54 replies to this topic

[jonnyb]

Hi

Just returned from an hours worth of fruit playing down the local seaside arcade...Playing 30p/go £25 Jackpot BarX..

Put £15 in, nothing.....Held X on reel 2 & 3 and X on reel 1 popped in...!

Hooray...!! Hang on, nothing happened....

Called the attendant, who explained that the last reel was 'out of alignment'. Believ me, the 3rd reel was 99.9% in alignment with the rest.

After arguing, the arcade supervisor was called who restated that this machine was prone to the 3rd reel becoming out of alignment..

I argued that I (and anyone for that matter) would NOT have held the 3rd reel if it WASNT an X etc...and the fact that everyone seemed to know of the problem probably means that the machine has been this faulty for a long time? Likewise I woulnt have held a '0' just in case it was the 'X' etc.

Cut a long story short, they wouldnt refund my £10 and so I walked out.

My question therefore is who can I write to, other than the arcade (who obviously dont care) about this incident. Clearly people are being ripped off from this machine, and the staff seem to know about it but dont want to do anything about it??

Any suggestions welcome...

(PS, one guy also at the arcade suggested I start pouring superglue down all the COinMechs on the PartyTimes!!!) - Hmm interesting, but I dont want to go down the crimiman damage route!!

Thanks

[ricki]

best thing to do is contact trading standards

[khards]

Go back to the arcade with a tube of super-glue and some more £1's, put an ample ammount of superglue on each £1 you play with (making sure not to get it onto your hands). This should fu*k up most machines coin-mechs and should blue coins together in the hopper / tubes.
That will cause them the most hasle.
Araldite might be an alternative but I think it might be to sticky for the coins to go through the mech properly

:wink: Have fun

[eddiec]

Start spreading the word about these buttmunchers with the people playing the fruities in there. Tell them to avoid the machines you were playing, that the management are a bunch of wnkers.

The glue suggestions sound tempting but because you've butted heads with the management they may recognise you/be watching out for you.

[robmandx]

Nowt new, mate. Arcade machines are so obviously chipped anyways but your situation is just taking the p*ss!

I would do as the other person said and get trading standards, maybe even the police in on it.

But without proof, what can you do?

I suggest you get a mate to go in and have a go and if the same thing happens, subtly get proof, perhaps a mobile-phone camera? Then there will be no denying it and the arcade will be in serious troubles!

Still, I get ripped off at my local arcade on those machines because they chip them and take all the enjoyment away, unlike club ones, where at least you can make some money!

However, I've lost quite a lot of money on machines this month so I could guess you could say it was a harsh lesson learnt and there's better things to spend your money on.

Rob 8)

[zany_jim]

yeah me and my mates were in an arcade in brighton and my friend put £6 in a machine and did not get a single featcher at all.
i no he was dum for putting in £6 but still rip off.

sorry about my spelling lol

[RoadRunner]

hows this for a rip off... £220 into a magic 10 (30p/£25jp)

NO wins rolling straight in at all
NO jackpots
NO bars

2x XXX win on nudges, with no hold offered afterwards. basically £20 out

I queried with the supervisor and said that it had just paid out a large run (which is bollocks as id seen someone put in at least £80 before me)..
After querying the fact that for £160 of the £220, not a single win, nudge or hold offered and that the machine is faulty

they just said its down to luck..

Thing is, these magic 10's are programmed to suck and suck when they've paid out until they are turned off, and dip as low as 22% payout before maintaining the minimum 72%. So god knows why i was drawn in.

[nails]

you were just unlucky.

ive had a 165 streak off of one of these little shits, but for a good 100 quid in it was cold, i cant see any reason as to why it didnt do a high run, then you hit it as it was building for another one.

they pay the % the machine is set to pay (except monoploy..) and you probably hit it at a bad time.

why on earth are you putting that sort of money in a machine in the first place, the idea is to win.

[george999]

when the local fair came in town, the machines were a bunch of scams,
i won jackpot(£6) on roadhog and it paid me out in tokens, i asked the attendent what the hell is that about and she said thats some machines do that, so i said why isn't there a sticker like on the other ones?
after a long argument with a angry gypsy she changed up the tokens for £6 in coins
then i went onto the simpsons, and got the moe's tavern sign on the reel which is a hidden feature that usually pays around £10 but wait! the third reel has suddenly crashed, i doesn't work, even though i'm jumping and sitting on it?
the man came over this time and turned the machine off 8O
i asked for £5-£10 and he gave me 40p 8O which is the amount of credits i had :x
when i left i jumped into the 10p machines and set the alarm off

[clever_one]

I would suggest printing out a hundred or so copys of your post about
the rigged machine and distributing them to people in the arcade
and people about to enter the arcade.

This should scare the life out of the management.

They may offer you your money back then.

If I was you I would want more than my money back.

I would want £100 on top because of the trouble and distress caused to you.

Keep it truthfull though.

They can kick you out of the arcade but they cannot stop you leafleting
people approaching the arcade.

Go at peak hours and you could cause the arcade to lose £1,000's of
pounds.

Personally I woud not ask for any money whatsoever, seeing them
going out of business would be *far* more satisfying.
8)


What they did is a criminal offence (fraud), they knew the machine was
faulty and they profited from it

[joseph]

Write to Watch Dog :wink:

[CoasterDesignerpro]

No go direct, go to your local police station or court room and tell them about the fraud arcade.

I`m sure they would have something to say about it!!!

[khards]

The Police are too tied up in policing more serius matters like catching people doing 33 in a 30mph zone LOL.
Unfortunatly traveling amusement arcades do not have to have a licence otherwise if you have trouble with your local arcade I would do the following:

WRITE TO YOUR LOCAL COUNCILS LICENCING DEPARTMENT AND TELL THEM ABOUT THE FRAUD/PROBLEMS YOU HAVE HAD (I WOULD DRAMATISE THE MATTER, REALLY OVER DOO IT). THE ARCADE MAY THEN MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RENEWING THERE LICENCE, THERE FORE WILL GO OUT OF BUSINESS :wink:

[CoasterDesignerpro]

Why do travelling amusement arcades not need a licence? When they are operating a gambling establishment. With £25 and £5 jackpots

[khards]

Well thats just the crazy law in this country!

[ady]

Well thats just the crazy law in this country!

Is this really fact?............My local boozer had a Casino night the other week and a special licence (though free) had to be applied for as it was in a public place?.........Strange.

[spa]

Did it really take £15 before you realised one of the reels were f***ed?

Still, they should have given the win.

You can normally spot a knackered reel miles away, best thing to do is not play it :evil:

[mikey95]

Basically, there isn't much constructive you can do. The Newer bar x machines do have a fault on them whereby wins sometimes aren't registered (am having trouble repairing 2 of those myself, got voltage regulator kits, new reels etc)
Usually i pay out the win though. The arcade in question must be a tight arse.
Its totally useless going to the police because you have no proof or evidence and it is pretty likely they wouldn't be very interested anyway because it is doubtful if the arcade are breaking any laws.
If you are taking the revenge route...Put some chocolate drops into the coin slot, they block it up, they then melt and are a right pain in the arse to clean up!!!

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :wink:

[Pgamblin]

New Suggestion

Steal RB's weekly Vodka supply and torch the place.

See who's laughing at the end of it.. and it wont be RB :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Steinman]

Simple solution....
....just dont play the Fruities!
It's a well known fact that, although you may hit some lucky patches, that in the end you aren't going to win any money & make big profits so why play them in the 1st place?
Especially the travelling fairs!
This from someone who played them for years until I saw the light!
Play them on the emulators instead & get the buzz that way.
Like the chocolate drops idea! LOL!