Betsafe.com Experience

I saw an arb today which I was hesitant about, as it involved a bookmaker that I had not placed a bet with, and they were charging a 2.5% deposit fee. However, I went ahead and placed a bet on Ajax (playing on Sunday). I am sure that the bet was accepted, as I refreshed my balance and it was now zero. Therefore, I placed the opposing bet to lock in a profit (or so I thought!). I was then informed via email that most of my stake was refunded apart from a paltry sum of £11.60. Apparently, the risk department or risk manager can "accept or deny any part of your stake". After a few expletives that I shouted at the laptop, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Also, this has now left me with surely a negative arb! I try my best to avoid these, and I have a feeling I won't be able to get away from it on this occasion, and I will be on a loss limiting excercise.

I emailed Customer Service in frustration, and again the service left a lot to be desired. I am sure that they didn't read my email and did a copy and paste job on the reply. I tried LiveChat, only to be further disappointed as the person who I was talking to, kept asking me if there was anything else he could help with. I found this quite amusing as he answered the little questions, but when asked about what had happened to my accepted bet, he pretended he hadn't seen my message! The final straw came when I was politely informed that If I withdraw my balance back to my account without turning it over, I will be charged an additional 3% on top.

I'm guessing it serves me right for not doing my research properly, but some bookmakers are atrocious and my experience with Betsafe has left a lot to be desired. I have checked their rating with SBR and they are rated a C, which means "Average to below average customer service with some risk to players funds." This doesn't fill me with confidence. I hope I get my money back, Ive worked hard for it! However, this was my first and last bet with Betsafe.com. I think they are terrible and I would be wary of using such a bookmaker.