I received a phone call from a Prize Claim Office informing me that I was a grand prize finalist in a sweepstakes for a Lincoln Navigator (valued at nearly $50,000). I would have hung up, except I vaguely remembered entering such a sweepstakes 6 months ago (something I rarely do). So, I listened and asked a lot of questions, being very skeptical of things that sound too good to be true. I was told that I had definitely won one of the following prizes:
2008 Lincoln Navigator
$2500 cashiers check
32-inch flat screen TV (Sharp brand), $800 value
8-day trip to Florida or Bahamas, all expenses paid, including airfare, lodging, meals and beverages
Note that I received most of the details by asking detailed questions. Only when I asked several times who sponsored the sweepstakes was I told about Westgate - an "entertainment complex" in Gatlinburg. I specifically asked if it was a timeshare deal. Answer/lie: No. Do I have to attend a sales presentation? Answer/lie: No. Do I have to tour anything? Answer/lie: No. I was told that all I have to do is show up at a certain date/time, which I could pick, and would choose a scratch-off card that would reveal which of the prizes I had won. I requested confirmation and directions by email twice and never received them (should have tipped me off).
Anyway, I went this past week with my little sister from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program (she was with me when I registered for the so-called sweepstakes). I drove 1.5 hours to Gatlinburg and found the resort. It's an ugly fake stone/fake log looking place, by the way. There were hordes of people in a huge sales room sitting at table with sales people. I knew then that there was no Lincoln Navigator in my future.
We were sent downstairs to register, and I was asked by the young manager for my credit card. I asked "What for?" He said " for any incidental charges." I told him that I was just there to pick up my prize for the sweepstakes, that I wouldn't be staying long enough for any incidental charges. Anyway, to make a long story short, he told me that we would have to stay for a 1.5-hour sales presentation and meet with a salesperson. I very firmly stated what I had been told on the phone and that I was not interested in a timeshare. I asked what were my chances of winning the car. He said most people won the vacation. The cash prize, he said, was "small, " not $2500. He couldn't confirm any details about the TV. I asked him to confirm what I had been told about all expenses being paid for the vacation. He said no, they never paid for airfare, and it wasn't 8 days in the Bahamas, but he couldn't really tell me what was included or where it was. I insisted on knowing what I was going to waste 1.5 hours on—after already taking time off from work and driving 1.5 hours from Knoxville. Note that I was polite but firm.
Finally, he took me into another room, where my little sister is sure that he gave the other employee a signal, and she handed me a stack of scratch-off cards from which to choose (all, we think containing vacation cards). He was wise enough to not waste any more of my time, nor his sales people's. Anyway, I scratched and "won" the vacation. We were handed 2 glossy color sheets describing our vacation:
2 days in Orlando, 2 days in Daytona - would have to pay $50, included only lodging, would have to attend sales presentations at both locations, lots of restrictions
3 days in the Bahamas - would have to pay $330, included only the 5-hour boat ride to Bahamas from Ft Lauderdale and 3 nights lodging there—no airfare, meals, etc.
So much for our "prize"! At least I didn't give them a chance to tell me more sales lies and convince me to buy a crappy timeshare. And I was able to teach my little sister a valuable lesson: if it sounds too good to be true, it is!
Myra
Knoxville, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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