Loose Women Competition 19th - 30th May

Painkiller

cagsd wrote: »

I'm still baffled as to how buying a stamp equates to "free" entry.

A question I asked this time last year when the Tipping Point competition had a phone/text/postal entry route

Gambling Act 2005

[FONT=&quot]4 Free draws [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4.1 As stated in paragraph 2.4 above, an arrangement is a lottery only if the participants are required to pay to enter. Therefore, free draws always have been and remain exempt from statutory control. Schedule 2 to the Act gives details of what is to be treated as amounting to ‘payment to enter’ for the purposes of distinguishing free draws from lotteries. [/FONT]
4.2 The schedule envisages two circumstances. First, cases where there is only one entry route. Here, ‘free’ will include any method of communication (post, telephone or other) at a ‘normal rate’. ‘Normal rate’ is defined as ‘a rate which does not reflect the opportunity to enter a lottery’ (paragraph 5(2)(a) of Schedule 2). It includes ‘ordinary first-class or second-class post (without special arrangements for delivery)’ (paragraph 5(2)(b)). There can be no additional payment over what it would normally cost to use the particular method of communication. Any competition that fails this test is deemed to require ‘payment to enter’ and will be a lottery if the other two elements (chance and prizes) are also present.

mjm3346

cagsd wrote: »

I'm still baffled as to how buying a stamp equates to "free" entry.

There is no cost beyond the normal rate of postage, this is what they have to comply with -

cases where there is a choice of entry. Here, the arrangement will not be treated as requiring payment to participate in the arrangement and so will not be a lottery, if:

• each individual who is eligible to participate has a choice whether to do so by paying or by sending a communication

• that communication is either:

[FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT]a letter sent by ordinary post, again whether first or second class post

[FONT=Courier New,Courier New][FONT=Courier New,Courier New]o [/FONT][/FONT]or some other method which is neither more expensive nor less convenient than entering by the paid route. Again this method must be charged at the ‘normal rate’; there can be no additional payment over what it would normally cost to use that method of communication

• the choice is publicised so that it is likely to come to the attention of all those intending to participate

• the system for allocating prizes does not distinguish between those using either route.

came up here before

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/61391739#Comment_61391739

cagsd

Hmmm I get their point (and yours) but I dont' think they should call it free when it's plainly not.


And as someone else has said above, why make it one entry only for a postcard, but 6 (or god forbid, unlimited) entries for phone calls! Before you say it I know, it's to make money, but it's infuriating.


I don't think they're going to make as much money as they hope though, as the thousands of people who enter for free through here (and the likes of HUKD too) aren't suddenly going to start paying £6.00 per competition to enter it 6 times. ITV are kidding themselves if they think that's going to happen.

aurorablues

So basically they don't like the fact that the free web entry has surpassed the premium rate entry, and think that by taking that entry away all the people who entered online will now go nuts on the premium rate entries.

mjm3346

cagsd wrote: »

Hmmm I get their point (and yours) but I dont' think they should call it free when it's plainly not.


And as someone else has said above, why make it one entry only for a postcard, but 6 (or god forbid, unlimited) entries for phone calls! Before you say it I know, it's to make money, but it's infuriating.


I don't think they're going to make as much money as they hope though, as the thousands of people who enter for free through here (and the likes of HUKD too) aren't suddenly going to start paying £6.00 per competition to enter it 6 times. ITV are kidding themselves if they think that's going to happen.

I think they are required to call it free.

A quoted e-mail says one entry, the T&Cs do not (pay entries are unlimited)

They have presumably carried out enough research/trials to show the extra cost of mail handling is more than offset by the increase in revenue which will not just be from perhaps a few people switching* from free entries but also from people who enter more now the limit on entries has been dropped and there may even be some extra entries now they are often draws without any question to answer.

They tried a few with no free entry route which meant there had to be a proper skill element so there was a second random question to answer if you got the normal easy one correct, I suspect as a result the drop in paid entries was quite large.

*The mse weekly e-mail which goes out to 8,000,000 plus will almostly certainly have had some people switching to web and they are most likely just to switch back.

JessicAhh

I think the gambling act is pretty out of date...

In 2005, 55% of households were online.
In 2005, 35% of adults used the internet daily.
In 2005, a first class stamp cost 30p.

In 2014, 83% of households are online.
In 2014, 73% of adults use the internet daily.
In 2014, a first class stamp costs 62p.

The Act just hasn't moved with the times.

mjm3346

JessicAhh wrote: »

I think the gambling act is pretty out of date...

In 2005, 55% of households were online.
In 2005, 35% of adults used the internet daily.
In 2005, a first class stamp cost 30p.

In 2014, 83% of households are online.
In 2014, 73% of adults use the internet daily.
In 2014, a first class stamp costs 62p.

The Act just hasn't moved with the times.

True but as long as postal is still considered universal then broadband will never catch up (70% of women over 75 have never accessed the internet Q2 2013)

JessicAhh

mjm3346 wrote: »

True but as long as postal is still considered universal then broadband will never catch up (70% of women over 75 have never accessed the internet Q2 2013)

Yes, that's a fair point... And then there's the argument of how to 'cost' the internet entries, e.g. if someone buys an internet package for £20 a month that they only use for comping entries, then does that mean each entry costs £20/X entries, etc.

Postal will always be deemed 'universally accessible', due to the fact we have post boxes everywhere, and can buy stamps virtually anywhere these days. It doesn't take into account the 'accessibility' vis-a-vis financial ability to buy the stamps etc.

Still. No method is going to work for everyone, I guess. And postal entries aren't so bad: the majority of us who are willing to pay 62p for an entry are able to do so. And for those that don't want to, there are always other comps to enter.

PlymouthMaid

Disappointing news and what a waste of paper too with all those bits of card winging their way to ITV. I wont be entering any postal ones at all.

BlueBella

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

Disappointing news and what a waste of paper too with all those bits of card winging their way to ITV. I wont be entering any postal ones at all.

I was thinking that too - not very environmentally friendly and more work for the Royal Mail! :eek: Too much post goes missing too!