Win-a-house competition has been cancelled

HelenCardill

Hi there,

I entered an online "win-a-house" competition last year and I've just found it's been cancelled. (I only found out when I happened to speak to the current tenants, my neighbours.)

The competition website says that ticket-holders can get a refund if they write in with the relevant ticket / transaction details.

Is this legal?

It strikes me that the company isn't trying very hard to refund people! Most people won't even know that the competition has been cancelled, so they won't know they are eligible to ask for a refund. The company could be sitting on thousands of pounds of other people's money!

Surely the company is obliged to contact all ticket-holders and refund the money without being chased to do so.

Otherwise we could all set up a competition and then do a runner with the cash!

Could anyone advise?

Kind regards,

HelenCardill

maninthestreet

So have you requested your refund and got your money back?

HelenCardill

I've requested a refund and I'm waiting to hear back.

But in my opinion that's not the point. There will be thousands of people out there who don't know that they CAN request a refund.

ILW

Send money to dodgy online companies and you should expect to lose it.

HelenCardill

Thank you ILW for such a helpful and constructive comment.

Actually, I live next door to the house in question and I know the name of the owner who set up the company. So not so dodgy as you might think thank you!

I'm sure the competition was set up in good faith, but the question remains. Is the owner fulfilling his obligations? At best it feels negligent. At worst it smells of fraud.

paddyrg

It certainly reeks of dishonesty - the reason people try to raffle off their houses is because they get greedy and think they can guarantee an easy sale at over the market value. Turns out most people don't want to punt £££ on a ticket with such risk attached. The competition attracts costs which they pay for out of punters money, along with what they think is an advance on the money they are guaranteed for the house which they spend. Result - they only have half the cash they have received, so really hope nobody twigs.

googler

If you want to know exactly what the raffle organiser's obligations are, consult the Gambling Commission, either via their website or in person. You're more likely to get a definitive answer from them than you are here

HelenCardill

Thanks Googler.

These competitions are outstide the scope of the gambling laws, because they have a few easy quiz questions included. Therefore it counts as a competition rather than a lottery.

However, I think you're right. I'll maybe pass on my thoughts to Trading Standards instead.

Fire_Fox

Try the competitions board, they will know more about the legalities of this that we do - the fact that the prize was a house and not a boat or dishwasher is irrelevant.