…and it’s about time.
US players can finally rejoice. Today the Garden City Group, the settlement administration company handling Full Tilt Poker claims, launched a secure website in which players entitled to refunds from FTP can reclaim what is rightfully theirs. In order to be eligible for a refund, players would have had to receive an email within the past two days, confirming their eligibility.
Those fortunate enough to receive an invite can log in, check their balance (as of April 15, 2011), and accept the amount offered to them. Players can also dispute the amount.
The process is relatively simple and straightforward. From the petition page players are asked to enter their petition and control numbers, a means of verification and a verification response. They’re also given the option to create a new petition. If they elect to do so, they’ll be required to enter their essential, sensitive info, along with their player id and the email address on file at Full Tilt.
If players decide to accept the amount of their claim, they’ll be required to enter in their bank information, and tax details. Should they dispute it, they can upload their information from Full Tilt Poker by following these steps:
- Log into your FTP account
- Go to Requests -> Account History
- Under Account History, select All Types for Report. Under Balance Type select everything, including tournament tickets and VIP rewards (it can’t hurt).
- For Time Range select 4/15/2011 (Black Friday) as the ending date. If they feel that date inaccurately represents their balance, players are entitled to list a later date.
- Submit the request and wait for an email from FTP indicating that your transaction history and balance information are available.
- Log into the site again, select Account History (Web) and download the ZIP.
- This spreadsheet will be the file that needs to be uploaded to dispute a claim.
Unfortunately, the Garden City Group’s solution to the FTP scandal is not a catch-all. For instance, those who tried to withdraw funds unsuccessfully shortly before Black Friday are showing a zero balance, even though these players never received their funds. Secondly, the remissions process itself is rather laborious, and requires players to meet a long list of verifiable criteria.
After the submission process is complete, players will receive a conformation email. If the conformation email is not received, that means the petition was not submitted properly. To be safe, players are encouraged to check their spam folders for emails from the Garden City Group.
They’re also encouraged to act quickly, as players only have two month to file a claim.
Unfortunately, Full Tilt Poker almost single-handedly ruined online poker, and while we are grateful for seeing it return to the States, Black Friday and the FTP scandal should always be remembered, if only because it proved how greedy and corrupt some organizations can be. Here’s hoping to a better future.
