Caribi rant ... or not ...

[Woodstock]

mls,

Please check your e-mail or call 1-800-906-9446. Good luck to all.

WS

[Dot Mix]

Gosh mls

For a person whose been the staunchiest supporter of fairness to the sportsbooks in this forum your getting your heinie kicked around this week.

Dot

[Railbird]

MLS,

When Bruce Smith jumps offside thats a 5yd penalty,I think you should be punished for your mental mistake,this is a thiking man's game,deal with it and stop crying.

[mls]

Railbird: Thank you for "trying" to make a constructive comment.

Unfortunately you have missed the entire point of this discussion. Even more unfortunately I doubt anyone could make you understand what the issue we are discussing even is ...

As for Dot:

I have ranted this weekend against Caribi and Bowman. Caribi stuck me with a bet that could have cost me $300 but ended up costing me only $51. Bowman refused to allow me a bet which saved me $500. Actually I saved $449 this weekend ...

But you know, I feel lousy ...

I long for the good old days (only 1-2 years ago ...) when Bowmans took a man sized bet, and books like WSEX, WWTS, Carib, and Olympic had integrity by the ton (they, at least, still do btw) ...

Now it seems like it is dog eat dog ...

A few minutes ago a book changed Seattle to -115. Now I know it was a mistake and they meant to post -135. But it is close enough that they could not void the bet however. I could have bet a dime and scalped a $50 no-risk profit. Just couldn't do though ...

Guess the guys at Caribi would say I'm just "weak" ... maybe they're right ...

[Woodstock]

mls,

I have sent you 4 e-mails regarding this thread and called you at least as many times (your phone is disconnected). Apparently my e-mails are not getting through, so please call me at 1-800-906-9776. Good luck to all.

WS

[mls]

Woodstock: I answered the only E-mail I received from you this morning. In the past 2 days I have received 23 E-mails from others - I have no idea why you are having a problem. My phone is not disconnected; it is now unlisted.

[mls]

Woodstock/Caribi:

Finally received your E-mail which in pertinent part states:

"Even though it is contrary to industry standards to reverse a bet, we appreciate your business and are willing to work something out.

In the event that Tiger wins, we will refund you for the $300.

I must emphasize that this is a one-time exception and we do not intend to set a precedent for other players. I hope this is to your satisfaction, please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions."


Honestly I not sure how helpful this response is.

First, the problem is that it is dated Saturday, July 08, 2000 4:22 pm three days after my E-mail.

Second, I am not sure an offer to repay the $300 juice I would have lost had Tiger won means too much three days later when he is 6-7 shots behind during the third round.

Finally, AND REALLY THE ISSUE, you note that this offer is a one time deal and will not set any precedent.

Books like WSEX, WWTS, Carib, Olympic, Dunes, and many others will correct an obvious player error for them, if the error is brought to their attention immediately and there has been no line movement. As you make clear, it is not, nor will it be, Caribi's policy to accomidate a player in this situation.

Lets say I bet 5 dimes on an NFL game but by my mistake get the wrong team. (I can tell you from long experience it happens to me once every 200 bets or so.) I call back in 2 minutes, the game is tomorrow, there is no line move, but Caribi, unlike every other major book I have used, will not change the side for me. OK, its your book and that is your rule, so I lose $500 juice to correct my own error.

But I ask you, knowing such an error is going to happen once or twice a year, where would you be betting 5 dimes a football game - at Caribi or any of the other solid books willing to make such corrections without a problem?

I wish Caribi the best - but there is an additional risk in playing there that I am now aware of.

[Ronbets]

MLS,

Eventually when your merry-go-round makes a few more 360's the remaining BMs will realize you come with baggage.

[thedevil]

MLS,

There are some people on this forum that feel when a book makes a mistake, they should eat it. Those same people feel that when a customer makes a mistake the book should correct it and refund the customer his money....

When does the sportsbook get a break..

As a former bookmaker I stated that if a player makes a mistake and calls back within a few minutes of making said mistake almost all stores will either cancel or switch the bet in question (unless there has been line movement because of said play).

There will always be mistakes made... In your case about 1/2 of 1% of all the bets you make(according to your statement) multiply that by the amount of customers in the world and then you can see how much of a problem this causes sportsbooks..

Think about it from a cost stand point. All of these mistakes cost money.. The customer calls back and takes costly phone time, needs to get an ok from a supervisor then the play is changed... all the cost of this falls on the sportsbook. Clerk time is wasted amongst other things and the book either winds up with a no bet or a bet on the other side where he can either win the same amount as the original call or nothing at all if the bet was cancelled.

You are looking at this as if it only happens once a day or week.. This happens many times a day at some larger books... it is time consuming and costly...

