William Hill slow to settle
I've been using William Hill for ~1 year for occasional small bets with no problems.
In the UK we recently elected a new government and for the first time had U.S. style live televised debates between the leaders of the main political parties.
Several bookmakers including William Hill were offering odds on the television viewing figures of the debates and on this I placed a wager of £100, the maximum they would allow and also the largest bet I've ever placed with William Hill.
The bet was on the number of live television viewers according to official BARB viewing figures as reported in the media. I placed the wager on 29th of April, the same day as the debate. The following day, 30th April the BBC and British newspapers reported the BARB viewing figures and most bookmakers with whom I'd won settled the bet and I was able to request a withdrawl.
William Hill did not settle this bet until 11th May, 11 days after the results were published.
From my William Hill online statement:
11 May
Withdrawal
- £233.87
11 May 10 / 13:28 Bet Winnings BBC Party Leader Debate Viewing Figures – 8 - 11.99 Million @ EVS + £200.00
29 Apr
Stake BBC Party Leader Debate Viewing Figures – 8 - 11.99 Million @ EVS - £100.00
29 Apr
Deposit
+ £120.00
I must stress that I have had no other problems with William Hill. That once settled I was able to withdraw quickly and without difficulty. As it is a one off (so far) and it was an unusual market so I will continue to bet with William Hill. This election was the first time this has been done in the UK so I can understand it may not have been dealt with as quickly and easily as the sport markets they do every week. I did use their online help to ask why it hadn't been settled ~6 days after results were published and was told that they'd pass it on to the appropriate department who would contact me. I was never contacted but the bet was settled ~5 days later.
As I said, I will continue to use them, but I was curious to see if this was an isolated case or whether others have had similar problems with William Hill?
In the UK we recently elected a new government and for the first time had U.S. style live televised debates between the leaders of the main political parties.
Several bookmakers including William Hill were offering odds on the television viewing figures of the debates and on this I placed a wager of £100, the maximum they would allow and also the largest bet I've ever placed with William Hill.
The bet was on the number of live television viewers according to official BARB viewing figures as reported in the media. I placed the wager on 29th of April, the same day as the debate. The following day, 30th April the BBC and British newspapers reported the BARB viewing figures and most bookmakers with whom I'd won settled the bet and I was able to request a withdrawl.
William Hill did not settle this bet until 11th May, 11 days after the results were published.
From my William Hill online statement:
11 May
Withdrawal
- £233.87
11 May 10 / 13:28 Bet Winnings BBC Party Leader Debate Viewing Figures – 8 - 11.99 Million @ EVS + £200.00
29 Apr
Stake BBC Party Leader Debate Viewing Figures – 8 - 11.99 Million @ EVS - £100.00
29 Apr
Deposit
+ £120.00
I must stress that I have had no other problems with William Hill. That once settled I was able to withdraw quickly and without difficulty. As it is a one off (so far) and it was an unusual market so I will continue to bet with William Hill. This election was the first time this has been done in the UK so I can understand it may not have been dealt with as quickly and easily as the sport markets they do every week. I did use their online help to ask why it hadn't been settled ~6 days after results were published and was told that they'd pass it on to the appropriate department who would contact me. I was never contacted but the bet was settled ~5 days later.
As I said, I will continue to use them, but I was curious to see if this was an isolated case or whether others have had similar problems with William Hill?