Feedback Thumbs up to the UKGC from me!

[RichyJ75]

As mentioned loosely in other threads, I had a lovely 2,400x win at MoboCasino (Viral Interactive group of casinos) back in December which they promptly confiscated when I made a withdrawal request. This was following my account being recently opened, documents uploaded, approved and account verified. Even their CS said all was OK.

The basis of the confiscation was that I had an account at a sister casino which was in cool off (NOT self excluded). I had contacted chat to confirm I was ok to play given the circumstances and was told that the cool off does not affect other accounts, so all is ok. They accepted deposits, kept remaining accounts open so all was ok. They even processed a smaller withdrawal while sister account was in cool off. As soon as I make a big withdrawal - accounts closed and money confiscated citing that a cool off is to be treated as self exclusion! They refunded my deposits which resulted in the win and probably expected me to go away.

I complained to casino - no luck.
I contacted their top bod managing director - no reply.
I tried reasoning with their 'legal counsel department' - they stood firm.
I contacted IBAS - not interested as according to them it was a 'regulatory issue'.
I opened a dispute at AskGamblers as they were registered there - they didn't respond so dispute closed.
I opened a PAB - they didn't respond to Max and made other excuses.
I contacted the MGA - not interested as I am in the UK.
I contacted the UKGC - they showed interest, asked for my approval to view details, etc and then took it on. Unfortunately the UKGC cannot provide regular updates, but then out of the blue, I was contacted by the casino to say that further to working with the UKGC, they will pay me my winnings!! Money received today!

I had honestly thought all was lost and was reluctant to continue to pursue this as next step would have been going through the european court (can be done online).

Anyway, big thanks to Max and the UKGC. It has been an emotional and frustrating journey, but money now received and being put to good use (car repairs and paid off credit card!).

And it seriously helped having screenshots of everything and saved chat transcripts, especially when trying out a new casino! But, alas, probably the best option is to stick with accredited sites listed here!

However, I will also show gratitude to Viral Interactive as although they had misinterpreted the rules which resulted in a lot of stress to me, they did pay out and they did (on the whole) respond to to my e-mails and their online chat were prompt.

 

[aceking123]

well done for keeping with it & glad you got your funds, im on a mission of my own with a casino at the moment in regards to accounts )

 

[greylady]

Well done and chuffed that you got the best result for you, sometimes it's worth being like a dog with a bone

 

[RichyJ75]

Another thing which I forgot to mention:

They put the winnings back into my MoboCasino account, but as that site has now blacklisted UK players, I couldn't log in to make the withdrawal request so I asked them to process it which they duly did. However, on another sister site they had paid me £25 (£50 balance less £25 deposit which was refunded) as this was confiscated at same time of the big win. I couldn't withdraw this as minimum withdrawal amount was £30. Ummmmm, I now have a £200 withdrawal request in place which hopefully will be paid!!

 

[theapple]

i really think new ugkc leadership is the best thing that has happened for players in a long time. Things might not change overnight but changes are happening already and if it wasnt for casinos trying to abuse whatever change ugkc makes things would change much quicker too

I can see how casinos could misunderstand some new rules though, and they probably really believe how ukgc totally wanted casinos to let people deposit as much as they wish for until they finally manage to make a cashout, at which point you are supposed to ask about every single detail in their life.

I mean it even makes sense, if its money used for terrorism, mafia or whatever, it better stays with casinos instead !!!

 

[neilw]

Well done for sticking with it.

Out of interest how long did the whole process take from start to finish and how long was the UKGC's involvement.?

 

[dunover]

As we saw with the 'worst player experience 2017' (the Nektan abuse of a big DoA winner) it seems that as soon as the UKGC send a simple enquiry it instantly resolves the issue in two stages:

1. UKGC contacts casino for information.
2. Casino shits its pants and suddenly delivers the customer service they should have in the first place and pays player.

Simples!

beats eCogra hands-down!

 

[maxd]

Glad to hear this worked out, marking the PAB as closed.

 

[RichyJ75]

Well done for sticking with it.

Out of interest how long did the whole process take from start to finish and how long was the UKGC's involvement.?

Withdrawal request was on 18/19th December 2017.

Various e-mails took place between different parties over next few weeks then I finally contacted the UKGC on 16th January 2018 requesting some information. A couple of e-mails go to/fro from a contact adviser then a compliance manager made contact on 19th February 2018 requesting my permission to view my account as she will be dealing with it.

So, in effect, less than a month to get my money once a compliance manager looked at my case.

