mt.Gox and verified status

[rmbc]

Greetings,
old time lurker here.

I've been with mt.gox since 2011 ish and sold most of my stash then.
Recently I started dumping my remaining coins. I left a some cash & coins to play the market (quite badly so far, but hey ) + got some left to dump in a secure wallet.

So far, I managed to do all this without being verified.
I'm glad for that, not that I'm doing anything dodgy, I just don't trust them with personal information of that kind (what they ask is enough to impersonate me anywhere. what if they get hacked again?)

As of today my account is locked. I'd hate losing what is still in there  
I sent a ticket asking for the restrictions to be unlocked.

Does anyone know what are my chances are here ? anyone in a similar situation ?
Can they even do this legally ? It's essentially blackmail - I either lose the money & coins I put there, or I give them information that could be used quite badly if it falls in the wrong hands.

How many people here got verified with them ? is the process smooth ? do they ask more information after sending the documents ? (like mother's maiden name, etc)
How much would you trust them ?
sadly with the other exchanges the situation is similar (I've tried btc-e + bitinstant. not a smooth operation)

[shemp]

perhaps it's just locked due to monthly limit, and will be ok next month?

[chrono]

it takes ages to verified now i hear, just hope on the list and wait?

[tempero]

I got verified last week. It took them about 10 days... 

[Foxpup]

Why did you do business with them in the first place if you don't trust them with your personal information? The Terms of Service (which you agreed to when you signed up) clearly state that they "will request identification information" and can freeze your account at any time if you don't provide it. They are legally required to collect this information due to anti-money laundering regulations. If you used their service with no intention of ever providing your personal information despite agreeing to a TOS saying you will be required to do so, that basically amounts to fraud on your part. Your chances of getting your money out without handing over your information are not good.

[CrusaderT2]

are you going to verify your account at the risk of losing anonymity?

[dodekaiser]

I got verification mainly to transfer with Dwolla.

[casper77]

as for me, my Position in the Verification Queue 13380
it decreases at 1000 every day
i wait...

[sarajasie0C2C]

the hole point on this is to be anonymous, and they make us reveal the id ?

[rmbc]

Why did you do business with them in the first place if you don't trust them with your personal information? The Terms of Service (which you agreed to when you signed up) clearly state that they "will request identification information" and can freeze your account at any time if you don't provide it. They are legally required to collect this information due to anti-money laundering regulations. If you used their service with no intention of ever providing your personal information despite agreeing to a TOS saying you will be required to do so, that basically amounts to fraud on your part. Your chances of getting your money out without handing over your information are not good.

Well, I'm pretty sure that when I signed up they didn't have this in the ToS, certaintly not the bit about "give us enough personal information to make any online crook salivate or lose the money we happily accepted when you sent it"
I'm not even sure they had a ToS at that time
On the verification page itself, it states that you can ask to become verified in order to improve security, not that it's mandatory.

I think you will agree it's a bit hypocritical to first take my money and allow withdrawals as well (to a verified SEPA bank account no less), only to spring this extra requirement now that the market slows down ?
Why allow bitcoin deposits, but not withdrawals ?
Hence my questions about the process itself. what else will they ask once I pass this hurdle ? They can add any requirement they wish at this point.

Sure, I could just hand it all over and trust them to not fuck it up.  
The problem here is I don't like the risk, their track record isn't so great (my email was leaked in the previous hack. I still get targeted phishing mails)

[Peek]

Around these parts, your bank account gets blocked if not verified every 5 years...

Neither can you simply acquire a pre-paid cell number without verification.

Surely it's the first signs that BitCoin is currently being taken much more seriously that originally expected.

[rmbc]

Around these parts, your bank account gets blocked if not verified every 5 years...

Neither can you simply acquire a pre-paid cell number without verification.

Surely it's the first signs that BitCoin is currently being taken much more seriously that originally expected.

yeah, I'm fine with banks and such doing verification.
my bank and telco are in my local jurisdiction and have to follow the EU directives on privacy, data protection, etc.
Plus, if they get hacked and I lose money as a result, they're obligated to refund the cost.
They can even get fined if they don't take the necessary precautions.

[ZoolooMaster]

Bitstamp works well and doesn't require any kind of identity verification. Instead of waiting 5 weeks to get verified on Mt.Gox I was able to send a SEPA transfer in under 24 hours on Bitstamp.

[tetheno]

I have to verify my account aswell..

[biskup]

To be honest, when it comes to dealing with money I prefer if verification is required. This makes me trust the company as I feel they care about security of my investment.
On the other hand, I've strange feelings when I send a scan of my passport over internet to someone I don't know as it always may leak out and be used for some fraud on the other side of the globe...

[min0r]

i don't understand why we need it

[miner69er2]

The US government now treats bitcoins roughly as any other foreign currency, and thus anyone doing business with US citizens or in the US will need to follow US money manager/transfer/exchange regulations, which may include having to ask for social security / taxpayer ID numbers and other identification.

[Juddy]

Gone down about 4000 in queue here in the last week.

[DigiZ]

don't know anyone there

[rmbc]

so, finally got a reply, and it was entirely besides the point

I've asked again.
if being verified is mandatory or can be made mandatory at a whim, they need to put on the mtgox site more clearly. Now it is misleading at best.

now it has:

We recommend that all users become verified to ensure the best Mt.Gox experience. Becoming verified is easy, and the application process can be completed in a number of minutes.

and

AML levels:
level 0. No verification needed (Level 0) - All accounts are initially Level 0
“Level 0” is designed for basic users, consumers and Bitcoin enthusiasts where 10,000 USD (monthly) is enough for most needs.

I stayed within the usage of level 0.