In trouble!!!! Urgent!!!!!

[Darius3456]

Bravo Bravo!!

Clarity, glad you made it out Ok. You definetley have a good case against your credit card issuer, particularly if you did not sign. If you dont get results, complain to the State Banking Department and anyone else that will listen. Let me know how it works out

 

[Lambada]

Hi, this is clarity, and I made it on the plane to get out of the DR in the nick of time. But guess what? This casino decided to try to charge all three of the credit card numbers they made me show them (under implied threat of bodily harm). Two of the credit card companies declined the charges, but one of them irresponsibly put thru a $12,000 US charge!! Mind you, this is in excess of the amount that I signed for ($5800). This also occured after I called in asking for a cash advance the night before USING FALSE SECURITY INFO as the guard was standing right there!! In other words, my greedy credit card issuer (one of the major banks) approved a charge way over my ordinary cash advance limit, for an amount way over my largest historic charge, in a forign country, in a casino, without my true signature, after they denied the charge the previous day that I called in WITH FALSE INFO FROM THE SAME LOCATION!! This sounds like I have a strong case for dispute of the CC charges in their entirety, dont you think??

PS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE for your help on this manner!! If it wasn't for you, I may have had much worse things happen to me!

So pleased Clarity, that you made it home safe & sound! A number of folks here were concerned about you, & it is so nice that you took the trouble to let us all know after such a traumatic event.
I'm certain you will have plenty of advice back home about what to do about your credit card company, they really don't sound like poster boys for the banking business, do they?
And you can help other people by telling them not to get involved in playing this game in the first place!

 

[Victor Laszlo]

Thanks clarity

Hi, this is clarity, and I made it on the plane to get out of the DR in the nick of time.

Now we can all get some sleep.

 

[duhtree]

casinos

Clarity. Glad you got home. Now the work begins. Origanilly you had a "loss" of $5800.00 or there abouts, right? How did the cc company approve $12,000?
I think that you must have signed a series of debit checks in increments of $2,000-$3,000. Yes?
In my experience I used AX thinking that I would have their reputation and world banking experience to lean on. I also relied upon Citi bank, my primary, for the same reasons. Needless to say, despite verbal approval of stopping payments the evening of the deed, I was wrong on both accounts. Now, several years later, there is still one disputed item that hasen't been paid. It's carried forward from month to month and is a constant reminder.
They will allow you to dispute the charges, conditionally, while they investigate. At no time were they (my banks) on my side. And let several payments go through that I could not recover.
On subsequent trips to the DR I saw the same dirtbags rumnning the same game at other casinos. They could have cared less.
Have no fear of returning for the rest of what is here to experience. It willbecome one of lifes experiences.
Others have fallen prey so many times that usually the casinos post a disclaimer near the entrance.
Good luck with getting the charges reversed and keep us informed.

John

 

[Larry]

This is clarity, and I want to also know what I can do to help prevent this from happening to anyone else?

Don't worry about anyone else. Worry about getting your 12 grand back.

Larry

 

[ustelephone]

Watch out for Stanley at the Melia. He'll give you 5 bucks just to get you started. Before you know it you up to winning 50,000 USD, almost, just have to be $10,000 to find out if you know which of Stanley's balls to grab.

I watch that concession for about 4 hours per night playing blackjack. I can't imagine why EE would allow such a scam in his casinos. Usually in 4 hours I see 2 players, and that's with them giving you $5 at the door to try it.

A little advice from an experiences gambler (and frequent looser), stick to BlackJack and Roulette, and never borrow from a casino unless you've got the cash in your pocket and are just to tired to reach for it. Playing with balls is for kids at the fair for $2, not for adults for $12K.

I wish the original poster the best of luck in recovering your losses and apologize on behalf of the decent people here that you got screwed.

All newcomers, remember, don't play with people's balls!

 

[juanita]

Justice? Maybe

Periodico El Nacional

Alertan embajada EU por estafa turistas 1:13 PM

La embajada de los Estados Unidos fue puesta en alerta sobre
la existencia de un sistema de juegos denominado "Super Keno",
mediante el cual se estar?a enga?ando a los turistas
extranjeros en los casinos.
El caso fue llevado a legaci?n norteamericana por el
estadounidense Carl Leyva, quien se quej? de la falta de
acci?n de las autoridades de su pa?s para evitar que
ciudadanos estadounidenses sean estafados en los casinos de juegos.

Declar? que su queja fue llevada el pasado mes ante la embajada norteamericana en Rep?blica Dominicana, pero que hasta el momento no se ha hecho nada en ese sentido.

Denunci? que, en su caso particular, fue estafado con la suma de 22 mil d?lares en un casino dominicano mediante el sistema de juego "Super Keno".

Sostuvo que el "Super Keno" es un juego dise?ado exclusivamente para estafar a turistas, raz?n por lo que puso en alerta a las autoridades de su pa?s y a la justicia dominicana.

