Grandma's warning after entering thousands of postal draws

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Grandmother's stark warning after entering thousands of postal "prize draws"

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8 ... pensioner/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


A DEBT-RIDDEN grand- mother has issued a stark warning to pensioners not to respond to postal competitions offering cash prizes.

Helen Randall, 87, who lives in a rented flat in Bournemouth, said sending money to enter unsolicited prize draws has left her distraught and in debt.

Mrs Randall said her enthusiasm for the competitions had sparked a vicious circle in which she attempted to win back the money she had borrowed for entry fees.

“I must have spent thousands.

“At the moment, I owe £6,000 and I only get £440 a month from my pension.

“I’m in an awful mess. My doctor told me to stop sending money, but I couldn’t because I had put my family in debt.

“I couldn’t think of any other way to get back the money I had borrowed,” said Mrs Randall.

The grandmother-of-six said she had decided to speak out after recently returning home to scores of letters after being discharged from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital after treatment for a severe heart condition.

“It’s all a con. Don’t be like me. For 10 years, I’ve believed I would win. For 10 years, I’ve borrowed from family and friends.

“It’s eating my insides out knowing I owe this money and can’t pay it back. All I’ve got is a heart condition,” said Mrs Randall. Bournemouth Council’s principal trading standards officer, Andy Sherriff, said that in 20 years of working in consumer protection he had never encountered a winner in such competitions.

“There will always be some complicated small print explaining why you are not a winner at the moment, but how you could be if you enter.

“It’s a bit like giving everyone a raffle ticket and saying, ‘You are a winner’, but only if your ticket is drawn,” said Mr Sherriff.

He urged people receiving correspondence advising they had won a competition to throw the letters away.

[Lounge Lizard]

If only ten years ago she had realised that if something looks too good to be true then it almost certainly is too good to be true.

[dvbuk55]

If only ten years ago she had realised that if something looks too good to be true then it almost certainly is too good to be true.

A bit like the 2010 and Beyond Agreement - I mean that looked - well actually it looked like s**t to begin with. It managed to take in more people than you'd imagine though.................................. they couldn't all have been grandmas surely.

[andy2007]

It's a pity that no-one told her about this in time: http://www.thinkjessica.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These types of scams have been causing misery for years! But the Government isn't prepared to do anything about it, unless the perpetrators are based in the UK. And we CAN'T do anything about it. Why isn't there more publicity about this type of thing?

I know that there's a lot of "Silver Surfers" out there. But there are also a lot (probably the majority) who aren't on the 'Net. So they wouldn't be able to find help and advice, before it gets out of control!