BGO 'Frozen Account' Query

[viviennewilks]

Hello all,

I'm in desperate need of advice regarding what I feel is unfair and unacceptable in regards to my account closure at BGO Casino.

I registered today as new customer and deposited £40 via PayPal. Usually I would use my card but PayPal was an option so I went with it. It was seamless as PayPal was logged in and it only took a couple of clicks. I didn't claim any bonus money, I couldn't find an offer, so I started playing through my £40 on Bonanza. I was playing for about an hour and then I won BIG! I got the 117,649 paylines with diamonds EVERYWHERE, across all the reels and on a £1.60 spin I won over £1,100!

I was obviously delighted and so I withdrew £900 and decided to see my winning streak would continue so I played for about another hour after that.

I had a pop-up appear when I made the withdrawal saying I might need to verify my account so I spoke to them on their Live Chat and they confirmed what I needed to do. I got my passport and bank statement ready to send but when I tried to log in it said my account had been 'temporarily frozen', so I asked what this was about on their Live Chat and they had no idea because there were no notes. I hadn't received any communications from them... I asked if my deposit was maybe reversed or something and I checked my PayPal and long story short, I'd paid my deposit from my Son's PayPal account (as it was still logged in to his account). I quickly explained this to the person on the Live Chat and she said she'd explain that in the message.

Then I received this email:

Hi Vivienne,

 

 

During a review of your account it has come to light you have used third party payment method, which is a breach of the terms and conditions here at bgo.

I have detailed the term more specifically below;
4.1 You may add funds to your account by a variety of payment methods, including (but not limited to) Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Maestro, Skrill and Neteller. Methods available can vary dependent on where you are located and this will be reflected in the options presented to you in our intuitive cashier. You can only use a payment method registered in your name to deposit funds. If you deposit using a payment method in respect of which you are not the account holder, we reserve the right to treat any deposit as being invalid and any winnings arising from such deposit as void, pending the satisfactory completion of all relevant checks.

Due to breaching the terms we ask that you create no further accounts with Bgo Entertainment Limited as upon detection they will be closed without warning or refund.

We understand this may not be the response you were hoping for but thank you for your understanding. In respect of your balance, this has been invalidated and voided inline with the terms and conditions.

Kind regards,

Paul
Customer Experience Team Manager
The bgo Customer Experience Team

 

 

Now, I'm absolutely distraught that a simple mistake mean't that I've had my account closed, my £900 winnings voided (??), and they're not even refunding the £40 that I deposited.

 

Please don't get me wrong here - I should have been paying more attention and of course rules are rules, but I explained how I was I guess, pro-active in notifying them as soon as I could possibly have known.

 

I've replied stating that and that I was ready to verify my account and they hadn't even waited for me to do that. I feel genuinely targeted and distraught at this. I feel I won that money fairly.

 

So, I'm not sure what I should and can do. Can any one help me, please? 

[cocopop3011]

37 minutes ago, viviennewilks said:

Hello all,

I'm in desperate need of advice regarding what I feel is unfair and unacceptable in regards to my account closure at BGO Casino.

I registered today as new customer and deposited £40 via PayPal. Usually I would use my card but PayPal was an option so I went with it. It was seamless as PayPal was logged in and it only took a couple of clicks. I didn't claim any bonus money, I couldn't find an offer, so I started playing through my £40 on Bonanza. I was playing for about an hour and then I won BIG! I got the 117,649 paylines with diamonds EVERYWHERE, across all the reels and on a £1.60 Spin I won over £1,100!

I was obviously delighted and so I withdrew £900 and decided to see my winning streak would continue so I played for about another hour after that.

I had a pop-up appear when I made the withdrawal saying I might need to verify my account so I spoke to them on their Live Chat and they confirmed what I needed to do. I got my passport and bank statement ready to send but when I tried to log in it said my account had been 'temporarily frozen', so I asked what this was about on their Live Chat and they had no idea because there were no notes. I hadn't received any communications from them... I asked if my deposit was maybe reversed or something and I checked my PayPal and long story short, I'd paid my deposit from my Son's PayPal account (as it was still logged in to his account). I quickly explained this to the person on the Live Chat and she said she'd explain that in the message.

