A man claims that Coral are refusing to pay out his £15k winnings from a £10 bet that he placed on the World Cup. Liam Manifold, 30, says he planned to buy his disabled dad a mobility scooter with the money.
The 30-year-old placed a bet in November last year that Argentina would win the World Cup, Lionel Messi would be named player of the tournament and that France would also make the final. For his £10 stake, Liam was given odds of 1,495 to one, reports Birmingham Live.
However, remarkably he defied the odds, with the dramatic final last month ending up with Argentina beating France on penalties and Messi being awarded the player of the tournament. Following the December 18 final, Liam headed to a Coral shop near Birmingham the next day with a spring in his step.
However, his high hopes were quickly dashed when he alleges that he was informed that he would not be getting his winnings. Liam says alongside planning to buy a new mobility scooter with the money, he was also looking to put some away for the future.
The 30-year-old believes the firm should pay up as his bet was accepted without any issue. Liam said: "I went to cash in the bet and they said it shouldn't have been placed and offered me £660 for it."
"I've gone through their complaints system, there's no leeway. I've gone to an independent complaints committee and I'm waiting to hear back from them.
"I've since had different companies contact me saying if that was their company, they'd pay out. When I placed the bet the guy behind the counter said it was absolutely fine.
"They're now saying it's a related bet. It's now two weeks after the final and I don't seem to be getting anywhere.
"If there's an error it's their fault for accepting the bet. It's very frustrating.
"Just under £15,000 for a big betting company is pennies for them but for me it's a life-changing amount of money. My dad's disabled so I was going to buy him a new disability scooter and keep the rest in savings."
A spokesperson for Coral said: "These three events are all closely related to each other so the prices that were offered on them individually can't be included in a multiple bet. If Argentina and France have made the final, then the odds of Argentina winning it are clearly much shorter than they were at the outset.
"If Argentina have then won the World Cup, the chances of Messi being player of the tournament will be long odds-on. So we have settled the bet in the fairest way possible, paying out on the event with the biggest price, an Argentina v France final, at 22/1, and then on the basis that that had happened, we applied the price of Argentina winning the final which was 10/11 before the game, and then on the basis that Argentina had won the cup, we applied an over generous price on Messi to be player of the tournament at 1/2, as the odds on that happening should Argentina have won the World Cup would have been much shorter.
"The prices on the slip had been written on by the customer not the member of staff. We have settled the bet in line with our terms and conditions, and we have made a very fair and generous offer for the settlement of the bet that exceeds what would have been the odds of such an eventuality had a customer asked for rush specific treble on November 11."
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