[edited] Rip Off Merchants

I transferred 69,000L$ to IGE wheeling at 2.55 today.

He was fairly prompt in taking the money, and informed me that it'd take an hour for it to be transferred to my paypal. Great.

9 1/2 hrs later

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in game IM. Nothing.

So I message the IGE characters, both of whom are offline. Funny that they are always about to take the money (24 hr service) but not to answer questions about why they havent paid out.

I wait a while.

11 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

I contact their "livehelp". It wasnt very live. She took my details and asked me to send an email, quoting a reference number. I asked for their phone number. She said they didnt have it. I sent the email. I marked it URGENT - PLEASE REPLY ASAP

13 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my Paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

So I look on their website. Oh look, a phone number. USA based. I'm in the UK, but it says US toll free number. So its US based, and toll free. A bit like Lindenlabs. 'Ok' I think, and I give them a call. Funny, the Livehelper told me I couldnt call them.

Its not a toll free number I am promptly informed upon dialing, and I will be charged at an international rate. Whatever, I want this sorted out. I stay on the line, eventually getting through to some chinese lady who cannot properly understand me, and who I cannot understand. (I've got nothing against china, I think the peoples republic is a beautiful country with a rich cultural heratige - but the point is, I couldnt understand her, she couldnt understand me)

20 mins later

Nothing - she cannot find my order, because she cannot spell my name. Despite me spelling it in military phoenetics 4 times ("S for sierra.. C for charlie.. O for October..." )
she cannot find it. I'm being charged internatioanl rates, and she cannot speak english. Once again no offence to the chinese, but its a simple fact. She could not understand me.

10 mins later.

She finds it. Not because she can spell my name at last (I'd given up on that) but becase in my Outbox I found the order number given to me by the otherwise useless Livehelp. "Just checking now, will be right back with you.

A long delay later, and I'm talking long - She comes back - and says it hasnt been paid. Well I knew that. I want to know when it will be. "I'm just checking, hold please.. " (long delay) She says the person in charge of that is gone and wont be back for 4 hrs. Well, good job I didnt need it for anything important isn't it. Oh wait, silly me, I DID need that money for something important...

Meanwhile, I've been on a very long international call to track down my money, which hasnt been delivered as it was promised, a call I had to make because their livehelp was useless, a call made very very long by the operators lack of english skills. I want to know, how will they compensate me for my long journey of stress, tracking down the money I so badly need? Does their customer service extend to at least refunding me the cost of the call, when they eventually give me the money I am owed?

I asked to speak to the supervisor. I had had enough of the poor girl who couldnt understand me, I think she'd had enough of me too - it cannot be fun trying to cope with a worried stressed person who you cannot understand, I thought hey perhaps the supervisor will speak better english, and lets let the poor girl get onto her next call. She repeats what she's told me a few times, I keep asking. Eventually she goes to get him.

The supervisor, although speaking english better, had no idea about customer service. He told me it'd be paid in 5 hrs (I thought it was 4? does anyone know whats going on?) and when confronted with my question about being refunded the money, told me "I didnt *have* to call.." "excuse me sir but nobody *made* you call us"

!!! I could hardly believe my ears! You vanish with 231 dollars of my money, and "nobody made" me call them? I beg to differ.

He informed me, via interruption and talking over what I was trying to say, that I could have resolved the issue via livehelp. I re-told him that I had already tried that, and an email. He resumed "I'm sorry sir but nobody made you call us, you cannot have the call costs back"


So lets sum up.

IGE.com
1) took my money and didnt pay me it (I've still not recieved it)
2) didnt answer in-game IM's
3) didnt reply to emails
4) refused to give out direct contact information via their "livehelp"
5) provided an extremely shoddy telephone based service, no disrespect to the poor girl
who was trying to help me, but it was awful and made the call about 10 times longer.
6) Had a supervisor who kept interrupting me, told me different information than I'd been
told by the girl who tried to help me, was rude, and refused to even entertain the notion
of paying back a call I shouldnt have had to make, then told me it was my fault for
making the call.
7) Still hasnt paid me a dime of the money they owe me.


