've been on your side this whole time.  I'm still on your side, regardless of how you feel about having to wait while we complete the investigation.  

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks because I'm the one working to make this right for you.

I wouldn't wish the situation that Todamont is on anyone. 

I appreciate the support from those of you who have been happy with our customer service, but I also don't want this to turn into a string of ad hominem attacks on Todamont.

Todamont has a very valid concern, and I'm working with security auditors to identify if we're at fault. 

I wish that process could be faster, but it takes time.  We've ruled out the initial possibilities which led me to determine that this was a hologram hack, which we were not responsible for.  The investigation is still ongoing.

In the meantime, I've asked that Todamont to wait on reimbursement until we've finished the investigation.  I wish that Todamont wasn't hostile about the situation, but again I can't blame him for being upset and we, as a community, shouldn't either.

Because of what this implies, I'm going to publicly state that I have never threatened Todamont nor do I have any reason to do so. 

I'd also recommend that we continue this discussion in private, via email or PM.  I will continue to update this thread as we find a resolution for you.

There's no reason to apologize for attacking me here.  I understand that you're upset. 

I still hope that we can resolve this issue for you positively and will continue to work towards a resolution.  I won't just send you money to make you go away, but I will happily send you money if we caused your loss.

Did the database mistake in question cause your loss?  

As of yet, you have not told me when or how you came into possession of the coin, so I can't say for sure whether that database field being marked as "not-yet-funded" affected you.  

If that coin showed as unfunded in our system when you purchased it, it was unwise to have purchased it in my opinion but that's beside the point.  

If that verification page showing "not-yet-funded" when the state should be showing "redeemed" is the cause of your loss, then please explain that fully so I can address your concern.

[edited] a typo of showed -> showing

I understand you're upset.  It's a frustrating situation. 

I've been completely transparent with you, and now everyone else on the forum, about this situation.  Insinuating that I have not been honest and transparent in every communication we've had is beneath you, quite frankly, and I will chalk that up to you being upset.

I've stated repeatedly that I will make you whole if a security flaw in our system caused you a loss.  I'm not sure what else you're wanting from me?

The certificate states when we sold a particular coin, it was funded.  That's correct.  It's not a liability because we don't sell unfunded coins...but maybe I'm not understanding your point.  Would you mind elaborating?

If you're upset that I would pursue thieves that victimized one of my customers, then i don't have a good response for you.

Criminals deserve punishment.  I don't personally think that should upset you, but that's just my opinion.

I apologize if I wasn't clear above.

Our investigation did not "fail to turn up the fact that this coin was marked "unfunded"".  I noticed that fact immediately and left it as is so as not to edit the DB alteration logs in case that was evidence of tampering.

The process differs for 2FA coins, vs. private key coins.  

For 2FA coins, we fund an address that is in cold storage when the coin is purchased.  That address is associated with the coin before we ship it.  Then when the buyer registers it, the information on that address becomes available to them.

For private key coins, we actually wait until the buyer confirms safe delivery before making the transaction on the blockchain.  Typically this blockchain transaction coincides with the DB update (within a few minutes of each other).

I'm not above admitting I've made a mistake, and paying for it accordingly, but this issue is one concerning the security of Titan Bitcoins.  

It matters to every Titan Bitcoin owner that I, and anyone working for me, follow a strict process and protocol in dealing with these coins.  

As I've said to Todamont, and as I've said to every owner of a Titan Bitcoin, I will reimburse 110% of any value lost because of a problem with our system.  

I currently don't believe that a fault in our system caused Todamont's loss, but we're still continuing to investigate the claim.  To "split the loss" or "pay you off" would implicate that Titan bears some guilt in this case, or that we're trying to cover something up.  

We've yet to determine that Titan bears the fault in this issue, but rest assured that we take every customer service issue very seriously, regardless of whether a coin was purchased directly from us or not.  Bringing this issue to the public forum doesn't change the process we use to ensure that value on our coins remains secure.  

