I've a second Betfair account which I never use.
I've just received the following email from Betfair:
You should be aware that Betfair administers an Inactive Account Fee on accounts that have been inactive for 13 months*. As you have been inactive for at least 12 months, you'll need to engage in activity on your account** by the end of this month to avoid incurring the fee.
A charge for the privilege of having an account I never use?!? What a load of bo*****s!
Their email gave a link to their Terms and Conditions page (http://www.betfair.com/aboutUs/Terms.and.Conditions/), which supposedly tells me what the charge will amount to. However, a keyword search for 'inactive' revealed nothing, making the link about as useful as a chocolate fireguard!
Rant over! Just thought I'd get that off my chest!
Jeff
Grrrr!!!!
Looks like loads of people are getting them, this eveing. I started a thread in the Betfair area. Talk about bad timing Betfair, just days before Christmas when a lot of people will be away you send an email telling them you are going to deduct funds from their account on the 31st!
-
mister man
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 2:10 pm
wow ......you dont understand betfair,thats not bad timing as far as they are concerned, its no coincidence....
I sent them an email to ask about the inactive charge. I received no reply, so I sent a follow-up email.
Still no reply.
I think their new Head of Customer Insight (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3082) will have their work cut out...
Jeff
Still no reply.
I think their new Head of Customer Insight (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3082) will have their work cut out...
Jeff
mister man wrote:wow ......you dont understand betfair,thats not bad timing as far as they are concerned, its no coincidence....
Hi Folks
I think this should be reported to Gamble Aware.
Say you have an account and your betting was getting a hold of you and you had decided to Stop for a while.
Then along comes Betfair to incite you to gamble again.
Not the kind of attitude that should come with the resposibility of a Gaming licence I would have thought.
Dobbin
I think this should be reported to Gamble Aware.
Say you have an account and your betting was getting a hold of you and you had decided to Stop for a while.
Then along comes Betfair to incite you to gamble again.
Not the kind of attitude that should come with the resposibility of a Gaming licence I would have thought.
Dobbin
I've said it on another thread, but I'm convinced BF is a company in decline
They have reached saturation point with regards to new customers, so the only way they can keep growing is to fleece their current membership
This can't keep happening without eventual repercussions
They have reached saturation point with regards to new customers, so the only way they can keep growing is to fleece their current membership
This can't keep happening without eventual repercussions
Just received the following email from Betfair:
'As requested I can confirm that your account [name deleted] has now been closed.
Your account will become ‘Inactive’ after 13 consecutive months of inactivity. Inactivity means not logging into your Betfair account.
Please note that the account will lose its ‘Inactive Account’ status if you log into the account; you do not need to place a bet in order to reactivate the account.
Whilst the account remains inactive a charge of £5.00 will be applied each month commencing on 31st December 2010. This will continue until you reactivate, or until your balance is zero.
I can confirm that your balance is [deleted], if you can provide us with your latest address details we will be able to send a cheque out to you for this amount or we can donate this to our charity which is for people with prostate cancer.'
So even though my account has now been closed, it's still classed as inactive! Bizarre!
Jeff
'As requested I can confirm that your account [name deleted] has now been closed.
Your account will become ‘Inactive’ after 13 consecutive months of inactivity. Inactivity means not logging into your Betfair account.
Please note that the account will lose its ‘Inactive Account’ status if you log into the account; you do not need to place a bet in order to reactivate the account.
Whilst the account remains inactive a charge of £5.00 will be applied each month commencing on 31st December 2010. This will continue until you reactivate, or until your balance is zero.
I can confirm that your balance is [deleted], if you can provide us with your latest address details we will be able to send a cheque out to you for this amount or we can donate this to our charity which is for people with prostate cancer.'
So even though my account has now been closed, it's still classed as inactive! Bizarre!
Jeff
Hi Gutaumi
I imagine my balance would show a negative figure after the charges had been applied, meaning I would be out of pocket when I put it back.
