Internet gambling debt

sorry one more question, should i take out a hardship loan from work to pay these debts off?? How hard is it to do this? I work for kraft foods, and i believe i could take out 20000 out of my thrift plan.but i am not sure if they would allow?

I would say first thing to do is close your bank account that is connected to these accounts so that you can regain control. I have been in your shoes, Now I am addicted to this site. good thing. They will work out payment plans with you. I have had the accounts with navaho networks, click to pay, citadel and any other foolish site that would pop money in the slot machine for me. The only thing that helped me is when the United states banded it and the banks started refusing to let gambling sites use debit cards. That was a big help to me, however still have the navaho and the pesky little bingo sites that I visit. I used to play till they were maxed and couldn't play anymore.

I would not touch the thrift plan to pay these off at least not right away, see if you can work out a payment plan with each of them first. Unlike credit cards they do not accumulate intrest, Do you have contact information for them? If not if you list them, I can help you find out how to contact them. Also list what state you are from and how much you owe each site. There may be laws in place with the new gaming legislation that will help you out in some way. Look forward to your post and trying to help you through this.

I would say your husband is doing the right thing in getting rid of the internet, so you can't gamble on it anymore. I would also say, as a drug addict in recovery for over 2 years, to look into some support group help. You are the addict, stop blaming someone else for taking your money. Even if by some slim chance you did get your money back, remember you are still going to be an addict. Getting the money back is the least of your concerns. Get clean. Sorry to sound so harsh, I have been there, I have also put the blame anywhere I could except on me.

you are right, it is completely my fault....I am an internet gambling junkie....now its time to pay the piper.just wondering if anyone has been in this situation before? Thanks all for your help...

You can't keep blaming yourself. IF that was the case, then it is my fault that I am in debt with the pdls. Stop beating yourself up about it and make a change. Resist the temptation and attend gamblers anonymous or try getting help.

The only person that can help you first is you.

Easier said than done, Internet gambling is always accessable the monster is right in your house with you. You don't have to go out and get it. You have to either disconnect internet service or quit cold turkey, its a XXXXXX to break the habit.

'I''ve been in and still am in the same whole. I''ve had the problems with williams cohen and gray for click2pay and joseph mann & creed for citadel. Let me tell you JMC is horrible to deal with. They will threaten you and get abusive. I finally was able to get them paid off with 3 payment''s which they accepted. As for dealing with parties like neteller I may get flamed for this but ignore it. What are they going to do. If they get a collection agency after you request a debt validation letter. This will not hold up in the US because you cannot be forced to honor a contract that is based on illegal activities. I''m not speaking here from the what is morally right to do i''m just giving you options They will tell you anything to get you to pay but you could really fight this as you CANNOT be forced to pay any of this be Illegal Gambling debts are unenforceable (or at least in my state Pennsylvania).

Alexandra, if you knew anything about addiction you would know that you have to acknowledge it before you can go on. For you to tell someone to stop blaming themself is irresponsible. If you have ever been in a real program you would know that. Please stick to debt issues and keep out of addicts recovery.

Guest- Alexandra told him to go to Gamblers Anonymous, which is good. You don't have to acknowledge you have a problem to get help. Alot of people go to get help because they are in trouble with loosing family, jobs, money, home, etc, not necessarily because they think they have a problem with gambling, drinking, drugs, etc., they just want to get out of trouble or get someothing back,ie: family, jobs, etc. If any type of behavoir is causing problems in your life, there is help and hope, but you have to take action to get it..KAren

Internet gambling is illegal. In that sense, they have no right to your money. What Davee said it dead on - they have no rights to your cash because it was illegal for them to allow you to gamble.

Close your accounts and let them suck wind. Seriously. I know this first hand with my spouse. I heard the threats from the companies, but we had no money to give them. In speaking with a friend, who in turned checked with a lawyer - these companies have no rights to your money since internet gambling is prohibited in the US.

It's been over two years now. We heard them at first, but after closing the accounts, we have heard nothing since. And they have our address and not a single letter. Needless to say, my spouse didn't win a single penny. Big shock, I am sure.

I think her hubby shut off her internet service guys, she isn't answering.

