to push for more from this high street company that lied and humiliated me?

[redrugroffle]

Sorry, name changing old timer to protect my RL identity on here (yawn, yes I know- please feel free to quiz me on MN howlers past and present)

I was shopping on a busy saturday in a chain. A lady approached me she was the manager.

She introduced herself and said she wondering if I would help her as she'd had no luck for the last hour and needed a candidate to take part in a radio phone in show- prizes/money going to charity and their staff and the chance to win an electrical appliance for myself???

I asked how long it would take and agreed as long as it would be swift as I felt a bit sorry for her - I also asked what charity it would be for and whether it would be filmed? She was vague and said she wasn't fully briefed on the details. She then laughed and said that this was very much the "style" of their company. That they were very up on motivation for the staff, crazy competitions, incentives etc. I took this on trust and they are a very big company.

We went to her office and the phone rang on speaker phone- radio guy with jingles in background etc- asks me where I'm from, age, name etc.

It was then put on handset and I had to answer a few qs and agree whether or not to perform some silly tasks (think Chris Evans old style larking) some I did some I refused (every refusal got money for the charity)

Anyway- fast forward 20 mins and I cut ot off (as I wanted to go and was stretched for time. I'd won ££ for charity, 2 prizes for the staff and a prize for myself to be collected from the store on the following Tuesday and £3000 worth of stuff.

I was really pleased and as I fundraise for a local charity I asked if my prize could be donated to my chosen charity as well as thiers (I've got no need for another toaster of cake mixer ) I was told we will see on Tuesday.

I arrive on Tuesday (this place is a 55 mile round trip for me)

The manager looks solemn. She takes me to the office and tells me she's been stupid, it was a hoax, nobody was coming in.

She gave me a £20 voucher for my girl (it was her birthday) and asked me to leave.

I've since called their customer services to demand an inquiry into her behaviour and to get some token for being humiliated, out of pocket and time.

They've not called me back.

They've said they're sorry but these things happen????

I've nobody except my close friend to asked and he advised me that he'd be going for the complete amount of things I was promised and to not compromise.

So your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I agree with wereofftoseethewizard. I am bored and annoyed with this now.

marking place!!! to be honest, I definitely suspect some kind of Anne Summers tassle dance was involved!!!!!!!!

I know this is slightly off-topic, but in reference to the earlier.poster who mentioned the fake car prize won on Radio Buxton...I actually worked on Radio Buxton at that time. The radio authority take these things very seriously, I assure you, if there was an actual radio station involved in the hoax.

Fwiw, I believe you op. Hope you get the outcome you are looking for!

To be fair to the OP, she only posted today. It's understandable that she would be wary of disclosing too much before there's more progress.

I just couldn't help speculating, that's all

What a weird scam though, I worked in retail for years and people will try anything.

Be careful about naming and shaming. If you've named and shamed here, the press are less likely to pick up the story as it wouldnt be exclusive!

inwiththeitcrowd - that was a different situation, a radio station played a prank on somebody. In this case there was no radio station.

The press wouldn't give a toss about this story.

No, I know Nancy... I was just excited that someone mentioned it :)

only got as far as page 6.

firstly it sounds like something you would see on that stupid phone jacker show.

secondly, i'd be interested to know how the manager knew it was a hoax when you arrived yesterday to collect your prize. how did she know? did she ring them back and they told her?and if so then what details does hse hold about them. did she ring them back and get no answer/dead line? and if so why automatically conclude that it was a hoax. i think it's odd that she was so sure it was a hoax and i'd want to know how she knew.

Does sound like a silly phone jacker type thing.

The charity thing is a bit strange but I guess the 'prize' wasn't supposed to be for charity it was op who requested it to be.

If you don't believe the OP, then piss off. This is a strange tale indeed, but nothing indicates to me that it is fiction. If I thought this was a Jackanory thread then I'd simply ignore - it's not doing any harm (unlike the smartarse troll callers).

As it happens though this gives me the perfect excuse for marking the thread, as I'm intrigued to find out what happens next. I get the impression that the poor shop manager was as taken in as the OP. I hope she doesn't get into too much trouble, poor woman.

Well it is all too strange, The Manager has been running round the shop for an hour looking for someone with no joy then suddenly she finds Op, Takes her to the office where the Phone suddenly rings? There must have been a reason WHY no-one else wanted to participate and a reason WHY the phone rang when she took op to the office? Was there a time they were calling back or did the manager call them to say 'ok I have someone'. It is all very odd indeed.

I would like to know why op thinks the charity should have got the money by now

It is very strange OP, and I hope you do manage to get some satisfactory answers.

How fucking gullible is that manager? We are not allowed to talk to the press, or give out charity stuff, of even fart without head office saying it's ok.Well, maybe that last is made up.
We aren't allowed to put local notices anywhere in store, despite relevance to what we sell ,without permission from head office.

Why not tell us the name of the store. Why the big secret if this did happen. And tell a national newspaper too. And I'd be giving Trading Standards a ring too.

I guess if the company has form for pulling "zany" stunts, that the manager has come to expect the unexpected.

I've been on MN for a good couple of years now, and this is one of the weirdest threads I can recall....

Stealth I am clearly a mug but didn't think any money would go to my charity immediately. I asked that they ring to pledge the amount-yesterday I wasn;t going to believe a single thing they said- so told them I WOULD be checking myself that they had called the chairty- the customer services lady said they would do it yesterday. I called the fund raising manager today- they made no pledge.

People do get taken in by things. That's what I meant in my earlier post by 'a plausible manner'. Therefore I've no reason to think OP is lying.

Most of us like to think the good of people. Which is good, isn't it? Because if not, where would we be?

I have an open mind. Tell us what's happened when you want, OP.

Why not? Because it might jeopardise the op's case. Hardly rocket science.

Naming and shaming is often a bad idea.

fwiw i totally believe you OP.

I don't think you can really expect any money to change hands until the truth has come out about this, and that includes any money pledged to charity after the shop has found out this was a hoax.

This has been a completely baffling thread in places, but I gather that the shop was probably duped as much as you were, in which case you can probably only request the items promised you from the hoaxer, if you find out who they are.

If you don't, it's not that it's going to kill me, is it?

Also if, as it appears possible, the store have also been duped then it would be very bad form (just as it is when any.company hasn't had full right of reply to a complaint against them).

Jenai - what case? She hasn't got one.