Tonybet Problems?

[Trevrizent]

A few months ago I opened an account with Tonybet. I normally only bet on horse racing, but I decided to have a few small football bets during the winter evenings. To begin with everything was fine; the account was verified quickly and I had no problems depositing or withdrawing by Paysafecard (all of these were only double-figure amounts). The account was a few quid in profit (hardly anything) when I requested another withdrawal (my seventh in all). Previous withdrawals had been paid into my Paysafecard account within 24 hours (once it was nearer 36), but this time nothing had happened after two days, so I contacted them by live chat. I was kept waiting for ages when I explained why I was contacting them and they finally said that they were unable to process the withdrawal as I needed to contact Paysafecard because my (Paysafecard) payout limit had been reached and I needed to get Paysafecard to increase it before they could pay me. This is complete rubbish. I have the highest level of Paysafecard account which has an annual payout limit of 11000 GBP and I have used less than 5% of that in the last year (in fact my account shows me exactly how much I still have available of the 11k limit).

When I told Tonybet that I didn't believe that this was why they couldn't process my withdrawal, they immediately ended the chat (probably because I said that if they didn't pay up or provide the real reason for not paying, I would have no option but to inform the UK Gambling Commission).

I'm not going to submit a complaint to BMR, as the amount involved is (luckily) only very small and I've already written it off, but players should be extremely wary of using Tonybet. If they're trying to wriggle out of paying small withdrawals, then it doesn't bode well for players who request large ones.

I've now disabled my Tonybet account and will place my football bets elsewhere. In the unlikely event that Tonybet do honour my withdrawal, I shall post an update. For now, however, I would advise avoiding them, especially if large sums are involved.

 

[chrisrose]

thanks trevrizen actually opened account monthes ago but never deposited ,probably as only do mostly horseracing if you want a good telephone bookie try Freddie Williams in Scotland will lay hills laddies many beirstein prices have a look on twitter

 

[quincunx]

Many thanks for the heads-up,Trevrizent.For what it's worth,Tonybet often feature as having top odds on oddsportal's odds-comparison lists.Unfortunately,that can also be a warning sign for less-well-known firms,as it is a cheap way of attracting punters.

 

[Trevrizent]

Yes, their football odds were often some of the best available, not so much for UK matches but certainly for European and worldwide fixtures. At least they didn't make any money out of me, even with what they still owe me.

I'll give them a bit longer to pay up (although I don't expect them to) before contacting the Gambling Commission. I know the Gambling Commission don't help players to recover money owed by bookmakers (I wouldn't ask them to in any case), but I think they should be aware of what has happened because the chances are that Tonybet are behaving like this on a regular basis (I hope I'm wrong).

 

[Trevrizent]

Against my expectations (am delighted to have been proved wrong) the money has just appeared in my Paysafecard account. Tonybet sent me an email earlier today which was a bit more conciliatory claiming that they were having problems with Paysafecard at their end (unlike on live chat where they were blaming me for the problem), but were currently unable to resolve them. Clearly the problems have now been resolved - at least as far as my withdrawal goes.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of all this. I'm inclined to put what has happened down to technical problems or plain incompetence rather than to a desire to avoid payment, but it wasn't a good experience (especially the live chat episode) and I'm more than happy now to be taking my custom elsewhere. After what has happened today I don't think I would recommend that players should avoid Tonybet outright (especially given the attractiveness of some of their odds), but I would advise treating them with caution for the time being.

At least I won't now have to contact the Gambling Commission.

 

[BMR Review]

Fantastic that you got this cleared up.