One 13th od December 2017. I wanted to convert my fiat currency to bitcoin so I could buy some altcoin during the price drop. I did watch some review videos about changelly.com on youtube and after that, I decided to use it for the transaction.
During the checkout process, I was taken to simplex.com. As soon as I hit the submit button after entering my card details the full amount was deducted from my bank account.
Now I was taken to another verification page where they asked me to upload a photo of myself holding the bank card and a government issued id which I did and verified the transaction.
I waited for 3 hours and still, I did not receive any update from changelly.com or simplex.com so I decided to write them an email to which they did not reply. I also sent them a message on their Facebook page, tweet on Twitter and also posted on changelly's subreddit.
After a day on 13the. Simplex did reply to my email saying that "Please know that your card was not charged for this payment. It was a credit card authorization check, rather than a charge. This authorization has been voided successfully and the money should be freed in the next 48 business hours"
I know other companies do charge a small amount for Card authorization, not the full amount. I am doubtful about simplex.com business tactics. Charging the full amount for card verification and holding it for that long! They could be using it to profit their business. By the way, I have not received any amount from them yet.
changelly.com has not replied to my email, tweet or facebook message.
I did some Googling and found out that I was not the only one. Apparently, bitcoin.com had to suspend their contract with simplex.com as they were holding its customers' payments and not fulfilling the transaction. I have included a link to the forum post at the bottom of this thread.
1. Simplex appears to be a Scam Exchange:
https://forum.bitcoin.com/scam-accusations/simplex-appears-to-be-a-scam-exchange-t27736.html2. Simplex Purchased Bitcoin Not Received:
https://forum.bitcoin.com/technical-support/simplex-purchased-bitcoin-not-received-t45193.htmlI would suggest everyone avoid Simplex and possibly changelly.com for any transaction.
It might not be the fault of changelly.com but they should have looked into the matter and suspend the contract with simplex.com immediately as bitcoin.com did but they have chosen to remain silent.
Please do let me know your experience. I would also like to know other alternatives that are safer to do the transaction with.
Simplex Successful Checkout:
https://i.imgur.com/DQjq605.pngBank Statement:
https://i.imgur.com/q8zi8MH.png