Quote from: snackman on November 19, 2013, 07:42:00 PM

I recently lost 10 bitcoin to a clusterfuck of poor service on the parts of Bets of Bitcoin and Bitbet.

I bet 10 bitcoin on this bet: http://bitbet.us/bet/591/bitcoin-price-to-rise-above-750-usd/

However, I transferred the 10 bitcoin from Bets of Bitcoin, which neglected to include a transaction fee (and gave me no option to do so), resulting in my transaction being delayed for ~24 hours: https://blockchain.info/tx/2af75fb4e50a14bf247575bf426615d01f9d6db4d88dc0668d27c88259f68691

As a result, due to this unfair technicality in Bitbet's rules: http://bitbet.us/faq/#151, I am now out 10 bitcoin. Adding insult to injury, the mod graced me with this snarky retort: "Unconfirmed bets are not refunded. Kindly see FAQ, and include tx fees next time. Think of the miners!"... More like "think of our pockets which our now 10 ill-begotten bitcoin richer."

If we are going to build an ecosystem that can support and serve the mainstream whose attention bitcoin has recently achieved, poor user experiences like this should not (and need not) happen.

I'd appreciate any advice on how to solicit/enact the refund of my stolen (I do think this is the appropriate term) coins.

If you feel so inclined, tweet to Bitbet that they should refund my coins: https://twitter.com/BitBets "@Bitbets It's unfair to keep @Snack_Man's 10 BTC that was sent to 13EW8oUL5mzLiBbYpZouNqjNsFhabiSoeX. Refund them!"

TL;DR: I lost a substantial amount of money to Bets of Bitcoin / Bitbet for no good reason. Beware of Bets of Bitcoin's lack of transaction fee on withdrawals and Bitbet's draconian (read: dumb) rules.

Failing to use tx fees is mooching. Using a (notoriously inept) "service" that fails to use tx fees is also mooching. Placing a bet when the resolution is imminent is dangerous. Doing so without a tx fee is suicidal. The rules governing this possibility are in BitBet's FAQ.

It is unfortunate that you deemed it alright to wager your BTC with a service whose guidelines you had not read, and before you had grasped the concepts of transactions and confirmations in the first place. That you made these choices, however, is not anybody else's concern.