Case 3 shows the use of another email/letter template that J4P recommends. As mentioned for Case 2 it is nothing like a letter before action that must used as part of a legal claim; it’s quite informal. Again as mentioned for Case 2 there is a reason for this, e.g. J4P has found that gambling companies respond more constructively to private, informal correspondence than they do to legal threats in the case of gambling disorder disputes. This template is specifically for a partner or a parent/guardian where relevant.
J4P, as again mentioned for Case 2, stopped quoting Gambling Commission (GC) codes and conditions awhile ago, because we felt that companies have no fear of them. The GC only takes action against licensees if they have displayed systematic failings, i.e. not for individual case failings, so it is best to simply focus on what actually happened. Nevertheless, if you are interested in the GC’s licensing codes and conditions they can be found here: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/print and the specific section on the protection of children and other vulnerable persons here: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/lccp/2/3
J4P also finds it is useful to attach a timeline to the email or to include the same printed within in a letter (see Case 1: https://justiceforpunters.org/case-1/).
The template
Remember you can obtain CEO details and postal address from Google and many email addresses from ceoemail.com.
PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
Your contact details
Company contact details
**********
**********
**********
Date
– FORMAL COMPLAINT-
Dear **,
Re customer: ***** ***** Account ID: *****************
I’m instructed by my son/daughter Mr/Ms ***** to directly discuss his/her gambling with ******.
This is my understanding of Mr/Ms *****’s gambling activity with ****** at present. This is based on the evidence I have from a subject access request (SAR) provided by ****** and other written feedback from Mr/Ms *****.
- Mr/Ms ***** has opened five accounts with ******.
- The account I’m going to focus on is the one above with a username of ‘**********’.
- I’m in possession of a SAR from ******, but this is far from complete:
- According to Mr/Ms ***** there appears to be over 40 emails missing between Mr/Ms ***** and his/her VIP Manager, some of which, contain VIP promotional offers. I can see that some of these offers were as large as £500, because this is outlined in one of the SAR files. There are also audio files missing of telephone calls between Mr/Ms ***** and his/her VIP Manager.
- Mr/Ms ***** also informs me that he/she did receive some emails that appeared to be about social responsibility (SR), but these were never followed up. Again, these emails are not in the SAR. Were these emails just automated? I can see from a SAR file that Mr/Ms *****’s account ‘triggered’ frequently on internal systems at ****** for SR.
- The Excel file that covers the betting history and financials of this account was huge and even after separating it into sections it kept crashing my Excel software. However, I’ve managed to ascertain the following:
- Between 14/04/**** 20/**/2020 the deposits were £**. (circa 140K)
- Between 22/04/**** 08/**/2020 the withdrawals were £**. (circa 22K) This loss was made worse by some reverse withdrawals, fees paid on credit cards, etc.
- It is clear that most of the activity on the account was from 201* onwards. The following are my estimated P/L loss figures for 201*, 201* and under five months in 202* before account closure; 201* – (£** [circa -14K]), 201* – £** (circa +4K), 202* – (£** [circa -60K]), which is an average of a 12K loss per month during 202* as it is over a less than a five month period.
- As mentioned already in the ‘Client Note’ file there is a clear record of Mr/Ms ***** being enticed to bet heavily by ******. In April 202* these enticements appear to be a £500 free bet weekly.
- Mr/Ms ***** has informed me that he/she earned an average of 18K per annum in ***** between 201*-202*. I cannot find anywhere in the SAR a reference to ****** doing a source of income or source of wealth check. I would assume this should have been completed during 201* as Mr/Ms ***** was losing an average of over £1000 per month. Very, very few individuals in the UK could sustain losses of such a nature.
I can only work with the evidence and information I have, clearly ****** has a big advantage over me as ****** appears, yet again, to have failed to fulfil a SAR correctly. Nevertheless, based on the evidence and information I have it is clear ****** has failed to interact with Mr/Ms ***** in a way that could have protected him from very serious losses with them. These losses have had a significant impact on his quality of life.
Presently, I won’t attempt to cite a date where discussions about a refund of losses should begin, except to say that Mr/Ms ***** was made a VIP at the start of **** 201* and I can find no record of any relevant KYC checks being undertaken at the time. I would also assume, but it’s not mentioned in the SAR that Mr/Ms *****’s exact VIP status and level fluctuated due to his/her positive balance in 201* and his/her very large losses in 202*, so I assume many opportunities to intervene appropriately were missed.
I look forward to your response and hopefully coming to a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
*********************