A mother showed anger after spending around $125 trying to win a soft toy in a claw machine at an arcade.
Cheryl Holden, 34, was on vacation at Camber Sands Holiday Park, East Sussex, she decided to visit the arcade and thought to win a toy for her five-month-old son Ashton. She had quickly run through $50.
Cheryl complained to the staff about the machine and claimed that the staff member took came over and changed the setting.
On her next go, she got a Dumbo cuddly toy. Cheryl said after her win the same staff member adjusted the settings again.
Cheryl decided to win another toy for her baby boy and went back to the arcade and spent another $75 but didn’t win a second toy.
She decided to complain about the matter.
Cheryl said: “I was not abusive or anything,”
“I raised my voice because I was angry, but I was trying to make it clear to other parents it’s not possible to win a teddy bear and it’s rigged.”
“I phoned the manager, I asked when would this be getting resolved. He said, ‘how did you get my number?’.
“He laughed it off and said my complaint form won’t get me anywhere. He said, ‘you can put as much money in, $125, but you still won’t win it’.”
Cheryl said that she has been visiting the holiday park since she was a kid but this teddy bear-claw machine failure made her frustrated.
She added: “My son is five months old, but if he was old enough, he would probably be upset.”
The company’s people and social responsibility director said: “Please be advised that Playnation Limited is a professional organization which takes all customer complaints seriously.
“We operate in a highly regulated sector and are licensed by the Gambling Commission and the Local Authority to do so we take our licence obligations very seriously.
“We are fully committed to keeping crime out of gaming, ensuring gambling is conducted in a fair and open way and to protecting children and other vulnerable adults from being harmed or exploited.”