I was in Las Vegas around thanksgiving and must have left one
of my Total Rewards cards in a machine I had been playing.
After returning to the East Coast, we took a drive to
Atlantic City.
I used a kiosk to retrieve my cash back and then checked my
comp balance. It was over $300 lower than the last time I had
checked it.
I spoke with a boothling at Bally's who accessed my account
and explained that a lot of charges were made against my account
after I left Vegas. I asked her if she could help me figure out how
to correct this problem, and she said there was nothing she could do,
I would have to contact someone in Las Vegas.
I called Las Vegas as we were driving home from Atlantic City
and eventually was connected to a supervisor in customer service for
Total Rewards. He was very helpful and commented that the boothling
in Atlantic City should have been able to help me.
I was able to verify the date I left Las Vegas as I was at
the Harrah's in Phoenix the day after I left Las Vegas and used some
comps there.
I have been assured that a stop has been put on my account
and no more comps should be taken from my account.
They figured out that someone was using my card daily after I
left at a number of outlets at a number of different casinos.
I am always asked for a photo ID whenever I want to use my
comps. How is this person able to indiscriminately use a card that
does not belong to him and get away without providing ID?
There is an investigation going on and I am hoping that I
will get my comps reinstated.
I am out over $300 in comps, but I realize that others who
get their identities stolen lose so much more.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
XVP:Someone stole my comps.
A similar instance occurred to me, but thankfully one of the Harrahs'
workers reacted quickly and I was spared. I, like you probably, left
my card in a machine I had been using and walked away. Within 5
minutes, if not less, I noticed that I did not have my card and
returned to that machine and my card was gone. When I saw one of
Harrahs' attendants walking nearby, I told her of my circumstance. She
stated that she had found my card and had immediately taken it to be
trashed/shredded. They are trained to do that, she said, to prevent
what had happened to you. I was able to get a new card with my same
number within minutes and went on my way. I am sorry to hear of your
experience and realize how lucky I was to have a "guardian angel"
watching over me. I don't always agree with some of Harrahs' policies
but I certainly was the beneficiary of this one. This occurred at the
North Kansas City Harrahs. I hope you get a quick and satisfactory
resolution.
Bill (40wnks)
Ck wrote: I am always asked for a photo ID whenever I want to use my
comps. How is this person able to indiscriminately use a card that
does not belong to him and get away without providing ID?
I don't know if this applies in your situation, but Seven Stars members
at Harrah's can get their picture printed on the back of their Total
Rewards card. So long as the picture looks vaguely like the person using
the card, this picture is treated as "photo ID" in many contexts.
To my great surprise, my wife was even able to use this as photo ID at
the casino cage. She had collected a $5,000 voucher during a promotion,
and didn't plan on cashing it until after dinner --- after we'd run a
few errands. She left her purse (with ID) in the car, but still had her
Total Rewards card attached to her keychain. The casino cage accepted
the picture on the back of her card as ID and gave her the $5,000. It
was legitimately hers, but she was not a known player in this particular
casino, so I would have bet she would not have been successful without
better ID. I would have lost the bet.
Bob Dancer
For a 3-day free trial of Video Poker for Winners, the best video poker
computer trainer ever invented, go to //www.videopokerforwinners.com
Bob Dancer wrote "I don't know if this applies in your situation, but
Seven Stars members
at Harrah's can get their picture printed on the back of their Total
Rewards card."
I have seen a 7* with a photograph on the back. I don't think they
extend that courtesy to Diamond players.
I have experienced problems trying to cash small items in a casino. I
am also surprised that they would accept a players card as ID and
dispense thousands of dollars.
All I know is that I will be much more careful about making sure I
remember my card in the future.
Craig
You might be out more than you think.
Besides the $300 the comps may have affected your daily average in
terms of how, when and where they were used. Your offers may be in a
freefall unless you take corrective action.
I would make another call to the TR supervisor and make sure any
impact on your rating is adjusted back to when you departed the hotel.
This will most likely be a manual adjustment that will require your
follow-up and monitoring. If you plan to return it will be well worth
the time and effort.
···
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "ck6266" <ck6266@...> wrote:
I am out over $300 in comps, but I realize that others who
get their identities stolen lose so much more.
Besides the $300 the comps may have affected your daily average in
terms of how, when and where they were used. Your offers may be in a
freefall unless you take corrective action.
Thank you for the information, I hadn't considered that type of
problems.
I will mention it the next time I speak with them.
Craig
Bob Dancer wrote "I don't know if this applies in your situation, but
Seven Stars members
at Harrah's can get their picture printed on the back of their Total
Rewards card."I have seen a 7* with a photograph on the back. I don't think they
extend that courtesy to Diamond players.
I have experienced problems trying to cash small items in a casino.
I
···
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "ck6266" <ck6266@...> wrote:
am also surprised that they would accept a players card as ID and
dispense thousands of dollars.All I know is that I will be much more careful about making sure I
remember my card in the future.Craig
***************************************
If your home-base is Joliet, having your pic on the back of your
Diamond card is mandatory.
