What is the law concerning competition prizes?

Question

I won a good prize in a competition run by a national newspaper. They phoned me on Tue 17 Jul 2007 to tell me I'd won and my prize would be sent out within 28 days. They've published my name in the list of prize winners, but they haven't sent the prize.

Today is 44 days since they told me to allow 28 for delivery of my prize. I phoned to ask about it after the 28 days had come and gone and they said they hadn't dealt with it yet, but would be doing so very soon. I'm still waiting.

Can anyone tell me where I stand, legally, on this issue?

This is what I'm referring to :

http://www.metro.co.uk/gimme/article.html?in_article_id=57920&in_page_id=4

And this was my entry:

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=250260&fr=

Can you imagine how frustrated I feel. Until I get my prize, I have to bite my tongue about my "award winning film" and being an "award winning film maker" !!! tschah! (sorry.... couldn't help mysef)

I've read the rules but they were obviously written by the promoters themselves. It, surely, can't be right that the editor can overrule all the other rules at their whim.

Answer 1

You will probably have to wait. Your prize should come eventually. There are regulations on sweepstakes that do require that winners be notified and that winners be posted, but it is not unusual to wait for a prize and telling you on the phone that your prize will arrive in 28 days is no gyarantee. They could also mean 28 working days, which would exclude saturday, Sunday and any holidays.

Answer 2

Small print is put there for a reason and it is not there to benefit yourself. There will be some clause that has been written to establish that there is no obligation for the prize giver to pass on its goods for any certain amount of time, however. If there is no technicality or some clause within the small print, I may fathom the thought of false inducement.

I think that another law concerning your competition prize may derive from the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which basically states what it evidently says; to protect the consumer. Some statutory provision must have been passed in another endless Act of Parliament.

Another legal perspective could also tell you that your local newspaper is in fact acting negligent to the contracted terms and conditions of the competition they have set up. By telling you that they will send the prize and within 28 days, if contract clauses are set to this, and they haven't dealt with your prize yet one may assume that they have not carried out their set duty i.e. Negligence.

Answer 3

Most of these competitions nowadays have the "no purchase necessary" disclaimer on them. Did you buy that newspaper specifically in order to enter the competition?

It might be worth talking to your local police as well. If there is a clear case that you bought that paper specifically in order to enter the competition then there may be a case of deception for the publisher to answer.

Also talk to Trading Standards or Consumer Direct if you bought the paper specifically to enter the competition because there may be a case of misleading or false advertising for the publisher to answer.

Note the recurring "specifically" in each paragraph. Use it and I think you'll find that the paper will cough up your prize PDQ especially if you tell them that you will take the actions above if you have not received the prize within the next fourteen working days.

Answer 4

All competitions have a set of rules. These are usually published in tiny print. You will probably find that they are under no obligation to give you your prize.

Try writing a letter to the editor and mark it "for publication". It won't make the letters page, but internal p*ss-taking may speed things up.

Answer 5

It sounds like breach of contract to me.