Are they really desperate for money

[lucky7s]

I have just recieved this e-mail from Party Poker, a site I haven't played real cash games on for awhile, I don't know whether to be angry or laugh. Please read the email & please leave your opinion(i've taken my username out of the email).Surely it is my choice to gamble on their site when I want & if i don't gamble real money its my business. Do they not have enough players that they have to charge inactive players.

Dear ,

Our records show that that you have not logged in to your account for 180 days.

A £.33 administration fee** has been charged to your inactive account. The next charge will be deducted from you account balance on: 20-Jun-2008 ET.

However, this fee will NOT be charged if your account, or any related account, is reactivated on or before 19-Jun-2008 ET.

Reactivating your account is easy: Just log in and place a cash wager, enter a tournament with a cash entry fee, or play a raked hand.

**TERMS & CONDITIONS If you do not access your Account by "logging on" to your Account using your Account name and password for any period of 180 days, then after those 180 days (the "180 day grace period") your Account (and any related account with any ESP) will be deemed "Inactive". If your Account becomes Inactive, then the Company is entitled to charge you an administrative fee (the "Inactive Account Fee"). The Inactive Account Fee shall be deducted from your Account Balance at the end of each calendar month in accordance with the Inactive Account Fee Schedule. We will stop deducting the Inactive Account Fee from your Account Balance if your Account is re-activated.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our Customer Care team is available 24/7.

Sincerely,

Party Team

[donna777]

I think that is the craziest thing i ever heard! they must be desprate for money. I have never heard of a casino charging money for an inactive accout. I would deleate them from your computer and never play there again. It just does not sound right to me. I know when i dont play on absolute poker for awhile they give me $10 and ask me to come back. I am wondering if it is a scam you should contact support and ask them and if it is real delete them.

[scrawnybob]

hi all

I'm speachless - my initial response was going to be "dont click any links it sounds like nasty spam etc"

but having a read on their T&C's it seems to be genunine (but IMHO very bad idea) ...

What is the Inactive Account Fee?

As set out in Clause 16 (Inactive Account Fees) of the Terms and Conditions of Use, the Inactive Account Fee is a monthly administrative charge that is deducted from your account balance if your account is inactive for more than 180 days.

When would I have to pay the Inactive Account Fee?

The Inactive Account Fee will be deducted from your account balance on the day following the (end of the) 180-day grace period (i.e., day 181) and then every thirty (30) days thereafter if your account remains inactive.

For example:
If the Inactive Account Fee is €5, and your account is inactive for seven (7) months, then you will have to pay a €5 charge at the end of the 180-day grace period (day 181) and then every thirty (30) days thereafter if your account remains inactive.

Note:
The amount €5 is used only as an example. You should consult the Inactive Account Fee Schedule for the Inactive Account Fee amount.

How will the Inactive Account Fee be paid?

An amount up to the Inactive Account Fee will automatically be deducted from your account balance by us on the day following the end of the 180-day grace period (day 181) and then every thirty (30) days thereafter (provided your account remains inactive).

What if there is no money in my account?

If your account balance is zero and there is no money in your account then no deduction will be made. Additionally, we will not deduct the full Inactive Account Fee from your account balance if your account balance is less than the Inactive Account Fee amount. However, we have the right to deduct 'up to' the Inactive Account Fee amount. This means, for example, that if you have an account balance of $2 and the Inactive Account Fee is €5, then we can deduct the $2 from your account balance (if your account remains inactive).

What if I start using my account again?

If you start using your account by 'logging on' to your account using your account name and password and you (i) place a cash wager, or (ii) enter a tournament with a cash entry fee, or (iii) play a raked hand, then your account will be deemed 'active' and we will stop deducting the Inactive Account Fee from your account balance from that date.

Thoughts

now I can understand sites spending money / giving money away to inactive players as an incentive to play real money again, I can also understand them trying to get as many of the play money players to actually make a real money deposit ... personally I cannot understand the amount of players who seem to play play money tables for any length of time

but this is just daft IMHO - they're not a bank (and how unpopular are their charges anyway) so to try run accounts down for the sake of it seems totally pointless - I'd guess this will be widely discussed in all the forums and that will probably cost them far more than the few quid they'll get out of this idea

cheers scrawnybob

[mrspolarbear]

This has been going on for ages.I know people who have had a lot more than that taken from there accounts for admin fees.Thats why when I know I'm not going to be playing on one of my accounts for a while I withdraw my money.If I don't reach there min for withdrawal I deposit so I can take it out.

I also keep a notebook with the date I was on that site last and how much I have in that site.

[TMax]

The thing that bothers me about this is that IMHO these poker sites are not just sitting on their money. If they are smart -- and I would have to assume they're not run by idiots -- the money that sits in a players account at a poker site is probably invested somewhere, earning interest to the parent company of the site and providing additional revenue.

Say you have 10,000 members worldwide, each with an average of $100 in their account at a given time (just a conservative guess) -- that's a cool $1million cash you're sitting on at any given moment. You're telling me you're not earning interest on that?

[kingjames07]

sounds like a crock of shit to me....if it is real i would send them an e-mail tellin them to kiss my american ass....lol....the delete them i do it with my cable company all the time they try to raise my rates i tell themm i will just cancel....and then they see it my way and leave my rates alone....having me as a customer they make money off me....doesn't cost them for me to be a customer...but if i drop them they lose my money...and they don't want that....lol

[gn2056]

thats ridiculous just another reason to move on. Realize partypoker has sloads of players and how poker sites make money on top of fees and blinds, is treating your money like a bank they reinvest all that money and get paid interest on it while it sits in their accounts, so now I guess they realize handing out lil fees here and there to thousands of players helps out a bit as well.

[lucky7s]

hi all, thanks for the responses. I have indeed e-mailed PartyPoker asking for my 33p back (out of principle) & stating this policy is insane,just awaiting a response from them. I may take an american line on this and state it is against my freedom to gamble when I choose & not when they want me to. Scrawnybob thanks for put the part of the agreement that covers this issue, it may be there in black & white but I'm pretty damn sure it ain't legally water tight. There are too many avenues of attack on this policy i.e. responsible gambling so I think a lawyer would have a field day, it would cost them more than 33p. I will keep you guys updated on this situation,if you could spread the word on this on other forums that would be great

[jeffsbabe]

I have a thought that may not be very popular, but here goes....

It's probably that they are cutting down on costs. If a person has an amount in and doesn't play for a while, they still have to maintain it as if it were an active account. There may be people that never go back there to play again for any number of reasons(laws change, death,etc.)

It is just a way to get inactive accounts out of their current files. Banks in the US do this all the time.

Soooo.....don't take it too personally. Just go to the sight and sign in once in a while. I guess this gives all of us a "heads up" if we haven't been to a site in a while.

[lucky7s]

jeffsbabe, it has nothing to do with not signing in to the site for six months, I have played freerolls once in a while on there. They just ain't happy that I haven't put any cash on the table for 6 months for them to take a cut & to perfectly honest what maintaining of an account do they have to do when you're classed as inactive.