CONCLUSION:

IGE are not the shiny, well organised company they seem to be. Their payments are not made on time, Indeed I still havent recieved a penny from them, their tech support is oursourced to china to people who are incapable of actually helping because they cannot understand english well enough to write down a name/email address, nobody in their office knows whats going on, when payments will be made, etc, and they clearly make it hard to contact them direct, probbably because they know how shoddy their telephone customer care is.


Will I be using IGE again? NO!!!

Do I reccomend anyone else risk trying them - Have you not been paying attention?

How do I feel?

Ripped off. I am seriously worried my money will just be taken and I'll get nothing in return. Tech support was useless, hard to get hold of, nobody knew what was going on, they tried to avoid me, I feel like I gave over 200 dollars to a very shady company. I
do not think they are trustworthy, and I wish I'd used either Lindex or Anshe Chung or something or some of the other money traders - I think lindex is too complex and anshes rates arent as good, but I just had a complex experience with IGE customer service (if you can call it that) and as for the rates I just made a 30 dollar phone call so take that into account when comparing rates.

If you want to RISK using IGE.com - fair enough. I'm sure not everyone has this experience. But just remember it is a RISK and you may end up with them taking your money and giving you NOTHING. And then telling you off for calling to ask for some customer help/service.

WHAT A GREAT COMPANY!!

Say what you want about land sharks, this lot make anshe chung look like florence nightingale.

I know I posted this elsewhere, but it applies to both that topic and this one, as it was a real life event and I feel duty bound to share my experience with you lot so as to allow you the best depth of information when choosing whom to cash out your L$ with, to make an informed decision.


I transferred 69,000L$ to IGE wheeling at 2.55 today.

He was fairly prompt in taking the money, and informed me that it'd take an hour for it to be transferred to my paypal. Great.

9 1/2 hrs later

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in game IM. Nothing.

So I message the IGE characters, both of whom are offline. Funny that they are always about to take the money (24 hr service) but not to answer questions about why they havent paid out.

I wait a while.

11 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

I contact their "livehelp". It wasnt very live. She took my details and asked me to send an email, quoting a reference number. I asked for their phone number. She said they didnt have it. I sent the email. I marked it URGENT - PLEASE REPLY ASAP

13 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my Paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

So I look on their website. Oh look, a phone number. USA based. I'm in the UK, but it says US toll free number. So its US based, and toll free. A bit like Lindenlabs. 'Ok' I think, and I give them a call. Funny, the Livehelper told me I couldnt call them.

Its not a toll free number I am promptly informed upon dialing, and I will be charged at an international rate. Whatever, I want this sorted out. I stay on the line, eventually getting through to some chinese lady who cannot properly understand me, and who I cannot understand. (I've got nothing against china, I think the peoples republic is a beautiful country with a rich cultural heratige - but the point is, I couldnt understand her, she couldnt understand me)

20 mins later

Nothing - she cannot find my order, because she cannot spell my name. Despite me spelling it in military phoenetics 4 times ("S for sierra.. C for charlie.. O for October..." )
she cannot find it. I'm being charged internatioanl rates, and she cannot speak english. Once again no offence to the chinese, but its a simple fact. She could not understand me.

10 mins later.

She finds it. Not because she can spell my name at last (I'd given up on that) but becase in my Outbox I found the order number given to me by the otherwise useless Livehelp. "Just checking now, will be right back with you.

A long delay later, and I'm talking long - She comes back - and says it hasnt been paid. Well I knew that. I want to know when it will be. "I'm just checking, hold please.. " (long delay) She says the person in charge of that is gone and wont be back for 4 hrs. Well, good job I didnt need it for anything important isn't it. Oh wait, silly me, I DID need that money for something important...

Meanwhile, I've been on a very long international call to track down my money, which hasnt been delivered as it was promised, a call I had to make because their livehelp was useless, a call made very very long by the operators lack of english skills. I want to know, how will they compensate me for my long journey of stress, tracking down the money I so badly need? Does their customer service extend to at least refunding me the cost of the call, when they eventually give me the money I am owed?