I have paid jm$c in the past, but after reading this i may not pay them now. I owe them a couple thousand dollars. Just curious if anyone can give me any pointers on ow to deal with them and if i dont pay, what will happen and how long will it take to happen. any info would be greatly apprediated.

thanks

I am in the same boat. I owe neteller 1500, bodog 2000, click2pay 1000 and citadel 500. It has been about 2 years, they cant do a thing and they know it. I am going to challenge it all this week after reading this. Screw those websites, they deserve to have people close their accounts. You might as well go and open up 15 bank accounts and max them out and gamble all the money and leave it open if you win and close them if you lose. They can not do anything.

I have owed them for about 14 months and they cant do anything.

I must be have been very fortunate dealing with JM&C when it came to owing click2pay--they sent me a letter stating what I owed--I sent them a money order-paid it in full--the original amount I owed to c2p--not the added interest/fees. They sent me a letter the following month asking for the amount I had just paid and I sent it back (after keeping a copy for me) wrote on it my money order number and big bold letters wrote Paid In Full and I received a letter back from them apologizing and saying "thank you for your payment-your account is closed". And I have not heard any more from them. And yes I did online gambling also any my click2pay transfers were returned because I was only allowed 6 ach transfers a month and I went over that limit without realizing it. But I did it and I made sure it got paid. I guess you have to let your consceince be your guide.

goodluck to all, I struggle with this situation myself. anyone dealt with navaho networks? also known as ewallet?

The only time I've heard of ewallet is at some of the online cas---s-sorry Fedupinpa. Good luck to you.

wondered if could get in touch with you ... i had jmc call me this morning and havent returned the call. just wondered how far you were along in the collections process and ohter questions.. i would like to tal to you.. my email is now they will probably start emailing this account now that i put it out there.. oh well.. hope to here from you soon thanks.

Personal info from poster and in reference to another poster removed. Cajunbulldog

I owed JMC money for years, and I stopped paying them and they reported me to all the Credit Bureaus. People you need to pay them. They are not officially collecting on gambling debts. They are collecting on the payment processors. This is 100% LEGAL. This is why they are able to do what they do in the states.

They are in no way direectly connected to online gamlbing which sets them apart and this is still a valid debt. I would pay or at least settle with them, because they WILL take further action. I can't even buy a house now because my credit is so messed up.

Any questions please email me at Removed email info. Cajunbulldog

Hey Guys,I just recieved a letter from JMC for click2pay and have never used their site .I cant believe that someone was desperate enough to gamble and use my name and if things couldnt get worse they have my social too.In January I noticed a charge on my bank account and disputed it.The bank urged me to close the account and reopen another.The person using my account was also trying to get a loan in my name.I thought that it was over then yesterday I get the collection notice from JMC.Any sugestions on what I should do?

isis,go to www.ftc.gov and download their id theft affidavit along with the instructions. Fill it out and have it notarized.Bring to police station to fill out id theft police report. Send a notarized copy to each credit bureau with a letter authorizing initial fraud alert. Send certified return receipt. Send another copy of this documentation to the collector and original creditor. Keep one copy in a safe place.Call each of your creditors and inform them of fraud so they can flag your accounts to keep an eye on them.

Do you have copies of the dispute with your bank, you could send click2pay copies and they may at least take a look at it.

got a call from JMC... not sure what tehy can do, but i am concerened about one day them presenting a giant due balance with tons of back interest and fees...

The best thing I to do is to contact JMC and make arrangements with them. Ian B is correct--they are collecting for the payment processors not the online gambling places. If you can only afford $50 a month I believe they will work you. You don't want to ignore them. I found them to be very helpful and friendly--not abusive at all. Good luck.

Yeah just pay them.......it's your debt anyways. Find a way!

Not talking ethics here just facts. If you send them a debt validation letter most likely you will never hear from them again. Yes they are not collecting for the online gambling establishment itself but what type of debt validation will they give you joe owes x to this company who processes payments for online gambling... I'm in Gam Anon and have talked to many. Gambling debts are unenforceable. This does not apply only to online gambling establishments direct but also to any third party that knowingly processes transactions for online gambling establishments.

From a legal perspective, they are not collecting on Gambling debts. That is like saying that I cannot collect from PayPal account because it was used to purchase illegal drugs. These online wallets keep themselves protected. The collection agency is collecting on the transaciton. Whatever the consumer used the funds for is not their business.

it's plain as day!