I wanted to go through the correct channels first of all such as lodging a complaint, IBAS, other dispute resolution processes etc before contacting the main authority so they couldn't pass it back as not all boxes have been ticked, so to speak.

 

[vince69]

That is absolutely heart warming. So glad you got your money but as they were obviously at fault I do not see why they just do not play by their rules and adhere their UKGC licence. I have a similar problem with viral interactive on Untold casino . They have broken a responsible gambling regulation. They were initially indignant and rude. However, I have threatened to report them if they do not rectify the situation. It has now apparently gone to the 'compliance dept' so will see what they say. It is a black and white case of regulation broken. I do know that IBAS cannot deal with this complaint so was also intending to report to UKGC. However,
I do not know the best way to do this. They have got a general info email address but I cannot see one for complaints regarding casinos. Who did you initially contact at UKGC ? I know I may not get a refund but I will definately report them for the way they dismissed my initial complaint and their lack of adherence to their responsible gambling regulations. Any advice would be really welcome. And good on you for persevering!

 

[xexe]

They even processed a smaller withdrawal while sister account was in cool off. As soon as I make a big withdrawal - accounts closed and money confiscated citing that a cool off is to be treated as self exclusion!

This part really made my blood boil. Really happy you got your winnings, congratulations!!

 

[RichyJ75]

That is absolutely heart warming. So glad you got your money but as they were obviously at fault I do not see why they just do not play by their rules and adhere their UKGC licence. I have a similar problem with viral interactive on Untold casino . They have broken a responsible gambling regulation. They were initially indignant and rude. However, I have threatened to report them if they do not rectify the situation. It has now apparently gone to the 'compliance dept' so will see what they say. It is a black and white case of regulation broken. I do know that IBAS cannot deal with this complaint so was also intending to report to UKGC. However,
I do not know the best way to do this. They have got a general info email address but I cannot see one for complaints regarding casinos. Who did you initially contact at UKGC ? I know I may not get a refund but I will definately report them for the way they dismissed my initial complaint and their lack of adherence to their responsible gambling regulations. Any advice would be really welcome. And good on you for persevering!

Hi Vince, per the pm, I am happy to pass on all e-mail correspondence to Viral and the UKGC which I have to show you the angle of approach I took. Don't be fooled by their 'Legal Counsel' and their 'Compliance Team' as I believe it is just another name for their customer support! Not once could they tell me who their legal advice was coming from (I work in a solicitors!) to establish how accurate it was.

 

[vince69]

Thanks mate
I already know they just stalling to look at how they can wriggle out of their mistake. they were so offensive to start with when I questioned their actions I knew the sort of company I was dealing with. It was really their absolute arrogance and trying to fool me that made me really pissed off and felt they were treating me like a mug. When I mentioned UKGC and also cited the relevant regulation in the Malta licence not to mention their own terms and conditions page they changed tac and started apologizing and mentioning compliance dept. As you know you have to go through their complaints procedure first so I am going along with that for now. They have broken a regulation and even if I do not get my money back they should not get away with it. Hopefully UKGC will be able to look into the activity on the account with my permission as it is all there as evidence.
cheers again
Vince

 

[Rach23]

Hi I'm having the same problems could you help me with how you dealt with them and your email trail?

Thanks in advance

Rachel

 

[RichyJ75]

Hi I'm having the same problems could you help me with how you dealt with them and your email trail?

Thanks in advance

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

Initially I contacted their support (also known as 'compliance team' and 'legal counsel'!). An ADR didn't help, so went to the UKGC. Happy to supply the contact I have as possibly Vince will contact her as well. Viral don't really respond in full to formal complaints, just try and hide behind their T&C's even though (at the time) they were incorrect. If you pm me your e-mail address, I can forward my e-mails or perhaps you and Vince could liaise as he has the e-mails and is currently working on getting his money?

Cheers and good luck

Richard

 

[vince69]

Hi Rachel,

Is your problem with untold? Is it a responsible gambling complaint? I do not know how far you have got with this but I am awaiting a response from their so called 'compliance dept' From what I can see they have already had several complaints filed against them. I fully intend to report them if I do not get a satisfactory response. If it is regarding their UKGC licence regulations then UKGC is the next step after complaining to the casino as ADR's do not handle these complaints. I would have thought if they wanted to keep their licence they would have learnt their lessons from previous cases but believe they so arrogant their greed will be their downfall. I do know UKGC cannot instruct them to refund the customer but they can impose fines and even revoke licences if enough complaints are received.
vince

 

[winbigger]

I have problems with fansbet had withdrawals pending for more then 5 days. They confiscated my money and blocked me on chat.