I asked to speak to the supervisor. I had had enough of the poor girl who couldnt understand me, I think she'd had enough of me too - it cannot be fun trying to cope with a worried stressed person who you cannot understand, I thought hey perhaps the supervisor will speak better english, and lets let the poor girl get onto her next call. She repeats what she's told me a few times, I keep asking. Eventually she goes to get him.

The supervisor, although speaking english better, had no idea about customer service. He told me it'd be paid in 5 hrs (I thought it was 4? does anyone know whats going on?) and when confronted with my question about being refunded the money, told me "I didnt *have* to call.." "excuse me sir but nobody *made* you call us"

!!! I could hardly believe my ears! You vanish with 231 dollars of my money, and "nobody made" me call them? I beg to differ.

He informed me, via interruption and talking over what I was trying to say, that I could have resolved the issue via livehelp. I re-told him that I had already tried that, and an email. He resumed "I'm sorry sir but nobody made you call us, you cannot have the call costs back"


So lets sum up.

IGE.com
1) took my money and didnt pay me it (I've still not recieved it)
2) didnt answer in-game IM's
3) didnt reply to emails
4) refused to give out direct contact information via their "livehelp"
5) provided an extremely shoddy telephone based service, no disrespect to the poor girl
who was trying to help me, but it was awful and made the call about 10 times longer.
6) Had a supervisor who kept interrupting me, told me different information than I'd been
told by the girl who tried to help me, was rude, and refused to even entertain the notion
of paying back a call I shouldnt have had to make, then told me it was my fault for
making the call.
7) Still hasnt paid me a dime of the money they owe me.


CONCLUSION:

IGE are not the shiny, well organised company they seem to be. Their payments are not made on time, Indeed I still havent recieved a penny from them, their tech support is oursourced to china to people who are incapable of actually helping because they cannot understand english well enough to write down a name/email address, nobody in their office knows whats going on, when payments will be made, etc, and they clearly make it hard to contact them direct, probbably because they know how shoddy their telephone customer care is.


Will I be using IGE again? NO!!!

Do I reccomend anyone else risk trying them - Have you not been paying attention?

How do I feel?

Ripped off. I am seriously worried my money will just be taken and I'll get nothing in return. Tech support was useless, hard to get hold of, nobody knew what was going on, they tried to avoid me, I feel like I gave over 200 dollars to a very shady company. I
do not think they are trustworthy, and I wish I'd used either Lindex or Anshe Chung or something or some of the other money traders - I think lindex is too complex and anshes rates arent as good, but I just had a complex experience with IGE customer service (if you can call it that) and as for the rates I just made a 30 dollar phone call so take that into account when comparing rates.

If you want to RISK using IGE.com - fair enough. I'm sure not everyone has this experience. But just remember it is a RISK and you may end up with them taking your money and giving you NOTHING. And then telling you off for calling to ask for some customer help/service.

WHAT A GREAT COMPANY!!

Say what you want about land sharks, this lot make anshe chung look like florence nightingale.

I transferred 69,000L$ to IGE wheeling at 2.55 today.

He was fairly prompt in taking the money, and informed me that it'd take an hour for it to be transferred to my paypal. Great.

9 1/2 hrs later

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in game IM. Nothing.

So I message the IGE characters, both of whom are offline. Funny that they are always about to take the money (24 hr service) but not to answer questions about why they havent paid out.

I wait a while.

11 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

I contact their "livehelp". It wasnt very live. She took my details and asked me to send an email, quoting a reference number. I asked for their phone number. She said they didnt have it. I sent the email. I marked it URGENT - PLEASE REPLY ASAP

13 hrs later.

Nothing. not an email, nothing in my Paypal, no phone call, no in-game IM. Nothing.

So I look on their website. Oh look, a phone number. USA based. I'm in the UK, but it says US toll free number. So its US based, and toll free. A bit like Lindenlabs. 'Ok' I think, and I give them a call. Funny, the Livehelper told me I couldnt call them.

