Paddy Power — player complaint #66441, 2017-05-05: account blocks

Dear Sir/Madam My name is [EDIT] I have a problems with gambling and have self excluded from numerous gambling websites. On a moment of weakness on 29/4/17 I started gambling by opening a Paddy Power account and lost £180 and then on 2/05 /17 lost £320. Shortly after losing £320 I received a email dated 2/5/17 titled Cross Brand Account Closure from paddy power saying since Feb 2016 betfair and paddy power are part of the same group and " as such, your paddy power account has been excluded as we have located a betfair account that is within a period of exclusion." I feel quite aggrieved that they decided to close my account after losing all my money and even if that is the is the case why was I allowed to gamble if either account was within a period of exclusion. I then called gamcare and they told me that I had a strong case maybe was due a refund. I decided to ring paddy power this morning 3/4/17 to let them know how I felt and asked if I was due a refund, they refused saying the period of exclusion finished 28/4/17 but even if that was the case they shouldn't have let me even open a paddy power account as I'd already had a betfair account. I also added that it's shouldn't take a period of 3-4 days that paddy power took to realise I had a betfair account therefore pleading me to gamble uncontrollably. I also rang betfair to check my self exclusion they also said my self exclusion on 28/4/2017 but I felt this was strange exactly a day before I started gambling so I checked my email dated 2/5/17 from paddy power titled Cross Brand Account Closure and on the last paragraph it's says, " bear in mind you will not be able to reactivate parody power until the time period on Betfair has elapsed." Even if that was was the case and my self exclusion finished 28/4/17 according to betfair and paddy power why on the titled Cross Brand Account Closure email dated 2/5/17 saying that I closing my account and I only can reactivate my account when the time period had elapsed when according to them it already had elapsed. I feel I was due a refund. Could someone please help me. Yours Sincerely [EDIT] Contact no: [EDIT] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Cross Brand Account Closure From: Paddy Power Sent: Tuesday, 2 May 2017 16:25 To: [EDIT]@hotmail.com Image Hi, As you may be aware, since February 2016 Betfair and Paddy Power are part of the same group – Paddy Power Betfair plc. We have aligned databases and policies to ensure that customers from both brands are well looked after. As such, your Paddy Power account has been excluded as we have located a Betfair account that is within a period of exclusion. Any open bets on the account will stay pending until they have settled and potential winnings can then be withdrawn by contacting Customer Service. Any balance has been returned to the active payment method on the account. Bear in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your Paddy Power account until the time period on Betfair has elapsed. Best Regards, Paddy Power Customer Service Image