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Peter Wilson’s flutter dive bombed after he cancelled his agreement with Your Lotto Service UK and was warned if he did not pay the £54 it was alleged he owed he could face a debt demand. Worried, he called Crusader for help, and it emerged that Peter is borderline vulnerable. He lives alone without family support in a rural community, has a phone but no email and “my memory is not so good these days”, he explained.
He agreed to the monthly payment after responding to a mailshot advert and giving his personal details. Peter was hazy about what he was getting but understood it was to have regular bets. However, thinking it over a couple of weeks later he decided he could not really afford it and needed to cancel. “I believed I was within the time limit,” he says. “This was refused. They said I had broken the agreement, I was over the 14 days allowed.”
If you’ve been affected by this issue or feel you’ve been a victim of injustice, please contact consumer champion Maisha Frost on maisha.frost@express.co.uk
While being supported by Crusader he then saw the £54 had been taken from his account. Once alerted the local branch of his bank HSBC stepped in and helpfully returned the payment to him. He also has the additional reassurance that there is now a watch on his account. “This is such a relief,” he said when thanking us and his bank.
Your Lotto Service UK sells membership of lottery syndicates. When offered to comment on Peter’s experience it said: “In general, we would not sign up customers who are vulnerable: If a customer informs us about being vulnerable, or if there are indications for vulnerability in any of the calls, all our agents refrain from selling to such customers and automatically block the customer for sales also if he calls again.
“We keep our agents well trained in understanding the signs of vulnerability. In case a customer signs up for a paid version of one of our lottery syndicates and we only learn in hindsight about a vulnerability such as, e.g. dementia, mental health or gambling addiction, we cancel such contracts immediately and refund any amounts paid.
“When customers call, they are granted ten free lines as part of a syndicate of fifty players. This offer is available with no prerequisites and at no cost to the customer. Any winnings above £2.00 per person are distributed to the winners.” [name has been changed]
Having a flutter can be fun and enabling someone to do it on your behalf even more appealing. But always think twice before agreeing to a subscription and it’s better not to just rely on having the 14-day cooling off cancellation time as leeway.
First know how the service you are joining works and crucially what you will get for your money. For example, the value if you are joining a syndicate by knowing how many members are involved and the number of tickets sold from one draw to the next. Check how free any “free offer” really is.
