Visa repudiated Coinbase late Thursday, denying that problems with multiple charges against the exchange's customers are the credit company's fault.
"Visa has not made any systems changes that would result in the duplicate transactions that are being reported," a statement read. "We are also not aware of any other merchants who are experiencing this issue."
Spokespeople for Coinbase have tried to address the complaints with their own posts to the subreddit. One person claimed that the problems were "related to the recent MCC code change by the card networks and card issuers charging additional fees." Visa's response came within a couple hours.
Coinbase has got serious issues. While, any major company with such a massive customer base should expect to have some issues, given the few reliable names in a booming market, it is important to take stock in what ails the company. Sporadic reports that Coinbase is overcharging, or double charging, customers signals a new stage in complaints against one of crypto's most important exchanges.
[caption id="attachment_4613" align="alignnone" width="740"]
Coinbase subreddit erupts (Screenshot Reddit, 02-16-2018)[/caption]
The site's subreddit has lit up over the last 24 hours with an avalanche of panicked posts. Some of the most surprising titles are "17X charges? NOPE. I just got hit with 50, count them 50 duplicate charges to the tune of $67k total," "Welp officially broke, charged 17x1000$ on my account," "3x? 5x? How about 12x duplicate charges?" A slew of posters are complaining about dead credit scores, overdrawn accounts and not knowing when the excess charges will end.
User 'ipizi' claimed that Coinbase charged his account over 50 times and drained over $67,000. "Already contacted my lawyer, closed my bank account, removed CB from everything etc. They will give me my fucking money back!!"
User 'thottiepippen_' claimed 35 unauthorized transactions. "Saw the news and checked my account and I have tons of fraudulent charges draining my account," he wrote. "They say they can’t stop any new charges but Coinbase support said not to change my account number."
Over the last several months, customer service horror stories about frozen accounts have hit Reddit.
On January 20th, someone using the handle 'i_dislike_coinbase' claimed a 2,000 GBP deposit never showed up in his Coinbase account. He added that after some back and forth, the exchange stopped replying to his emails.
Other posts come from people vacationing in Sudan, Cuba, and Iran. Once the Coinbase app identified IP addresses in those countries, the exchange froze vacationers' accounts, alleging that they violated US sanctions.
"I have contacted support with my passport and a utility bill and as instructed I logged back into my account from a non-prohibited region," explained Cuba visitor, 'm00norbit'. "However, my account is still locked and I haven't heard anything from Coinbase's customer service."
This brings up questions about Americans and Europeans who might choose to travel to countries with strict crypto laws.
[caption id="attachment_4615" align="alignnone" width="740"]
Coinbase subreddit overflows with panic (Screenshot, Reddit, 02-16-2018)[/caption]
Coinbase needs to address complaints that accounts are unfairly frozen and access is blocked. Users cannot think they need to avoid travel to make sure they aren't flagged. Should a startup founder avoid traveling China or India because of stricter crypto laws?
On top of all this, Coinbase employees are under the spotlight for possible insider trading. Following the exchange's surprise listing of Bitcoin Cash, evidence accumulated of employees with advanced knowledge bought the coin. CEO Brian Armstrong soon after announced an investigation into insider trading.
"If we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies — directly or indirectly — I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action."
Then, in January, prominent anti-Tether activist, @Bitfinex'ed, published a blog on Medium. He accused Litecoin creator Charlie Lee, who is now an engineer at Coinbase, of a conflict of interest getting his coin with "no transaction activity" listed on the exchange.
While any discerning reader should remain objective and look for a Coinbase response to various allegations, the stories are dangerous, nonetheless. As newer exchanges broaden their influence, Coinbase has to keep its customers happy. There is a clear problem with one of the industry's biggest exchanges. Competitors should review their own infrastructure and customer service methods to ensure that an industry battling for its long-term reputation isn't further damaged.
Customers who are experiencing problems are encouraged to contact http://support.coinbase.com.
