Problems w/ Olympic Sports

[parlayin]

I called up Olympic before i opened my account because i liked one of their Oscar lines (academy awards). I asked what the maximum wager was, and the guy who picked up said "1000 i think." When i told him i needed to know FOR SURE, he confirmed it w/ another guy and said it was 1000. So i went ahead and opened my account, believing this. When i went to place my bet, it said "maximum wager: $550." WTF!?!? This pissed me off that the book's own phone representatives didn't know the limits. At this point, there was nothing i could do but to withdraw my remaining $450, so i could use it at another book w/ slightly less favorable odds. Since i used Western Union, i called Olympic again and the phone rep told me it would cost $37 to get my withdrawal. So first, the phone rep gives me the wrong info, and now i hafta pay for the transaction just to get my money back. Even if they had offered to pick up the cost, it STILL woulda been a hassle and now they want me to pay for it!?!? Geez...i hafta call the manager tomorrow to complain now. This whole episode is surprising since all i ever read are positive comments about the book, but their phone reps seem clueless many times, if i can even understand them. Plus, when i explained my story and asked the lady if she understood, she responded, "YES...I HEARD U!!!" It was extremely frustrating

[thegreek]

Do all Books have the same limits on the internet as they do over the phones? When you called and asked what the limits were did you specify you were going to bet online or over the fu phone? When someone calls and asks what the limit is over the phone I think that one can reasonably assume that he will be calling his wager over the phone. The information given to you was not false it's just that there are different limits depending if your calling by phone or using the net. If you want your money back, whether it be part or all of it I'll send it back to you at no cost what soever!

[parlayin]

Spiro,

I thought you weren't gonna reply until i replied to your email, so you'd be sure it was me. Then i see your reply.

Anyways, so you're sayin you'll give me the remaining $500 wager if i phone in my bet? That's cool then...thanks...since $1000 is the phone limit, i'll call in my wager.

I don't understand why you can't explain my situation and YOUR policy w/o asking rhetorical questions about what other books do, and what one "can reasonably assume." All that's needed is "Olympic does it this way and there is a different limit between phone and online bets."

[parlayin]

thanks for the quick reply though...30 minute response time is damn good for the manager to personally deal w/ the issue

[mls]

The problem is that sometimes books "assume" the caller knows someothing about this business.

Anyone with ANY experience knows that phone and internet limits are always different at the big shops.

But someone like parlayin calls - obviously pretty naive and never having bet with an offshore book before - and misunderstands the simplest things.

I think the problem can be solved by the books assuming that the caller knows absolutely nothing about offshore betting, and explaining even the simplest things with this in mind.

[Hamhog]

The problem can be solved by the player asking the book in question about the dispute. Posting in a forum without giving the book a courtesy phone call is premature.

[parlayin]

If it was so obvious and "safe to assume," why don't the phone representatives know? 2 of the phone reps did not even tell me about differing limits...only Spiro did through this forum. i don't understand why the phone representative that said "YES...I UNDERSTAND!!!!" could not tell me there were different limits on the phone and online...LOL!! Instead she referred me to the other 888 number for withdrawals, so I had to explain my situation there again, i was once again NOT TOLD about different limits...instead i was instructed to pay a $37 transaction fee for Western Union.

Yes, i'm guilty of being naive, definitely. But i'm a bettor. What about the company's own representatives who claim to understand the situation...are they just as naive about their own limits? It would be great if they told me that. If they were so sure about the $1000 limit on phone, wouldn't they have said "Sir, that's for phone bets, not online?" Rather than "Oh, $550 is max? Then to take out $450, it costs $37 Western Union fee."

[parlayin]

Hamhog, i DID ask the book about the dispute. And i was given no explanation...so i figured i'd just pull my money. So i did not post in the forum "without giving the book a courtesy phone call." In fact, that is exactly what i did and that is exactly why i am so astonished that it takes Spiro to respond to me here, rather than a phone rep.

[Alexander]

mls,

Give parlayin a break. Sure, he might not know the different limits depending on whether he places a bet over the phone or online, but the customer service reps at Olympic should know better.

This was a simple problem, and it is definitely not parlayin's fault. I assume that he thought he could bet $1000 online. He was only able to bet $550. He calls customer service to vent his frustration. All customer service had to do was listen to him and realize that if he wanted to bet $1000 total, that he simply had to PHONE IN THE OTHER $450 PORTION.

Either customer service wasn't paying attention to him, or they don't even know whats going on themselves.

Spiro said it himself, although in a somewhat condescending tone, that sportsbooks usually have different limits on the phone and online. Well, if your employees knew this Spiro, then this problem could have easily been avoided.

Parlayin, I had a problem with Olympic too. Spiro did respond to me very quickly. But he did open his e-mail response to me by saying "First of all, relax." Spiro responds quickly, but he has a lot to learn about responding to customers in a more courteous and professional manner.