Then I received this email:

Hi Vivienne,

 

 

During a review of your account it has come to light you have used third party payment method, which is a breach of the terms and conditions here at bgo.

I have detailed the term more specifically below;
4.1 You may add funds to your account by a variety of payment methods, including (but not limited to) Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Maestro, Skrill and Neteller. Methods available can vary dependent on where you are located and this will be reflected in the options presented to you in our intuitive cashier. You can only use a payment method registered in your name to deposit funds. If you deposit using a payment method in respect of which you are not the account holder, we reserve the right to treat any deposit as being invalid and any winnings arising from such deposit as void, pending the satisfactory completion of all relevant checks.

Due to breaching the terms we ask that you create no further accounts with Bgo Entertainment Limited as upon detection they will be closed without warning or refund.

We understand this may not be the response you were hoping for but thank you for your understanding. In respect of your balance, this has been invalidated and voided inline with the terms and conditions.

Kind regards,

Paul
Customer Experience Team Manager
The bgo Customer Experience Team

 

 

Now, I'm absolutely distraught that a simple mistake mean't that I've had my account closed, my £900 winnings voided (??), and they're not even refunding the £40 that I deposited.

 

Please don't get me wrong here - I should have been paying more attention and of course rules are rules, but I explained how I was I guess, pro-active in notifying them as soon as I could possibly have known.

 

I've replied stating that and that I was ready to verify my account and they hadn't even waited for me to do that. I feel genuinely targeted and distraught at this. I feel I won that money fairly.

 

So, I'm not sure what I should and can do. Can any one help me, please? 

Hi and welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, I dont come bearing good news. This is a clear breach of their terms and conditions and during the 8 years or so I have been a member here I only recall three instances of players actually getting their withdrawal when using a third party payment method that is not pre approved.

It may feel like you have been targeted but you haven't. Can I ask though, I assume it was you sons card that was used through PayPal or bank was it? To actually fund the deposit when logged into paypal I mean? 

Unfortunately, you will not be able to open a compaint using AG as it is a breach of their terms and conditions.

[viviennewilks]

Oh no!!!  Well, I asked my Son and he said he'd just done a instant bank transfer from his bank account to his PayPal. He does it all the time and it clears instantly, so I'm more confused now.

Have they closed the account because the payment came from my Son's PayPal and not mine? 

I'm surprised they haven't offered to give me back the £40 considering it was a simple mistake and they've voided my winnings. 

[cocopop3011]

59 minutes ago, viviennewilks said:

Oh no!!!  Well, I asked my Son and he said he'd just done a instant bank transfer from his bank account to his PayPal. He does it all the time and it clears instantly, so I'm more confused now.

Have they closed the account because the payment came from my Son's PayPal and not mine? 

I'm surprised they haven't offered to give me back the £40 considering it was a simple mistake and they've voided my winnings. 

I would think this is the reason. I would suggest you email the casino and explain exactly what has happened. How old is your son?

[viviennewilks]

I've emailed  explaining that, thank you  My Son is 34 years old but he never usually uses the computer at home because he doesn't live here. He's here visiting for the first time in months because I've had to be 'shielded' from the virus and he's been using the computer and so really, I don't want to play stupid but I would never have noticed.

He's since had a look at it with me and we tried using PayPal to deposit at another online casino. When you click to go to PayPal to finish the deposit transactions it shows my PayPal available balance and it automatically selects to pay using the PayPal available balance. I transferred money from my bank account the exact same way my Son says he does several times a day sometimes, almost daily and had no issues. I enter the PayPal sort code and account number and this unique reference, which I assume PayPal uses to identify which PayPal account that money goes to. I click send money from my bank and it's instantly in my PayPal available balance.

My Son showed me the transactions for today from his bank account which are all Faster Payments. They're not Direct Debits.

