Official CaVirtex.com Thread

[Bobsurplus]

I'd also just like to point out that doing some research I came up with some information about anotehr Canadian exchange.

https://www.canadianbitcoins.com.

They seem to have a real address. Not a PO box. I'm going to call them later to find out if they also use CS reps who work from home.

At least they have what seems to be a real physical address, not only that, they deal in cash from what I see here.

How come they can do it but virtex cant?

[Bobsurplus]

I urge everyone who uses Virtex to file your complaints about their lies regarding being a LICENSED MSB, as well as any other concerns you may have regarding the use of fake names, no real address and most of all, using who-knows-who as CS reps who work from home.

Kent Pallister-403-678-6323 Compliance Services Director.
kent.pallister@calgary.ca

Steve Dwason -Compliance Service 403-678-6323
Steve.Dawson@calgary.ca

I will be drafting up letters and sending them out. I will also post here if I have any other contact info of people to whom we should make a complaint.


 EDIT: I WILL ALSO CONTACT ALL THE BANKS THAT SERVICE VIRTEX AND COMPLAIN TO THEM HOW VIRTEX MISUSES THE TERM "MSB LICENSE" (again...does not exist) AND DRAWS PEOPLE IN WITH THIS FALSE ADVERTISING.

[kingofspain]

I don't really get the controversy.

I dunno about the MSB licence/registration issue, I'll leave that to someone who is qualified to discuss it (and I don't know who here is). But the address and CS names thing seems pretty innocuous; lots of people in the BTC exchange business get targeted by hackers and criminals, so it hardly seems odd that they'd put their company address behind a P.O. box, or use pseudonyms when dealing with clients over the phone. I've worked CS jobs before, and when you're dealing with the internet you will always be dealing with crazy people. I certainly don't want them to know my name.

Plus, I don't think there is any law that says CS reps need to use real names, or the address be an office. If I go talk to EA or Steam support, the name I see on the screen probably isn't the real name of the CS rep, but I don't care about that. What matters is that the service is good and the company is accountable. I haven't used the VirtEx site a lot, but so far I've had no big issues.

[Bobsurplus]

Thanks for making yourfirst post count.

I can tell you this, just from the info I uncovered here, which is now in the hands of 3 agencies, you should be very worried about leaving any money in Virtex.

Wait till I get a hold of the banks and show them the correspondences I have been having with FINTRAC and the compliances division of the alberta business registry.

These guys will be out of business faster then I thought!

You cant spew lies and mislead your clients for months without repercussions.

[_mr_e]

Thanks for making yourfirst post count.

I can tell you this, just from the info I uncovered here, which is now in the hands of 3 agencies, you should be very worried about leaving any money in Virtex.

Wait till I get a hold of the banks and show them the correspondences I have been having with FINTRAC and the compliances division of the alberta business registry.

These guys will be out of business faster then I thought!

You cant spew lies and mislead your clients for months without repercussions.

Dude your embarrassing yourself. You've yet to provide any evidence to back up your claims of any wrong doing. Just stop already.

[cavirtex]

CAVirtEx April 2014 Newsletter

1) FREE Debit Cards! - We are now offering free debit cards to all existing clients! If you would like a FREE debit card, please just let us know via a support ticket (http://support.cavirtex.com/), phone call, or get in touch with a staff member you know via email.

2) March Survey Results are in! - Our March survey was also very popular, and we have received over 750 responses – thank you to everyone who filled it out! The information we have received will be very useful in bringing you all the features that you want. Our first survey review is available here: http://blog.cavirtex.com/cavirtex-survey-getting-know

3) New security feature for your bank account - We have implemented a new security feature to help keep your funds safe. Bank account confirmation is now in place, and the entirely automated system will ensure that all bank accounts added are micro deposit verified. Be sure to confirm your account by April 3, when the grace period ends. https://www.cavirtex.com/banking_information

4) Regulatory Meetings Booked! - I will be meeting with politicians and Finance Canada in April where I will be speaking directly to the decision makers that will regulate Bitcoin in Canada! As Canada's first and largest Bitcoin exchange, they want to hear from us and be educated on the Canadian Bitcoin movement!

5) Brand name attack underway - Virtex.com has started aggressive advertising with the promise of low fees and international service. We are NOT affiliated with this entity in any way. Be cautioned that if you sign-up with them, that they are a completely separate entity that intends on servicing international clients and has no connection to us whatsoever.

