Postcode Lottery Scratch (Instants)

iSaving

Thought I'd post to see if anyone else had used the Postcode Lottery Scratch cards service?

I noticed a free £5 play voucher with no deposit required and signed up for a bit of fun. I played multiple games in demo mode to see which I wanted to use my free £5 on and then took the plunge with real money. I ended up "winning" £20 and then trying to withdraw (cash out) the winnings. The system told me I couldn't do this as I need to make a deposit before I could withdraw. "Here we go" I thought, should have guessed this was coming just like all the other betting sites. So I thought I'd deposit £10 and that would then allow me to withdraw my £20 winnings and I could use my £10 to play a bit more.

So I deposit £10 and notice that my first deposit is being matched "FREE" - great I thought (without reading the terms of the deposit match) and proceed to receive £20 credit to my account. I now have £40 in my account and feel pretty smug, having only deposited £10.

I was pretty sure I'd have to stake that £20 matched deposit 3 times over before I'd get it back, but that first £20 I'd already won I should be able to withdraw now, right? Wrong. Having accepted the Matched deposit, I have agreed to having to stake £300 before being able to "Cash Out" anything from my account.

Bummer I thought, quick way to lose £10. So I humoured the system, playing the scratch cards expecting to lose my £40 pretty quickly. Before you know it, I have over £100 of winnings and stake almost £200. So I have £100 to play with now, and only £100 to stake before I can withdraw. (Remember I've still not deposited more than £10 at any stage).

All was going well, I was losing a bit of money and winning a bit and as I got down to having to stake my last £10 I had £36 of winnings. "I can't lose now" I thought, I only have to play 10 more £1 scratch cards and even if I lose all 10 I have £26 I can withdraw. I did indeed lose 10 scratch cards in a row and ended up with £26 of legitimate winnings I can now finally withdraw.

So I'm £16 up on the whole deal, had about 20 mins of scratch card fun and learned a valuable lesson about how these free bets work. Something I'm never going to try again! So now I finally get to "cash out"

2 weeks later, I receive an email which states:
Thank you for playing on People's Postcode Lottery Scratchcards and congratulations on your latest winnings.

In order for us to approve your pending cashout request, we will need to verify some of your account details over the phone.

We are unable to reach you on the phone number listed in your People's Postcode Lottery Scratchcards account.

"Odd" I think to myself, I only ever give out a valid mobile number. So I log into change the phone number, but nowhere on this site does it allow you to add a phone number.

I decide to call their helpline, I WANT my £26! I'm told that the Postcode Lottery have nothing to do with the scratch cards game and this is run by some other company, and am given their number. I proceed to call this other company and speak to a very abrupt operator who cannot get me off the phone quick enough. He tells me I have to provide my phone number in writing or I can use the "Live Chat" option on the website, before he hangs up!

I look all over the website, there is absolutely no "Live Chat" function. So I send a reply email to the original message above and ask them how I change my phone number as their website doesn't have a field to add my phone number.

I today received the following reply:
Thank you for playing on People's Postcode Lottery Scratchcards.In order to complete the withdrawal process we kindly ask you to send a copy of your ID (Passport or Driver’s License) as part of our bank policy.

You may scan and email the copy of your ID and credit card to accounting@pclscratch.com or fax.

ARE THEY KIDDING ME? :mad:

I wish to withdraw £26, not £26,000! They have my address and card details, which they were happy to accept no problem when depositing funds. But now I have to jump through hoops to receive the paltry amount of £26.

I double checked their "Cash Out Policy" and note the following two terms.

Withdrawals (payouts) exceeding more than £2,300 will require additional verification procedures; proof of identity, age and place of residency. NG International LTD reserves the right to carry such verification procedures in case of lower payouts.

Occasionally, your authorization or some other documentation may be required to process your Cash Out request, and we may ask that you sign a form detailing your previous Deposits to your People's Postcode Lottery Scratchcards Account

So it seems "Occasionally" they ask for further authorisation - I assume when someone has "Won" more than they ever deposited? What an absolute joke this is! I guess they hope people will just be put off from claiming such small amounts to prevent them making a small loss?

I'm not a gambler, I'm not naive (though should have more carefully read their terms for sure!), but I really feel these hoops I'm being asked to jump through are excessive.

Has anyone else been "stupid" enough to use these clowns, and if so did you have a similar experience? Or are they actually pretty decent and I've just been unlucky? Would love to hear your thoughts.

In case you're wondering, I'd strongly advise avoiding their tempting free bet offers! :money:

keyser666

Standard process for all poker/gaming/gamblig sites when making your first withdrawal.

BTW, Just because you deposited with a card and gave the correct address doesn't mean you are the card holder.

paddyrg

Also, the more hurdles they can throw in your way, the less likely you are to ever bother...

brittone05

I have never come across a site who will allow you to withdraw before putting ID docs forward.

I have had to do it in the past myself but it is standard procedure really xx

VT82

I've only ever used a 'no-win no-charge' gambling site to have a £25 punt on X Factor. I won, they gave me my £96 winnings, refunded my stake, and still gave me the equivalent of my stake back as if I'd lost. All of this without having to speak to anyone or send anything in.

If I'd been put through all the rigmarole that the OP's gone through, I'd want to go round to their place and put a brick through their windows. But I'm having a bad week