► Bitstamp.net sucks ◄ ► They closed my account without any reason ◄

[superiorus]

Bitstamp.net has decided to close my 4 years old account 100% verified (they have my national ID, driving license, proof of address, bank statement, credit card statement, etc).
I made xxxxx$ transactions in the past without any problem (buy, sell, deposit, withdraw, exchange bitcoin).
A week ago I made a exchange btc to eur (344.59 euro) and requested a withdrawal.
After 7 days they sent me this:

Dear XXX  XXX,

After careful consideration, Bitstamp decided to terminate Your access to Your Account in accordance with our Terms of Use. Your account will be terminated from the date of this notice having been received by you. This notice shall be treated as having been served upon completion of the transmission of this email.

The decision to terminate your Account has been reached following a close examination of your recent account activity and information which you have provided. It is our view that any continuation of our relationship would not be appropriate at this time due to internal policies.

Your account balance will be returned to the bank account specified in your last withdrawal from Bitstamp, costs withheld.

No reason, no explanation, nothing ...
They sent me 319.59 eur to my attached bank account.
They take 25 euro fee ... for a SEPA transfer which normally costs 0.15 euro cents.

Conclusion: Bitstamp sucks!

[maiolo]

Hey superiorus,

the same happened to me the 21st april. They sent me the same email, replied just once and then didn't bother at all to give me more informations about the refund or the schedule when they plan to refund me. They don't reply, I tried to call several times - nothing. Still by today, I didn't get anything..

So how long did you have to wait for the wire transfer?

Regards,
Alex

EDIT: they transferred back the money today (8th may) with the BTC/EUR exchange of the 20th (as far as I can remember) so I didn't llose anything, but I didn't make the profit of nearly 30% either. At least I'm back to square 1

[Hazir]

Bitstamp is known for tight security (if you can call that closing people's accounts). About 2 years ago they went on a rampage and terminated all unverified account.

More info here: https://www.bitstamp.net/article/final-notice-to-unverified-account-holders/

So it seems they introduced next level of this strategy. This time they will close accounts for selected users who are not 100% flawless according to their system.
It is probably due to some new AML or other KYC policy.

[European Central Bank]

I don't trust any exchange any more. even if they're legit that means they'll screw you because of that.

if I eve do have to get out of crypto I'm doing it otc with a reputable broker.

what good are all these alt pumps when you can only withdraw a couple grand a day from poloniex?

[maiolo]

Bitstamp is known for tight security (if you can call that closing people's accounts). About 2 years ago they went on a rampage and terminated all unverified account.

More info here: https://www.bitstamp.net/article/final-notice-to-unverified-account-holders/

So it seems they introduced next level of this strategy. This time they will close accounts for selected users who are not 100% flawless according to their system.
It is probably due to some new AML or other KYC policy.

well my account was verified, everything worked out just fine. What I don't understand is why they didn't want to tell me what I did "wrong" I mean.... and then, to close the account, not giving me back my 3 btc! that's just illegal, then the fact that they don't reply anymore.. I mean WTF seriously. I'm thinking about just flying up to London and claim my account balance..

[SONG GEET]

All of the bitcoin exchange platform sucks this days, bitfinex can't be trusted , poloniex doesn't support USD pair, USDT (tether) have their own problems, Yobit can't be trusted for bitcoin trading.

Actually bitstamp and kraken are the only option right now for bitcoin traders and both of them sucks with their tight KYC policy.

We need decentralized trading platform, we have one bitsquare but there is not much trading volume.

[superiorus]

They are just stupid ... in my opinion
Since I sent them all the requested documents (verified twice) and also proofs from where I got those bitcoins ... they had no reason to close my account.
But they are hiding behind that TOS which does not give us any rights (at least to get a fair explanation).

[European Central Bank]

Bitstamp is known for tight security (if you can call that closing people's accounts). About 2 years ago they went on a rampage and terminated all unverified account.

More info here: https://www.bitstamp.net/article/final-notice-to-unverified-account-holders/

So it seems they introduced next level of this strategy. This time they will close accounts for selected users who are not 100% flawless according to their system.
It is probably due to some new AML or other KYC policy.

well my account was verified, everything worked out just fine. What I don't understand is why they didn't want to tell me what I did "wrong" I mean.... and then, to close the account, not giving me back my 3 btc! that's just illegal, then the fact that they don't reply anymore.. I mean WTF seriously. I'm thinking about just flying up to London and claim my account balance..

they're somewhere in Slovenia.  their only presence in Britain was a post box and that's probably lapsed by now anyway.

[maiolo]

I registered an account on kraken a couple of days ago - I'm going to try that out. But which other possibility does one have to get the his own bitcoins back to cash?

EDIT:
@superiorus
how long did you have to wait for the bank wire?

[superiorus]

I registered an account on kraken a couple of days ago - I'm going to try that out. But which other possibility does one have to get the his own bitcoins back to cash?

EDIT:
@superiorus
how long did you have to wait for the bank wire?