6) Toronto Bitcoin Expo, April 11-13, 2014 is booked! - Our team will be there with a booth, handing out debit cards and getting customers verified on the spot! I will also be speaking on April 12, 2014. Come and meet us! Full details are at http://bitcoinexpo.ca/ (If you haven't yet registered for a ticket, use promo code "cavirtex" to get a 15% discount!)

Sincerely,
Joseph David CEO CAVirtEx

[Bobsurplus]

Thanks for making yourfirst post count.

I can tell you this, just from the info I uncovered here, which is now in the hands of 3 agencies, you should be very worried about leaving any money in Virtex.

Wait till I get a hold of the banks and show them the correspondences I have been having with FINTRAC and the compliances division of the alberta business registry.

These guys will be out of business faster then I thought!

You cant spew lies and mislead your clients for months without repercussions.

Dude your embarrassing yourself. You've yet to provide any evidence to back up your claims of any wrong doing. Just stop already.

No sir.. That is you who is an embarrassment. Either you cant read or you're a virtex shill.

Everything I backed up, from FINTRAC website to the fact that joseph hires bums who work from home and has the potential to expose all your personal info to the whole world.

What happens if an employee is mad at Joseph for whatever reason, do you like the fact that a disgruntled employee may have access to all of your personal info. \

Its ok though, the ball is rolling!

[Bobsurplus]

@virtex, enjoy the expo. It will be your last!

[Bobsurplus]

EDIT: ORIGINAL EMAIL I SENT:

"Good morning Mr Dawson & Mr Pallister

I am taking the time to write to you regarding a business registered as an MSB and "supposedly" licensed as a MSB through your office,

The company in question is https://www.cavirtex.com which is an on-line Bitcoin exchange.

Here are my concerns:

1-No real address. The address on file is for a UPS store mailbox.

2-The use of aliases is rampant in this company (even the owner uses one) and I believe we have a right to know who were dealing with when we call in for help. (especially if they are in deed a MSB)

3- This company openly admits to using CS reps who work from home located all around the country. The problem is, these reps are asking for very personal info from their clients when we call in for help. Where does the info we give them end up? I surely don't want my identity stolen and I cant imagine a MSB is allowed to put our info at risk like that. A bank or insurance company would never proceed in that manner.

4- https://www.cavirtex.com/why_virtex you can clearly see here that this site uses the term "Licensed Money Service Business. MSB#M14928781" The problem is there is no license with FINTRAC, Just a registration. They don't even issue them, they just register businesses.

5- More info comes to light here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=218435.460 in post # 472 from then on you will see how Virtex uses smoke and mirrors to blur the truth.

I believe with the recent massive loss of over $500 Million from Mxgox (another on-line exchange I'm sure you heard about) is just cause to look into this case of misrepresentation and blatant lies.

I hope to be able to help you further this investigation as I am also waiting on FINTRAC to get back to me, they are also interested in the lies that Virtex is spewing. 


I look forward to hearing back for you soon."

First reply from KENT

Hello Mr. ***************  The City of Calgary licensing bylaws do not regulate financial exchanges but I will double check our system for any municipal licences that we may have issued to them.   The searches that I have conducted so far based on your information (trade name, ownership) do not come up with any municipal licences.  We would not be able to licence a business based out of a UPS store.  If you have any further information please let me know.
 
Kent  



Reply:

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.
I have been getting the run around as to who regulates and licences Virtex, and so far nobody can give me a straight answer. Can you please find out where I should file my complaints as I believe this to be a big issue that has potential to cause a lot of damage to my fellow Canadians bitcoiners. I can assure you the info I sent in the last email has everything noted from the UPS store to the CS reps who work from home handling very personal info.

I can try to get you any further information that's needed but please put me in contact with someone who can clarify who handles this businesses MSB "license".

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

[Bobsurplus]

I will keep you all updated on the replies I get back from everyone I have contacted.

[nubbins]

I will keep you all updated on the replies I get back from everyone I have contacted.

Maybe when you get your replies, you can gather them into a single post, rather than spamming the thread with a dozen posts per day? 

[Bobsurplus]

No thanks, I'll continue to post them as they come in! If you believe it to be spamming then please put me on your ignore list!

I am just keeping everyone up to date.

[_mr_e]

Wow, obviously the City of Calgary is not responsible for issuing Canadian MSB licenses. You're a joke.