I own them money and am in credit counseling. i told them the credit counseling company would contact them. They said they do not deal with credit counseling companies. I wondered if this is true with debt collectors or they are blowing smoke up my ass? Also, i can see both the above posts point. But, citadel and click2pay are not like paypal. they only deal with gambling as far as i know. I just wish there was a right answer instead of both sides saying they are correct. I hope davee28 is correct. and please update the site with your progress if you have sent a validation letter.

Thanks

They DO work with Debt Couciling companies because that is how I paid them. Just work with them, and if not talk to Tom, who is a supervisor and can help you. The debt validation letter stops their calls but the debt is still owed, and they can still hit your credit. I'd call and talk with this Tom guy!

Ian B

Thanks Ian, i will try that i guess. Another thing i am curious about is if you just dont pay... if it hits my credit i really dont care much about that, because it is a total wreck anyways. But wondered if they acutally take you to court for the funds or if they just hit your credit report. I think when transactions finally come in to jmc, i may owe around 5 to 6 thousand. is that enough for them to take me to court, and will the court even consider this debt valid? Also, if that amount of money goes to the counseling agency, what can i expect for amount of payments, and what kind of time frame is to be expected?

Thanks

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My first question is.... are any of you who are deeply in debt from gambling taking any medications for Parkinson's Disease or Restless Leg Syndrome? If so, the medication may be the cause of your addiction/ compulsion. See your doctor immediately if this is the case. There are many articles on the Internet about this side effect.

Secondly, I got a letter from JMC, too. I am going to forward it on to an attorney friend and see what he has to say about it.

Hey Duck,

Please keep the site updated on what your attorney friend says. I would greatly appreciate it. I'm not taking any medications.. .just have a very bad addiction, but am getting help through GA.

First of all, ive been through the collection process and ive owed igmpay, citadel, navaho...pretty much all of the payment processors there are today and Ive been playing for about 7 years.

DO NOT PAY A DIME TO THESE CROOKS. And do not be intimidated by collectors trying to collect this debt. I must have paid 5k to these guys when i finally realized that they cant do anything to your personal credit, nor can they report you to chexsystems. Its all an intimidation game. Next time they call, you call their bluff of taking you to court, or garnishing your wages.etc...believe me they cannot. They never have, and they never will. This would only apply to transactions that deal with your checking acct of course, however, with credit cards, its a different kind of headache.

I owe about 40k to my credit cards but they are all from internet gambling. These are not enforceable as well and credit card companies go through great lengths to keep this from the public. Thats why you;ll hardly find any information about people having their debts absolved simply by hiring a lawyer to talk to the banks lawyers. Its a simple one conversation phone call that will clear all of your debt. However, the fact of the matter is, if your delinquent in payments, it will stay on your credit file. I just got 21k cleared from my credit cards and im still working to clear the rest.

I know that its wrong to do this but I dont feel sorry for the bank who knowingly processed my transactions for profit and i really dont feel sorry fot those shady internet sites that rake in millions of illegal dollars in revenue.

WHat i am sorry for is the .00001 percentage increase in apr i will cause other card holders and for that i apologize. I obviously dont gamble anymore online. Its a futile hope to ever win anything and it causes nothing but problems ahead.

good luck to all who are in my shoes.peace out!

internet gambler

btw...do not intend to keep playing after doing this b/c you wont be able to. and when choosing representation, find someone you trust. Do not speak to customer service reps at the credit card companies, go straight to the supervisor and always ask to stop any recording of the conversation. if they refuse, just repeat the request three times, its policy for alot of creditors to stop tape after the third request...i think i can write a book about how to deal with creditors and third party collectors...whenever someone calls, they usually hang up on me and not the other way around. Consumers have more rights than these people want you to believe...and believe me, whatever anyone tells you about what they can do to your credit, or anything that has to do with legal ramifications, dont be scared and just laugh by telling them that the person who decided to purchase this debt just lost money and that they should just sell it to another agency as quickly as possible. My firepay debt, which i racked up to 18,000 went through 2 different agencies until it came back to firepay. when i received a phone call from firepay collections, i then realized that collection agencies cant do squat. firepay has stopped calling me ever since....i would think 18,000 is enough to pursue collections, but since they know that its uncollectible they move on to the smaller debts and hope the intidimidation games work on other people who dont know any better. remember, do not negotiate anything. just tell them you dont have the money and if they ask for your lawyer, tell them to call larry h parker. i actually had one collector tell me that he negotiated with him a settlement amount for less than the full balance...i was lmao.

