A bet gone wrong,or is it the bookies fault?.

[theewar]

Ok,so march of this year i made my first ever bet in the bookies,up to this point i only ever done the scratch cards thing or the loto that you can get in the newsagents.So in i go and ask the girl behind the counter if she could tell me the odds on lewis hamilton winning the championship.The girl then asked me what sport that was for,which i replied formula one,so she looks at her computer screen and says 50 to one.With that i placed 30euros on him to win.Now i have never filled out a betting slip,so i asked her what i had to write on it.(Look at the attachment file to see a copy of the betting slip).With this i give her the money and slip,she gives me a copy of the betting slip and i go on my merry way.So now we go forward to,well today,and in i go to collect my winnings,i hand the ticket in to the girl behind the counter(not the same girl)and she puts the code into the computer or something.She then tells me she has to ring head office and that she wouldnt have all that money on the premmises.Next thing i know, i am being told that the bet was put on some darts player called anthoney hamilton,and not the f1 driver,even though his name is on the slip.Now for those of you folk who do put a bet on in the bookies,i ask ,do you know what pdc-outright means?.I didnt untill today,i thought it was a bookies code or something like that,,,seems not.So now i have some manager guy on my phone telling me that they wont honnour the 50/1bet.but he is willing to give me the odds that where on lewis hamilton at the time,works out at about 90euros..So to end my day i have decided to hand the matter over to (IBAS)Indepent Betting Adjudication Service.Its being sent via the irish justice department,so hopefully it wont get lost at the bottom of some todo pile on somebodys desk.I would like to know what people think about this,and do they think i have a snowballs chance of getting my winnings OR will the bookies in question get it there way.Can a bookie really renage on a bet and walk away scot free?

 

[Famine]

It's, and you won't appreciate this, 50:50.

It does clearly say "Lewis Hamilton", but it also clearly says "PDC" - Professional Darts Corporation. At best their legal obligation is to declare the bet is invalid and return your stake to you - anything beyond that is a plus. The onus is on you to check that the bet is correct before you walk away, which you didn't.


That said, take it to the papers.

 

[sesselpupser]

Yeah, make as much noise as you can if they don't give you your money back and they'll change their mind. My Mum did that when Direct Line wouldn't pay up for a legitimate pet insurance claim, she ended up on TV and got all the money she asked for... Given your situation, you might as well do the same, I mean why not? At worst you'll look like a bit of an idiot and not get your money back, OR you could stick with your bet and see if this Darts guy does win...?

That last bit was a joke

 

[wfooshee]

If they honor the wager as you intended it I'd take it and be happy. That's better than an invalid bet and refund.

Lewis Hamilton was probably NEVER 50:1, even as of his first race last year.

 

[daan]

Yeah, surely the 50:1 should have rung alarm bells?

------

Lewis Hamilton fan wins £165,000 with 1998 bets
A Lewis Hamilton fan who placed bets on the young driver becoming Formula One world champion 10 years ago has scooped £165,000.

A fan has won £165,000 after making a series of bets on Hamilton when he was just 13

Richard Hopkins spotted Hamilton's ability when he raced go-karts against his son, Evan, at the age of 13.

In 1998 he placed a £200 bet with odds of 200/1 on Hamilton winning his first Formula One race by the time he was 23, which he achieved last year aged 22. That won Mr Hopkins £40,000.

At the same time he bet £100 at odds of 500/1 that Hamilton would become world champion by 25.

When the star overtook German driver Timo Glock in the dying seconds of the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, Mr Hopkins claimed a further £50,000.

Mr Hopkins was so confident that his predictions would come true that he took a third bet out in 1998 - that Hamilton would achieve both. His £50 flutter at odds of 1,500/1 has won him £75,000.

All in all it means his son's day at the go-kart track has netted him £165,000.

The £125,000 that Ladbrokes paid out after Hamilton claimed the crown on Sunday is the bookmaker's largest ever motor sports pay-out.
Mr Hopkins, from Folsworth, near Peterborough, said: "I was trying not to watch, and I was practically hiding behind the sofa. To be honest, I thought he had blown it.

