You've won Airfare and a Hotel Stay for 2!

[Kelemvor]

I get these letters in the mail every so often telling me I've won a trip and a gift card and things like that and all I have to do is call the 800 number to claim my prize.

Anyone ever called and what did it end up being? I'm sure it's something where you have to sit through a high pressure sales pitch or something but never bothered to pick up the phone and see what was on the other end.

 

[SonnyDaze]

I called. Once. It was a sales pitch. IIRC, they wanted me to drive 45 minutes away to a hotel for a "seminar" on time shares.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

timeshare

 

[rgwalt]

For me it was a pitch for a buyer's club

 

[Kelemvor]

So for those that have called, did you go sit through the speech and collect your prize or just say No right up front?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

So for those that have called, did you go sit through the speech and collect your prize or just say No right up front?

It's more than just sitting thru a 'seminar' at a local hotel. Once you get there, you have to participate in several more brain washing sessions, I mean 'seminars' or you end up paying for the trip.

My wife and I researched one for a timeshare at a nice resort but after being annoyed by multiple reps before during and after the initial seminar, we decided to cut our losses and didn't go to the resort.

They have your entire itinerary laid out and you may get 2 or 3 free hours a day that aren't scripted by the company.

 

[Aharami]

did that once. got a free 10 day vacation to Orlando, Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, and Grand Bahama Island. But had to sit thru NUMEROUS timeshare sales pitches (we pretended to be poor college students), and the fuckers put my cell phone on some auto dial list which called me three times a day for a few months. Free vacation was totally worth it, all the hassle afterward, not so much. I doubt I'll ever do it again (even if I wanted to, wife will not go for it)

 

[vailr]

Rule of thumb: never respond to any "please call this 800 number to claim" offers.