A branch of Ladbrokes has refused to pay out on a winning World Cup final bet after admitting that a member of staff should never have accepted the wager.
Robert Puddefoot, 45, placed a double-bet on the England versus Belgium game on Saturday, July 14 at Ladbrokes’ Bargoed store. The delivery driver had placed £2 on Belgium to beat England 2-0 with Eden Hazard to score with odds of 45/1.
When both happened, Mr Puddefoot thought he had scooped £90, only to be told by the bookmaker that the bet was incorrect and had been accepted in error.
A disgruntled Mr Puddefoot told Caerphilly Observer: “I couldn’t believe what they were telling me. It is a matter of principle, they made a mistake and they should have paid me.
“When you place a bet in good faith, you expect them to deliver on their side of the bargain. When I lose a bet because I made a mistake placing it, does that mean I get my money back? No.”
It is understood that Ladbrokes proposed to settle the bet with split stakes on the two events indicated on the slip, returning £14 instead of the full £92.
A spokesman for Ladbrokes said: “The odds of 45/1 related to the Ladbrokes Scorecast, where a customer combines a player to score first and the correct score of the match. Ladbrokes do not offer combination odds on a player to score anytime and the correct score.
“The customer service team made an ex-gratia offer to settle the bet with split stakes on the two events indicated on the slip, however the customer has not accepted this offer.”
In response to Ladbrokes’ offer, Mr Puddefoot said: “They’ve shafted a loyal customer for £92. Neither me nor my friends will be returning to the store again.”
The Gambling Commission, the organisation responsible for licensing and regulating people and businesses who provide gambling in the UK, recommends that any disagreement with a gambling business about the service provided should first be directed to the business itself.
A spokesman for the organisation said: “If you are not satisfied with the outcome when you have reached the end of the business’ complaints process, you can choose to take your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution body (ADR).”
ADRs are free to use independent organisations that aim to look at the information provided by both the customer and the business to resolve the complaint.
I’m sure on this occasion it would be fair and decent for Ladbrokes to pay out, the error was made by a member of their staff and £92 is hardly going to hurt them.
It’s going to cost them a lot more in lost revenue now.
I would have thought that this comes under laws governing contracts. Mr. Puddefoot placed a bet, a representative of Ladbrokes accepted. A contract was then made and the book maker should pay out.
location , is a small village , obviously word will pass around quickly
ladbrokes technically right , but could of done decent thing , offer 50/50
prob lost £1000,s in bets already
Shame on Ladbrokes – after all it was their staff member who made the error,so they should pay out.
The same happened to me in the Rhymney Ladbrokes with a greyhound bet. I had a forecast and a tricast up, they said they weren’t covering that race.. They gave me the 2 quid back.. I stopped betting in any Ladbrokes since.. That was 5 years ago.