BitInstant purchase 2 days ago, no coins and getting ignored by support

[gistus7]

I bought BTC via Moneygram to BTC address nearly 2 days ago. The first time I contacted support after a few hours after payment was confirmed, I was told that there were some problems and they would "issue a manual transfer" and that I would get my coins in the next business day. So I waited an entire day, and contacted support again. I got the same exact message that they would "issue a manual transfer" and that I should get my coins tommorow. When I tried inquiring about this, I got ignored each time. What the hell is happening over there? Are the rumors about selective scamming really true? I know people who told me that they recieved their coins in 4 hours or less 2 days ago. Is this happening to anyone else? I'm on edge these 2 days waiting for a support reply. What a shitty first-time buyer experience.

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[greyhawk]

I think they've got other problems to deal with what with them having been hacked and stuff.

[gistus7]

Then why did they bring the cash deposit > BTC address option back if it wasn't fully working?

[Stephen Gornick]

I'm on edge these 2 days waiting for a support reply.

They were offline for half a half-week then there was a burst of activity on Tuesday, so lots of service issues, certainly. 

You probably want to inquire in their customer service thread though:

Official BitInstant Support Thread (Active Customer Support)
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=128314.0

[TheGoodDoctor420]

Their blog shows that they lost $12k USD from an assumed-to-be Russian hacker. This may be the case, and I hope they have the backup funds to supply the lost/stolen BTC that was in that $12k worth. Though this is not the first time an attack has occurred with them. Last time it occurred (a year ago I believe) it was apparently a Russian then too (possible scapegoat stereotype?). This instance, they state that the MO of the supposed attacker shows they have mediocre tech skills, thus leading me to question two things: 1) If the attacker has mediocre tech skills, why are the security protocols of BitInstant, their domain registrar, and any other entity involved in management of funds, servers, domain access, etc. so sub-par? 2) Is this perhaps a facade created by the BTC mogul company to slip away with $12k of ill-gotten funds from would-be customers (especially given that so many customers never will levy civil/criminal charges against the company for lost funds, given the method of payment both incoming and outgoing are so easily debunked in a court of law, and many people use BTC for illicit payments/laundering)?

Either way...BitInstant seems compromised IMO. I advise finding another BTC vendor. btcquick.com and bitfloor.com seem to be the best options as of now. Otherwise, use local-btc or another forum for meet-and-greet fund transfers.

Hope I may have helped to some degree! (:

All the best in getting that coin!

[WishIStartedSooner]

I haven't used the direct to address option recently (in fact it's not even available to me), but yesterday I did a gox money transfer and it worked just fine.

Bitinstant does alot of business. I doubt they'd risk their reputation over 12k. Also I often see them on the forums here doing support and making the people happy.

I say give 'em a little time, shoot em another email, maybe consider the thread.

It sucks that you had to wait, but you'll get your coin imo.

[gistus7]

I shot them five fucking emails, to which 3 I didn't get a response to and 2 I got a copy-paste message that just told me to wait.

[cindelle]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

[WishIStartedSooner]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

may i ask who you use now?

buying btc is hard without bitinstant in the united states if you dont live in a localbitcoins.com area and dont want to wait and use your bank account to fund

[bluepoodle]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

may i ask who you use now?

buying btc is hard without bitinstant in the united states if you dont live in a localbitcoins.com area and dont want to wait and use your bank account to fund

You should try Bitfloor.com   Works for me!  Cash deposit at Bank of America.

[Huxley]

OP you are in a v large boat if you checked the support thread.

[WishIStartedSooner]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

may i ask who you use now?

buying btc is hard without bitinstant in the united states if you dont live in a localbitcoins.com area and dont want to wait and use your bank account to fund

You should try Bitfloor.com   Works for me!  Cash deposit at Bank of America.

ugh. no BoAs in my corner of the midwest.

[Walter Rothbard]

Are the rumors about selective scamming really true?

Yes, they are.  Most people just keep quiet about it, so they get away with it.  You are the first person to expose this scam to the forum, so unfortunately they won't be able to continue to pull off this lucrative venture.

 

Seriously, be persistent in contacting them.  Quit waiting entire days between contacts.  Post on the thread as well as contacting support.  Provide your order ID, quite ID, transaction ID, etc., to help them help you.  And be nice.

It worked for me!  I had problems a couple days ago, and they cleared them up within forty five minutes.

[TheGoodDoctor420]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

may i ask who you use now?

buying btc is hard without bitinstant in the united states if you dont live in a localbitcoins.com area and dont want to wait and use your bank account to fund

You should try Bitfloor.com   Works for me!  Cash deposit at Bank of America.

Bitfloor.com is DEFINITELY worth checking out if you have BofA in your area (which is the case for most). If not, CC to BTC is available and better than ever before with btcquick.com. They are MUCH more secure than other BTC services offering CC payment methods. Many have tried and failed, but I think BTCquick has this on lock!

[cindelle]

hmmm...i just checked and cash to bc address isnt an option anymore. i suspect there was another issue with that service hence the delay in your order. there have been issues with this method bitinstant offers for some time now. im truly sorry that this had to be your first experience but bitinstant used to be great to use. i used them for a while before they stopped offering cash to bc address. now i use a couple of different vendors.

may i ask who you use now?

buying btc is hard without bitinstant in the united states if you dont live in a localbitcoins.com area and dont want to wait and use your bank account to fund

i use bitcopia when its operating, they use wells fargo which i have near me, i also use a vendor from another tor site that accepts basically any form of payment available.

[pera]

I think I read that their nameserver was cracked (provably dns cache poisoning) last weekend... if you access to http://bitinstant.com it redirect to https, and they have a certificate from GeoTrust. But the crackers could keep you on their server (with a fake BitInstant website) without redirecting to https obviously.

You should always have to connect using https so your browser can verify the certificate (or wait for DNSSEC  ).

[equivalent]

Interesting, thanks! Hope your problems are resolved soon, gistus7! Does anyone know of a good European vendor? Thanks muchly in advance...