A new boat for a fiver

[ditchcrawler]

All that glitters isn't gold it seems 

Million pound mistake? Why almost every Omaze dream home has been put up for sale (msn.com)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

All that glitters isn't gold it seems 

Million pound mistake? Why almost every Omaze dream home has been put up for sale (msn.com)

 

One problem is running a house like that. Energy costs and council tax would be much more than we currently pay and as there is only two of us we'd rattle around inside it too. We would defo. sell and buy something different (smaller) or bank the cash or possibly rent it out depending on area.

[Alan de Enfield]

Another unhappy 'winner' .......................

 

 

Awoman who thought she had won a £2million house in a competition was left 'heartbroken' after receiving only £5,000, she claims.

Loretta, a schoolteacher from Radford, Nottinghamshire, was declared the winner of the Win My Home competition for a luxurious property in Nottingham's Park Estate. The announcement was made in a 55-second video on the competition organiser's website. A woman is seen bearing flowers as she approaches Loretta's home and declares her the winner of their Nottingham prize draw, without specifying what the prize was.

The 35-year-old teacher expressed her heartbreak upon learning that instead of the house, she would be receiving a mere £5,000. "It was heartbreaking because my property at the moment is a death-trap, that's why I entered it," Loretta said. She claims she was unaware of a term listed on the website stating that if net sales did not reach £2.5m, the winner would receive 50 percent of the net proceeds.

 

Emails obtained by NottinghamshireLive revealed that the competition organisers claimed to have made a loss and awarded the £5,000 as a "goodwill gesture". They justified this by stating they had incurred nearly £200,000 in "marketing costs" and faced difficulties processing Visa payments "for a long time".

 

Win My Home, the company behind a high-profile prize draw, has remained silent despite being contacted for comment. The draw, which ran from March to August, tantalised participants with the prospect of winning a luxurious six-bedroom four-storey villa. The entry packages varied, ranging from 15 entries for a mere £10 to a whopping 1,000 entries for £350, with an additional option for one free postal entry. The announcement video, capturing the sheer joy of Loretta upon hearing she had won, was accompanied by a heartfelt statement.

 

 

The statement read: "...she and her husband have been looking to buy their first home together! We're so happy for you both and wish you all the best for your next chapter," followed by a quaint house emoji. However, speaking to NottinghamshireLive, Loretta, who chose to keep her surname private, recounted a different tale. "Two people came and they said 'yes you've won' and I was like 'yes, where are my keys?'" she said.

 

To her dismay, they informed her that she hadn't won the house but a cash prize of £5,000 instead. "I was like 'right, thanks' and they said 'unfortunately because we didn't raise enough money I can't give you the house'." Instead of the dream home, they offered to transfer the £5,000 directly into her bank account. Loretta and her husband, desperate to escape their council home plagued with "horrible" mould, were left disappointed. "All we're trying to do is get out of this property," she said.

 

Loretta entered the competition hoping for a fresh start and a new home. Instead, she found herself the centre of misplaced congratulations from well-meaning strangers who had seen her in the announcement video and mistakenly believed she had won the house. She went on to say: "People have got in touch with me saying congratulations, but I say 'don't congratulate me because I didn't win'. They say I'm lying." She pleaded for an end to the congratulatory messages, clarifying that while she was grateful for the £5,000 prize, it was not the windfall people assumed it to be.

 

She expressed her disappointment at the size of the prize, stating, "Even if they said we can't give you the house but here's £50,000, it's something. But £5,000? £5,000 now can't even get you gas and electrics." In response to Loretta's concerns, Win My Home clarified via email that their terms and conditions were "very explicit" about the winner receiving a percentage of the net profit if sufficient funds were not raised.

Regrettably, after nearly £200,000 in marketing costs and issues processing Visa payments, the company revealed there was no profit, and in fact, they made a loss. The company stated, "The amount that we have awarded actually came from our own personal pockets because, we wanted to award you something as a goodwill gesture and hoped that it would make a positive difference to your lives."

Win My Home concluded by expressing their relief at having resolved the financial issues that plagued the draw, optimistically stating, "there's a great chance that the next draw will be a huge success". The Mirror has contacted the company for comment.

Woman wins £2million house in competition but only got £5,000 after small print (msn.com)

[magnetman]

"there's a great chance that the next draw will be a huge success"

 

Maybe she should put the £5k on the next draw...Or Read The Small Print. 

[ditchcrawler]

A fat one this time as seen on Facebook

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

59 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

A fat one this time as seen on Facebook

 

And for those of us that don't 'so' farcebook

 

Are the T&Cs the same as previous competitions (if we don's sell enough tickets to cover the £180,000 cost then we will give the winner a £2.50 consolation prize).

[magnetman]

I like the way they say 'mortgage free'. 