So I am genuinely unaware, and even after going through the transaction process, I still am!

I really hope something can be done about this because I don't want to say "I'm 72 and blah blah", but it's difficult enough as it is right now with everything and I don't usually have £40 to throw away and I thought I'd treat myself and try my luck, and then I win over £1,000 and then suddenly this all happens and it really does feel unfair. Also, I think if I was intentional or I was trying to break the law I'm not going to use the £40 I'd saved by not going out to my social events the past few weeks for nothing.

I really hope tomorrow they can show some understanding and compassion. Fingers crossed.

[pinnit2015]

It's actually  really easy to use some others  Paypal when making deposits - nearly done it myself on our shared Laptop in the house.

I personally wouldn't fight it with BGO, other than to push for deposit back - some casino's will use discretion; one of the fairest, before they went sideways, was Betat - but a lot depends on how long you've been there. As a 'new' customer, they're less likely to apply/waive any discretion as they don't know you - new customer, plus not your a/c deposits, will raise red flags.

Plus, not a fan of BGO at the best of times. 

[Afi4wins]

I'm now restricted at BGO but many years ago, that casino to me was Best Get Out! 

[viviennewilks]

I understand terms and conditions and I'm not in any way saying it's wrong but the way that process is done isn't considerate for the customer. I made a mistake of not noticing it was my son's PayPal account already signed in. That very small thing, but I understand from BGO's perspective it's significant should be factored in to whatever decision making.

I had no communication from them. The Live  Help staff didn't even know why my account was 'Frozen', but not to worry as she said she was passing on that I'd spotted a potential mistake - I thought maybe they just need me to confirm I am who I say I am... so I was proactive with that process as I had initiated a withdrawal but there was no communication asking me to confirm who I was.

And then send me that email which scared me a little bit. I felt I'd done something seriously wrong and the money I deposited was, in my view, taken with no explanation, and the winning's were 'voided'. I don't want to sound like I'm exaggerating but I barely slept last night. I feel I've done something wrong.

[pinnit2015]

Just some casinos rule by the letter.

Taking Betat for example; we had 2 accounts in the house, they said only one allowed - Mrs P had a pending 2k withdrawal and the dreaded email came in....spoke to Sam, he said 'we just wanted to check, no harm done, just don't play at the same time etc' - approved. Pretty sure, at that casino at that time, should the above have happened they'd have paid the withdrawal.

Unfortunately BGO aren't the most receptive - Videoslots are the same; they'll simply go you broke term 3.2: tough

Letter v Spirit of t's and c's

[viviennewilks]

Thanks for the insight, I can understand both ways. I feel I'm complaining but they have their T&C's, which I agreed to of course, but I don't steal, or defraud people, or rip people off. And then to get that to happen and it's my fault, and I've lost money because of it.

[pinnit2015]

Said many times, just because somethings a term and you agreed with it, wouldn't necessarily mean it'd be in their favour if push came to shove - you'd need to prove it was unfair however, which, it probably isn't in this case . But, there is the argument that the punishment (confiscating 1k/20k/30k etc etc) outweighs the breach.  But that would only be determined in a legal setting.

At the other end of the spectrum - win 100k but breach max bet by 2p and they take the lot? That may be a good basis for challenge - depends on the term and the nature of it.

Unfortunately for you the term is one around payment funding of an account with possible anti money laundering objectives/theft of details etc - so it's quite robust (though, i can pay my annual subscription using Mrs P's credit card). If i was a casino i'd be wondering if the details were stolen, who is this other person etc - it is quite risky for them but tbh they accept the payment even if card holder/wallet holder aren't the same as the casino account holder - i'd had come sites (unlike the subsciption eg above) where sites have refused to accept payment as not my name, so i presume it can be done so this never happens but most sites, non casino, do allow you to put card details in etc that don't match, which is find strange. 

Unfortunately, i can't see it playing out any other way - probably just something to bear in mind going forward, unless they apply some discretion which i doubt they will. 

