Originally Posted by
GrandMaster
It would be interesting to test it in a court of law whether a consumer can be bound by T&C whose existence he is not made aware of.
It has already been investigated by the OFT, and it has been ruled that terms MUST be made clear to the consumer. It is not enough to have them hidden away, or use tricks to prevent them from reading them.
There have been cases with store cards, where the applicant has been told they have to sign up straight away, and have not been allowed to take a copy of the agreement home to read and understand first. Such agreements can be voided in the courts.
There is also the matter of distance selling regulations. If the customer is INVITED by Email, snail mail, or a phone call, and takes the offer and is then screwed over, they are entitled to redress. Unfortunately, as this regulation was about sale of goods, it only entitles the customer to their money back, BUT this would also apply to those who LOST at the casino if they subsequently found out that, had they won, they would not have been paid.
The rules would also cover signing up via an advertisement, the important thing being that the transactions take place remotely, and not at a physical shop. 14 days is allowed for the customer to demand their money back.
The current case about bank charges is not down to customers not seeing, understanding, and agreeing to the terms, but that the terms themselves are thought to be ILLEGAL in a consumer contract.
This is what particularly affects online casinos, where they are in a juristiction that is considered reputable. It does not matter whether the customer understood everything or not, it is down to whether the terms constitute an unreasonable balance in favour of the business. ALL casino terms actually fall into this category, but reputable casinos do not use their "FU Clauses" unless they KNOW they have a fraudster on their hands.
As well as the problem of 15% tax, this is another reason that can be putting casinos off from being regulated here in the UK. If they were regulated here, these terms and conditions could be challenged in the small claims courts very easily for UK players, and even EU based players would find it relatively easy to lodge an action.
Gibraltar based casinos are also much easier to target, however, this has to be under Gibraltean law, rather then UK or full EU law, as Gibraltar is only a member of the EEA, and not a full member of the EU itself.
It is more likely that debate on casino related forums is going to do more damage to a badly behaved casino than actions with regulators and the courts. This is because forums are becoming increasingly popular, often because a player gets burned, and THEN does the research - only to discover they should have done it the other way round. Said player is, at least, now aware of forums, and likely to add themselves to the 40% or so that already lurk, or participate in, one or more internet fora.
Anyone who has been following these BelleRock threads should now know TWO things:-
1) You are only allowed ONE bonus in the group.
2) Their CS is generally inept.
A little further digging will reveal that they have a "hidden" fifth casino in the group, not mentioned in ANY T & C, but could easily get a player screwed over on bonuses. (King Neptune).
Empty Fruities Astern Capt'n
Back to port for unloading.
Full Sails - before we get raided ourselves.
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