Precis? que ante la falta de acci?n de las autoridades de su pa?s, llev? su caso por ante la justicia dominicana, la cual le fij? fecha para conocerlo hoy en la Und?cima Sala Penal del Distrito Nacional.

Dijo que, adem?s, llev? su queja por ante la Secretar?a de Finanzas y de Turismo, las cuales realizan una investigaci?n al respecto.

De acuerdo a Leyva, debido a la inacci?n de la embajada de su pa?s fue necesario que sus abogados lanzaran una p?gina web para advertir a los turistas del grave riesgo al que se someten cuando entran a los casinos dominicanos.

"La embajada tiene el deber ministerial de proteger a sus ciudadanos, y as? me lo afirmaron ellos mismos. Sin embargo, no han hecho nada, a pesar de que les present? las quejas de numerosas v?ctimas y evidencias de estafas", afirm? Leyva.

Dijo que Rep?blica Dominicana es un pa?s hermoso, de gente amable y humilde, pero que hay inescrupulosos que se creen que est?n por encima de la ley.

 

[TONITO]

da ferry

just where is this ferry can some one tell me just curios and how much it cost can u bring a vehicle over here on it
tonito

 

[Gringo]

Here is the deal.....( N0 pun entended )

I employ a girl that works for me during the day and works at night at a Casino at the Progessive Roulette table.......Her job is a Hostess and she gives out free $20.00 entrance certificate's to the game......She has told me in confidence that "NO ONE" has ever won that she has seen in her 2 plus years employment there. And she has seen people lose thier shirts and there Rolex watches at this so called game and forget about canceling your Visa.....once you sign on the dotted line and give them your Passport or Driver's licence you have committed yourself to the payment in full......
She told me that sometimes the people only a have $20.000 limit on there credit card and that is Immediatley taken and that the $35.000 loss is forgotten as when they get home everything is Immediately stopped as they try to recover there losses.

 

[arturo]

I feel guilty

I was depressed because I lost 2,000 pesos playing black jack the other night. After reading this thread, I feel like I should go out and celebrate my good fortune. The keno games are rigged against players. No one wins. I know the promo girls out earn the other casino employees by a factor of up to 3 to 1. There is a reason for that, just ask Clarity.

I employ a girl that works for me during the day and works at night at a Casino at the Progessive Roulette table.......Her job is a Hostess and she gives out free $20.00 entrance certificate's to the game......She has told me in confidence that "NO ONE" has ever won that she has seen in her 2 plus years employment there. And she has seen people lose thier shirts and there Rolex watches at this so called game and forget about canceling your Visa.....once you sign on the dotted line and give them your Passport or Driver's licence you have committed yourself to the payment in full......
She told me that sometimes the people only a have $20.000 limit on there credit card and that is Immediatley taken and that the $35.000 loss is forgotten as when they get home everything is Immediately stopped as they try to recover there losses.

 

[GilbertArenas]

Ouch. The DR rears its ugly head. Casinos anywhere are questionable, but you have to realize local and national officials in the DR take a good cut of that very money people lose.......so getting cooperation in getting it back literally involves taking money out of the President's pocket. I've seen the level of corruption in the DR society growing up down there. I went to the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, where all the "cream" of Dominican society sent their kids. I had the misfortune of attending classes with the son of the VP back in 93, he was 16 years old and drove a Ferrari.

In an extremely sad, but some would argue befitting poetic justice, he died a year or so after I graduated in Arroyo Hondo when he drove his car over "the turn". Anyone in Santo Domingo knows the huge turn I'm talking about in Arroyo Hondo.

But in all seriousness, the money casinos make in that country helped buy that car. The money they skim from the IMF/relief funds/hurricane funds etc etc all pay for this. It's a corrupt country, don't go anywhere where your money can be STOLEN under the guise of legitimacy.

I once won about 500 dollars playing roulette in the Dominican Fiesta hotel in Santo Domingo, and I literally thought some employees were going to kill me when I quit with a profit. When you have 5-6 people playing roulette betting on pretty much 3/4 of the numbers they simply can't rig the game. Anyhoo, they followed me out the door and OUTSIDE to my car until I left. Luckily my parents were wise enough to always send us out with an armed guard/driver, along with a flashy car with "corporate" plates which usually made low level thugs like this back off.

It gets a lot worse than this though, and keep in mind this is happening to wealthy people in the DR. Here's a story meant to scare you, but it's 100% true. In my high school years, a kid I went to school with came home to find two casino goons shooting at his father in their driveway.

To make it short and sweet, the kid ran over both guys in his SUV and killed them on the spot. The family paid off the cops, and fled to Miami that very night. Not sure what their deal was, but it was casino related. They were obviously in pretty deep. But the ominous killings you refer to DO happen.

