Subject: Formal Complaint – VIP Customer Treatment, Unresolved Deposit Dispute and Conduct of Support Consultants

Good day,

It has taken a great deal for me to come onto a public platform to express my disappointment and disgust with the manner in which I have been treated by Hollywoodbets.

I am a VIP customer with WSB, Gold Rush, Hollywoodbets and SunBet. However, I have never experienced this level of disappointment, frustration and disregard from a service provider.

I spend, on average, approximately R200,000 per month with Hollywoodbets, yet to date I have not received a single courtesy call or message from my VIP host regarding this matter.

The initial deposit issue On 21 September, Hollywoodbets clearly communicated on its website that there were issues relating to deposits.

I made several deposits, two of which — R1,000 and R500 — did not reflect in my Hollywoodbets account.

I was initially not overly concerned, as I understood that there was a known deposit issue and expected that contacting Hollywoodbets would result in the matter being investigated and resolved.

On 22 September, I contacted Hollywoodbets and spoke to a gentleman who advised me on the steps to follow on the application to submit a bank statement.

I followed those instructions and submitted my transaction history. I was subsequently advised that a bank statement was required instead.

The difficulty with this request is that my bank statements are generated for the period 7th of one month to the 6th of the following month. Therefore, to obtain an official statement reflecting the transactions from 21 and 22 September, I would have had to wait until 6 October.

I had already spent considerable time on the telephone, incurred a charge for obtaining the transaction history, and then spent additional time responding to emails and repeatedly explaining the same issue.

What was particularly frustrating was that, despite several emails requesting assistance, I could not get my VIP host to contact me, nor could I get management to intervene.

I personally investigated the transactions On 26 September, I went to an ATM because the transactions that had left my account only cleared on that date.

I then manually reconciled my Hollywoodbets transaction history against my ABSA transaction history.

After doing so, I confirmed that my query was legitimate.

This is important because the issue has never been about the R1,500.

It is about how a loyal VIP customer is being treated.

If this is how a VIP customer who spends approximately R200,000 per month is treated, I genuinely do not want to imagine the experience of an ordinary customer.

At this point, I was completely drained and decided to put the matter aside.

Further contact with Hollywoodbets – 3 October On 3 October, I contacted Hollywoodbets again and spoke to Delisiwe from Deposits.

I explained the matter in detail.

I have more than 20 years of accounting experience and have worked internationally and within multinational organisations. I understand how deposits, bank reconciliations and unallocated receipts work.

I acknowledged that companies generally require bank statements as an authoritative form of confirmation. However, I specifically requested that the Deposits department also check its unallocated receipts.

My request was simple:

If my Hollywoodbets transaction history shows two deposits of R1,000 and R500, and my bank transaction history confirms that these amounts left my account and were paid to Hollywoodbets, then there should be corresponding entries within Hollywoodbets' banking or unallocated-receipts records.

I was promised a call with feedback.

That call never came.

I subsequently called again, and Sane took over the query.

Once again, I had to explain the entire matter from the beginning.

Imagine having to repeatedly explain the same issue, type the same information and provide the same explanation to different consultants, while nobody takes ownership of the matter or makes any meaningful attempt to investigate it.

The response felt like:

"****** see, ****** do."

One consultant asks for a bank statement, and everyone thereafter simply repeats:

"I need a bank statement."

There appeared to be no initiative, independent investigation or attempt to understand the actual issue.

The Deposits department's response During my conversation with Sane, I was advised that Hollywoodbets had reviewed its unallocated receipts and banking records and that no such deposits existed.

I find this extremely concerning.

There were more than 50 deposits of R500 and R1,000 between 21 and 26 September.

I therefore want to understand, objectively and transparently:

What process or methodology did the Deposits department use to identify and eliminate the relevant transactions and conclude with cer*****y that my deposits did not exist?

I am not asking Hollywoodbets to give me R1,500 for free.

I am asking Hollywoodbets to properly investigate two transactions that my bank has independently confirmed.

For clarity, I subsequently contacted my bank.

ABSA confirmed both transactions and confirmed Hollywoodbets as the recipient.

I then sent an email to Hollywoodbets, including the relevant departments and requesting written confirmation of the Deposits department's position.

I specifically requested this because, should Hollywoodbets maintain that the funds were never received, I intend to use that written confirmation as supporting documentation in raising the matter with my bank as a potential disputed/********** transaction.

Several hours passed without a response.

The live-chat experience After sending that email, I went onto the live chat.

Unfortunately, this interaction became the breaking point for me.

The consultant insisted that I provide a proof of payment.

I explained that this was a card payment and that my banking records reflect it as an "own payment". I therefore asked a very reasonable question:

How do I obtain a proof of payment for a card transaction when my bank does not provide the type of proof of payment being requested?

Instead of assisting me, the consultant referred back to previous conversations and stated, in essence, that because her colleagues had already confirmed that there was nothing on their side, she did not need to tell me how to obtain the requested proof of payment.

The tone, attitude and disrespect displayed during this interaction were completely unacceptable.

To make matters worse, the consultant ultimately ended the chat.

I have never experienced customer service of this nature from a company to which I have shown such loyalty.

My request to management Owen Heffer and Suren Rampersadh, I apologise for taking this matter to a public platform. I am a professional person and I genuinely try not to bad-mouth individuals or organisations.

However, I am also a loyal customer, and I am extremely disappointed by the manner in which this matter has been handled.

I am therefore formally requesting that management investigate this matter in its entirety.

I request that the investigation specifically address:

The two disputed deposits of R1,000 and R500.

The transaction records provided by me.

The ABSA confirmation that the transactions were processed to Hollywoodbets.

The manner in which Hollywoodbets' banking and unallocated-receipts records were searched.

The methodology used by the Deposits department to conclude that the transactions did not exist.

Why my VIP host did not contact me despite my repeated requests.

Why management intervention was not provided despite my repeated requests.

The communication and conduct of the consultants involved.

The live-chat interaction and the decision to terminate the conversation rather than assist me.

Why I was repeatedly required to explain the same matter to different consultants without anyone taking ownership of the query.

All of my information can be retrieved through my Hollywoodbets account. My emails also contain my ID number and account number, so there should be no difficulty identifying the relevant account and transaction history.

I am not asking for preferential treatment because I am a VIP.

I am asking for basic accountability, professionalism, proper investigation and respect.

The R1,500 is insignificant compared with the amount I spend with Hollywoodbets. In fact, I receive a R10,000 monthly VIP reward, so the suggestion that I would go through all of this simply to obtain R1,500 is frankly absurd.

The issue is much bigger than the money.

It is about how a loyal customer is treated when something goes wrong.

I sincerely hope that management will take this complaint seriously, investigate it independently and provide me with a prompt, substantive response rather than another generic request for information that I have already provided.

To everyone reading this post, I will provide an update once I receive feedback and will share the outcome of the matter.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

God bless, take care, and I look forward to a response from Hollywoodbets management.

Regards, N