I recently won an IBAS judgement against Fafabet over their failure to payout winnings. I talked about it in a previous thread and have also noted that Fafabet have recently been fined £170,000 for similar failings.
My complaint against them also involves the paying out of a deposit withdrawal which IBAS have told me is beyond their jurisdiction to adjudicate, leaving me with the only real alternative in seeking action in a small claims court. Here's what happened. If anyone would be willing to give their advice on whether pursuing this debt in a small claims court is wise.
In Nov 2022 I deposited £40k into Fafabet. I won just shy of £8k. I attempted to withdraw my original £40k the day I deposited and won. This was during my gambling addiction phase where I was regularly depositing stupid amounts and gambling recklessly. There were so many payments going in and out of my bank to casinos everywhere that I couldn't keep track of where I was.
Fafabet acknowledged my withdrawal request with an email. A few days Fafabet ask for an "account check" on my profile. They asked for 5 separate pieces of information. They did not tell me at any point in this communication that my withdrawal was on hold or that my account was suspended in any way. They simply give the reasoning as; "I hope you are enjoying your experience here at Fafabet.
We would like to request some documents to prove affordability and source of funds, due to high deposits."
My impulsive gambling heavy sessions would mean that once I'd finished, I didn't want to even think or look at my bank account for an extended period. Thinking or having anything to do with casinos or money would be a big no. I'm shameful to say I never checked my bank account that Fafabet had made the withdrawal. I simply believed they had with the withdrawal acknowledgement email.
After inactivity, Fafabet suspend my account without sending me an email to say they had. I didn't find this out until 13 months later when I tried to login. I send Fafabet the financial information they asked for originally. They reply telling me they have "observed a high-value deposit in November 2022" and want proof of SOF for that deposit. Please note, they do not refer in any way to the fact that I still have this £40k pending withdrawal from this very same high-value deposit.
I provide this information and they then tell me a few days later - "I'm pleased to inform you that your account has been activated.As part of the account setup, kindly add both debit cards ending in 8*** and 1*** to your account."
By now my desire to gamble again had disappeared and I didn't bother re-logging in. Please take note their wording above telling me my account was "activated" and that they are asking me to re-add debit cards to my account. Not at any point do they mention that any withdrawal was being delayed because of this.
Two weeks later I sign up to gamstop. I never try to login to Fafabet again until Nov 2024 when I'm going through all my accounts to see where all the money I had lost in my gambling addiction had gone to. I do an SAR request. They send me the info on my account but do not, anywhere, disclose that I have a £40k withdrawal FROM TWO YEARS AGO still pending. Nor do they mention I have £8k in winnings that I hadn't tried to withdraw.
I ask Fafabet to confirm I have no money in my account as they didn't disclose it in the SAR. They tell me my "account balance" is £8k but they won't be paying it out to me because I broke their T&C. (though as we now know IBAS ruled in my favour on that). Fafabet again fail to mention the £40k pending withdrawal.
By now I'm getting the sense that Fafabet are hiding something by their wording. They eventually, after much evasion, confirm I have a £40k pending withdrawal. They say that they couldn't process the withdrawal in 2022 because they required SOF check. (though they fail to mention that they never actually told me my withdrawal was on delay for that reason at the time). They claim they attempted to send the £40k to my bank in Dec 2023 when I provided the documents but were met with a 70000 card error.
They claim that this previous message I wrote above was enough to tell me my withdrawal, which remember I executed a year earlier, was on hold pending this information. Clearly that isn't clear enough for a casino to inform a customer they have money pending?
I then demand Fafabet pay me and they do. However, they declined to pay me any interest they had gained on my money for this long period of time they kept my money for. Surely Fafabet had to;
A) Be clear in telling me my withdrawal was delayed pending information.
B) Attempt more than just one email asking me for this information
C) When I finally provide them the SOF 13 months later and they claim they attempt to pay back my original deposit, they should tell me there's been a payout error? Why wouldn't they do this at any point? Clearly them telling me my account has been restored after suspension and to add debit cards to my account is not clear enough that this is holding back a £40k withdrawal from 13 months earlier? Why would they think I did not want this money?
D) Once I sign up to gamstop a few weeks later, gambling with them is impossible. At that point again they should be contacting me telling me about this pending withdrawal and that they needed me to provide an alternative bank?
E) When I ask them for an SAR in Nov 2024, two years after I attempted the withdrawal, they should tell me as part of the SAR documents that I have both a £40k withdrawal and £8k in winnings that they are disputing. Them omitting this information is clearly suspicious?
All of those points add up to the fact they realised I had forgotten about the withdrawal and they went out of their way to hide that fact as much as possible. But those failings above granted them at least 13 months (possibly arguably 24 months) of interest on my £40k withdrawal... and ultimately, as IBAS ruled in my favour, £48k of my money.