Just stay away from casinos period. Better yet, I'm dead serious about this.......if you're an American/Canadian living in the DR thinking you're living it up I suggest you get out. Things are getting pretty bad down there right now, VIOLENT crime is way up and you guys are just huge walking bullseyes. When it comes to money the Dominican culture is just horrific. I've seen loving families literally KILL each other over just 500 dollars. I've seen supposed close LIFELONG friends (30+ years) steal thousands of dollars from each other and disappear. And when confronted, Dominicans truly consider whether "fighting" for the money back will lead to them being killed. And these are the day to day "legitimate" people in the DR. So imagine what casino operators will do to you. That girl is lucky she made it out of the DR uninjured.

If you read this, I highly suggest you do a few things if you plan on fighting this through chargeback disputes etc.

1. Change your phone number at home. It's no fun getting threatening phone calls from people like that. While they're usually just trying to scare you to death, not giving them the opportunity could make it annoying enough for them to leave you alone.
2. Don't call the casino to complain. Do everything through your credit card company. If they collect your true contact information it will end up in the hands of the people who want to get in touch with you.
3. Specifically instruct your credit card company to not give any personal information or your home address/phone number etc to the casino. In all chargeback disputes credit card companies generally encourage the two party's to speak to resolve the issue. Some CSR in Iowa or something would never fathom that providing your contact information could lead to you getting death threats at home from these guys.

In summation to the Americans/Canadians currently in the DR. If you HAVE to stay in the DR get away from the north coast tourist areas (Live in the COMPOUND in Casa De Campo or in a high rise PROTECTED building in Santo Domingo). It's so remote up there and shielded it's scary to think what people can get away with........

 

[BushBaby]

...........

Just stay away from casinos period. Better yet, I'm dead serious about this.......if you're an American/Canadian living in the DR thinking you're living it up I suggest you get out. Things are getting pretty bad down there right now, VIOLENT crime is way up and you guys are just huge walking bullseyes. When it comes to money the Dominican culture is just horrific. I've seen loving families literally KILL each other over just 500 dollars. I've seen supposed close LIFELONG friends (30+ years) steal thousands of dollars from each other and disappear. And when confronted, Dominicans truly consider whether "fighting" for the money back will lead to them being killed. And these are the day to day "legitimate" people in the DR. So imagine what casino operators will do to you. That girl is lucky she made it out of the DR alive.

If you HAVE to stay in the DR get away from the north coast tourist areas. It's so remote up there and shielded it's scary to think what people can get away with........ :tired:

MY, ...... But have YOU been away a LOnnnnnggg time.

I don't disagree with you about staying away from Casinos - GOOD advice anywhere & particularly in the DR. I don't disagree with you about crime (& even ORGANISED crime these days) being on the increase, but the north coast casino areas/tourist areas being 'REMOTE' & 'SHIELDED' ..... man, that was sort of 15-20 YEARS ago.

Yes. tourists & Ex-Pats alike should always be wary of how they behave & keep jewelery wear to a minimum - that has ALWAYS been the case. Yes, we should all appear to be of a POORER disposition than we really are & give the impression of being more like the majority of Dominicans rather than 'RICH', gloating foreigners with money to waste, but to suggest that we are ALL in grave danger for just living here - well, that is just going too far. I have lived here for over 12 years & feel a darn site safer here than I would in many places in the UK!! Same (I would think although I have never lived there) could be said for Germany, North America, Eastern Europe & the Middle Eastern countries!!

NO, I don't wear rose coloured glasses - I just blend in with the local community & am accepted by them. I keep my eyes open to potential scams & always check opportunities/offers 3 times over before making costly decisions. As a result, I don't get scammed very often, I recognise in advance many scams that people try to put on me & only get caught for minimal costs when I miss something!!

Come back to visit the "un-civilised North coast' Gilbert - I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I am confident that MOST parts of the DR are the same too, but not having LIVED in them (only passing through & not feeling threatened) it would be wrong of me to be catergoric in such a statement!! ~ Grahame.

 

[Pib]

GilbertArenas, I could never live in a country like that. I am glad I don't.





And the VP's son died in El Malecon. No poetic justice in the death of a young man, no matter how much I disliked the father.

 

[Criss Colon]

P.T.Barnum Was Right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why would anyone have sympathy for a person who losses money in a casino??? I don't!!!Not only that,but if you lose money gambling,take it like a MAN,or in this case a woMAN!
I guess I don't suffer "FOOLS" very well!

 

[samiam]

Gilbert:

Sorry but I don't remember seeing no Ferrari in CMS. I left in 90 but my brothers and sisters where there until 95 and if you are refering to Daniel Peynado, he died in a Toyota in el Malecon, not a Ferrari in Arroyo Hondo.
I also don't think he was in CMS in 93, he had gone to boarding school in the states by then.....but ok, fine. What connection does this have with gambling or casinos? I thought his family had Toyota dealerships and Orange farms... but what do I know.

