More than a year after Ladbrokes claimed that a “glitch” in its online betting software had been addressed and customers affected had received goodwill payments in settlement, evidence has emerged that a number of its clients may still have a claim against the bookie after being issued with a unique receipt number for a bet that was later described as having been cancelled.
One case involves Patricia O’Dowd, who believed that a £2,000 bet on Altra Vita, a 6-4 winner at Bath in June 2018, had been accepted since a receipt number – 0001839 – was issued against it. After the race the £2,000 stake was returned to her account, but there was no payment of £3,000 in winnings.
When O’Dowd complained, Ladbrokes supplied a spreadsheet of activity on the account, on which the £2,000 bet did not appear. On closer inspection, however, the receipt numbers on the list jumped from 0001838 to 001840. Bet 0001838 was on the 6.20 at Bath, while 0001840 was on the 7.25 on the same card. Altra Vita’s race was the one in between, at 6.50. Oddly, a spreadsheet sent to O’Dowd four days later did include the disputed bet, while listing the return as zero.
“In January 2019, Ladbrokes claimed they had contacted all customers affected and made goodwill settlements in full on all bets that would have been winners,” Paul Fairhead, whose Twitter account @BoycottBetFred assists punters with disputes, said on Thursday. “The O’Dowd case appears to disprove this claim.
“Ibas [the Independent Betting Adjudication Service] have yet to make a ruling on any case involving ‘cancelled’ bets, as Ladbrokes have backed down and settled once Ibas had become involved. The cases I have assisted with where a legal claim has been filed have also been settled before a court hearing. Given these facts, I find it quite astonishing that Ladbrokes continue to fob off customers who have had a similar, if not identical, experience with them.” Ladbrokes has yet to respond to a request for comment on the case.
Details have also emerged of a case involving a customer who placed a €25 (£20) bet on Dubai Horizon to win at Sandown in September 2018. A receipt suggested the bet had been placed successfully and even that the odds had been boosted, but no winnings appeared in the customer’s account.
When the customer complained, Ladbrokes responded there had been insufficient funds in the account to cover the bet. However, the bookie has so far failed to explain how, if this was the case, its system allowed the punter to see a bet receipt, and did not warn that his account balance was too low to fund it. Ladbrokes has not responded to a request for comment here either.
Sandown
1.20 Hit The Rocks 1.50 Saint De Vassy
2.25 Rosie And Millie 3.00 Catamaran Du Seuil
3.30 Danny Kirwan 4.00 Le Boizelo 4.30 Steal A March
Fakenham
1.40 Ted Bach 2.10 Greaneteen
2.45 Fix Sun 3.20 Clondaw Westie 3.50 Penny Mallow 4.20 Shantou Flyer 4.50 Fantastikas
Lingfield
2.00 Estrela Star 2.35 Plantadream
3.10 Phuket Power (nap) 3.40 Makram
4.10 Jamaican Jill 4.40 Its Nice Tobe Nice (nb)
Southwell
5.10 Three C’s 5.45 Atalanta Queen
6.15 Sur Mer 6.45 Sandridge Lad 7.15 Arabian King 7.45 Little India 8.15 My Law