O2 Surprise???

Skarpa911

Hi,

I played the O2 Surprise game and great news I won a Sony HD -Ready TV!:j The website prompted me for all my details as to where to send the prize etc....However it never arrived:(. I have emailed O2 many times, and originally they just told me to go and play again, and that I was wrong....my girlfriend even thought I was going mad:T!

However they have now emailed me the following:

Dear ****

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Top-up Surprises promotion. We have now thoroughly investigated this matter and appreciate your patience while we did so.

You responded to our email about Top-up Surprises. We made a mistake and the link in the email led to a test site instead of to the correct site where prizes were available. We apologise for this, and have now corrected the link.

When you followed the link in the email and entered your activation code in the test site, it was not accepted and no details about you were stored. Instead, an error message was displayed which led to a part of the test site which indicated other prizes were available, including a Sony HD-ready TV. This was a dummy site created by us for test purposes. These prizes are not available in the current promotion.

We appreciate this may cause disappointment so we would like to send you £50 of O2 Pay & Go Top-up cards that you can use with any O2 Pay & Go mobile. Please reply with your address and we’ll send these to you by registered post.

Can they do this?:mad: if I played and was told I had won a TV which they confirm I did.....do they not have to honor this? I would never normally push something like this:A....id just take the vouchers but should I be making more of a stand?

I would really appreciate peoples thoughts on this, especially any leagl reasons as to why they should honor the original prize.

Many thanks

pmduk

Did you take a screen shot of the prize awarded?

jacktyler

someone else posted the same thing a few days ago. it seems you're not alone.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2353583&highlight=o2

continualdiamond

Yikes, do you think maybe the bigger prizes don't exist at all?

I just did my top up last week and ended up getting 50 free digital prints from snapfish, i was quite happy with that. Got an email instantly with the code needed to redeem the prize.

marleyboy

First of all Congratulations, Im sick to death of winning flower discounts, free txts when I have unlimited txts and 2 or 1 ciinema tickets.

Secondly, commiserations, I must admit if it had been me, I would insist they honour the letter, it sounds very dodgy that suddenly there is a test page set up. If you have a copy of the winning prize, tell them you intend to push for it, maybe take legal advice on your rights.

I can appreciate you would have been happy if it said "congratulations - you have won £50 worth of top ups", this would be no use to me, as I pay £15 a month and get free txts and free calls o2 calls, meaning my credit never runs out -

I currently have £107 credit on my phone and its due another £15. So I wouldnt be interested in them trying to palm me off.

I would be convinced I had a HD television swapped for a £50 top up card, whilst a member of staff at O2 were enjoying my new Telly.

That they have made a mistake is hardly your problem, as far as I would be concerned, I want my HD telly that was promised to me.

The definitions used in this section are taken
from the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading
Regulations Guidance document, published March 2008.

The following practices
are banned outright:

Competitions and Prize Draws

20. Pyramid schemes
Establishing, operating or promoting a pyramid promotional
scheme where a consumer gives consideration for the
opportunity to receive compensation that is derived
primarily from the introduction of other consumers into
the scheme, rather than from the sale or consumption
of products.
21. You can’t promise a win
Claiming that products are able to facilitate winning
in games of chance.

22. Winner takes nothing
Claiming in a commercial practice to offer a competition
or prize promotion without awarding the prizes described
or a reasonable equivalent.



23. Is it truly free?
Describing a product as ‘gratis’, ‘free’, ‘without charge’ or
similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the
unavoidable cost of responding to the commercial practice
and collecting or paying for delivery of the item.

24. No win situations
Creating the false impression that the consumer has already
won, will win, or will on doing a particular act win, a prize or
other equivalent benefit, when in fact either:
– There is no prize or other equivalent benefit,

Or – Taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or
other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer
paying money or incurring a cost.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/cpregs/oft979.pdf

Hintza

marleyboy wrote: »

That they have made a mistake is hardly your problem, as far as I would be concerned, I want my HD telly that was promised to me.

So what actions are you going to take to try and get your TV?

Have you got the energy/time/money to follow this through or are you all bluster?

My point being if you want to fight it then do so but many obstacles will be put in your way and it will require a lot of effort. Perhaps find folk similarly affected to spread the load but you might still not get anywhere and the powers that be might find £50 an acceptable compromise for a marketing error.

rl290

There are 2 ways to approach this:

1) Accept it was a mistake (which it almost certainly was... this isn't the kind of company to scam people so obviously with fake prizes) and accept it. If you feel very annoyed, write a letter/email to the CEO (whose office is VERY quick to reply) and say that you are very disappointed. See what happens.

2)If you want the TV write to them quoting sections 22 and 24 in Marleyboy's above message. Say that you feel that they have breached these regulations (though, I reckon they probably haven't, as there must be an allowance somewhere for mistakes), and say that if no TV is available then you would like a cash equivalent. If they do not reply, go to the OFT.... but I wouldn't hold you breath.

R

bingo_bango

There is an allowance for mistake (S17 (1)(a)(i) of the same Regs) but they must also show that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence.

Considering this is not the first time they have run this comp, I think they would struggle to construct such a defence.