Post
Topic
Board Service Discussion
Re: Can't withdraw BTC from Bitstamp
by
Rannasha
on 03/04/2014, 10:14:21 UTC
1. They block my coin for no legal reason.

They don't block your coins for legal reasons, they do it to prevent coin theft due to phishing. I can imagine it's not the most popular approach, but the complaining would've been much worse if people had lost coins due to the phishing attacks on Bitstamp users a while ago.

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2. They hold my coin hostage until I send them my bio data.
They already have your ID scan, since that's required to deposit/withdraw/trade on Bitstamp. All they need is a proof that you're still the original owner of the account.

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3. They want to lure me into Google's TFA.
   So, if I agree to give Google my phone number, so I can be localized minimum  anytime I log in to bitstamp, and a picture of myself suitable
   for a face recognition system, along with my official passport,
   they tell me to unlock my funds.
Stop being paranoid. Google 2FA is an open-source algorithm and there are various alternative apps that implement it, for a wide variety of platforms. Hell, the algorithm is quite simple, you could even implement it yourself. Finally, they're only recommending that you enable 2FA, not requiring it. And honestly, why anyone would choose not to use 2FA on an account that holds their money is beyond me.
   
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There are no legal requirements for them to to so, nor are there legal requirements for me to comply.  So I won't.

Their reason is obviously that MY computer systems MAY have been breached by SOMEONE, PERHAPS, and that MY funds COULD be EVENTUALLY stolen by SOMEONE, IF this MIGHT have happened. ("the safety or our users' accounts is one of our top priorities")

They do not have any saying about the safety of my computer systems.  This is only my concern.

Since they blocked my coin, I suffered a loss of about 30%.

In my opinion this is both

 - a breach of contract, because I never agreed to additional "security" procedures blocking my funds in case MY computer systems where breached,
and second it is
 - blackmail, because a) they hold my money hostage, and b) ask for something I do not owe them.


If they do not budge,  I will sue them for a compensation for my losses, and then this company is finito for me.

You may want to evaluate the terms of use of a website next time before you sign up and transfer money to it:
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If there is suspicious activity related to your Account, we may, but are not obligated, to request additional information from You, including authenticating documents, and to freeze any transactions pending our review. You are obligated to comply with these security requests, or accept termination of Your Account.
The process that you're asked to go through is described quite well in the ToU.