I have used my diamond card in several Harrah's own properties and
many, many times...they did ask for id. I even handed the card to
them and took out my wallet to show my id and they told me they did
not need to see it. I can see how it could have happend.
I was in Las Vegas around thanksgiving and must have left one
of my Total Rewards cards in a machine I had been playing.
After returning to the East Coast, we took a drive to
Atlantic City.
I used a kiosk to retrieve my cash back and then checked my
comp balance. It was over $300 lower than the last time I had
checked it.
I spoke with a boothling at Bally's who accessed my account
and explained that a lot of charges were made against my account
after I left Vegas. I asked her if she could help me figure out
how
to correct this problem, and she said there was nothing she could
do,
I would have to contact someone in Las Vegas.
I called Las Vegas as we were driving home from Atlantic City
and eventually was connected to a supervisor in customer service
for
Total Rewards. He was very helpful and commented that the
boothling
in Atlantic City should have been able to help me.
I was able to verify the date I left Las Vegas as I was at
the Harrah's in Phoenix the day after I left Las Vegas and used
some
···
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "ck6266" <ck6266@...> wrote:
comps there.
I have been assured that a stop has been put on my account
and no more comps should be taken from my account.
They figured out that someone was using my card daily after I
left at a number of outlets at a number of different casinos.
I am always asked for a photo ID whenever I want to use my
comps. How is this person able to indiscriminately use a card that
does not belong to him and get away without providing ID?
There is an investigation going on and I am hoping that I
will get my comps reinstated.
I am out over $300 in comps, but I realize that others who
get their identities stolen lose so much more.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
gamblinggrandma wrote:
I have used my diamond card in several Harrah's own properties and
many, many times...they did ask for id. I even handed the card to
them and took out my wallet to show my id and they told me they did
not need to see it. I can see how it could have happened.
I presume that you intended to write "they DIDN'T ask for id".
I think it may be appropriate to impress upon Harrah's that use of a
TR card is not analogous to use of a credit card and that presentation
of an id is essential.
(FWIW, despite the practices of some merchants in requesting an ID
with credit card use, firms such as Visa actually prohibit the request
for ID in the merchant agreement -- the merchant is immunized against
any fraud and I've found, in the isolated incidents where I've
encountered erroneous charges, that my issuers have a no-hassle policy
in crediting back and researching suspect charges.)
With Harrah's, not only is the dispute process more awkward, but in
absence of activity statements identifying erroneous/fraudulent RC
charges is haphazard. Furthermore, even if an erroneous charge is
corrected, there's the before discussed uncertainty that the affected
play averages (ADT) will be adjusted appropriately.
The fact that cards are easily forgotten in a machine in a manner that
is uncharacteristic of a credit card is cause for Harrah's to exercise
due diligence in accepting one for charges. Given the fact that
Harrah's has otherwise refined the player card experience beyond any
other casino, I'm surprised that they are so incredibly lax on this count.
I might suggest a letter writing campaign, but that can be a hit or
miss proposition. This may be inappropriate, but it could be helpful
if someone who has standing in the casino community were to spearhead
an effort to communicate these concerns.
I don't know if you have a significant presence with Harrah's
management, Jean (Scott), but it would seem that a suggestion along
these lines coming from the "Queen of Comps" would be quite fitting.
- Harry
<<I don't know if you have a significant presence with Harrah's
management, Jean (Scott), but it would seem that a suggestion along
these lines coming from the "Queen of Comps" would be quite fitting.>>
Too big of an organization for me to tackle!!!!
···
________________
Jean $�ott
The much-expanded new edition of my tax book,
including a new chapter on poker, is now available
to order at my Web site, http://queenofcomps.com/.
I started the post concerning the theft of my Total Reward
Credits in Las Vegas.
It took a while, but all of the RCs have been returned to my
account.
I had been dealing with only one person in the Harrah's
hierarchy. He is a supervisor in Total Rewards. He has been very
helpful and I appreciate his professional behavior.
I had asked him to forward my email to his superiors so that I could
get an explanation as to why their employees are so lax about asking
for identification every time they deduct RCs from an account. He
told me that this had been done, but I haven't heard from anyone else
in the organization.
My wife and I returned to Vegas a few weeks after the trip
where I left my card in a machine.
Every time we were in a situation where we were going to use
RCs we handed over the card, and withheld the identification until we
were asked for it. Sadly, we were rarely asked for identification.
I forwarded a list of establishments where identification was
not requested to Harrah's, but haven't heard from anyone but my
initial contact.
I also sent a private email to Jeffrey Compton at the
suggestion of Bob Dancer, posted on VPfree, but got no response from
him either.
I suggest that everyone treat their Total Reward cards like a
credit card and make sure you take it out of every machine when you
leave.
Although I did ultimately get all of my RCs back, I felt like a
victim of identity theft and was angered that it was so easy for
someone to use the RCs that cost me so much money to earn.
Happy New Year to all,
Craig