If the loss was indeed the result of a theft and, outside of our system (which seems to be the most likely scenario at this point), I'll gladly support Todamont in their efforts filing a police report.  That's not a part of our terms of use agreement, that's just ME hating to see people taken advantage of and wanting to help.

Our coins have a few different page "states" which may show up when you go to verify its value on our website.  "Not-yet-funded", "Funded" and "Redeemed".  The funded page state is different for 2FA coins vs. Private key coins, as well.  

When the coins are shipped, that "Not-yet-funded" page state will be visible until the user verifies that they have received the shipment.  With 2FA coins, the user enters in a confirmation number from their packing slip and the email address and password they want to register the coin to.  When they've clicked a confirmation link that arrives in their email, that page state changes to show that the coin is funded.  With private key coins, the buyer emails us to confirm safe delivery and we change that state in the DB manually.

At that point, the coins will show as "Funded" until a redemption request has been made.

Coins may show as "not yet funded" in a few scenarios.

1.  A reseller on ebay is trying to dodge eBay rules against selling bitcoins.  As such, they are waiting to do the initial coin registration until they have resold the coin.  It is being advertised EXPLICITLY as unfunded so that eBay does not kill the auction.  A buyer would really need to trust the seller if they were to purchase this type of coin because of option 2...

2. A coin may have been "lost" in transit.  This has happened many times where a buyer claims that the package didn't arrive.  We don't dispute those claims.  We just send out a replacement shipment.  Every coin is unique, so the replacement has a unique coin ID from the one that was originally sent out.  If a buyer continues to claim that they aren't receiving their orders after multiple attempts (even if we have delivery confirmation from USPS) we simply refund their purchase and apologize.

3. I made a mistake when updating the Database field that dictate the page states.

Option #2 means that there coins out there that are intact but unfunded, and will never be funded because they were marked as "lost".  We do keep records of these coins, and there's about 2 dozen of them.

Todamont's coin was not one of these "lost" coins.  That would be easy for us to claim, but that's not the case here.  His coin was registered in 2013 and redeemed in 2014.  The page state for the coin in question should say "redeemed" and it does not.  This was likely scenario #3.  A mistake on my part in updating the flag that determines the page state, as the DB update was done by me manually.  Instead of correcting the "error", we've left it as is until we've been able to complete the vulnerability analysis on our servers.

I'm happy to explain further but it probably makes sense to answer specific questions at this point.

I'll address this general thread first, and then address the specific issue of coins showing as not yet funded in a separate reply.

Todamont is correct in the details that he has shared here, with the exception that I have not accused him of any wrong doing.  I expressly stated that I didn't mind that he take this conversation public, as we're not trying to hide anything about this situation. 

This was a coin that was not bought from Titan directly, and likely changed hands several times. It's likely, in my opinion, that the hologram was removed using a solvent (without breaking the security seal) and reapplied before being sold to Todamont by someone unscrupulous.  If Todamont has registered his email address to the coin when he purchased it, the value would have been protected, but it sounds like the seller also lied and told them it was a private key coin. 

This is the first case we've had of this specific type of claim.  We've been investigating all possible options for how this occurred.  Todamont and I have an email chain of probably 30 emails going back and forth discussing the situation.  We will certainly make him 110% whole if the problem lies somewhere in our system.  If his problem occurred because he purchased a Titan Bitcoin from a thief, we will assist in filing police reports as well.

Thank you. I received your reply and customer service should be in touch shortly to resolve your issue.

-T

Honestly, we literally have a 100% satisfaction rate from our customers.   I really don't understand what your intentions are here.   Why haven't you responded to the PM I sent you and given me the information I need to solve your problem?  

I'm happy to refund any order you placed with us in full if you didn't receive your product or weren't happy with our service, but at this point I have no idea what order to refund, and to whom to refund it.