Storage garden unit

andrew71

Received this email this morning
Dear Andrew
You may recall that you entered a Channel 4 online competition called Win A Garden Storage Unit between July and September 2011.
After a routine review we have decided a further winner should be drawn from the competition entries made at that time. I am pleased to tell you that you have been randomly selected as a prize winner in this competition and you have won a Trimetals Storeguard unit.
To claim your prize, you will need to reply to this email by Friday 28th September. I will then get in touch to verify your competition entry details and confirm arrangements for delivery of the prize. If I do not hear from you by this date you will no longer be eligible to claim the prize.
If you have any questions about this email, please do not hesitate to email me.
Yours sincerely,
XXX


Now this is the competition link

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3396082
It says it was from last year, I did enter it but just cautions before I reply anybody else won competitions from over a year ago?


If it is a genuine win which wouldn't be something a spammer etc would say you'd won :rotfl:that's fantastic we discussed about getting a storage unit the other month.

dogcat_2

Well Done to you.

Greenapples

Well done!

If you're worried about whether it's genuine, why don't you telephone the Channel 4Homes people on Monday and ask if you can speak to whoever sent you the email (I presume their name is the xxx, rather than that they included kisses ). There's a phone number on their website, or an online enquiry form if you prefer to use that. (Scroll to the bottom of the page and click contact us).

For what it's worth, I think it's probably genuine, but if you're worried, that might offer reassurance.

andrew71

It does seem genuine like I say it would be very unusual prize for a spammer etc to say I had won unless they had hacked into the competition database and found everybody who entered details. Then if they had they wouldn't really need me to confirm my date of birth and address as they would have it already.
They have also offered me the alternative of having the cost of the unit (£490) paid into my bank account via BACS.
If I sent my bank details via email then surely that isn't safe is it?

*courtney

Seems legit - well done :-)

andrew71

Hello just hoping somebody could help me regarding this prize. As I previously mentioned they have offered an alternative of a cash prize which we have now decided to accept. The email is genuine (the address goes back to channel4), I've asked if they could send the money value via cheque or paypal. Unfortunately Channel 4 don't send money this way anymore. They have suggested sending a password protected document with the password being given over the phone or via text.
I am presuming that I send the document over and then they contact me for the password for it? If so does anybody know of any programs that I can do this with? There is an account we have which as nothing in the account so I wondering do I send them the details for that and once the money is in the account I just transfer it to our normal bank account?
We had some problems early this year with somebody using our account fraudulently so as you can imagine I'm just being over cautious.

PokaPunk

I can't see any issues with handing over your account number and sort code. The only thing they can do with these details is pay money into your account.

The worst that could happen is somebody sets up a direct debit on your account but Im sure you're covered by Direct Debit guarantee.

If you're worried go with the empty bank account and transfer. Sounds like the best option.

...oh and congrats on your win.

andrew71

PokaPunk wrote: »

I can't see any issues with handing over your account number and sort code. The only thing they can do with these details is pay money into your account.

The worst that could happen is somebody sets up a direct debit on your account but Im sure you're covered by Direct Debit guarantee.

If you're worried go with the empty bank account and transfer. Sounds like the best option.

...oh and congrats on your win.

Thanks for the reply. I just presumed that if somebody had our bank account ie sort code and account number then they could access our account. Not disputing the email address just concerned if somebody was able to view it that we didn't want to see it.