[pinnit2015]

You could raise a complaint here but tbh i wouldn't really bother - use the search function and you'll see similar breaches are normally ruled in the casino's favour to give you a gist of what they said about it. 

[Flatzem]

@viviennewilks

you staked  £1.60 per spin, what was your balance at the time when you were doing this, cause for a £40 starting balance that is a high stake amount. Why weren't you doing something reasonable and sensible such as 20p or 40p.

[cocopop3011]

5 hours ago, pinnit2015 said:

You could raise a complaint here but tbh i wouldn't really bother - use the search function and you'll see similar breaches are normally ruled in the casino's favour to give you a gist of what they said about it. 

I doubt very much the team would accept the complaint as it’s a breach of the terms and conditions. 

[Flatzem]

After an experience like this it most likely means the player won't play there again and in this case the casino will lose that player, maybe if it was a smaller amount involved the casino would keep the player happy and retain them as a customer by paying out.

[pinnit2015]

Maybe find if it was an established player they maybe would  etc- why, if you looked at players deposits coming in more than withdrawals, would you stop them playing because while you pay out 1k, you will maybe get 2,3,4k back in the next 6 months etc.

At Novibet i'm about xk down lifetime - pretty sure if i breached a term for a grand they'd be like, just pay him, we'll see that back in a month and more :-p: just business.

But yeah, no ADR etc will rule/even accept for the player in this instance.

When Trada was a good casino if you contacted them straightaway if u breached max bet, from reading and hearing from others, they paid out the winnings more times than not. 

[viviennewilks]

I've had this response back this morning. Nothing even about the money I deposited. I'm not sure what to do, if anything

 

 

Thank you for your response. 

 

Whilst I appreciate the situation and explanation, I'm afraid we are bound by process and external factors in cases such as this. 

 

Sending in your sons documents would not alter the outcome of the situation I'm afraid. I understand you may find this response disappointing but thank you for your cooperation. 

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can assist further.

[pinnit2015]

They should be refunding the deposits then - they were never going to pay out, so ergo, deposits back.

By that logic (and not in your case) they'd be happy to accept stolen funds? gamsys group got in trouble for exactly that. 

[viviennewilks]

Do I just ask for them to refund the deposit back to my son's paypal account? 

[pinnit2015]

I would certainly ask for it - i know some folk in the same situation that have had them back (I can name 2/3 that would do it without you even asking) Whether that's laid out in regulations, I don't know, but seems a common sense approach - you surely can't have it both ways - take the deposit and will never pay out.

Given their love of regulations etc, wonder why they charge for deposits as well? They don't do it for all types of deposits which, AFAIK, not allowed (hence why Rizk stopped it) - funny that. 

I wouldn't lose sleep over it, nor would i chase hoping to hit again - harsh lesson learned.

[cocopop3011]

3 hours ago, viviennewilks said:

Do I just ask for them to refund the deposit back to my son's paypal account? 

I'm not surprised, but at least you tried. These kind of situations never usually turn out well as I mentioned earlier in the thread. 

Completely agree with what has been said, they absolutely need to be refunding you the deposit. Reply and ask them for the return of your deposit to the Paypal account in question. Let us know if you have any further issues with this. 

[viviennewilks]

"Unfortunately I can see from the correspondence that was sent to you that the decision has been unchanged and no refunds will be issued Vivienne."

[cocopop3011]

1 hour ago, viviennewilks said:

"Unfortunately I can see from the correspondence that was sent to you that the decision has been unchanged and no refunds will be issued Vivienne."

That’s ridiculous!! In that case I would suggest opening a complaint here on the basis that they are refusing to refund a deposit when they knew full well when they took it that they were never going to pay out to you. 
Please use our complaints procedure and add as much information as you can, just like you have in this thread. 

[viviennewilks]

Ok, thank you

When it comes to selecting the casino in the drop-down box on the complaints form there's no BGO? Do I just enter it regardless?

[viviennewilks]

Ok, I posted my complaint but there wasn't BGO in the 'select casino' drop down list so I just selected the first casino on there... hopefully you can change it on your side?