"I've known Lewis from his early days, and it was easy to see he had an obvious driving ability, coupled with a fantastic attitude to racing. I just had a hunch he would go on to bigger and better things."

He commented: "It was a long shot, but it paid off."

Nick Weinberg from Ladbrokes said: "It's just reward for this customer, who put his faith in Hamilton so long ago."

 

[theewar]

It's, and you won't appreciate this, 50:50.

It does clearly say "Lewis Hamilton", but it also clearly says "PDC" - Professional Darts Corporation. At best their legal obligation is to declare the bet is invalid and return your stake to you - anything beyond that is a plus. The onus is on you to check that the bet is correct before you walk away, which you didn't.


That said, take it to the papers.

Famine may i ask how you know what "PDC" stands for?.Because up untill yesterday i had no idea what it stood for,remember i asked the girl what i had to write on the ticket,given that i had never placed a bet before,and i was under the impression the girl behind the counter knew what she was doing.Plus Andy hamilton is the darts man and lewis hamilton is the f1 driver,which like i said in my first post was what i asked her about,i know nothing about darts.As for checking the ticket,Well i did and as you can see it says lewis hamilton to win,thats what i seen and why would i think it was not correct considering the girl told me what to put down,again me thinking that the person behind the counter knew what she was doing,i mean its a bookies and a lot of money is being passed around.As for the odds i got on him,i did think 50/1 was high,but what do i know.If you go and place a bet in the bookies and the person behind the counter gives you odds like that on whatever sport your into,are people telling me that they wouldnt take them odds?.

 

[Famine]

Famine may i ask how you know what "PDC" stands for?.Because up untill yesterday i had no idea what it stood for

I watch Sky Sports News a lot.

That said, I thought Anthony Hamilton was a snooker player.

remember i asked the girl what i had to write on the ticket,given that i had never placed a bet before,and i was under the impression the girl behind the counter knew what she was doing.Plus Andy hamilton is the darts man and lewis hamilton is the f1 driver,which like i said in my first post was what i asked her about,i know nothing about darts.As for checking the ticket,Well i did and as you can see it says lewis hamilton to win,thats what i seen and why would i think it was not correct considering the girl told me what to put down,again me thinking that the person behind the counter knew what she was doing,i mean its a bookies and a lot of money is being passed around.

It says "PDC Outright Lewis Hamilton 50/1". My first question would have been "PDC?"

Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware. Your "receipt" has conflicting information on it, invalidating the bet. Legally they are required to refund your stake - nothing more. If you want more, legal action won't help. Bad publicity will.

As for the odds i got on him,i did think 50/1 was high,but what do i know.If you go and place a bet in the bookies and the person behind the counter gives you odds like that on whatever sport your into,are people telling me that they wouldnt take them odds?.

"That which seems to good to be true probably is."

 

[sn00pie]

Did you check for Anthony Hamilton's results? Maybe you've won your bet.

 

[theewar]

Did you check for Anthony Hamilton's results? Maybe you've won your bet.

I have since this gone looking to find who this darts player is,and his name is Andy Hamilton,and this (PDC) event runs between December&January,plus the odds on him winning have now gone up to 66/1.

 

[Touring Mars]

Did you check for Anthony Hamilton's results? Maybe you've won your bet.

I can't believe nobody asked that sooner...

It's a tough one... you said to the girl "Formula One" and you asked her what to write and she misinformed you by telling you to write PDC Outright... I'd say you had a case. But you might have to cut your losses and take their offer of paying you for the real odds you should have got (i.e. you should never have got 50/1 on Lewis Hamilton to win the F1 world title in a month of Sundays), so 2/1 sounds alot more realistic...

Unfortunately, Famine is right that you need to check the docket says exactly what it should say, and if you didn't understand or check what PDC meant, then you should have queried it at the time.

I'd say take the 90 euro and be done with it... if you are waiting on 1500 euro, you may have a long wait... or you should have bet on Lewis winning by passing Glock on the last turn of the last race of the season... or listen to Snoopie and hope that Anthony Hamilton wins the PDC