 

Obviously a Good Thing but fails to mention that unless you want to live on a footpath you have to pay for a mooring and while a mortgage may seem terrible there is nothing quite as depressing as renting. 

 

So yeah! 

 

Cc ing is the answer here. 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

And for those of us that don't 'so' farcebook

 

Are the T&Cs the same as previous competitions (if we don's sell enough tickets to cover the £180,000 cost then we will give the winner a £2.50 consolation prize).

That I couldn't find, it was awfully muddled I thought

5 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

That I couldn't find, it was awfully muddled I thought

Here is the link Win a Luxury Houseboat worth £180,000 by Marwood Makes!

[StephenA]

17 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

That I couldn't find, it was awfully muddled I thought

on their main website.

 

Tickets are a tenner each with a sliding discount if you buy more.

35,000 tickets in total 23,308 available with 11,692 "sold"

If the competition is cancelled for any reason, you will receive a full refund.

 

No mention of what happens if they don't sell all the tickets.

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by StephenA

[Napton]

The previous raffle “Boat for a fiver” went very quiet after all the hype on vlogs and pushing tickets under everyone’s nose at Crick. I guess the vloggers who are so closely associated with Oakums were wary of getting into any sort of discussion in the aftermath. 
Good luck to anyone who wins this wide beam although I fear this may go the way of the other raffle.

[magnetman]

The other one was quite funny. Some people on there immediately spotted that it was a blatant advertising scam. 

 

Its obvious. What is curious though is how it can be legal to deceive people like that. One would think there would be a law of some sort against it. 

 

I'm sure people put their five pounds into it -thinking- that there was a boat to be won. If they knew there was not a boat to be won they would not have done it. 

 

Seems like fraud but apparently its alright. 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by magnetman

[cuthound]

It is amazing how many of these competitors there are.

 

This company sells tickets to raffle everything from cars to sets of kitchen knives.

 

https://www.revcomps.com/current-competitions/

[Cheese]

Marwood Makes t&cs are here:  https://marwoodmakes.com/terms-conditions

 

As StephenA says, no mention of what happens if they don't sell enough tickets.  But in "very exceptional circumstances" they can extend the Closing Date and Draw Date to a time of their choosing. So possibly just hold on to everyone's cash until they do!

[ditchcrawler]

On 02/09/2023 at 12:06, ditchcrawler said:

All that glitters isn't gold it seems 

Million pound mistake? Why almost every Omaze dream home has been put up for sale (msn.com)

Another news paper article about the homes Omaze horror stories - 'floods, unaffordable bills and mansion on brink of collapse' (msn.com)

[StephenA]

Two weeks on and the total number of tickets sold is 14,836  So 3200 sold in 14 days

[ditchcrawler]

On 27/10/2023 at 20:37, StephenA said:

Two weeks on and the total number of tickets sold is 14,836  So 3200 sold in 14 days

On special offer now 

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

Just had a video of this appear on my Instagram advertising the raffle with an insert of a guy called Alan Denman saying what a chance of a lifetime it is, now I can’t find it. I have seen Alan Denmans Youtube and wouldn’t really have anything to do with anything he promotes on the Canals.

 https://youtube.com/@AlanDenman13?si=wxzKBu5tibTwMIP2

Edited November 11, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[ditchcrawler]

Its still being pushed hard on FB

Didn't get round to watching his videos

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

Its still being pushed hard on FB

Didn't get round to watching his videos

Yes I keep getting short promotional videos on my Instagram, have had two today, but as I say the one with Alan Denman on has disappeared??

 The big draw November 30th.

 The boat even comes with a one year CaRT Licence, strange I thought licences weren’t transferable, so there’s another large outlay, widebeam with a CCing licence fee👍

[john.k]

Ads on facebook selling raffle  tickets in a "fabulous classic car " .......its the same model car I had in the 1970s .......and there was nothing fabulous about it.................However,I did know a guy who won one of these things legit .........penthouse apartment on the Gold Coast  ,three boats ,several luxury cars ,and some bikini clad wimmin.........I think they were optional .

[ditchcrawler]

How about this one But only 18 hours, I smell a rat 

Edited November 14, 2023 by ditchcrawler

[StephenA]

54 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

How about this one But only 18 hours, I smell a rat 

 

They've still got 1/3 of their tickets to sell....

 

[StephenA]

They claim they sold out 2 days early  and announced a winner on their FB page.

Edited January 14 by StephenA

[ditchcrawler]

I see the boat is not built yet. 

[john.k]

Corporate Affairs and Fair Trading cracked down on these scam artists here ......havent seen a shonky raffle on Fbook for coupla months now.............but there s a funny thing,if they get fined $200,000 ,will Fair Trading settle for a handfull of fivers?..........maybe sweeten the pot with six months jail.