I think it was completed in 2-3 days.
The problem was that they cancel my initial withdrawal request (which had low fees because it was SEPA - something like 0.15$) and they charge me 25 eur for that final withdrawal.

[crazyjack]

I registered an account on kraken a couple of days ago - I'm going to try that out. But which other possibility does one have to get the his own bitcoins back to cash?

EDIT:
@superiorus
how long did you have to wait for the bank wire?

I think it was completed in 2-3 days.
The problem was that they cancel my initial withdrawal request (which had low fees because it was SEPA - something like 0.15$) and they charge me 25 eur for that final withdrawal.

That is really strange, i created my account at bitstamp also 4 ago as you did and went thru their verification process as everyone else (probably). Since then I haven't had any problem. From time to time I log in and get i reminder that my password is getting old and needs to be change. That's it.

Thanks for pointing this problem out. I you dont mind can I forward this thread to their support, wondering what may say about that? Bitstamp in my prime entrance to crypto world and want to clear that "issue" before I make another deposit.

If this has happened to you, who can say it won't happen to me or to someone else, right?

[PokerFace3]

It seems this is not first time that bitstamp is stealing money from traders, refer here : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=825890 based on this incident Vod has give negative trust to bitstamp's owner/admin by 2014 October itself but we are all still trusting this services but admin was last active some years back.

I guess it is time for this community to stand up to force all bitcoin related services to maintain their reputation here otherwise this community should suggest not to use those services.

[maiolo]

@crazyjack
yes please I would be glad if you do so. I mean I'm really desperate, that's a lot of money of mine that they have and I really hope they give it back to me, like they told :-/

[findingthemoon]

That's unfortunate to hear, bitstamp has always been one of the few exchanges I trust. The good thing is they gave you your money back, however taking a fee for it is wrong on their part, that is where you have a legitimate complaint.

[Supercrypt]

I guess it is time for this community to stand up to force all bitcoin related services to maintain their reputation here otherwise this community should suggest not to use those services.

You are coming up with some amazing idea, I guess this forum will work on these very soon. I do foresee that your idea may get popular like how Mitchell's Overview of Bitcointalk Signature-Ad Campaigns is already doing here.

On the other hand, we cannot expect big companies to keep on responding here in this forum and that is the reason they will be having customer support within their service itself. Still, to make this forum more effective, I guess there will be nothing wrong for those services to hire some executives just for providing support through this forum too.

[alyssa85]

Bitstamp is known for tight security (if you can call that closing people's accounts). About 2 years ago they went on a rampage and terminated all unverified account.

More info here: https://www.bitstamp.net/article/final-notice-to-unverified-account-holders/

So it seems they introduced next level of this strategy. This time they will close accounts for selected users who are not 100% flawless according to their system.
It is probably due to some new AML or other KYC policy.

They're in Slovenia, and the Slovenian banks all needed bailouts back in 2011, and then again in 2013. So I expect this is down to some tightening of bank criteria.

P.S. I found the following very interesting article from 2016:

http://www.intellinews.com/ecb-threatens-legal-action-after-raid-on-slovenian-central-bank-101451/

According to a July 6 statement from the Slovenian police,  there are suspicions concerning an assessment of one of the banks rescued by the state in 2013, which meant that that bank could gain financial benefits and scrap its obligations towards holders of subordinated bonds and subordinated debt worth €257mn, due to decisions taken by "official persons".

As part of the banks' overhaul a total of around €600mn of subordinated bonds were scrapped at five banks. The Slovenian Association of Small Shareholders responded by filing several court cases against the central bank and local banks, claiming the subordinated bonds and shareholders' capital in rescued banks should not have been erased.

The Slovenian central bank had repeatedly rejected allegations that it mishandled data used when putting together a rescue package for Slovenia's banks, Reuters reported.

The whole Slovenian banking system is in trouble when it's Central Bank gets raided by the European Central Bank.

[maiolo]

they transferred back the money today (8th may) with the BTC/EUR exchange of the 20th (as far as I can remember) so I didn't llose anything, but I didn't make the profit of nearly 30% either. At least I'm back to square 1

[superiorus]

they transferred back the money today (8th may) with the BTC/EUR exchange of the 20th (as far as I can remember) so I didn't llose anything, but I didn't make the profit of nearly 30% either. At least I'm back to square 1

They charge you that final 25 eur withdrawal fee?
When I asked why they take 25 eur for a SEPA transaction they reply and said:  "In accordance with our Fee Schedule (https://www.bitstamp.net/fee_schedule/) SEPA Transfer returns  are charged with a fee of 25€."

[maiolo]

I suppose so, as I can't remember exactly what the exchange was at that time. But well you know, at least I have my money back :-)

[superiorus]

I suppose so, as I can't remember exactly what the exchange was at that time. But well you know, at least I have my money back :-)

Is exactly what I said at that time
What do you use now?

Ah .. by the way: Coinbase also closed my account because they are too stupid to understand that I don't have a business ID (because I'm an individual, I don't own a business). They allow me to create a new personal account anyway.