Skillens Competition [text deleted by forum team]

Blulu

Sos guys, but I agree about being innocent until proven guilty. Since starting this comping thing, I've seen lots of witch hunts and sooooo many conspiracy stories - some of which are probably true, others, I'm sure, are people putting 2 and 2 together and making 555.

If something looks suspicious the thing to do is to report it. It should be investigated properly and if proven, then appropriate action should be taken.Otherwise we're risking attacking and abusing the innocent along with the guilty.

This might well turn out to be as dodgy as it looks at first glance, but imagine if it isn't. How would any of us feel if we'd won a fabulous prize, and then someone grabbed the wrong end of the stick - and that went viral!

Again I say that I don't care how naive some think I am. I laugh at that, because it's probably true, and I'm fine about it. But actually, this type of thing isn't about me being gullible, it's about the fact that we live in a community that professes to believe in due process and fair play. I would far rather focus on the bigger principle of not taking the law into my own hands than risking doing harm to people on a whim!

I don't have a problem with debating these stories, I'm just saying we shouldn't play judge and jury with them. If something appears suspicious, as this certainly does, it should lead us to ask questions, and perhaps help to decide whether to report it, and where. And as Kit suggested, perhaps to debate the rights and wrongs of these types of comps. But I don't want to be involved in a witch hunt that might be causing someone innocent to be miserable and have sleepless nights!

lilias

Surely if you were the promoter of a competition, and some non winners were being unpleasant, you would attempt to shield your winner from that. You wouldn't say "Hey winner, I know you're distressed but I want you to deal with these posts yourself and suffer even more distress".

Or have I misunderstood something?

BlueBella

tjpknight wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a journalist with the national media investigating this story. If anyone knows a way to contact the winner in the picture, could they please send me a DM?

Many thanks!
Tom

Woooo yes - get it put in the paper and let us know when!!! :j It has to be a scam. They can not get away from the fact that the winner posted as themselves - it is impossible to be an error! They are guilty so let them suffer!

Blulu I agree with you - innocent until prove guilty and I hate witch hunts too as they cause so much pain and upset (more than people think) but this company has been proven as guilty - they cannot wriggle out of this one!

BlueBella

They scammed in order to draw attention to their Facebook page and company before Christmas! They are greedy and they will now pay for it!

8pumpkinpie8

In case anyone missed Skillens official response before they took their page down...

Official statement
Mrs Lynda Speers is not an employee now or at any time. Any real customer will know this, I only employ one full time member of staff in the picture, who was not allowed to enter.
After Linda collected her prize, won fair and square, a small number of people took it upon themselves to ruin her good fortune and make comments claiming all was not right with the win. This was grossly unfair, and had Lynda crying her heart out during Sat, I tried to delete these people who seemed to be a vindictively harassing her. When Sunday evening came she contacted me again, very distraught, I was exhausted and needed to sleep for a few hours, so I offered to add her as an admin to delete posts that were unfairly taking shots at her. Instead Lynda, not realising that her post for the next for hours would appear as Skillens decided to answer rather than delete and hence to my surprise when I checked here late that evening, a total mess had started, when all I wanted to do was protect her from further nasty comments by inconsiderate people.
Lynda won fair and square. She was not an existing customer and a total stranger. WE exchanged phone numbers and I asked her to let me know how she was enjoying the ring in the future.
She is currently being cared for by family who fear for her health, that the stress of all this will cause a heart attack or the like.
Lynda has had her moment of joy robbed from her from the moment she won by people who have been extremely mean
This must stop, she is a very decent lady, and going thorugh a mini nervous breakdown it would seem, yet has done no wrong.
Any existing customer knows my staff, and knows this is a witch hunt.
This was to be the first of four give aways this year, which you all had a chance of winning. However in a few days time when people have had a chance to read this I shall remove the page as all it has done is cost me time money and heartache.
It's not hard to wish someone well, I ask you search your hearts and ask yourselves what if it had been me that won?

8pumpkinpie8

Also we should remember that Skillens ended the competition early due to a big number of entrants. That in itself is enough to warrant a complaint to the IPM/ASA...

claireyx_2

On FB Lynda Speers is friends with a bunch of people with the surname Skillen. Some of the Skillens list the Speers as their cousins.

Sorry I'm all for being objective and benefit of the doubt, but this is just so obviously a scam gone wrong...

EverDecreasingCircles

tjpknight wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a journalist with the national media investigating this story. If anyone knows a way to contact the winner in the picture, could they please send me a DM?

Many thanks!
Tom

There you go Gil3410, there's you chance to prove us all wrong :T

mummyfrugal

If you reply to the journalist please ask for his telephone number and check it on the web to make sure he is one - dont mean to be negative here but I would not give my details to someone unless I was 100% sure they are who they say they are, that page is obviously not to be trusted and I wouldnt put it past someone to pretend to be what they are not to avoid it going to the press. x

Blulu

There is a good chance that you're all right - but even if you are I would still prefer to wait until due process before I treated them as guilty. If they are guilty, that won't make me wrong to have waited and given them a chance. But if you're wrong...