I think Caribi's offer is more than fair... even generous..

THE DEVIL

[mls]

TheDevil says:

"As a former bookmaker I stated that if a player makes a mistake and calls back within a few minutes of making said mistake almost all stores will either cancel or switch the bet in question (unless there has been line movement because of said play)."

Caribi made crystal clear that their "policy" is NOT to do so.

OK, they made an exception in my case 3 DAYS after my request - and after it was pretty obvious they were not going to make that $300 juice anyway because Tiger was -2 and the leader was -9 late in round 3.

Generous?? I would agree if the offer were made 3 days ago ...

So most books will help the player, regardless of the phone call etc expense, and Caribi will not. So what is your point??

My point is that Caribi is a fine book but that I am not perfect and would prefer, given equal lines, to bet at any of the "almost all stores (TheDevils statement)" which will not cost me $500 if I accidently bet the wrong NFL side (error noticed with 2 minutes and no line movement).

In summary, based upon The Devil's post, "almost all stores" will help a player in an obvious player bet error situation, but Caribi by policy will not. I thought that is what I said ...

[Ronbets]

I'd like to hear from WSEX, WWTS,Carib, Olympic, Dunes, etc. about their policy on cancelling large bets. Let's not assume Caribi is in the minority here.

[thedevil]

Yes Mls it is what you said..But if you read the rules of EVERY sportsbook you post with you'll see that Caribi was well within their rights... I guess when you make your next mistake you'll come running back here critizing the next book that follows their rules and refuses to change your bet..

The only point I was trying to make and you were to obstanant to understand is that the books are usually willing to work with a customer even when the customer is at fault.
You can't paint a picture that the book is at fault for not wanting to change a bet made that you made in error.

THE DEVIL

[zippy]

I don’t have a problem with the stand you’ve taken at all, mls.

To cancel this kind of wager under the circumstances specified costs a book a small amount of hassle and gains them a small amount of good customer relations. They are fully within their ethical rights to choose their policy based on comparing those costs and benefits howsoever they choose. Refusing to cancel such wagers does not constitute cheating the players.

You are simply pointing out that when choosing where to wager, players need to do their own cost-benefit analysis, and that they should take into account the cost of using a book that will not cancel such erroneous wagers. That makes sense to me. For me, it would be an exceedingly small factor, because of all the things I need to improve about my sportsbetting, I rarely if ever make that specific mistake of betting on the opposite side of an event from what I intended. But it doesn’t hurt to know which books will or will not cancel such wagers as a courtesy to the player.

I don’t think you’ve unjustly trashed Caribi in this thread. You titled the topic with a question, indicating open-mindedness about whether Caribi deserved a rant at all (rather than something like “Crooked Caribi Rips Off Players! Stay Away!!!”). And you’ve several times pointed out that Caribi is a good and solid book and that you are only questioning this one policy.

[Woodstock]

mls,

You refuse to call or e-mail me on this subject and I need closure on this issue. You forgot to quote the part of my e-mail where I mention having some problems with my mail server and your registered phone number. This is not an excuse for the late response, but if you had simply called customer service at the time of the incident, I would have taken care of it in a couple of hours. Instead you decide to post this thread and ignore my efforts to come to a friendly solution. This is my last post... contact me at your convenience. Good luck to all.

WS

[mls]

Woodstock/Caribi:

As you know I E-mailed Monty at your Customer Service E-mail address IMMEDIATELY when this all happened on Thursday morning.

After receiving numerous calls from touts and unwanted books I will keep my unlisted phone number thank you.

I will accept your statement that your mail server mysteriously was down (apparently just for my address) for the past 3 days ...

You had ample opportunity to present a "friendly" resolution in this very forum on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

And I accept as pure coincidence that suddenly on Saturday night your mail server started working again as soon as Tiger Woods was out of the running ...

As for "closure" you have it. I will accept your version of the rather improbable communications blackout because it really does not matter.

I made an error and paid $51 to fix it.

Caribi, by policy, does not correct obvious customer errors even when a customer calls back in 2 minutes and there has been no line change. As even theDevil states, this is not the policy of most major books (and none of mine).

But it is your book and it is your right to make your own rules.

If you view me as some kind of enemy this sounds like a personal problem.

As for Caribi I will say yet again that it is a solid shop and I wish them success. I do not agree with this policy - but, surprisingly, not everyone in the world agrees with everything I think (imperfect world such as it is ) ...

The majority of my plays will go to books just as solid who I believe care a little more about their customers. Your decision is a business one and so is mine - I make large football bets and I am not perfect - this combination could prove far more expensive to me at Caribi than the other books I use.