Ladbrokes join the customer care club

LOCAL punter John Cavanagh dropped by last week with a complaint about Ladbrokes. Even though our punter had picked up £1,612.80 from the layer, he was left with a sour taste in his mouth.
So what was John’s gripe? Well, we go back to the recent Wednesday international night when John placed a £20 five-timer.
John took Holland (win), Belarus (draw), Bosnia (draw), Albania (draw), Serbia (draw). The bet receipt stated that John would be paid out £5,644.80 if all his selections touched. John was over the moon when they duly did, but by Thursday lunchtime he felt so deflated.
John had placed his bet at 6.55pm on the Wednesday and one of his games, Belarus v Ukraine, kicked off at 6pm and was rightfully put down as a void selection . So John was out of pocket by four grand – quite a sickener.
But a big factor here was that the soccer bet was accepted by the machine and so we are down to the age-old problem that has been discussed on these pages many times before – machines accepting bets but punters not knowing if they are on or not. So is there any way round this for once and for all?
Our advice is always going to be get on early, or if you think you are late check with the cashier to make sure you are on even after the event you have backed on is finished. It’s all too obvious by now that there is a great need to have clearer guidelines put in place by the layers about this ongoing problem.
Here’s the vital thing to remember about this bet and countless others like it – John would in all likelihood have thrown his docket away if the Belarus and Ukraine game hadn’t have been a draw, and so he’d have missed out on a £1,600 pay-day.
We sent Ladbokes an email stating the above and we went on to ask could they maybe put John on in the betting-in-running – the game was 0-0 when John placed the bet.
Rob Davies from Ladbrokes was good enough to get back to us promptly.
“You will be pleased to know we are happy to do the decent thing and pay the customer at the price the draw would have been at half time, namely 13/8,” wrote Rob.
“This means the customer can now pick up an additional £2,620.80 from the shop. Though are rules are clear – that leg of the bet is late and therefore void – I think this is a fair solution as it eliminates any potential advantage he could have gained as the game was drawn at half time when the bet was placed.”
Not surprisingly, John was a very happy man when we rang him with the good news – he had just banked a further £2,620.80 after we went in to bat for him. That’s the second time in a week that we’ve had a cracking result for a customer.
And, of course, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. We handed out credit where it was due last week and this week we’re delighted to say thanks and well done to Rob and to Ladbrokes for the very sporting way they handled this one.

The Sean Graham PG Cup 2009
THE BCC LeGAL Eagles are a team to watch, judging by their facile win at the weekend when they took the Dairy Farm Punters apart.
They brushed the housing boys aside with three winners and were beaten out of a winning quad by a late goal – no matter, they are more than happy to make the quarter-final draw.
That late, late, late, late, late goal at Old Trafford meant that the Stormont 4 scrambled past the Freezer Geezers with three winners and they are also a team that will need to be watched in the quarter-finals.
DVLNI PUNTERS v
Boys from the BLACKSTUFF
The BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF, fresh from their qualifying win over Hoys Toys, will hope their good run continues when they square up to 2007 winners the DVLNI Punters this weekend. Led by the punting legend that is Sean ‘Shanto’ Lawell, they hope to take make it to the quarter-finals. Sean keeps faith with in-the-know punters Michael ‘Lucky Mucker’ McStraw and Kevin ‘Raffo’ Rafferty.
The DVLNI are led by team captain Damian ‘The Hoff’ Armstrong, who has vowed to win back the betting crown his team once held.
“We were out of sorts last year but are back focused on the job in hand this year and we expect to regain our betting crown,” a confident Hoff told the PG.
He includes seasoned gamblers and old foes Paul ‘Hookbacker’ Officer and Kevin ‘Waterbottle’ McGuckin for the weekend battle with Blackstuff.
DVLNI PUNTERS: Reading 5/4, Leicester 6/5, Hartlepool 5/4, Macclesfield 5/4.
BLACKSTUFF PUNTERS: Dagenham 4/6, Rotherham 8/11, Kidderminster 3/1, Shrewsbury 4/5.
BOUCHER BANKERS  v
ROYAL BOYS
Boucher Bankers have re-invented themselves and changed a few faces as they bid to move away from the old Bank On Us name that failed to make the grade here last year. JP Crossan hopes the changes will pay off this weekend.
“I have brought in fresh faces in the shape of two guys who know how to pick winners.
“So in come Kevin ‘Odds-On’ Gallagher and Tommy ‘the Think Tank’ Smyth, and we aim to dump the RVH layabouts this weekend.”
The Royal Boys put all their differences to one side in the last round and took out the Spitting Cobras by the root. Led by mega-punter Dee ‘the Chief’ Thompson, they go into the weekend game brimming with confidence – these boys really fancy their chances after a winning start to the new season.
Dee told the PG: “We are in red-hot form at the moment and I can’t see anybody touching us. We are confident we will take out these banker boys at the weekend.
“I’m keeping faith in Noel ‘the Mexican’ Marley for his status and new-boy Stephen Reynolds keeps his place (just) alongside placepot king Martin Miller.”
ROYAL BOYS: Middlesboro 11/8, Chelsea 2/7, West Brom 4/7, Bournemouth 4/6.
BOUCHER BANKERS: Aston Villa 6/4, Everton 1/1, Newcastle 11/8, Blackpool 11/10.
Rest of the draw:
Squinter Loves Trevor v Glenhill Counter Boys (3rd October, Team News 28th September, Selections 29th September 1.00pm)
The Bru Crew v BMG Printers (3rd October, 28th September, Selections 29th September 1.00pm)
Rules: If you fail to get your selections in on time, you will face elimination from the competition. We have back-up teams ready to take your place if such an event rises. Remember, it’s not the amount of winners you get on the board, it’s all down to the prices. alone.