Still Got The Balls?
I would like to apologise in advance if this blog seems a bit of a rant. I think some of the things that have happened recently are actually quite funny and all show what a sad state some UK bookmaking businesses are in.
Before I get onto the stuff that is really absurd I would like to reflect on my previous blog, ‘Are Coral Bookmakers Acting Illegally?‘
So Coral ignore emails from customers, they ignore customer requests, great customer service that.
I Tweeted Simon Clare @SiClare who is the Corals ‘PR Man’ for his comments and offered him a right to reply. The Tweets to him were re-Tweeted many times. What do you think he said? He acted very Coral-like – he ignored them and blocked me. So can they also ignore their legal responsibilities as well as ignoring their customers? A few readers on my Facebook page suggested taking it further:
…maybe we’ll have some more fun with that another time. I have a few ideas.
Some of you may know about the proposed merger of Coral with Ladbrokes. One of Bettingemporium’s customers opened a Ladbrokes account. He liked a punt. So much so that they put him on their VIP scheme. Many won’t know about this scheme, I couldn’t find much on their website about it. He got emails offering him bonuses. Cash bonuses of up to £200 with no or very little play through – absolutely free money. They really liked him. Then one day he got restricted, not sure exactly why but his max bet was now about a fiver (he regularly bet four figure sums on soccer and racing). So he withdrew his balance. Then he got an email from the VIP club:
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“Following a recent review of your account, we are aware of a reduction in your levels of play with Ladbrokes. As your VIP privileges are awarded in line with your play, your account is regrettably no longer eligible to receive your current offering. Your level of play must be maintained in order to be considered for the VIP Service. Please be assured that we are constantly monitoring accounts and should your account situation change we will adjust your VIP status offering accordingly. “
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Too funny. They might be monitoring a long time. One department wants him to bet and penalises him when he doesn’t. The other stops him betting. I wonder if the two Ladbrokes departments involved are in the same building. He wrote back saying he wanted to bet with them and to lift the ridiculous limits. They acted Coral-like. They ignored him. I think this merger might work.
You might think Coral/Ladbrokes are bad here, wait until you hear about the jokers at Bwin.
Another Bettingemporium customer opens a new Bwin account and deposits £300 that he wants to bet on Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League Darts. They offered him £30! So he bet the £30 and the bet won. Maximum bet now £5! What, really? Then he gets this email a short while later:
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“Still got the balls? You still have credit at bwin.
Find a bet for your credit.
Hi xxx,
We would like to remind you that you still have £xxx in your account.
Bet Now!”
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How ironic.
Anyway, Bwin don’t have the balls for an even £300 on the darts so he decides to withdraw and then receives this:
Dear bwin customer, We have received your withdrawal request for xxx.xx GBP. However, we noticed that you are requesting a withdrawal without adequate game play after your recent deposits. We encourage our players to make deposits with an intention to play and not to withdraw soon after.
‘Encourage’ yeah right! It makes you wonder how many bad business decisions these firms make on a regular basis throughout their whole businesses.
[End rant]