My situation is as follows, I will endeavor to give a short, but concise, true account in chronological order to help with the process.
Personally I am not an avid regular gambler and purely use it as a form of recreation for when I want to while away some time (if that makes sense), as a form of entertainment.
I opened up an account with WilliamHill's online casino on the 25th October 2018 having seen a free bonus/promotion for new users.
27th October 2018 I received an email asking for 2 documents for age verification purposes, this was promptly done.
29th October 2018 I received a confirmation email thanking me for the documents.
30th October 2018 I received an email asking for further confirmation under the KYC ("Know Your Customer") process. 2 further documents were sent, no further emails from WH regarding the above verification's.
30th October 2018 - 9th September 2019 play was made on the WH site
At the commencement of the account, I won a small amount of money with the said given new user incentive bonus, we were probably talking £10-£20 (wagered and withdraw able) at the time.
Subsequent to that, I then played any daily or weekly bonus' and promotions made available directly to my account from the small amount of initial winnings.
Over time (approx 10 months since opening the account), the account balance was fortunate enough to rise to circa £1,500 - £,2000.
The winnings were accumulated on all sections of their site, be it Vegas, Casino, Live Casino, Games, Macau etc. At no time was any collusion or any other forms of so called unfair/fraudulent betting made. It was all by luck, chance and mostly by a self awareness of knowing when to stop wagering on a particular part of their website.
9th September 2019 I received an out of the blue email from a <casino rep name removed> (Account Assurance Team):
"Following a thorough review of your William Hill Account 'USERNAME, we've taken the decision to suspend it permanently.
This decision is in line with our Terms and Conditions. For further information please check Section 12 - Closure of your account; Termination of terms of use of our Terms and Conditions. Here's the link:
https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6719/."
10th September 2019 I went on to live chat to seek an explanation, unfortunately live chat were unable to shed any light on the matter.
10th September 2019 I sent an email to support@willhill to seek clarity and information on the email from regarding the suspended account.
12th September 2019 I received an email from Amie (Executive Relation Officer):
I write in further to your recent contact dated 10/09/2019.
After a thorough review of your account, the decision remains that your account is suspended, this is a business decision which is non negotiable and we are not obligated to disclose the reasoning for this.
In regards to your funds, unfortunately your balance on the account will be retained whilst your account is suspended and you will be unable to withdraw these.
I hope the above clarifies our position in regards to this matter, and we wish you all the best.
Today 15th September 2019 - I seek advice on where I can now take this matter and/or if there is any recourse. Upon the suspension I had a balance of £1,800.09 in my account and as it stands, the funds have been taken from me without a specific reason. As mentioned, I was in my opinion doing nothing untoward nor disingenuous with regards the betting procedures during the time frame above. I find it totally inappropriate that a "business decision" can be to take more than £1,800 from me without a specific factual reason. Yes, I may have accrued the balance via various promotions and bonus' offered but I had used them in good faith as per the Terms and Conditions. Is it my fault that I won money from playing various slots/games etc over a period of time for the above mentioned bonus'?
To this day I have no idea was I have been so harshly dealt with. If it were fraud I get it, if it were for bonus abuse (I dont see how), why did they just not exclude me from bonus' and promotions? As it stands I do not know where to turn or what my rights are, any help or guidance would be thoroughly appreciated.
Various emails and transcripts are held from the commencement of the account opening to the last correspondence if required.
Many thanks for taking the time to read.