I had a gambling problem myself about 2 years ago. Bounced on over 2500 from citadel and about the same from neteller. They tried calling for a while, and if I remember correctly I took my phone and left it next to the radio. I checked the phone at random to see when they'd hang up and I remember the caller staying on for up to 20 minutes at times...lol. The calls stopped and I have never heard from them since then.

So I owe about 3000 to JMC for internet gambling debts. I keep getting calls. I have read the threads and some of you say I should send a debt validation letter? Can you explain what this is? If I send it, and include that these were internet gambling charges that I have had reversed by my bank, would this hold up?? What do you suggest> Im in NJ.

i suggest just not answering the calls and hopefully it will stop. I am in the same boat and am going to try it. lets keep each other poster. Also, these bozos know it is an illegal gambling debt, so i dont really know what the point is in sending a letter. When i talked to them last they told me to write the check out to Click2Pay, and i told them it was for gambling and they tried to tell me it wasnt illegal because it was through my checking acct. i say screw em, but i guess time will tell.

I think the debts should be paid.

and maybe i would feel like paying them if beted didnt stiff me for 5K. Hell with 'em.. Nobody pay these crooks.

I'm sorry you feel that way lip. But 2 wrongs don't make a right. I may not be the smartest person here, but if the money came out of your checking account it seems to me that they can do something to collect it. If I'm mistaken I apologize. I know many people who won money and got "stiffed" but they moved on and stayed away from the "crooks". I wish you luck with what you are dealing with.

No hard feelings Skippi, and i understand what you are saying, but right now i need money to eat and live and not worry about my credit. And also, i do know of some people that have not paid them, and it never even hit CheckSystems. I really dont think there is anything they can do. I would pay them if i could, but i cant, co i guess i will find out want happens in time.

Thank you lip--no hard feelings here either. I truly hope everything works out good for you.

yo lip, you have nothing to worry about. Next time they call you, just tell them to do their worst. At one point,i was in your shoes, uncertain, uneasy, etc.. what was the consequence. Absolutely nothing. Chexsystems OK, Credit report OK. Its now been 3 yrs. If you want them off your back, just send them a cease and decist letter, change your number, and stop gambling. because you will be banned at many places, but view this as a good thing. Internet gambling sucks, u might as well stop now b4 its too late,...Ive dealt with all kinds of scum collectors and i know the quickest and foolproof way is to call their bluff. you have the nuts, but they have all the chips. its a nobrainer

Hey internet gambler. A couple of days ago i called one of my creditors and spoke with a supervisor. He refused to stop recording the call. Then i tried to explain to him that the trasactions were for illegal gambling and he said it did not matter what they were for and that i owed the money and there was no way out of it. I explained to him that they have been letting this go on with my account for years and never even called to ask what the charges were for. He said that it did not matter and that if it was for gambling i still had to pay and there is nothing illegal about it. Just wondered if there is any info you can provide me as to what to do know. Do i need an attorney?

And as for the collection agency... should i just ignore the calls and emails or answer the phone? It doesnt really bother me that they call my phone, because i just dont answer it.

Any more info would be greatly apprecitated.

