Has anyone else not received a prize and NOT been happy with ISP resolution?

diavolina

I won a competition with More magazine in May (the facebook one where there was a different prize every day). The prize was an outfit from Desire clothing (comprising a dress, shoes, top and a couple of bags from the picture) - not a hugely expensive prize but I was looking forward to receiving it nonetheless. Never received it and emailed a number of times over the following few months asking where it was. Some of these emails went unanswered, and when I did receive a response it was just to say they'd look into it.

In September someone from More responded to one of my emails to say that Desire had assured her the prize had been sent and she would contact them and chase it up, and in the meantime she would send me something else in the post. I was sent a couple of tops and a skirt that a charity shop wouldn't have accepted - I ended up throwing them in the bin. I then emailed her back to ask her to please keep me updated with what had happened to my original prize (didn't receive a response).

So I sent one more email in October and after this went unanswered I finally complained to the ISP last week. They referred my complaint to the ASA (does anyone know what it is about a complaint that means it needs to be referred on to them?) who got in touch with me very quickly, and after I gave them details they contacted More magazine. More told them the prize had been sent and must have got lost in the post, and they would contact me to arrange a replacement prize. I don't understand why they couldn't have just told me this months ago rather than ignoring my emails and letting it drag on this long.

Anyway, the ASA then said that their part in the matter was finished and that as far as they were concerned More had done nothing wrong as the prize had been sent and it was not their fault it had gotten lost. I received an email from More this morning saying that if there was anything else on the website I wanted, she was sure they could come to some arrangement. She said she couldn't understand why I hadn't received my prize as she'd sent it herself (despite saying earlier she'd been assured by Desire that they had sent it) and that she hoped I'd understand that sometimes these things happen.

The thing I'm most annoyed about is that if was a genuine mistake involving the prize getting lost in the post, and they had actually responded to my emails, told me this sooner and offered me a replacement prize, it'd be fine. I've had a prize go missing in the post before and the competition organisers were very apologetic, sent me another item and a load of extra stuff, and it was all resolved quite nicely. But I'm not convinced the prize was ever sent because of the changing story about what happened to it (first it was sent by Desire, now she's saying she sent it herself), and I don't feel at all confident that I'll receive anything else I ask for from the Desire website, due to the proven unreliableness so far of the person I've been dealing with!

So if you've managed to read all that, well done! Am I being a whingebag or am I at all justified in being annoyed with how this whole thing has been handled? I can't decide whether to press on with trying to get a replacement prize or just telling her to forget the whole thing - what would you do in my position? It's all left a very bad taste in my mouth and I'm not sure if it's worth it to try to keep communicationg with them at this point, especially now the ASA have washed their hands of it.

Savvybunny2009

How awful!

I have various prizes not turn up and to be honest I can't find the energy to chase them, there is around 15 prizes big and small outstanding and when I have chased them up my emails get ignored or someone will say they are looking into it and then they refuse to reply to chase up emails.

It's a shame companies do this, I'm surprised actually that a big win like that wasn't sent recorded.

The only time I had a near dealing wth the isp was when xfm wouldn't send out my prize, the lady I was dealing with kept fobbing me off with 'the manager at dr martens wont return my calls and is always in meetings' This went on for two months. Luckily though one time when I called this girl was away from her desk and her manager answered. I explained the situation and said I was ready to go to the isp if it wasn't resolved within a week. Funnily enough it was resolved that day, and I imagine the girl I was dealing with got a bit of a ticking off.

Chasing prizes can really take the shine off a win can't it

ells2123

I had a similar issue with More magazine when I won a prize a couple of years ago... I was named the winner on the website but never heard from them and had to chase it for months and months - it really did take the shine off what was a nice little win (Ipod Nano)

I rang them eventually as my e-mails went completley unanswered, and even then it took about seven phone calls!! I kept getting fobbed off with the fact that the woman who organised the competition had left. I got there in the end though, hang in there and be persistent for your prize it will be worth it xx

sid77

That's really disappointing. I've had four prizes that have not materialised. After a couple of emails I give up and pretend to myself that I didn't win anyway. I don't like e-mail messages saying I've won anything as I don't trust them any more. The best prizes are the ones that just arrive unannounced. I think that you are good though for persevering as it helps to make promoters stick to the rules.