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eCOGRA PRESS RELEASE
PROGRESS REPORT : GRAND PRIVÉ AFFILIATES PROGRAM INVESTIGATION
17 December 2009 – The audit team continues to receive and assess claims in connection with the the above and the investigation is on track.
The eCOGRA team has noted affiliate concerns regarding the lack of communications reach of affiliate representative bodies and webmasters, and Grand Privé management has consequently decided the following:
1. That the communications exercise be expanded by emailing all affiliates who had active players on the Program’s records during the 3 months prior to 1 December 2008 when the Program closed;
2. That the deadline for submission of claims be extended to 31st December 2009.
Our mandate has therefore been amended accordingly, and the expanded communications exercise has commenced. Our investigation will also include confirming the accuracy and completeness of the database list of emails used in the expanded communications exercise.
Apparently the mail to GP affs did go out:
INVESTIGATION INTO THE GRAND PRIVÉ AFFILIATES PROGRAM CLOSURE
On December 4th 2009 Grand Privé issued a statement to affiliate representative bodies and webmasters asking for their cooperation in advising former affiliates of the Grand Privé Affiliates Program of the following:
1) That Grand Privé remains intent on addressing the closure of the Program and its consequences for affiliates.
2) That in pursuance of this objective, Grand Privé management has requested the independent assistance of the player protection and standards body eCOGRA, tasking the qualified audit team of that organisation with investigating and reporting on the closure, and in mediating a fair and reasonable resolution for affected affiliates not already settled by Grand Privé.
3) Inviting affiliates with a legitimate claim to complete an online claim form which will be audited against Program records by eCOGRA, with a deadline for claims of 31st December 2009.
However, eCOGRA monitors have since reported to us that there appear to be doubts as to whether said affiliate representative bodies and webmasters have sufficient reach to ensure that as many relevant affiliates as possible are informed of developments.
eCOGRA has therefore recommended that this communication exercise be expanded by emails directly to Program affiliates, and that the deadline be extended to 31st December 2009 in order to finalise the audit and mediation process as soon as practicable.
With the goal of reaching a fair and reasonable resolution front of mind, Grand Privé management has agreed to these changes, hence this email notification to you.
Please find below an amended copy of the eCOGRA audit team’s invitation to affiliates dated 7th December, which provides you with all the necessary information to submit a claim if you feel you have a legitimate and verifiable case.
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
GRAND PRIVÉ AFFILIATES INVESTIGATION
London, 7 December 2009 – Following a number of Internet-based allegations concerning payments following the closure of the Grand Privé Affiliate Program on 1 December 2008, eCOGRA’s professional services have been engaged by the management of the company.
Pursuant to an independent and fair resolution of the issues involved, eCOGRA has been tasked with:
· Independently investigating the manner in which the Program was terminated and the reasons therefore; subsequently compiling a full and transparent report.
· Gathering and verifying claims by any affiliate that considers an amount still to be owing by the Program as a result of player wagering activity subsequent to 1 December 2008; and
· Carrying out a full and independent review by suitably qualified staff of the program software and data to confirm amounts owing to claimants at 31 December 2009.
eCOGRA is open to all submissions concerning the closure and payments owed, and urges affiliate watchdog organisations in receipt of this email to assist it in order to ensure that respective affiliate members are informed of this opportunity to submit legitimate claims.
Claims can be submitted prior to 31 December 2009 at Submission Form. Former Grand Privé affiliates who believe they have a legitimate and verifiable claim will be asked to complete the Claim Submission Form that they will find on this link.
The following information will be required on the Claim Form, and will be treated in strict confidence:
FIRST NAME
LAST NAME
BANNER TAG
EMAIL ADDRESS
WEBSITES
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBER
BANKING DETAILS
AMOUNT OF LAST PAYMENT RECEIVED FROM GRAND PRIVÉ
DATE OF LAST PAYMENT RECEIVEDClosing dates for submission of claims is 31 December 2009.
In the interests of transparency, eCOGRA’s findings will be publicly released on conclusion of the investigation.
Did anyone get it? I got neither the mail (maybe due to an old address) or the press release (and I always get the press releases).
Anyway, the definition of “active affiliates” looks good, and I was worried about that.
There we go…moving in the right direction. :thumbsup: Glad to see everyone’s efforts are paying off.
This “investigation” is just a sidestep to fool all of us that grandprive has no further obligations to affiliates as soon as Ecogra has finished their investigation and final payment have been made. All claims in the future will be void as you get paid your very last paycheck. All their casinos will get Ecogra certified and – You Affiliates – are telling players the casino is no good while they can see the ecogra certification on their sites, comprende ?
If you are satisfied with that than I must be a complete idiot !!
:sarcasm:
@Inspiration 213751 wrote:
This “investigation” is just a sidestep to fool all of us that grandprive has no further obligations to affiliates as soon as Ecogra has finished their investigation and final payment have been made. All claims in the future will be void as you get paid your very last paycheck. All their casinos will get Ecogra certified and – You Affiliates – are telling players the casino is no good while they can see the ecogra certification on their sites, comprende ?
If you are satisfied with that than I must be a complete idiot !!
:sarcasm:
I don’t think anyone is satisfied quite yet. Let’s see what the “compromise” is at the end of the road. If the affiliate community, by and large, doesn’t find the deal or payoff they are proposing as acceptable, then certainly we all have the right to reject it. If the purpose of the investigation is a resolution, then it must be exactly that – one that is fair and acceptable to all parties involved.
I truly believe this matter has become far more trouble than it is/was worth for Grand Privé and that is why some level of action is being taken.
I’ll be very intrigued to see what they offer and also the Terms and Conditions they attach to any “pay-off” – which I suspect will include removing all detrimental pages mentioning this group.
Any “pay-off” should really include potentially future lost revenues as well as those already past but without decent access to any stats then I think I’ll find it hard to accept anything they offer with any degree of feeling it would have been done fairly but I guess we’ll have to see..
I look forward to seeing the next step(s) of progress
Cheers,
Gene@KasinoKing 213682 wrote:
I presumed they only need 1 banner tag from which they can extract your affy ref number…
Fortunately I did have a record of mine – I used to put them all on an Excel spreadsheet – before I got lazy!
I could have found it anyway – I take regular back-up copies of my websites, so I could get it from there.Form submitted, for what it’s worth.
I reckon the only reason Grand Prive have gone this route is because of all the pressure from the affiliate community – well done everyone who black-listed them! :hattip:KK
Couldn’t you find your tag by looking at an old copy of your site on The Way Back Machine?
If they have your name and the correct address and email then they can find everything they need. I submitted without tags and got accepted.
Dear xxxxxxx,
Please be advised that our investigation is progressing well, but as I’m sure you can appreciate this process requires a detailed and thorough professional audit and careful assessment of large volumes of data going back almost 18 months at GP’s operations.
In addition to this, we are taking steps to substantiate the actions taken when the program was terminated and the reasons therefore.
It is therefore unlikely that we will have completed our investigation, arrived at fair settlement amounts, and compiled our public report before mid-February, but we will keep you informed as the investigation moves towards a conclusion.
Kind regards
Sean Roberts (Chartered Accountant)
update email i got todayI got the same.