Its not a toll free number I am promptly informed upon dialing, and I will be charged at an international rate. Whatever, I want this sorted out. I stay on the line, eventually getting through to some chinese lady who cannot properly understand me, and who I cannot understand. (I've got nothing against china, I think the peoples republic is a beautiful country with a rich cultural heratige - but the point is, I couldnt understand her, she couldnt understand me)

20 mins later

Nothing - she cannot find my order, because she cannot spell my name. Despite me spelling it in military phoenetics 4 times ("S for sierra.. C for charlie.. O for October..." )
she cannot find it. I'm being charged internatioanl rates, and she cannot speak english. Once again no offence to the chinese, but its a simple fact. She could not understand me.

10 mins later.

She finds it. Not because she can spell my name at last (I'd given up on that) but becase in my Outbox I found the order number given to me by the otherwise useless Livehelp. "Just checking now, will be right back with you.

A long delay later, and I'm talking long - She comes back - and says it hasnt been paid. Well I knew that. I want to know when it will be. "I'm just checking, hold please.. " (long delay) She says the person in charge of that is gone and wont be back for 4 hrs. Well, good job I didnt need it for anything important isn't it. Oh wait, silly me, I DID need that money for something important...

Meanwhile, I've been on a very long international call to track down my money, which hasnt been delivered as it was promised, a call I had to make because their livehelp was useless, a call made very very long by the operators lack of english skills. I want to know, how will they compensate me for my long journey of stress, tracking down the money I so badly need? Does their customer service extend to at least refunding me the cost of the call, when they eventually give me the money I am owed?

I asked to speak to the supervisor. I had had enough of the poor girl who couldnt understand me, I think she'd had enough of me too - it cannot be fun trying to cope with a worried stressed person who you cannot understand, I thought hey perhaps the supervisor will speak better english, and lets let the poor girl get onto her next call. She repeats what she's told me a few times, I keep asking. Eventually she goes to get him.

The supervisor, although speaking english better, had no idea about customer service. He told me it'd be paid in 5 hrs (I thought it was 4? does anyone know whats going on?) and when confronted with my question about being refunded the money, told me "I didnt *have* to call.." "excuse me sir but nobody *made* you call us"

!!! I could hardly believe my ears! You vanish with 231 dollars of my money, and "nobody made" me call them? I beg to differ.

He informed me, via interruption and talking over what I was trying to say, that I could have resolved the issue via livehelp. I re-told him that I had already tried that, and an email. He resumed "I'm sorry sir but nobody made you call us, you cannot have the call costs back"


So lets sum up.

IGE.com
1) took my money and didnt pay me it (I've still not recieved it)
2) didnt answer in-game IM's
3) didnt reply to emails
4) refused to give out direct contact information via their "livehelp"
5) provided an extremely shoddy telephone based service, no disrespect to the poor girl
who was trying to help me, but it was awful and made the call about 10 times longer.
6) Had a supervisor who kept interrupting me, told me different information than I'd been
told by the girl who tried to help me, was rude, and refused to even entertain the notion
of paying back a call I shouldnt have had to make, then told me it was my fault for
making the call.
7) Still hasnt paid me a dime of the money they owe me.


CONCLUSION:

IGE are not the shiny, well organised company they seem to be. Their payments are not made on time, Indeed I still havent recieved a penny from them, their tech support is oursourced to china to people who are incapable of actually helping because they cannot understand english well enough to write down a name/email address, nobody in their office knows whats going on, when payments will be made, etc, and they clearly make it hard to contact them direct, probbably because they know how shoddy their telephone customer care is.


Will I be using IGE again? F**K NO!!!

Do I reccomend anyone else risk trying them - Have you not been paying attention?

How do I feel?

Ripped off. I am seriously worried my money will just be taken and I'll get nothing in return. Tech support was useless, hard to get hold of, nobody knew what was going on, they tried to avoid me, I feel like I gave over 200 dollars to a very shady company. I
do not think they are trustworthy, and I wish I'd used either Lindex or Anshe Chung or something or some of the other money traders - I think lindex is too complex and anshes rates arent as good, but I just had a complex experience with IGE customer service (if you can call it that) and as for the rates I just made a 30 dollar phone call so take that into account when comparing rates.

If you want to RISK using IGE.com - fair enough. I'm sure not everyone has this experience. But just remember it is a RISK and you may end up with them taking your money and giving you NOTHING. And then telling you off for calling to ask for some customer help/service.

