Fortune Group - is this right?

[bobbio]

Hi - first time poster here, have a story/question.
I started online gaming around four months ago, but felt it getting out of control. So, after depositing a small amount at Royal Vegas I asked to be excluded (as I did with a number of casinos - I just wanted to stop). My account was locked, but I DIDN'T fax back the exclusion form. I didn't feel it necessary as my account was blocked.

However, in a moment of stupidity I signed up to Platinum Play - genuinely not realising it was part of the same (Fortune) group. I then deposited around £100. I had £25 in my account when I could no longer log in.

After speaking to the floor manager and customer service reps via email, I'm told I cannot access my account (that's not a problem, obviously) but also the £25 in my account will be held and if I choose to reopen my account after six months I can access it. This is not really a complaint; more a question. Can they just hold on to this £25? Is that standard practice to retain funds such as these. I have been passed the terms and conditions, but I genuinely didn't sign up knowing this was part of a group I'd been asked to be excluded from.

Now, it's only £25 so I'm not going to chase it, really. But just curious to whether or not this is standard...

Any help much appreciated.

 

[fortunelounge]

Hi bobbio

The information you have been given is totally incorrect. You need to be refunded the balance of your account.

Please PM me your account number so I can arrange for the refund and find out who told you this nonsense.

I sincerely apologise for this misinformation.

Regards

Wim
Head of Operations
Fortune Lounge

 

[chuchu59]

Wim,

More training needs to be provided to frontline staff.

BTW, how many brands have you shed? There is no longer Vegas Villa, Desert Dollar and Vegas Towers.

 

[fortunelounge]

Hi chuchu

We constantly train staff but this is a bad common sense error.

We have only shed the brands you mentioned. Everything else remains as is.

Regards

Wim

 

[fortunelounge]

Hi bobbio

The £25 that remained in your account have been processed back to your card and should reflect within 3 - 5 business days.

Again, our apology for the incorrect information you received.

Regards

Wim

 

[vinylweatherman]

Hi - first time poster here, have a story/question.
I started online gaming around four months ago, but felt it getting out of control. So, after depositing a small amount at Royal Vegas I asked to be excluded (as I did with a number of casinos - I just wanted to stop). My account was locked, but I DIDN'T fax back the exclusion form. I didn't feel it necessary as my account was blocked.

However, in a moment of stupidity I signed up to Platinum Play - genuinely not realising it was part of the same (Fortune) group. I then deposited around £100. I had £25 in my account when I could no longer log in.

After speaking to the floor manager and customer service reps via email, I'm told I cannot access my account (that's not a problem, obviously) but also the £25 in my account will be held and if I choose to reopen my account after six months I can access it. This is not really a complaint; more a question. Can they just hold on to this £25? Is that standard practice to retain funds such as these. I have been passed the terms and conditions, but I genuinely didn't sign up knowing this was part of a group I'd been asked to be excluded from.

Now, it's only £25 so I'm not going to chase it, really. But just curious to whether or not this is standard...

Any help much appreciated.

Whilst Platinum Play blocked you as they are part of the same group, your "moments of stupidity" can still get you into trouble if you sign up at casinos not related to the group, or any other group you may have self excluded from. You need to deprive yourself of the means to gamble further. The easiest way is to ditch any VISA branded cards and replace them with Mastercard branded ones. Rather than charging a fee, Mastercards just don't work for many online gambling transactions. You can also get a product called "Gamblock" for your computer such that it becomes a matter of reinstalling the OS if you ever want to access a gambling site again, a process that takes hours, even days if you have to back up your data first - plenty of time for the urge to pass.

The main problem with exclusions is that there is often a delay between signing up and it kicking in, enough time to lose your first deposit.

The 6 months timeframe you were given was the minimum amount of time you will be locked out for, and the CS agent mistakenly told you that you had to wait out this 6 months before you got your £25 back. You will get your £25 back as promised, but you will not be able to access any Fortune Lounge property for 6 months. If you wish, you can ask for this minimum period to be extended, right up to a lifetime exclusion. You may also find this exclusion gets recorded on a general Microgaming database, so that all Microgaming powered casinos will lock you out for at least 6 months.

As for this forum, you can ask to be made a member of the "Quit Gambling" group, which will limit what you can access here, and you will not see any promotional material for gambling. Alternatively, you could resign your membership and keep well away from anything related to gambling.

 

[bobbio]

Wim - thank you very much!
Vinylweatherman - I appreciate the advice, thanks.