The thread on 2 + 2 that addresses FTP remission issues is nearing 1,100 posts and a large number of those are not at all favorable to the claims administrator GCG and the manner in which the entire process is being administered.

A sample from "WotPeed" posted today: "It sure seems like GCG is ill-equipped to handle this job. I don't know how much this case differs from other remissions cases but my suspicion is that both the number of claimants and their restlessness is greater than GCG was prepared to handle.

"Their rinky-dink website is a joke, their processes are poorly thought out, and support has been lackluster at best. My guess is that they've been overwhelmed by the volume of people with questions/problems and they're trying to get some answers from DOJ regarding what to do going forward.

"It would be nice if their call center monkeys were given a new line to add to their script, something along the lines of 'we're aware that many applicants are experiencing difficulty submitting their remissions claims due to various circumstances. We expect to have answers to the most common issues within 7 days. Please don't call us any more until then' (or something a little more PC)."

That seems to sum up what a great number of other posters were trying to say. The issues in question appear to be many, but a large amount lean toward the financial mismanagement at Full Tilt in a time frame both prior to and after Black Friday. Deposits and withdrawals during FTP's final days of operation were not processed and/or properly recorded. This in itself has caused considerable frustration by players who must submit supporting documentation.

Players have the option to dispute the balance on record as of April 15, 2011. Keep in mind that FTP was still online and operating after Black Friday so there will be some discrepancy and room for dispute by a number of players. Balances on record and that which players claim to be owed will simply not match because of the wayward accounting practices employed at FTP in those waning days.

Many complaints also center around players who apparently did not receive the email from GCG that contained the petition and control numbers required to submit a claim. Some players went ahead with the steps outlined in filing a new petition, only to eventually receive the email that should have landed in their in-box earlier.

Yet more posters expressed concern that filing a Petition for Remission would be an admission of guilt that they played online poker illegally and would somehow come back to haunt them. Keep in mind that U.S. Full Tilt players are seen by the DoJ as victims of fraudulent activity perpetrated by Full Tilt Poker. The remission process is intended to get dollars back into the pockets of players, not to charge them with any illegal activity.

While many players may have been expecting the remission process to go smoothly, that may have been an unlikely expectation considering that balances may be questionable due to the poor accounting at FTP around Black Friday. With regard to the other complaints such as not receiving emails or the inability to get answers both correct and timely from the GCG staff, it's worth noting that the remission process is only one week into its two-month duration.

Perhaps the best advice for players who continue having difficulties in the Full Tilt remission process is to turn to the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) for assistance. A team has been put together at the PPA for that very reason, to help players whose concerns are not being adequately resolved. An email to [email protected] will get the ball rolling.