WHAT A GREAT COMPANY!!

Say what you want about land sharks, this lot make anshe chung look like florence nightingale.

We understand you're upset, but don't be spamming the forums please

[...]I just made a 30 dollar phone call so take that into account when comparing rates.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you that IGE is the bad character in this story, HOWEVER:

Are you nuts? A 30 dollar call to the USA in today's world? Unless someone's so rich that he wants to 'donate' to the phone companies, noone does that.

There are a million cheap international phone services, but I think one of the cheapest is Skype (with SkypeOut). You can call the USA -- or any 'western' European country for just 2 cents a minute. That's about a dollar for an hour. I've tried it, and it works totally cool.

And I can't quite understand why you were amazed that the 1-800 number is toll free FROM THE USA ONLY. Many many companies do that, companies who can bear the USA call costs, but don't want to pay the elevated costs of international calls. This is a well known fact, and totally logical.

So again, I'm sorry what's happening to you, and I hope you'll get to the end of it, but pleeeease, don't throw away your real money if it's unnecessary!

How can it be spamming? It's one post.

Aww Apollo, I can understand how worried and frustrated you feel. But dont worry I am sure it will be sorted out eventually. Just keep hold of your order number, and don't use them again.

I use Lindex myself, I've used IGE in the past to buy money and you have to wait ages to acutally get it delivered. Lindex might not be the bet rates, but its trustworthy and reliable, and you can always get hold of a Linden if something goes wrong with it)

I have even called the Linden office before in America and they take your number and call you right back if your calling from another country. (I'm from the UK).

[QUOTE\]
There are a million cheap international phone services, but I think one of the cheapest is Skype (with SkypeOut). You can call the USA -- or any 'western' European country for just 2 cents a minute. That's about a dollar for an hour. I've tried it, and it works totally cool.
[/QUOTE]

Thats a good idea, I'll just use my paypal account to buy some credits and... oh wait.. drat.

Oh! wait I'll just cash out some lindens and... oh wait... dratt again..


The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Until your name reads "Joy Linden" not "Joy Honey" dont presume to tell me what I can
and cannot do.

How does that assertion fit in with any of this?

I don't know why you were told 1 hr because IGE starts processing payments at 8PM PST on a first queued first served basis. They won't start processing payments for another 2.5 hrs then they will get to you in the order as queued expect 8-10 game maybe later.

It speaks volumes about IGE that after all my efforts, it takes someone unconnected with IGE to tell me on a third party website where my money has actually gone.

My post was more about the shockingly bad service they offer more than the timescale of the payment. If they'd said that from the start, about the timescale involved, what you said basically Jon - I'd have been ok with it. The fact they told me 1hr, didnt pay me, and then repeatedly failed to offer me an explanation or make me feel like I was anything but a nuisance after using their service should stand as a warning against them and the way they treat their customers.

RE "the rich get richer the poor get poorer" fair enough, it doesnt really relate. Was just noting that if I'd had the money to make a skype call, I would have had to pay so much.

Even unrelated the point remains valid.

No, it does not.

IGE starts putting money into paypal around 8pm pst. I have used them several times and never had a problem getting my money, its always there the next day after pickup.

They did say from the start. It's available on the website where you select payment method maybe the guy you talked to was an uninformed desk jockey, but I have had no problems with IGE and they did tell you the correct info you just didn't bother to read it.

Christ give the guy a break. Are you people seriously telling me you would be all peaches and cream if you thought you had lost L$70,000? Especially when he was TOLD that it would be 1 hour.

JC be posting in this thread? He must be using an alt.

Jesus! Who you posting as?

Yeh, its me. God says what up, hopes the Earth is going ok, he's AFK but he'll be back for the Apocalypse

This isn't appropriate for the SL Forums. I've closed it.

I've merged the three posts on the same topic into this single thread.

I've also edited out the name of the business in the thread title. I realize the name is named many more times, and I'm not in the business of mechanical filtering--but nevertheless, in the spirit of Second Life, please read the forum Guidelines for what's allowed here.
I wish all the best in resolving this.