Thanks

Of course thats what hes going to say. I made the same mistake of calling a supervisor unprepared and when you do this, you start asking questions as if he is the one with the answers. Dont believe a word he is saying. He is trained to say this and in order to put him in his place is simply showing the proof in black and white. Ask for his fax humber and Fax him the UIGEA. Mention past court cases such as ones that attorney Ira Rothken defended. Once you fax this to him, hell probably tell you that hell need time to review it, hell realize that this is way over his paygrade and eventually send it to his legal team or counsel (depending on how large the bank is)chances are, their legal dept will consist of 2 or 3 burnt out attorneys who push papers all day and then they will give up. At this point, they will want to simply sell the debt to a 3rd party collection agency and drop this problem on their lap. And then you will tell them that you wish to dispute this, send in all the paperwork required to file a formal dispute, and wait for their response. You see, the important thing to realize here is that they know they messed up and they know that if this ever went to court, which it never will, the chances of them winning is the same chances you turn into a leprechaun and shit rainbow sherbert. So, this is what they will probably do, send it to collections, go through the motions with them the same as you did with the creditor, and theyll treat this debt like a hot potato. And dont be afraid to answer your phone, prepare a cease and decist letter and send it to all of your creditors or collection agents, they will not bother you again. if they do, note who when and how many times they tried to contact you. its $1000 to you every time they call after sending in the notice. I Hope this helps. Keep in mind that the deadline is almost here. i think its july 14 when youll start to see very interesting things. Im not an attorney, and im not an expert in law, but what i do know is that a drug dealer cant go to a third party collections agency and hire them to collect on a drug deal gone bad. And this is essentially what is going on here. And another thing, if you have ever withdrawn money using a checking account., dispute that as well, you will be issued a temporary credit, when they investigate they too will realize this same thing and will give up as well. you can take my advice but do not expect magic to happen, this is a long and uphill battle that you will win only if you hold your ground.

what is the UIGEA?

Thanks for all the info.. greatly appreciated!!

Click2pay would have to provide information regarding your check card charges. They wont have it because they code as general merchandise or clothing etc.
ewallet are being indicted for this. it is illegal to miscode a transaction. They can not legal receive funds for gambling transactions, that is why citadel, optimal and click2pay were charged by doj.

They will go after you for the funds maybe but they won't mess with the bank or credit bureau
They can't they would admit committing fraud by processing the transaction purposely coding it incorrectly to facilitate transfer of funds for illegal gambling transaction

I meant to say that is why the doj has gone after citadel, neteller and optimal group(firepay).

Facilitating transfer of money for gambling transactions is illegal, miscoding check/debit card transactions and efts is illegal. a payment processing group of 7 people were recently arrested in utah. None of the gambling establisments have been charged only the people processing the payments. I have charges with click2pay that I am going to dispute they will have to provide proof of the charges. Problem is they coded the charges as general merchandise and clothing. I don't think they are going to be able to provide proof and come up with the merchant they processed the charge for, do you?

They will probably contact me and they will be flat out of luck, they have charged me for one transaction twice by taking it out of my available c2p balance and also debiting my bank account. I have sent my statements and they never reverse it. Now they have no phone number. I had them close my account.

I am adding all the money they owe me up and disputing that amount and the fees they have charged me for supposed returned items that never were presented to my bank due to problems on their end. Then they took away the withdrawal option so forced to redeposit funds at merchant which obviously had to play before you could withdraw so lost money doing that. They are crooks, they lock accounts when the problem was on their end. They stop withdrawals with no notice, take forever to answer emails and take away the toll free number. They are an illegal operation from a u.s. standpoint.

No bank would even be allowed to pay them what you owe because they would be breaking the law, by participating in funding of an illegal internet gambling transaction. A transaction which should not have been facilitated in the first place and would not have been authorized if the ewallet submitted the correct information. i.e. gambling versus general
merchandise

I did not know they were calling it general merchandise until the bank phoned me about one of their transactions. That is fraud on their part, big time. And they did it without my knowledge. I was never advised they were giving frandulent information to the bank.

hey man,

Dont waste your time disputing it. The collection company might cal you, but just have fun with them. Ignore them at first and if they continue to cal, just leave the phone off the hook and waste there time. then call the number back continuoulsy while blocking your call and waste more of there time. they are most likely paid on commission, so the more time of their time you waste, the more you can get back at them. Just a thought.

It is the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" which was signed by George Bush in October of 2006. It outlines the legality of internet gambling and the prohibition of financial institutions in processing payments used for online gaming. Basically all banks and creditors must come up with a system to stop these transactions or else they will be penalized by uncle sam. The US gave a 9 month window for banks to finally do their spring cleaning. I just disputed about 3 grand worth of transactions from wamu and in 3 days they gave it back to me no questions asked. its been already 2 months and i havent heard a word from them and i already know why. click2pay issues? my johnson
wants to laugh.