If you've managed to read all this and understood what I've said... would you yourself pursue a small claims action if you were in my position?
My complaint against them also involves the paying out of a deposit withdrawal which IBAS have told me is beyond their jurisdiction to adjudicate, leaving me with the only real alternative in seeking action in a small claims court. Here's what happened. If anyone would be willing to give their advice on whether pursuing this debt in a small claims court is wise.
In Nov 2022 I deposited £40k into Fafabet. I won just shy of £8k. I attempted to withdraw my original £40k the day I deposited and won. This was during my gambling addiction phase where I was regularly depositing stupid amounts and gambling recklessly. There were so many payments going in and out of my bank to casinos everywhere that I couldn't keep track of where I was.
Fafabet acknowledged my withdrawal request with an email. A few days Fafabet ask for an "account check" on my profile. They asked for 5 separate pieces of information. They did not tell me at any point in this communication that my withdrawal was on hold or that my account was suspended in any way. They simply give the reasoning as; "I hope you are enjoying your experience here at Fafabet.
We would like to request some documents to prove affordability and source of funds, due to high deposits."
My impulsive gambling heavy sessions would mean that once I'd finished, I didn't want to even think or look at my bank account for an extended period. Thinking or having anything to do with casinos or money would be a big no. I'm shameful to say I never checked my bank account that Fafabet had made the withdrawal. I simply believed they had with the withdrawal acknowledgement email.
After inactivity, Fafabet suspend my account without sending me an email to say they had. I didn't find this out until 13 months later when I tried to login. I send Fafabet the financial information they asked for originally. They reply telling me they have "observed a high-value deposit in November 2022" and want proof of SOF for that deposit. Please note, they do not refer in any way to the fact that I still have this £40k pending withdrawal from this very same high-value deposit.
I provide this information and they then tell me a few days later - "I'm pleased to inform you that your account has been activated.As part of the account setup, kindly add both debit cards ending in 8*** and 1*** to your account."
By now my desire to gamble again had disappeared and I didn't bother re-logging in. Please take note their wording above telling me my account was "activated" and that they are asking me to re-add debit cards to my account. Not at any point do they mention that any withdrawal was being delayed because of this.
Two weeks later I sign up to gamstop. I never try to login to Fafabet again until Nov 2024 when I'm going through all my accounts to see where all the money I had lost in my gambling addiction had gone to. I do an SAR request. They send me the info on my account but do not, anywhere, disclose that I have a £40k withdrawal FROM TWO YEARS AGO still pending. Nor do they mention I have £8k in winnings that I hadn't tried to withdraw.
I ask Fafabet to confirm I have no money in my account as they didn't disclose it in the SAR. They tell me my "account balance" is £8k but they won't be paying it out to me because I broke their T&C. (though as we now know IBAS ruled in my favour on that). Fafabet again fail to mention the £40k pending withdrawal.
By now I'm getting the sense that Fafabet are hiding something by their wording. They eventually, after much evasion, confirm I have a £40k pending withdrawal. They say that they couldn't process the withdrawal in 2022 because they required SOF check. (though they fail to mention that they never actually told me my withdrawal was on delay for that reason at the time). They claim they attempted to send the £40k to my bank in Dec 2023 when I provided the documents but were met with a 70000 card error.
They claim that this previous message I wrote above was enough to tell me my withdrawal, which remember I executed a year earlier, was on hold pending this information. Clearly that isn't clear enough for a casino to inform a customer they have money pending?
I then demand Fafabet pay me and they do. However, they declined to pay me any interest they had gained on my money for this long period of time they kept my money for. Surely Fafabet had to;
A) Be clear in telling me my withdrawal was delayed pending information.
B) Attempt more than just one email asking me for this information
C) When I finally provide them the SOF 13 months later and they claim they attempt to pay back my original deposit, they should tell me there's been a payout error? Why wouldn't they do this at any point? Clearly them telling me my account has been restored after suspension and to add debit cards to my account is not clear enough that this is holding back a £40k withdrawal from 13 months earlier? Why would they think I did not want this money?
D) Once I sign up to gamstop a few weeks later, gambling with them is impossible. At that point again they should be contacting me telling me about this pending withdrawal and that they needed me to provide an alternative bank?
E) When I ask them for an SAR in Nov 2024, two years after I attempted the withdrawal, they should tell me as part of the SAR documents that I have both a £40k withdrawal and £8k in winnings that they are disputing. Them omitting this information is clearly suspicious?
All of those points add up to the fact they realised I had forgotten about the withdrawal and they went out of their way to hide that fact as much as possible. But those failings above granted them at least 13 months (possibly arguably 24 months) of interest on my £40k withdrawal... and ultimately, as IBAS ruled in my favour, £48k of my money.
If you've managed to read all this and understood what I've said... would you yourself pursue a small claims action if you were in my position?
