William Hill customers have hit out at the leading bookmaker after a mix-up led to free bets being offered in error.
The firm emailed its database with a message entitled 'A Free Bet just for you', stating £10 and £5 would be credited to all accounts due to a 'mistake' they had made.
However, a follow-up message told punters to ignore the goodwill gesture.
More than 300 comments were posted on the @WillHillHelp page on Twitter, as several disgruntled people threatened to boycott the firm.
One customer Kris Heerasing said: "People were getting excited at the prospect of getting free bets (some were even getting ready to have their ante-posts for Cheltenham), but they were brought back to earth when they received another email saying an error had been made.
"I totally condemn this because as a reputable betting company they should have honoured them.
"You can made a mistake once but it's unacceptable to do this twice. Their reputation has taken a battering."
Clients spoke of lengthy waiting times for assistance from customer services, while others said they would not place any more wagers with the business.
After the promise of the free bets, the third William Hill email stated: "We got it wrong. Please ignore the last email from us.
"You may have noticed an email from us this evening notifying you of a free bet in your account.
"Unfortunately this message was sent in error so we'd like to apologise for any confusion this may have caused.
"The William Hill team."
A company spokesman apologised and said the issues were caused by 'human error.'
This was communicated to customers in further correspondence on Tuesday evening.
