Question Betfred Permanent Suspension and Retaining Funds

[denis3k11]

My Betfred account was recently permanently suspended due to the use of a third-party payment method (a friend’s debit card, which I had permission to use).Prior to the suspension, I deposited £900 using this card within 5 hours and was able to withdraw amounts under £500 without issue. However, straight after attempting to withdraw a larger amount (over £1,500), my account was suspended.

I have since contacted support and was informed that the remaining balance will remain in the account. I would appreciate clarification on whether there is any possibility of withdrawing the remaining funds, given the circumstances.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ritae]

Why would you use another person's bank card in the first place?

From their T&C:

6.2 Your funds. The funds you place in your account must be your own and not those of any other person or from a business.

10.2 of their terms permits suspension and closure of your account because you have failed to comply with their terms and placed bets in a fraudulent or illegal manner.

 

[jasonuk]

There was a very similar thread to this last year - also Betfred, also because of third party payments, but in that case for much larger amounts. Since I wrote a lot of stuff in that thread, I don't really need to repeat it.

In short:

• all winnings linked to those deposits should be considered void
• you will have no right to any money
• your friend may be entitled to deposits, up to the deposited amount - and may have to jump through considerable hoops (including customer due diligence and/or source of wealth) to get it back
• completed withdrawals will be netted off against that amount, if there are surplus withdrawals then Betfred may contact your friend for the money to be returned (but that is their decision to make).

As mentioned in 2023, it feels like there is a marked increase in this kind of activity - possibly as some kind of freeroll fraud. If that's the case, Betfred may not be as considerate or forgiving as they might have been two or three years ago - the person in the linked thread has already been waiting 18 months.

 

[denis3k11]

Hello , thank you for your replies , after giving them a call and raising an internal complaint. They shortly followed with an email asking for a picture of my ID and evidence of me sending the money to my friend before starting to gamble with it.

After providing the evidence requested , within 24 hours they released all the money from the account . From my experience everything was sorted quick and efficient. A suggestion from me is to avoid live chat support , before calling them I tried reaching out to them via chat several times and every operative gave me the same answer "There is nothing you can do the account will be forever suspended and you will not get your money".

I though I'll follow up with a reply letting you guys know what the outcome was , and I understand this might be different for everyone. I guess I got lucky as there wasn't a large sum of money involved.

 

[jasonuk]

Glad you got it sorted - an important lesson learned, thankfully not an expensive one!

The first level support of most businesses tend to be pretty awful, it's when you are being prevented from getting to the right people that it becomes a problem. I suspect we've all been there and got the t-shirt by now... and why knowing your rights is of fundamental importance.

 

[Jono777]

I know horse bolted and lesson learned and all that but just an after thought for future and others reading this.....

Yes we all know very few read all the T&C's top to bottom BUT even most novices will know NEVER to use a "friends" (not even family) card, it just one of those things, bit like never eating yellow snow

 

[kierant67]

Hi, I am now experiencing the same issues as myself and my brother were betting on blackjack from his account we put £25 on each but used my bank card and are owed £550. we have never really done this before so didn't really know about the T&C's hopefully your advise works do you see there being any problem or sympathy.

 

[Webzcas]

Using someone else's bank card or e-wallet to fund your casino account is a no no. Clear breach of T & C's and you are at the mercy of the operator as to whether they will show sympathy or not.

When you open an account at an online casino / sportsbook / betting site, you are expected to have read the T & C's and check such a box indicating you have done so.

 

[jasonuk]

As we've said with the previous cases - it's a clear breach of T&Cs, so be prepared to get nothing... it'll be up to the goodwill of Betfred if you get anything back.

As a more general point - the uptick of this kind of behaviour is concerning. These rules have not changed in years, so why the uptick now?

 

[conker]

As a more general point - the uptick of this kind of behaviour is concerning. These rules have not changed in years, so why the uptick now?

Unhealthy gambling habits...

 

[kierant67]

thanks for your replies, as i said we are not big gamblers and had not done this before, just thought we would go for it as a bit of fun we ended up winning £500 on one hand and that would do us to now being locked out seemed a bit strange i will try give them a call later.

 

[johnnymcc1966]

thanks for your replies, as i said we are not big gamblers and had not done this before, just thought we would go for it as a bit of fun we ended up winning £500 on one hand and that would do us to now being locked out seemed a bit strange i will try give them a call later.

You use the term 'we' but there is no 'we' on an account it is only intended for the use of one person,end of story.
Maybe we should have a sticky post on site of the 'dos' and 'don't' of opening an account and how to best keep your winnings?

 

[conker]

When it comes to gambling online, everything has to be done in 1 person's name, with that same person being the account holder, provider of payment, and the person making any withdrawals.

It may feel restrictive, but it's all to do with anti-money laundering, identity protection, and verification.

There is no comeback from it sadly, it's just how it all works.

It should not be possible for a gambling companies to be able to accept payment from different people to those who hold the account. But there does not seem to be anything around to stop them doing so.

So it is down to us to make sure we are fully acquainted with the rules before we start depositing.