"Visa has not made any systems changes that would result in the duplicate transactions that are being reported," a statement read. "We are also not aware of any other merchants who are experiencing this issue."
Spokespeople for Coinbase have tried to address the complaints with their own posts to the subreddit. One person claimed that the problems were "related to the recent MCC code change by the card networks and card issuers charging additional fees." Visa's response came within a couple hours.
Coinbase has got serious issues. While, any major company with such a massive customer base should expect to have some issues, given the few reliable names in a booming market, it is important to take stock in what ails the company. Sporadic reports that Coinbase is overcharging, or double charging, customers signals a new stage in complaints against one of crypto's most important exchanges.
[caption id="attachment_4613" align="alignnone" width="740"]
Coinbase subreddit erupts (Screenshot Reddit, 02-16-2018)[/caption]The site's subreddit has lit up over the last 24 hours with an avalanche of panicked posts. Some of the most surprising titles are "17X charges? NOPE. I just got hit with 50, count them 50 duplicate charges to the tune of $67k total," "Welp officially broke, charged 17x1000$ on my account," "3x? 5x? How about 12x duplicate charges?" A slew of posters are complaining about dead credit scores, overdrawn accounts and not knowing when the excess charges will end.
User 'ipizi' claimed that Coinbase charged his account over 50 times and drained over $67,000. "Already contacted my lawyer, closed my bank account, removed CB from everything etc. They will give me my fucking money back!!"
User 'thottiepippen_' claimed 35 unauthorized transactions. "Saw the news and checked my account and I have tons of fraudulent charges draining my account," he wrote. "They say they can’t stop any new charges but Coinbase support said not to change my account number."
Over the last several months, customer service horror stories about frozen accounts have hit Reddit.
On January 20th, someone using the handle 'i_dislike_coinbase' claimed a 2,000 GBP deposit never showed up in his Coinbase account. He added that after some back and forth, the exchange stopped replying to his emails.
Other posts come from people vacationing in Sudan, Cuba, and Iran. Once the Coinbase app identified IP addresses in those countries, the exchange froze vacationers' accounts, alleging that they violated US sanctions.
"I have contacted support with my passport and a utility bill and as instructed I logged back into my account from a non-prohibited region," explained Cuba visitor, 'm00norbit'. "However, my account is still locked and I haven't heard anything from Coinbase's customer service."
This brings up questions about Americans and Europeans who might choose to travel to countries with strict crypto laws.
[caption id="attachment_4615" align="alignnone" width="740"]
Coinbase subreddit overflows with panic (Screenshot, Reddit, 02-16-2018)[/caption]Coinbase needs to address complaints that accounts are unfairly frozen and access is blocked. Users cannot think they need to avoid travel to make sure they aren't flagged. Should a startup founder avoid traveling China or India because of stricter crypto laws?
On top of all this, Coinbase employees are under the spotlight for possible insider trading. Following the exchange's surprise listing of Bitcoin Cash, evidence accumulated of employees with advanced knowledge bought the coin. CEO Brian Armstrong soon after announced an investigation into insider trading.
"If we find evidence of any employee or contractor violating our policies — directly or indirectly — I will not hesitate to terminate the employee immediately and take appropriate legal action."
Then, in January, prominent anti-Tether activist, @Bitfinex'ed, published a blog on Medium. He accused Litecoin creator Charlie Lee, who is now an engineer at Coinbase, of a conflict of interest getting his coin with "no transaction activity" listed on the exchange.
While any discerning reader should remain objective and look for a Coinbase response to various allegations, the stories are dangerous, nonetheless. As newer exchanges broaden their influence, Coinbase has to keep its customers happy. There is a clear problem with one of the industry's biggest exchanges. Competitors should review their own infrastructure and customer service methods to ensure that an industry battling for its long-term reputation isn't further damaged.
Customers who are experiencing problems are encouraged to contact http://support.coinbase.com.