Prize Chasing?

ChamomileTao

Okay, can we please share what we say when we chase up a prize?

I mean how to sound totally inoffensive whilst at the same time making it clear you won't go away.

I think it might be useful to have a thread dealing with this for reference :mad::A:T.:(

xLuckyxAshxWinsx

I chased up a win from a blog after the 28 days.

I just said 'sorry to bother you but do you know if the prize has been sent at all please? Just wanted to make sure it hadn't got lost in transit as I thought it would have arrived by now'

mjm3346

I wait at least 6 weeks (unless they have said contact them sooner), from well over 600 wins I have chased up less than 1% and only once have I needed to follow up with a second reminder - always simply polite, making them aware I haven't received the prize and looking forward to their response does it for me.


(I tend to stick to what I consider to be reputable sites and generally don't touch blogs)

LeeRits

I've only ever had to chase up 2 wins. I waited a month from the day I received the WEM and then sent a polite message just asking if it had been sent yet, both times I got a reply within 24 hours saying they'd chase it up with the PR company and both times received the prize a few days later.

zoold

I won a comp from JYSK almost 2 yrs ago. Have chased up many times and the last response I got was:

Hi Kerry,

Firstly, please accept my apologies, your matter has only recently been brought to my attention.
I will ensure you do redeem the £250 gift card prize you have won and are entitled to.

Given your location is a significant distance from our nearest store, I recommend you make and pay for your desired articles on JYSK.co.uk.
As soon as your order is confirmed as dispatched my colleague Kim Blackwell, JYSK UK Finance Manager, will refund you, matching your exact spend up to a maximum of £250.
Please note the maximum £250 we refund WILL include the delivery charge.

If you would like to spend a total of more than £250, then of course, you are free to do so.

Please confirm when you have placed your order together with your order number so that Kim can follow this up.

I didn't think I had to pay to claim my prize? Needless to say I just left it!

mjm3346

zoold wrote: »

I won a comp from JYSK almost 2 yrs ago. Have chased up many times and the last response I got was:

Hi Kerry,

Firstly, please accept my apologies, your matter has only recently been brought to my attention.
I will ensure you do redeem the £250 gift card prize you have won and are entitled to.

Given your location is a significant distance from our nearest store, I recommend you make and pay for your desired articles on JYSK.co.uk.
As soon as your order is confirmed as dispatched my colleague Kim Blackwell, JYSK UK Finance Manager, will refund you, matching your exact spend up to a maximum of £250.
Please note the maximum £250 we refund WILL include the delivery charge.

If you would like to spend a total of more than £250, then of course, you are free to do so.

Please confirm when you have placed your order together with your order number so that Kim can follow this up.

I didn't think I had to pay to claim my prize? Needless to say I just left it!

"Thank you for your kind offer however as I am frequently in the area of your xxxx store it is quite easy for me to spend in-store so I look forward to receiving my gift card without further delay."

jonesMUFCforever

A lot will depend on where you find the competition - there are so many fake comps on Facebook for instance - where you will never get your prize but they will sell your details on for a fee!

Midnighter

mjm3346 wrote: »

... from well over 600 wins I have chased up less than 1% and only once have I needed to follow up with a second reminder - always simply polite, making them aware I haven't received the prize and looking forward to their response does it for me.

I've rarely had to chase up a prize, but when I have I've just sent a very polite email querying whether the prize has been posted. It's usually sorted with a single email, but I did have one were it took a year's worth to the magazine concerned before I finally received the prize. First they claimed they'd forgotten to pass winner's details on to the promoter, followed by about ten months of ignoring emails, and finally they stated that the promoter had been without a PR person for the previous year... and included the new PR person's email. She was only too happy to help and had the book out to me within a week!

This question does make me curious as to what other MSErs have won, not received and haven't bothered to chase up? I've had a runners-up prize of a blu-ray not turn up. I wasn't bothered as I didn't have a blu-ray player, hence me entering for the first prize which was one; A film poster, again not particularly bothered as it was a single item from a larger merchandise bundle; and a personalised razor handle, which I seem to vaguely recall was due to the company sending more 'You've Won!' emails out than prizes originally listed. Which was actually more annoying.

hdh74

I wait at least a month then start with a polite, 'Hi, I won xxx with you on xxx and was wondering if you could let me know when it might be despatched please?' - sometimes I'm told it has been and not come, sometimes an apology ensues, sometimes they just say another x weeks or whatever. Depending on how I perceive the answers I will continue to be very polite and patient or will get a little firmer with each communication if I need to.

I have had to take it to the ASA twice. Once was successful (£400 cash so well worth the effort) and the other was for a handbag from a facebook page - the Company spun the ASA a line which the ASA couldn't actually disprove but the Company also deleted their FB page as a result (why they couldn't just send the ruddy bag I don't know).
I've written a few off though when the prizes were small and I couldn't be bothered. One blogger deleted her whole blog rather than pay me a tenner... One on instagram offered an outfit for myself and a friend - the picture showed a nice outfit and pair of shoes. I was faffed around for ages and eventually sent two random outfits which were ugly, in random sizes ('I didn't have the sizes you wanted so I sent the next best I had') and was told the shoes weren't part of the prize anyway. I was ill at the time and the person I was dealing with was so obviously inept I'm pretty sure their small business will vanish soon anyway so meh....