Dear Meisters
Can a(n accredited) casino change promotion T&C's whenever they want, and for whatever reason?
Can they do it in the middle, or even after customers have deposited and played?
If so, how can we ever trust a promo again?
The long story:
Last week I was tempted by this promotion, run by the .dk version of a large accredited casino:
Deposit on Monday or Tuesday to earn free spins on Wednesday. Spins can be played on: Starburst, Guns'n roses, Twinspin or Pixie Gold. A max deposit of $80 (800DKR) earns you 100 spins.
So I took up the offer, played the money and waited for my 100 spins.
Wednesday came, and the spins were added to three slots, but not Pixie gold.
CS tells me that this was technically not possible, so I would have to play them on one of the other slots.
I did the math for them and explained that the spins were different in value. 100 spins on Pixie Gold has a value of $50 (equivalent to a 63% bonus on the deposit of $80). Even if I chose the best possible of the 3 available slots, Twin Spin, the value would be cut in half.
CS said at first that they were not aware of this difference in value, and that it was merely a technical problem with Pixie. But they were not willing to add more spins on one of the cheaper slots, to make up for the value.
When I said that this effectively cut the value in half, a substantial change, CS replied that they can change the T&C's for a promotion whenever they want.
I asked CS to escalate the matter, still expecting a positive outcome, as I knew that I was only one of many dissatisfied customers.
I also sent a pm to the rep here, still thinking that it was possible to reach an agreement with the casino that would apply to all affected customers. The rep has not replied.
After two days and a gentle email reminder I finally received a short email from the casino, saying that “it is not technically possible to add FS on Pixie Gold” and that 30 extra spins on Guns'n'roses would be added in compensation.
100 spins TwinSpin value $25 + 30 spins GnR value $6 = $31 (38% bonus value) (as opposed to the 63% bonus value originally offered).
I replied that I did not accept the compensation, and asked them to remove the spins from my account....
Apparently, I should have considered myself lucky instead. I know from a Danish forum that most customers were offered nothing. Others were offered the same as me, but with completely different explanations.
My husband was not as patient as me, and spent days writing emails. In the end he received an email saying that Pixie Gold should not have been part of the campaign, that it was an obvious error because of the difference in spin values, and because of PG not being a Netent slot. It was even suggested that we as customers should have known better than believing in the offer......
Now, whereas I agree that the casinos should be able to change T&C's where an obvious error has occurred, eg. a typo where it says 1000 spins instead of 100, I do not agree that this is the case here.
There is no obvious error here, the slots all have different values (0.10 – 0.20 – 0.25 and 0.50), so why should the most expensive be an orror, and not the cheapest? After all, we are only talking about a 63% bonus when spins are used on Pixie Gold. So I dont see the obvious error. The fact that PG is not a Netent slot is not something that the customer is expected to know or see as a problem.
For me it is not a matter of a personal compensation anymore, even if I got fully compensated I would feel that others had been cheated.
Instead I am bringing up the case here, as I think it is of general interest.
What do you guys think...
After reading the above, do you think that the term “We reserve the right to change the T&C's” can be applied to this case, when there is no obvious errors in the campaign and no unfair advantage to the player?
Can a(n accredited) casino change promotion T&C's whenever they want, and for whatever reason?
Can they do it in the middle, or even after customers have deposited and played?
If so, how can we ever trust a promo again?
The long story:
Last week I was tempted by this promotion, run by the .dk version of a large accredited casino:
Deposit on Monday or Tuesday to earn free spins on Wednesday. Spins can be played on: Starburst, Guns'n roses, Twinspin or Pixie Gold. A max deposit of $80 (800DKR) earns you 100 spins.
So I took up the offer, played the money and waited for my 100 spins.
Wednesday came, and the spins were added to three slots, but not Pixie gold.
CS tells me that this was technically not possible, so I would have to play them on one of the other slots.
I did the math for them and explained that the spins were different in value. 100 spins on Pixie Gold has a value of $50 (equivalent to a 63% bonus on the deposit of $80). Even if I chose the best possible of the 3 available slots, Twin Spin, the value would be cut in half.
CS said at first that they were not aware of this difference in value, and that it was merely a technical problem with Pixie. But they were not willing to add more spins on one of the cheaper slots, to make up for the value.
When I said that this effectively cut the value in half, a substantial change, CS replied that they can change the T&C's for a promotion whenever they want.
I asked CS to escalate the matter, still expecting a positive outcome, as I knew that I was only one of many dissatisfied customers.
I also sent a pm to the rep here, still thinking that it was possible to reach an agreement with the casino that would apply to all affected customers. The rep has not replied.
After two days and a gentle email reminder I finally received a short email from the casino, saying that “it is not technically possible to add FS on Pixie Gold” and that 30 extra spins on Guns'n'roses would be added in compensation.
100 spins TwinSpin value $25 + 30 spins GnR value $6 = $31 (38% bonus value) (as opposed to the 63% bonus value originally offered).
I replied that I did not accept the compensation, and asked them to remove the spins from my account....
Apparently, I should have considered myself lucky instead. I know from a Danish forum that most customers were offered nothing. Others were offered the same as me, but with completely different explanations.
My husband was not as patient as me, and spent days writing emails. In the end he received an email saying that Pixie Gold should not have been part of the campaign, that it was an obvious error because of the difference in spin values, and because of PG not being a Netent slot. It was even suggested that we as customers should have known better than believing in the offer......
Now, whereas I agree that the casinos should be able to change T&C's where an obvious error has occurred, eg. a typo where it says 1000 spins instead of 100, I do not agree that this is the case here.
There is no obvious error here, the slots all have different values (0.10 – 0.20 – 0.25 and 0.50), so why should the most expensive be an orror, and not the cheapest? After all, we are only talking about a 63% bonus when spins are used on Pixie Gold. So I dont see the obvious error. The fact that PG is not a Netent slot is not something that the customer is expected to know or see as a problem.
For me it is not a matter of a personal compensation anymore, even if I got fully compensated I would feel that others had been cheated.
Instead I am bringing up the case here, as I think it is of general interest.
What do you guys think...
After reading the above, do you think that the term “We reserve the right to change the T&C's” can be applied to this case, when there is no obvious errors in the campaign and no unfair advantage to the player?
