My 15 year old open an account in my name help with appreciated

[Ethan1575]

Basically my son has registered an account for a gambling site used my bank details to set up the account also used my personal details to register the account then managed to deposit £2,000 into that account it was only when the bank contacted me early hours in the morning to tell me that was it me I said no they told me to contact the the game site as it would be them who is issued a refund so I explain to them that my son has special needs and autistic and he's been on my phone to register the account they emailed me this morning and told me they have closed the account and that they've sent it on to management to make a decision if I can get a refund on the the deposits also you did not use any bonus they offered him he is only 15 any advice would be appreciated

[cocopop3011]

Basically my son has registered an account for a gambling site used my bank details to set up the account also used my personal details to register the account then managed to deposit £2,000 into that account it was only when the bank contacted me early hours in the morning to tell me that was it me I said no they told me to contact the the game site as it would be them who is issued a refund so I explain to them that my son has special needs and autistic and he's been on my phone to register the account they emailed me this morning and told me they have closed the account and that they've sent it on to management to make a decision if I can get a refund on the the deposits also you did not use any bonus they offered him he is only 15 any advice would be appreciated

 

So it was a single deposit of £2,000 and it hasn't been played? Or did he play through it as well?

 

If it's multiple deposits amounting to £2,000 and which have been played to zero then I would imagine it might be difficult to get back since you'd have to prove it was in fact your son playing and not you.

 

Did this all happen in the space of one night? I guess if the management team are looking into it all you can do is wait for a decision and then take it from there. Which casino is it?

[Ethan1575]

Thanks for your reply well it was done in Multiple transactions of mostly £100 a time and it was done in between the hours of 6 till 12 last evening all I know at the moment is that they suspended take account and they told me that they have sent up to management to have a look at yes and also I don't think there was any money left in it as my bank sent me a message to say it is being used again and it failed so that's how I was aware of it my son has very special needs and he does a lot of playing about on computers keep same happy I have also sent some medical evidence through to them as well so they understand I have never done gambling in my life never intend to so I'm hoping that they may consider giving me a refund of some type maybe even if it was half that would be a help all I can do I suppose is wait have you heard if this is happened to anybody else their experiences would be appreciated if there's anybody out there thank you

[Ethan1575]

casinosuperfortunes it was this casino

[cocopop3011]

Ahh okay a Nektan casino, we don't have this one here at the moment.

 

We have had a few similair-ish cases like this over the years, it could go either way really I wouldn't like to say because it's a tough one. I'd give the casino a few days to get back to you and make sure you keep your card out of the way in the future.

[pinnit2015]

You may have some push back from the casinos on this, certainly initially at least - They will, understandably, be cautious about firing out a refund.

 

There have been a few cases like this

 - Bet 365 a few years ago: they refused. Not sure what came of it

 - One where the guy had his son prosecuted to get back 30k

 

In terms of the casino's licensing conditions and if they broke them by having poor controls to pick up underage gambling. Easy in shops to control, not so much online. If he has your DOB, address etc then even age verification checks are meaningless. The section in the UKGC's Licence Code (3.2 - page 41 - Just google UKGC LCCP) deal with the expected controls they should have. But they're kinda superficial if the person knows you and has access to your personal information. Ultimately I'd be be very hard to prove they breached that so its not even an avenue I'd go down personally.

 

I had an issue whereby years ago someone used my card for Poker Stars. My bank said that normally they'd have refunded but, as i gamble and i had transactions with other casinos on there, they wouldn't. Ended up they contacted PS asking for evidence that it was me. PS never obliged and i was refunded (was a bit more straightforward as the transactions occurred abroad. It took 28 days.

 

If the casino doesn't budge then i think you probably need to speak to a lawyer to see what's the best course. They may tell you that you can only pursue if you report it. Obviously, that may be something you don't want to do. 

 

Chargeback? Again, you'd need to speak to the bank and see what the options are. AFAIK you can use chargeback for something that wasn't authorised by yourself - so i'm not sure them simply fobbing you off to the casino was 100% correct. Problem here is that it's specific to 'fraud' - for example, the Financial Ombudsman stated that if someone responded to a phishing email, got their account details taken....it does not automatically guarantee the victim a refund. Lots of rules around this, all depending on the actions of the company, so even that's not iron clad. 

 

Summary - you need to speak to someone legal, if the casino don't oblige. Though you can appeal to their more human nature before this.  But don't be surprised if they don't - not directed at you personally but they will have probably seen plenty of these cases cross their desks in the past - some genuine, some not.

[ValDes]

Basically my son has registered an account for a gambling site used my bank details to set up the account also used my personal details to register the account then managed to deposit £2,000 into that account it was only when the bank contacted me early hours in the morning to tell me that was it me I said no they told me to contact the the game site as it would be them who is issued a refund so I explain to them that my son has special needs and autistic and he's been on my phone to register the account they emailed me this morning and told me they have closed the account and that they've sent it on to management to make a decision if I can get a refund on the the deposits also you did not use any bonus they offered him he is only 15 any advice would be appreciated

 

First of all, hello there and welcome to AskGamblers. 

