bicycleKICK

Well, back on April seccond http://www.echo.com emailed me and told me I had won a computer. I was extatic. They told me I would get it in 4-6 weeks. I decided that wasn't unreasonable, and moved on.

6 weeks later I called them up and asked what was going on, she said instead of the 4-6 it was going to be a total of 6-8. I accepted that and moved on. After 8 weeks, I called her up and asked where it was and she said "two more weeks max and the reason it's taking so long is we changed rewards providers". I was frustrated, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Now, after waiting those 2 weeks, I called her up today and she says "yeah, we're looking at another 4-6 weeks" I said "yeah, sure sounds like your kickin me around the bush." She says "I'm not kicking you around anything, it's just taking longer than expected" I said "So what's the deal if I don't ever get this computer" She says, "You'll get the computer, you don't have to worry about that, it's just taking a little longer than expected" I asked if there was anyone at a higher position and she said that she was the head of rewards, so no, she is it.

Argh man, argh!

Any suggestions?

here is the computer i 'won'

Race PIII 1GHz, 256MB, 20GB, 12X DVD, 12X10X32X CDRW, NIC, 19 Inch Monitor,
Klipsch Speakers; Logitech WingMan Force- The Ultimate Force Feedback
Joystick; Logitech Wingman Formula Force; Minolta Color PageWorks Ex Color
Laser Printer; Acer 640P 48-Bit 600dpi Flatbed Scanner and USB Digital Color
Video Camera w/ Software.

TheLoneGunman

They are waiting until it is obsolete and they can buy it on Half.com for cheap!


If you want to sue them, I can help.

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bicycleKICK

I don't really know my legal rights and all, so fill me in here, what could I do and how much would it cost to do it and how much could I get?

TheLoneGunman

Small Claims Court in California costs $20 + expenses to serve them.

I have several pending cases in the bay area (see my thread about Egghead).

Probably published cost of system (it should be listed in the rules) plus additional damages.

Mezpin

If you SUE someone over a FREE computer, that's pretty weak. It's only been 2 months anyway. Even rebates take longer than that.

Mezpin

TheLoneGunman

Why exactly is it "weak"?

It is not like he took advantage of a mispriced item. He listed to their poor excuse of internet radio, allowed himself to be spammed by their greedy advertisers, allowed his identity to be promoted as a "winner" and then received nothing for it.

If you went to the site, you might be suckered into using the service because of the contest. You would look at it and say "Well BicycleKICK won, so maybe I can win too."

As far as the time to wait, I am sure people would take the opposite position if he just waited. They would say "Why did you wait 4 months to complain? It is your own fault they won't pay off" I believe 8 weeks is much more than reasonable in this case. I haven't researched the laws yet, but I don't think you can run a contest without actually having the prize or cash to buy the prize immediately on hand.

If you had won $1000 in the lottery, would you just kick back and let them take months (if at all) to pay you? How would you feel if I called you "weak" for wanting to collect your prize? I see no difference in this situation.

Mezpin

I actually agree with you on the parts I didn't quote. BicycleKICK is very much entitled to receive his new computer. I'm not advocating inaction. I'm all for calling the company everyday until they're so sick of you they get the prize out the door just to stop hearing your voice.

I just think it's bull**** to take them to court after 2 months and seek "additional damages" over a free prize. I'm sure these last 8 weeks have given way to permanent emotional damage. If it was a vacation somewhere on a specified date and you take time off work and the tickets never show... maybe that's damage. But in a gaming rig, I don't see that.

I'm always for trying to settle things directly with the other party. I say give them a call and talk openly with them about a lawsuit. "My friends are telling me to sue. Tell me why I shouldn't." Have them explain the situation in detail. Maybe they ARE trying in good faith to get the prize; maybe they're not. Sometimes things don't go as they planned. But the next contact with the company shouldn't be with a court summons or through a lawyer.

Imagine that you're organizing an event and you give out raffle tickets as a door prize. One of your sponsors is generously donating the grand prize and they totally flake on you. Now you're stuck finding someone else to provide the prize and now someone has slapped down a lawsuit over a prize they got just for showing up.

What I'm saying is give them some slack. Besides, you'd be nuts to think that you'd get your prize in under 4 weeks through a court settlement anyway. When they show up at the courthouse, they usually don't leave your prize in the car just in case you win.

I guess for having my eyes set on law school, I'm pretty against taking legal action. Hehehe.

Mezpin

Whoops. Edited because it all came out in bold.

bicycleKICK

Right. I have no intentions of sueing them at the time being, and I wouldn't think about it until the end of the summer. It would be 5 months by then and if they can't hook me by then I can't see them ever doing it without a little 'assistance'.

I'm thinking about calling them everyday, but that gets kind of annoying to do even for me. I dunno.

Grimm

I'm all for the calling them every day option. Call them again and point out that you are actualy taking a loss with their delay. The value of the prize is depreciating rapidly as new, faster processors and other components come our every few weeks.
Ask for a firm date, after which they can take some other compensatory action, sending you a check for the original value or placing you an order through a reputable manufacturer. You have already waited a reasonable time.
When someone tells you they are in chare, ask who they report to. Ask if you can speak to that person.

Good luck.

Doomer

Man, don't let them cheat you out of a free computer. That would be the pits.

Paladin

That computer they are "Giving away" is way too good. Maybe a regular PIII 1GHZ but with all of that **** on there? They are just making it up. Hope you get that rig. If not, Go down shooting.

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