But as a result of doing that, I would probably no longer be regarded as inactive and therefore no longer liable for the charge. Bizarrely, merely logging into your account makes the account active in Betfair's eyes!
But how Betfair expect me to log into my account when they have already closed it is beyond me...
Jeff
I imagine my balance would show a negative figure after the charges had been applied, meaning I would be out of pocket when I put it back.
But as a result of doing that, I would probably no longer be regarded as inactive and therefore no longer liable for the charge. Bizarrely, merely logging into your account makes the account active in Betfair's eyes!
But how Betfair expect me to log into my account when they have already closed it is beyond me...
Jeff
gutuami wrote:I wonder what would have happen if you take your balance from your main wallet and move it to <exchange games> for example. Will you be charged for inactivity when you move it back?
Sounds like a very poorly thought out initiative, clearly the original intent was to fleece account holders but practically it's very hard to apply and just cause discomfort among lolyal customers.
They should be even more careful now a listed plc on this sort of thing.
Have they told you how you can still log into your account now they have closed it!?
They should be even more careful now a listed plc on this sort of thing.
Have they told you how you can still log into your account now they have closed it!?
No.
I've given them my postal address, and asked them to send me a cheque for my outstanding balance. Hopefully that will bring the matter to an end, but I'm not going to waste any more of the holiday season on it!
When their new Head of Customer Insight is appointed (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3082), I might forward them my correspondence, and ask if whether they feel that the charge and its timing represent good customer service...
Jeff
I've given them my postal address, and asked them to send me a cheque for my outstanding balance. Hopefully that will bring the matter to an end, but I'm not going to waste any more of the holiday season on it!
When their new Head of Customer Insight is appointed (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3082), I might forward them my correspondence, and ask if whether they feel that the charge and its timing represent good customer service...
Jeff
toptrader wrote: Have they told you how you can still log into your account now they have closed it!?
PS I've just forwarded the original email I received about the charge to Niall Wass, Betfair's Chief Marketing and Development Officer, along with the following comments:
Mr Wass
I am unhappy with the forwarded email below:
A. How is it fair or lawful to charge customers for not using their accounts? Banks justify their penalty charges on the grounds that they have to send out letters, which costs them money. What costs does Betfair incur if I have an account that I never use?
B. It pressures people who may have stopped using their account due to a gambling addiction to use it again. Surely such behaviour is not appropriate for a company that holds a gambling license.
C. The timing of the email is poor. Many people receiving the email will be on their Christmas holiday, and will not be aware that they are going to be charged until it’s too late. And surely your customers have better things to do during their Christmas break than logging into a Betfair account (whose password they have probably forgotten), just to avoid an unlawful charge.
D. In small print at the bottom of the email, a link is given to a page where I can supposedly find out further information about the Inactive Account Fees policy. However, a key word search on that page for the word ‘inactive’ yields nothing. Can I suggest that you create a page specifically about the Inactive Account Fee, and include in future such emails a link to that page?
Jeff
Mr Wass
I am unhappy with the forwarded email below:
A. How is it fair or lawful to charge customers for not using their accounts? Banks justify their penalty charges on the grounds that they have to send out letters, which costs them money. What costs does Betfair incur if I have an account that I never use?
B. It pressures people who may have stopped using their account due to a gambling addiction to use it again. Surely such behaviour is not appropriate for a company that holds a gambling license.
C. The timing of the email is poor. Many people receiving the email will be on their Christmas holiday, and will not be aware that they are going to be charged until it’s too late. And surely your customers have better things to do during their Christmas break than logging into a Betfair account (whose password they have probably forgotten), just to avoid an unlawful charge.
D. In small print at the bottom of the email, a link is given to a page where I can supposedly find out further information about the Inactive Account Fees policy. However, a key word search on that page for the word ‘inactive’ yields nothing. Can I suggest that you create a page specifically about the Inactive Account Fee, and include in future such emails a link to that page?
Jeff