Even back 20 years lots of 'embassy kids' at school and tourists used to go up to Cabarete to windsurf or surf, which was really 'remote' back then and I never heard any of these kids getting in danger or threatened in anyway. It was safe to travel up there back then as it is today. But maybe there is another North Coast I dont know about. Anyhoo, there are gated communities in the north coast too. Sea Horse Ranch, Perla Marina and Orchid bay, wich offer security too. As a matter of fact Santo Domingo doesnt offer any protection if any its more dangerous in my opinion.

I dont know what corporate plates are....but I want one. Please ask your parents where I can get them.

 

[stallion]

Hello all, and good evening. I am a tourist in DR who entered a hotel's casino last night and was "roped into" a scam whereas I lost $6500 US on a game called "caribbean keno". This game requires the bettor to continually double their bets (from $5 to $10 to $20 and so on) in order to have any chance whatsoever to recover the initial investment. Part of the money lost was on a credit card charge agreement that I signed. However, the credit card company declines to approve the transaction of $5900. My questions are the following:

1) Are the casinos of DR regulated in any way to enforce the assumption that each ball in a keno game has an equal likelihood of being chosen?

2) Are the casinos allowed to mislead the customer as to the odds of drawing balls that give them a chance to win?

3) Are the casinos required to pay the advertised jackpot, no matter how high it is (ie if it were $10 Million US dollars, could they evade all or part of the payout)?

4) Now that I have signed this agreement with them to pay up by monday, am I legally required to uphold it as a citizen of the US? If so, would I have any legal right to dispute the credit card charge as fraudulent to my US based credit card company, if I could indeed prove to that bank's satisfaction that the game I played is crooked or misleading?

Please help ASAP!!!! I must do something by Monday at noon Atlantic time..

If the transaction was delclined why did they give you the money?. ANyways if it was declined you don't have to pay any thing on your credit card. Just bounce and leave the Island. If you stick around they will put you in jail untill you pay the $$$$.

 

[stallion]

The good about crdit card is that all transaction that are approved are valid if the following to exist.
1. The actual credit card
2. Your signature
If these two items are not present you can decline the transaction.
The biggest loss goes to the merchant always. For exmaple if someone stole your mastercard and went on a shopping spree, then you call it stolen the money goes back to the mastercard and the stores lose the items. Most fraud activities take place on the Internet where you buy things online.

 

[samiam]

If the transaction was delclined why did they give you the money?. ANyways if it was declined you don't have to pay any thing on your credit card. Just bounce and leave the Island. If you stick around they will put you in jail untill you pay the $$$$.

My sentiments exactly. I doubt they will have an exit impediment on you. Anyways, can you let us know how it all turns out?

 

[stallion]

They can put exit restrictions on you for any money. I once forgot my $20 exit fee. They declined me to board. They even sold my seat to a dominican lady. Thank god I saw someone I knew and they let me borrow the money. Arline screwed up they thought i was not going so they had to put the x-tra lady on the cockpit and I got my seat back. Once I seen a dude in the airport he left with out paying his hotel money($120us) He tried to leave the country. while awaiting his boarding two immigrations reps came get him with politur and told him that he had to pay or not leave. So they can screw you up.

 

[GilbertArenas]

MY, ...... But have YOU been away a LOnnnnnggg time.

Come back to visit the "un-civilised North coast' Gilbert - I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I am confident that MOST parts of the DR are the same too, but not having LIVED in them (only passing through & not feeling threatened) it would be wrong of me to be catergoric in such a statement!! ~ Grahame.

Grahame, I was just there 2 months ago. I respectfully disagree with your assessment that it isn't extremetely remote.

Maybe our ideas of remote are a bit different, but the addition of 30 more hotels won't diminish the fact that you are quite a long distance from the center of power/assistance in the DR........which is all located in Santo Domingo.

I don't deny they have nice beaches, I'm just saying you really need to be concerned with the fact that the main government will pretty much ignore anything that happens there.......even murder......since it isn't in their "backyard". I've unfortunately knew a guy (I definitely no longer associate with....but I know people who do) who literally shot a man dead on the street up there. He went to jail, paid out about 5,000 DOLLARS to the local magistrate from his pocket and was back in Santo Domingo that same night. This was just in 2002. About 4 months later some local officials got ahold of him in Santo Domingo and expected their own bribes to quiet things down, which he paid.

Also, if you think you "blend in" with the locals you're really fooling yourself. Just know about 50% of the locals would happily do you harm in some way to get in your wallet. It's the Dominican Republic, I guarantee you I know the culture much better than you do.........it's in my family/heritage........and I think every single person in my family has been a victim of more than 5 robberies/a few assaults/multiple death threats in our time in the DR.