[Bobsurplus]

Wow, obviously the City of Calgary is not responsible for issuing Canadian MSB licenses. You're a joke.

We'll see whos the joke. You have to start somewhere. I have contacted the province of Alberta too.

[_mr_e]

Looking forward to your post slowly fading away as you realize you've got nothing to back your claims... I'm done feeding the troll.

[Bobsurplus]

Alberta securities commission is next!

403-297-6454

[kingofspain]

Yeah, TBH this seems kind of silly. It doesn't take a genius to know that cities don't regulate financial bodies, and AFAIK provinces only regulate securities... there was some news about making that a federal responsibility last year.

It's all moot anyway unless virtual currency becomes a real thing in the eyes of the government. Doesn't matter if you have an MSB license if you aren't technically dealing with money. A securities license would be more relevant, but first Bitcoin needs to be a security... chicken and egg problem I guess.

And really Bobsurplus, spamming the topic isn't going to help you convince me or others. I looked back on the last few pages, and you really went kind of crazy with the font there. This looks like a case of the Greater Internet F***wad Theory.

[cavirtex]

I don't really get the controversy.

I dunno about the MSB licence/registration issue, I'll leave that to someone who is qualified to discuss it (and I don't know who here is). But the address and CS names thing seems pretty innocuous; lots of people in the BTC exchange business get targeted by hackers and criminals, so it hardly seems odd that they'd put their company address behind a P.O. box, or use pseudonyms when dealing with clients over the phone. I've worked CS jobs before, and when you're dealing with the internet you will always be dealing with crazy people. I certainly don't want them to know my name.

Plus, I don't think there is any law that says CS reps need to use real names, or the address be an office. If I go talk to EA or Steam support, the name I see on the screen probably isn't the real name of the CS rep, but I don't care about that. What matters is that the service is good and the company is accountable. I haven't used the VirtEx site a lot, but so far I've had no big issues.

kingofspain, I spoke with our compliance office, and the appropriate word to use is "registered" Money Service Business, not "licensed." I have corrected the word in my original reference (post #517). 

[Bobsurplus]

I don't really get the controversy.

I dunno about the MSB licence/registration issue, I'll leave that to someone who is qualified to discuss it (and I don't know who here is). But the address and CS names thing seems pretty innocuous; lots of people in the BTC exchange business get targeted by hackers and criminals, so it hardly seems odd that they'd put their company address behind a P.O. box, or use pseudonyms when dealing with clients over the phone. I've worked CS jobs before, and when you're dealing with the internet you will always be dealing with crazy people. I certainly don't want them to know my name.

Plus, I don't think there is any law that says CS reps need to use real names, or the address be an office. If I go talk to EA or Steam support, the name I see on the screen probably isn't the real name of the CS rep, but I don't care about that. What matters is that the service is good and the company is accountable. I haven't used the VirtEx site a lot, but so far I've had no big issues.

kingofspain, I spoke with our compliance office, and the appropriate word to use is "registered" Money Service Business, not "licensed." I have corrected the word in my original reference (post #517).  

Its too late though.. The ship has set sail. Better change the wording on the site too. You guys are a joke, using remote reps to handle personal information. You guys really fucked up. I have contacted your banks in Alberta and am waiting on a response. I am contacting your debit card provider as well and if need be will file complaints against them too.

You are witnessing the slow death of Virtex as we speak.

I plan on contacting every single agency that may have some sort of oversight to bring them up to date on the current situation.

[SgtMoth]

Ive been using virtex since late 2011, cashed out 20-30000$ through this exchange, NEVER had a problem!  If youve had a problem with virtex, will you please tell us your problem?  Ive reread this thread and it just seems like you turn on virtex for no real reason?  I keep a lot of money in my bank too and I do confess, I dont know anybody's name there and I dont care too.  Rule #1 NEVER, EVER KEEP YOUR COINS AT AN EXCHANGE!  Send to sell, never keep there!  If your day trading, well thats a risk.  btw...i got hacked at the end of dec, hackers couldnt get my coins at virtex, they were safe. I sold them all and sent the money to the bank and cleaned my computers.  thank you virtex, i lost $2000 in ltc but saved $10 000 in btc.  Hackers popped a message saying my wallet password expired,lol...

...i dont think its possible for an exchange like this to go unnoticed by authorities.  virtex has and continues to be a successful exchange. i dont keep btc or money on virtex, i have no worries.