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TheBetterBettor
22 May 12 12:20
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Date Joined: 10 Jan 12
| Topic/replies: 11,511 | Blogger: TheBetterBettor's blog
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/899768-boy-5-made-50-000-loss-on-spread-betting-website?ITO=socialnet-twitter-button


Boy, 5, made £50,000 loss on spread-betting website
A spread betting company’s ‘inadequate’ terms and conditions made it impossible for it to legitimately attempt to claim £50,000 in lost trades from one of its customers, a judge ruled.
..
C made the trades in oil, gold and silver (Picture: Alamy)
The 49 pages of Spreadex’s Ts & Cs agreed to by Colin Cochrane was, in the eyes of the law, an ‘unfair contract’.


Mr Cochrane claimed the losses were racked up by his girlfriend’s five-year-old son after he accidentally left his computer on. The boy, referred to in court as ‘C’,  made the trades in oil, gold and silver without his authorisation or knowledge.


Deputy judge David Donaldson said it would have been ‘close to a miracle’ if Mr Cochrane had read the relevant clause. Such lengthy terms and conditions were ‘entirely inadequate to seek to make the customer liable for any potential trades he did not authorise’, he said.


Mr Cochrane began using Spreadex in October 2010. In May last year, he visited a friend and did not return for two days. ‘His girlfriend said that his computer had been used by C, and C told him that he had been playing games on it,’ said Mr Donaldson.


Spreadex launched legal proceedings to recover the losses.
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http://www.metro.co.uk/news/899768-boy-5-made-50-000-loss-on-spread-betting-website?ITO=socialnet-twitter-button
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Report CaptainScarlet May 22, 2012 12:44 PM BST
Quite amazing that the kid chose to trade three of the hottest commodities on the planet right now Confused
Report Contrarian May 22, 2012 12:47 PM BST
Sets quite a precedent though. You could let your 3 year-old loose on the computer while logged in to your spread betting account: if it wins, you're laughing, if it loses, you're not liable.
Report donny osmond May 22, 2012 1:52 PM BST
he might have lost more had he not been posting on the betfair forum
Report fallenangel May 22, 2012 4:08 PM BST
i think the same kid has been breaking into moneytrees house Wink
Report Pete Watermelon May 22, 2012 5:09 PM BST
I use to work there. Helped launch the company back in 2000.
Report Mister E May 22, 2012 5:09 PM BST
If he worked for a bank he might get a bonusWink
Report scaredmoney May 22, 2012 5:34 PM BST
Baby tree done his inheritance already?
Report clacton May 22, 2012 5:41 PM BST
I thought you had to have money in your account before
you can bet. Cant believe they allow anyone to lose £50,000
Report HansUlrichApfelStrudel May 22, 2012 6:33 PM BST
I believe Mr Cochrane's story Plain
Report Corky May 22, 2012 8:21 PM BST
Amazingly, so did the judge.
Report Mike Bassett England Manager May 22, 2012 8:32 PM BST
The 49 pages of Spreadex’s Ts & Cs agreed to by Colin Cochrane was, in the eyes of the law, an ‘unfair contract’.

I bet all the others are now scrutinising theirs.
Report MONEY TREE May 22, 2012 8:41 PM BST
should of used this one when monmome won ffs.
Report HansUlrichApfelStrudel May 22, 2012 8:44 PM BST
I reckon there is still time Tree, give it a go, I mean what more have you got left to lose mate Wink
Report MONEY TREE May 22, 2012 8:44 PM BST
46k
Report HansUlrichApfelStrudel May 22, 2012 8:48 PM BST
Is that like a C64? Crazy

Great stuff tree plenty of ammunition for Euros
Report MONEY TREE May 22, 2012 8:55 PM BST
yes but its not designed for disableds like the c4 was
Report scaredmoney May 22, 2012 9:11 PM BST
MONEY TREE • May 22, 2012 8:41 PM BST
should of used this one when monmome won ffs.


LaughLaugh
Report meltdown May 23, 2012 7:25 AM BST
ASIF A 5 year old could use a trading platform & loose that much money, how much of a crap lier is the man, or how thick is he to leave his account open with real money involved LMAO!!
Report Biscuit1979 May 23, 2012 9:27 AM BST
It would seem a very far fetched excuse but the article says he was away visiting a friend at the time so i'm assuming the bloke can actually provide evidence that he was away from home at the time of the trades.
Report clacton May 23, 2012 9:36 AM BST
When his account ran out of money he would get a 'Margin Call'. How did the 5 year old put more money into the account. All sounds a bit fishy to me
Report Biscuit1979 May 23, 2012 9:41 AM BST
How do you know his account ran out of money? Just says the kid lost 50k.

for all we know, the bloke might have had 200k in there.
Report clacton May 23, 2012 9:44 AM BST
If he had 50k in his account Spreadex would not be taking him to court. They would have his money.
Report History Maker May 23, 2012 9:46 AM BST
Yeah, fine. He was away and got a mate in to have a few bets. They win, clover. They lose, oh my son did it. As plausible as Elvis shooting JFK. The judge is a moron.

Having said that, the exchange deserve everything they get for having such a long list of terms and conditions.

I would bar people from leaving terms and conditions pages for the average length of time it takes a person to actually read them, for all gambling sites. That'd make firms think twice about impenetrable T&Cs.
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