ice-driving holiday in sweden

sarahlouise210

Seems to me they are trying to pull a fast one - the terms and conditions say the prize is a holiday - no mention of having to pay for flights (no mention of not having to but a holiday suggests the full package)
I would not let this drop..just because you would then be letting them get away with it. You must be so mad ! At the end of the day £350 is a lot of money..and as they have made absolutely no mention of any payment being required then I think you have a good case for reporting/challenging them. Maybe offer to settle for a cash alternative!!

crescend0

thanks for replies

the t&c are here:
http://www.cntraveller.co.uk/promotions/vwtouareg/terms_and_conditions.htm

do you know how would i go about, and what chances would i have of receiving a cash alternative? the 2 tickets are worth a total of £5000 according to the touareg website but there's no way i'm going if i have to pay for any flights. i could have a week on a nice greek island with my girlfriend for less than £350 and have just as much fun.


frustrating!
:mad:

PixiePie

According to those T&Cs they have no legal right to invoice you for the flights or insist you take their flights. I'd write back to them (once again) and say 'I'd rather get my own flights ta'. If they say you can only have the holiday if you buy their flights, tell them this is directly in breech of their own terms and conditions and you once again will be forced to report them for illegal competition running to the relevant bodies, as well as seeking legal advice for the compensation you are due. Always give them a get out of jail free card though, backing people into a corner by threatening things is a fast way to things going pear shaped - so you could offer them the chance to give you the value in money if they are not willing to honor the T&Cs, or if it's VW saying you have to buy VW's flights, inform Conde, as your contract and competition is with them, if they purchase the flights for you, you would be happy with this.

To be honest I'm not sure of the legalities of getting the cash over the prize, I only know the legals from our PoV of running comps (we make costumes and sometimes run a comp for people to win their own design being made up to the value of £x or one of our show outfits, so it's slightly different in not delivering for us as the only way we would not be able to deliver is a) if the business was no longer running for various reasons or b) to delay it due to us not being physically able to make it (ie in hospital etc)), however legally they owe you the prize. If they then refuse to give you the prize as described in the terms and conditions (ie no mention of you having to purchase your flights through them - the fact you have to get flights/transport is implicit in the comp as it's overseas, but not nec. theirs), they are acting illegally and there are penalties for this (as far as I am aware if we didn't deliver we would get a large fine from the governing bodies and probably taken to court by the competition winner and have to pay up for the cost of the prize and costs). At the end of the day, you and they have entered into a contract - you enter the competition in return for a chance of winning said competition as stated in the T&Cs. You have won, that is not in dispute, so they have to follow their own T&Cs.

(please no lawyers shout at me if I'm wrong - this is what I have been lead to believe by the business link/Gov agency advisor we have in to advise us on such things. I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong though, or perhaps we're just ultra moral and nice and would never dream of letting anyone down, especially if it's because we have made a mistake)

pboae

If it's the holiday on the Touareg website, it is up in Kiruna in Sweden. You can fly to Stockholm with one of the budget airlines, and then up to Kiruna with SAS (or take the train if you have time). It'll be nothing like £350, but you may have to try various dates to get a good deal with SAS, they have loads of offers that require a certain number of nights and things.

If you have to stay extra nights to get a cheap flight the http://www.yellowhouse.nu/ Yellow House hostel is really good, and very cheap. Although they call it a hostel it is split into two sections, one with dorms and one that is pretty much a hotel with private rooms.

EDIT: just realised it is actually run by the http://www.icehotel.com/ Ice Hotel You should do everything you can to get that holiday, it is worth a *lot* of money, and even if you do have to pay £350 for flights it would be worth it. The Ice Hotel is the most incredible place I have ever stayed in. It'll be a holiday of a lifetime. But the Ice Hotel isn't actually there at the moment, the new season won't start till Autumn/Winter.

crescend0

ok ta, the thing is i can't afford my own flights even if they are cheaper than £350! i bought some 1p tickets to milan for my girlfriend and i but never ended up going because i couldn't afford any accommodation there.

i'm about the reply with the following email:

"Good afternoon Charlotte!

As grateful as I am for you finally getting back to me with the itinerary, I'm not happy. £350 for flights? If I'd of known there'd be a charge for the prize I wouldn't of bothered. That'd mean I've won not a prize, but a discounted holiday, no matter how much the tickets for the Ice Hotel are. If I was the kind of bloke who had £350 to chuck around on a whim do you think I'd spend my free time sat on the internet drinking cups of tea and entering different free online contests?

"Win the trip of a lifetime and experience the amazing off-road capabilities of the Volkswagen Touareg yourself."

In the dictionary "trip" is defined as:
"–noun
1. a journey or voyage: to win a trip to Paris." (Or Sweden in this case)

I won a trip to Sweden didn't I? Or are you classing the trip as the journey in the car from the airport to the bloody hotel?

Nowhere in the T&Cs are a charge for plane tickets mentioned. I've been informed that you have no legal right to invoice me for flights and it would once again be a breach of your contract. In which case I'll be forced to pursue legal advice (again).

Please get back to me as soon as you can.
Luke"

if you've anything you thing i should add or retract please be my guest!

Dunners

I personally think it's a bit on the sarcastic side - as a PR girl myself this would get my back up a bit - can you not reword so it's a bit gentler whilst still making the same point?

Finch7

Dont say *bloody* thing is the person you are talking to probably isnt the one making the decisions so you need to be more gentle with what your saying.

I know its annoying and it seems you are getting no where, but i would try and help someone a bit more if they were being polite:)

good luck,

tamarto

Dunners wrote: »

I personally think it's a bit on the sarcastic side - as a PR girl myself this would get my back up a bit - can you not reword so it's a bit gentler whilst still making the same point?

I'd agree with ^^that, i'd definatly drop the part which says from the airport to the bloody hotel:rotfl:

crescend0

haha, ok fair enough. i'll drop the sarcasm!

crescend0

Good afternoon Charlotte!

As grateful as I am for you finally getting back to me with the itinerary, I'm not happy. £350 for flights? If I'd of known there'd be a charge for the prize I wouldn't of bothered. That'd mean I've won not a prize, but a discounted holiday, no matter how much the tickets for the Ice Hotel are. If I was the kind of bloke who had £350 to chuck around on a whim I wouldn't spend my free time sat on the internet entering different free online contests.

"Win the trip of a lifetime and experience the amazing off-road capabilities of the Volkswagen Touareg yourself."

In the dictionary "trip" is defined as:
"–noun
1. a journey or voyage: to win a trip to Paris." (Or Sweden in this case)

I thought I won a trip to Sweden didn't I? Or is the the trip classed as the journey in the car from the airport to the hotel? I'm not trying to be a pain, but I'm finding this all very frustrating.

Nowhere in the T&Cs are a charge for plane tickets mentioned. I've been informed that you have no legal right to invoice me for flights and it would once again be a breach of your contract. In which case I'll be forced to pursue legal advice (again).

Please get back to me as soon as you can.
Luke

?