Bitstamp REVERSING verification for already verified members

[lishbtc]

Bitstamp are reversing verification for already verified members.  I have a deal lined up that I was trying to pay for (several thousand dollars, a deal which I must now miss out on (few choice words come to mind Bitstamp) - logged into Bitstamp to grab some bitcoin to send and received a message saying my verification was not approved and I would need to resubmit documents.  Note this was not even emailed to me, just waiting until I log in (why wait until I actually need to use your service to start remediation???)



I've been verified since last year and have done plenty of depositing, trading and withdrawing in that time.



So - WTF?  No notice or warning, just all my funds are frozen until I can verify AGAIN.  Serves me right for having funds on an exchange I guess.  I thought Stamp were supposed to be one of the better exchanges, but outright freezing withdrawals (bitcoin included) of already verified members with NO NOTICE is just f*cking disgusting behaviour.  Apologies for the language, just angry at having some 3rd party cost me a business deal for some arbitrary reason of their choice.

TL:DR;
1) Bitstamp may freeze your funds regardless of if you are already verified, assuming because of some new documentary requirement
2) You won't know it's happened until you log into your account (they won't email you)
3) You must re-verify before you can access any bitcoin held at Stamp

Hope it's just me but somehow I doubt it.

[dfcwhjb384312]

I received a similar message in January. I had been using this exchange since about June last year and had transferred thousands in several different transactions without any problems after verifying with my local government issued ID. Last time I tried to withdraw some funds, however, they told me that the ID I had verified with was not sufficient, similar to the message you had received. They told me I needed a passport and asked me to answer several questions on why I was using the exchange, the source of my BTC etc. I answered their questions but informed them I did not have a passport at which point they told me to submit a driving license and  ID that had been notarized, a lengthy and fairly expensive process. Luckily the funds in my account were not frozen so I promptly withdrew the BTC and USD when there was an arbitrage chance. After my account was emptied, I was going to tell them to cancel the withdraw, however before that I checked my bank account and found that the funds had in fact been withdrawn, albeit 2 months late. I logged back in to check if I had received any messages but I had not.

I know that this is probably not helpful, but I thought it would be useful to share a similar experience.

Hopefully all you will have to do is resubmit your ID and not get it notarized which would probably take about a week.

[RockHound]

Compliance pressures from Unicredit their Affiliate Banking Partner.

Used to consistently take 2-3 days to IMT fiat funds over, lately it's been 4-5 days - July 2013 to Current.

Also, since start of 2014, I have been requested to change password twice "Your Password is too old, please change now" message upon login.

Cheers to OP for posting! Just wondering what Type of Documents did you initially send over? (Passport, Utility Invoice, Banking Statement?)

I sent Drivers license and Bank Statement, and my account seems to be fine, so far.

[RockHound]

furthermore, Bitstamp has a standardised KYC questionnaire:

Dear XXX,

We received your withdrawal request. As your withdrawal request met some of our volume and frequency thresholds, we will have to kindly ask you to help us better understand the nature of your relationship with Bitstamp. In order to do so, we require that an additional KYC (know your customer) procedure is completed before we can proceed with the processing of your transfer.

We kindly ask you to send us a high resolution image double page of your international passport and answering the following KYC questionnaire:

1. How did you learn about Bitcoin?
2. The purpose of trading on Bitstamp?
3. What is the origin of the deposited Bitcoins?
4. When and how did you obtain your Bitcoins?
5. What is the reason for your activity - depositing BTC, selling, withdrawing?
6. What are your future plans and activities planned on our exchange?
7. Do you plan more of such withdrawals in the future? If yes, how many and why?
8. Which bank are you using? Please provide the complete address and SWIFT code.
9. How do you plan to use your withdrawn funds?

We kindly ask you to submit your answers and documents in a reply to this ticket.


Best regards,
XXXX



Seems this is only really given out to clients who routinely withdraw fiat funds / and whether they suspect you use their exchange on a corporate level?

My business involves me making approximately 1-2 large deposit(s) / week, however I don't need to withdraw fiat for now, and never have a problem with Bitstamp so far.

Interesting, as this implies easier KYC for getting fiat funds in then out.

   

[hello_good_sir]

This is really corrupt.  I will make sure to stay away from Bitstamp.  The request for a passport is a civil rights issue, as many fathers in the US are prohibited from having them.  Plus it just doesn't make good business sense, as most people don't have a passport.

[moni3z]

http://bitcoinfornewbies.com/2013/07/29/bitcoin-exchange-bitstamp-chooses-gbgroup-for-identity-verification/

All your scans go to this intel corp to be stored forever. On one hand it's good they don't have local storage of passport scans since I wouldn't trust them to properly encrypt and store them, on the other hand who knows what this shady intel corp does with your scans.