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Advice for a lawyer needed

Posted By: Pilgrim
Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2013, at 12:14 p.m.

In Response To: Advice for a lawyer needed (Sevdalin Tsvetanov)

Hello,

The key points have already been made so I will not go into much detail:

1. Read the website T&Cs thoroughly. What do they say about confiscating funds? What law do they specify (eg the law of Malta) and what court (eg the courts of Malta or arbitration)? Please note that just because the website T&Cs say something does not (always) mean it is true.

2. Be careful about using lawyers as you may be throwing good money after bad. E4000 is a small sum by legal standards and this makes it difficult to use professional legal advice. Preliminary advice or a a threatening letter from a law firm may (or may not) help but it will almost certainly not be cost effective to use lawyers for the entire dispute. Many jurisdictions have rules against recovering lawyers costs especially in small claims. In any event, the website owners may not have any money and forcing them to pay may also be expensive.

3. Keep going with the regulator as they may be your best chance of getting your money back. Be polite and patient. I would try to avoid threatening them with legal action unless entirely necessary.

4. If the Maltese regulator is still refusing to help, they may be covered by the Malta government ombudsman scheme (http://www.ombudsman.org.mt/). Telling the regulator you may have to refer their refusal to help to the Malta ombudsman may get them to act. However, I suggest you use this threat cautiously. Also, research the ombudsman service before threatening to use them - are there any costs attached? Do they have jurisdiction over the regulator?

5. Gather evidence to help persuade the regulator and/or ombudsman. How much of the funds in these accounts represent winning from other players? How much represents money you deposited yourself? Are there lots of complaints on Google about the conduct of the website? Do you have records of your games on the website? Are you playing an 8 ER or a 1.5 ER?

For example, you may find people are more sympathetic about the confiscated funds if (1) it was all money you deposited rather than won; (2) you only play at a 10 ER; and (3) there are dozens of other complaints that a basic google search can find (make sure you have saved/printed copies of the complaints)

Pilgrim

Messages In This Thread

• Advice for a lawyer needed
  Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 12:18 p.m.
  • Advice for a lawyer needed
    Leonardo Jerkovic -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 12:37 p.m.
    • Cost Benefit Analysis
      Casper van der Tak -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 12:57 p.m.
      • Cost Benefit Analysis
        Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 1:10 p.m.
        • Cost Benefit Analysis
          Casper van der Tak -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 1:39 p.m.
          • Cost Benefit Analysis
            Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 3:00 p.m.
            • Cost Benefit Analysis
              Casper van der Tak -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 11:57 p.m.
              • Cost Benefit Analysis
                Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Tuesday, 28 May 2013, at 8:07 a.m.
                • Cost Benefit Analysis
                  Casper van der Tak -- Tuesday, 28 May 2013, at 10:56 a.m.
                  • Cost Benefit Analysis
                    winfox -- Wednesday, 29 May 2013, at 3:29 a.m.
                    • Cost Benefit Analysis
                      Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Wednesday, 29 May 2013, at 7:16 a.m.
                      • Cost Benefit Analysis
                        Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Wednesday, 29 May 2013, at 7:20 a.m.
  • Advice for a lawyer needed
    Michael Nielsen -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 1:30 p.m.
    • Advice for a lawyer needed
      Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Monday, 27 May 2013, at 3:03 p.m.
  • Advice for a lawyer needed
    Pilgrim -- Wednesday, 29 May 2013, at 12:14 p.m.
    • Advice for a lawyer needed
      Sevdalin Tsvetanov -- Thursday, 30 May 2013, at 10:54 a.m.