Q) I COULDN’T believe my luck when I won £1,000 by correctly picking four winning horses across different races one Saturday in January.
But I’ve been trying to get hold of my prize ever since.
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Can you help me get the winnings I’m owed?
Kevin Wood, Waterlooville, Hants
A) Every Saturday you enter the free ITV7 competition.
To enter, you log in with a Sky Bet account and choose the horses you think will win in seven of the day’s races.
Each week the entrant who picks the highest number of winners that day scoops the top prize of £1,000. You had four winning horses across races at Cheltenham and Doncaster.
You replied to the email from Sky Bet confirming you’d won with the information it requested including a copy of your driver’s licence and a recent bank statement.
Then you waited and waited. On April 8, Sky Bet confirmed it had everything it needed and that you would receive the money within 45 days. But another two months passed with still no cash prize.
You emailed several times and got no reply, so in May you wrote a letter to Sky’s chief executive, Dana Strong but still there was no response. Almost three months after your last correspondence with Sky Bet, you wrote to me for help. I have to admit I was worried you’d fallen victim to a scam email.
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But I quickly established that the original email from Sky Bet was genuine.
When I spoke to the company it turned out your case had been closed by mistake. This meant all your follow-up emails weren’t picked up.
Sky Bet passed on its sincere apologies for the delay.
You have now received your £1,000, plus £150 of compensation and free tickets to join Sky Bet at a Goodwood racing event later this month, which you’re happy with.
A Sky Bet spokesperson said: “We apologise for the delay in paying out this winning customer, which was due to a technical issue.
“In addition to his £1,000 prize, we have given him a little extra as a token of goodwill and hope that he is able to join us at the races soon.”