 

Unfortunately, my experience helping the AskGamblers Complaints Team with similar cases is telling you are actually fighting a lost battle. Have seen already almost identical cases ruled out against complainant from both MGA and ADRs with pretty solid argumentation and namely - lack of parental control. Not saying this is exactly your case, but hope you would agree it is actually your obligation as a parent to monitor somehow your son's activities, especially considering his special needs. 

 

Still, you are of course free to chase it further as advised by the forum members above, however though it would be useful for you know the common outcome in advance. 

 

Hope the above helps. 

[Ethan1575]

Well good morning to all the people who's been messaging me I really appreciate your honesty in messages this morning I've received an email from the company asking for ID for my son ivy birth certificate passport I have sent these as they are still investigating it's so I don't know if this sounds promising or what I don't even know why they would need it but I've sent it with some medical evidence on my son so they get an idea of what he's like thank you once again

[pinnit2015]

They probably want it to see if your son actually exists before they start the decision making process.

 

In line with what Valdes said - one of the reasons why casinos would be reticent to refund is the dangerous precedent it would set - for example, I leave my cards, passport and utility bill on the kitchen table and say to my son ‘now don’t you think of gambling online with that identity kit, nudge nudge wink wink’ That’d pose a real issue - if he wins, quids in and if he loses I say it wasn’t me. That’s why many do not, and will not, refund.

 

I don’t want to appear sceptical or whatever - I worked in a fraud department for a year when out of Uni moons ago and can see it from a company’s perspective.

 

If your case is genuine, and iv no reason to think otherwise, I hope you have a happy resolution.

 

But PS. - lock down your bank/card details in the future :-)

[Ethan1575]

Thank you for your comments so from a company's perspective if a gambling site does not intend to refund why would they want photographic ID of my son and PS is it possible for me to through my bank I requested as chargebacks I'm not sure what the terms and conditions of this is though most probably not as they will most probably ask me to phone the police and I can't do that to my son

[pinnit2015]

They probably want all the information to start with - part of that will be confirming his ID. I wouldn’t read too much into why they’re asking for it - could be positive, could not. Wait and see...

 

Check your bank re chargebacks and what you can or cannot do - remember though to be totally honest when doing this / last thing you want is to be pulled up for chargeback fraud ;-) My knowledge of using this has disappeared over the last few years...check out Which or MSEs site, they give a very good overview of it. But each will depend on the banks own policies.

 

 

I wouldn’t do anything else until the casino come back though.

[Ethan1575]

Add another email off them saying that department what dealing with it is the payment and Fraud Department so hopefully have some news today we said what do you think now

[Ethan1575]

To all the people who have give me their views on this discussion I have now had confirmation of the casino but those conducted they have finished with their investigation have and have told me that they have issued a full refund I am so pleased with the outcome I should count myself very lucky indeed once again thank you very much to everybody for their messages

[cocopop3011]

To all the people who have give me their views on this discussion I have now had confirmation of the casino but those conducted they have finished with their investigation have and have told me that they have issued a full refund I am so pleased with the outcome I should count myself very lucky indeed once again thank you very much to everybody for their messages

Absolutely amazing news!! And you definitely are one of the lucky ones! Thanks for keeping us updated, keep your cards safe and wish you the best of luck for the future.

[pinnit2015]

Considering what Valdes said from what he seen and considering it was a Nektan, it’s a bit of a (good for you!) surprise. They were not half quick in that.... Cuts out a lot of potential head butting against walls :-)

 

Best of luck :-)

[Ethan1575]

Thank you very much everybody

[ValDes]

To all the people who have give me their views on this discussion I have now had confirmation of the casino but those conducted they have finished with their investigation have and have told me that they have issued a full refund I am so pleased with the outcome I should count myself very lucky indeed once again thank you very much to everybody for their messages

 

Amazing news indeed! And definitely a precedent from what I've seen so far as a common approach from operators... 

 

In your place, I would use the occasion as a tough lesson learned and will make sure to monitor more actively your son's activities online. Just a friendly advice since I have some serious doubts you'll be so lucky again finding yourself in the same situation. 

[volendam101]

Good for you Ethan ! 

At the same time I am wondering if this could work also if I would bring forward a middle aged, redhaired  woman, which happens to live at same adress, with access to my laptop and a small book with usernames and passwords….

Would blaming diabetes do the miracle..

But seriously, good job from this casino ! 

[cocopop3011]

Good for you Ethan !

At the same time I am wondering if this could work also if I would bring forward a middle aged, redhaired woman, which happens to live at same adress, with access to my laptop and a small book with usernames and passwords….

Would blaming diabetes do the miracle..

But seriously, good job from this casino !

Which is exactly the reason why he was so lucky to have this one resolved in his favour!