Refund win for bet book punter

Dec 14 2008 by Mr Justice, Sunday Sun

IT was a racing cert when punter Ray Mather asked if I had a tip to resolve his complaint.

Ray told me he had bought a book giving advice on a racing system in the hopes of making a killing at the bookies.

He returned it under a no-quibble guarantee but did not receive a refund.

That’s when Ray asked me to work out the odds on a winning resolution. And the company behind the manual, which provided a mathematical formula to calculate winning horses, sent £70.

Ray told me: “I purchased a book by cheque in April. It was the Dave Evans Professional Racing System and it was bought from AD Associates. There was a 100 per-cent money-back guarantee if I was not happy in any way.”

Ray said the book did not open the door to the winnings he expected and was too complicated for him.

He said: “I returned it by recorded delivery in May but I didn’t get a refund.

“I have phoned and written to them three times and no one has got back to me with a refund. It has been more than four months.Can you possibly help?”

I asked AD Associates, of York Street, London, for an explanation.

They passed the complaint to businessman John Armstrong for reply. He told me: “Mr Mather purchased one of my books via AD Associates and was sent the entire package by them.

“Less than a week later Mr Mather wrote to me asking more specific details about the contents of the book.

“Letters were passed back and forth over the next two months.

“It got to a stage where Mr Mather was either a) unable to fully grasp the concept of the manual or understand anything I told him or b) was playing silly games by asking so many questions beyond the point of sensibility.

“In the end we both agreed to end all communication and AD would refund him.”

He said a cheque was issued at the time but he learned it was not cashed. He added Ray had been issued with a replacement cheque following my involvement.

The businessman added: “I have now written to Mr Mather to explain the circumstances surrounding this event and offer him my full apologies.”

Ray confirmed he received the refund.

Complaint upheld

I HAVE been going through the latest batch of cases from the Advertising Standards Authority.

Among them is an adjudication upholding a complaint about AD Associates . . . the company featured in my main story this week.

And the subject of the complaint: The Dave Evans Professional Racing System.

The complainant challenged if profit claims made in a mail-shot could be justified and if the money-back claim was genuine.

There was also a question on whether a gift package and audio CD could be described as free.

The adjudication said: “The mailing must not appear again in its current form. We told AD to ensure that an independent third party had a record of all horses racing in a given period, highlighting all the horses that fulfilled the criteria, and results produced by their system.

“We also told them not to imply that customers were very likely or certain to achieve a profit, not to describe the gift package and audio CD as free, and to remove the money-back guarantee in future advertising.”

Businessman John Armstrong, also featured in my story, said he was unhappy with the ASA ruling.

He said: “Although there was one complaint, the advertising standards made their own decision on the book even although we provided complete evidence of its success and assisted throughout their inquiry.

“I objected to all their comments, provided them with evidence and proof of its success, yet they made a decision which in my opinion had very little to do with the actual points they were objecting to.”

No one from AD Associates returned my call by the time of writing.

Page 2: Turn to page 2 for the full adjudication