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Original poster

to want the prize I won??

463 replies

Dogue · 09/12/2022 07:28

In the grand scheme of things I’m probably being petty, but this has really annoyed me -

our village had a Christmas fair last Saturday. On Monday I had a missed call from a mobile number which turned out to be the organisers of the event. I rang back and she said was ringing to tell me I’d won a prize, but that she was out at the moment so didn’t have details but would ring me back in half an hour to let me know.

I didn’t hear back from her on Monday so I called again on Wednesday (didn’t get a chance on Tuesday) and she said the same again - someone would call me back later with details of what I’d won and how to collect.

by Thursday I still hadn’t heard from them so I texted the number about it. I got the reply: “sorry, all prizes had to be collected by Wednesday. We can give you a bottle of Prosecco as a consolation”

I’m so annoyed that I wasn’t given any opportunity to collect my prize on time. From memory the only thing I think I put my phone number down for was when my 6 year old entered the ‘guess how many sweets in the jar’ so I was really excited to tell him he had won. I’m not really bothered about having a massive jar of jellies in my house, but if that’s what we’ve won then it’s what I want! When I told her this she said she would make sure there’s a consolation prize for him too, but that’s no use really as it means I don’t get the loveliness of telling him his guess was the winner.

obviously there are much bigger things to worry about in the world right now, but it’s a bit shit and terrible organisation right??

OP posts:
Original poster
Dogue · 09/12/2022 16:22

156! 😂 Definitely something fishy going on considering the guess above ours on the sheet was 100. And like someone said here above, it’s very clear they’ve just poured two big bags of sweets in here because the two different types aren’t mixed up at all. I’m almost certain it’s an entirely different jar.

But despite all that, it was totally worth it for the pure joy on DS’s face when I told him we’d won!

OP posts:
ifIwerenotanandroid · 09/12/2022 16:26

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/12/2022 14:36

Whenever your paths cross in the future, never use her real name - always address her as 'Sweetie' every single time!

Yes! Love a bit of PA revenge.

MargaretThursday · 09/12/2022 16:33

Similar happened to me when I was 6yo at the school fair. I got the right number of smarties in the jar. But they looked at the list and didn't notice my name and read out someone else's.
Dm spoke to the head and he apologised and took me over to the sweet stall and told me to just tell him what sweets to put in the bag and I could have what I wanted.

Well, for a child who wasn't normally allowed sweets that was fantastic. I chose the most gooey revolting sweets that dm normally hated. She didn't mind smarties as they were mostly chocolate, and her face was a picture of "oh dear". 🤣 It was wonderful!

Glad he got his sweets in the end.

KarenOLantern · 09/12/2022 16:37

I'm irrationally angry about this on your behalf. On the one hand it's just a jar of cheap sweets, but on the other hand someone BRAZENLY and SHAMEFACEDLY tried to STEAL a PRIZE from your LITTLE BOY. I'd be raging!

I really like the idea of going to the local paper, practicing your best compo face, shaming the sweet-thieving sods.

mcmooberry · 09/12/2022 16:38

Well done for getting them, don't let the organiser's unfriendliness spoil the win, they behaved very badly, not you.

BringBackFoilWrappers · 09/12/2022 16:40

Wow they've clearly either given you a different jar or eaten a ton of the sweets.
Still better than nothing I suppose.

ScribblingPixie · 09/12/2022 16:44

Well done, OP. Your little boy will remember his win & it's great that you fought to get him his proper prize. Top mum!

cansu · 09/12/2022 17:26

Seriously? Get over it. Pick up your bottle of plonk and sweets. Give the poor people a break. All this drama over a bloody raffle.

ilovesushi · 09/12/2022 17:30

I had a similar-ish thing with a PTA raffle. Still not quite over it! 😂

My winning number was called but two other women came up to the front to claim the prize - lunch for two at a super expensive restaurant - think James Bond-esque / helipad expensive!. I showed my ticket thinking they are going to feel so embarrassed about getting mixed. Turns out they had adjacent numbers to mine (I was cheap and only got one ticket not a whole line!) and for some reason they thought it should be theirs because the tickets appeared on the same line in the raffle book. Still not a clue about the workings of their logic or how they knew this!

PTA people put their heads together to discuss. I just waited patiently off to the side for them to come to the obvious conclusion that my number was called so the prize was for me. I waited and waited. These women got more and more het up. Then in a flush of generosity, who knows why, I suggested we share the prize and all go out for lunch together. But no that was rejected and the PTA decided the only fair way was to draw our three tickets again. I was slightly aghast but complied.

I didn't win on the second draw. Went back to my table prizeless (it was a dinner and hoe down - if you are reading lunch thief mums, I haven't forgotten!) Rest of my table were appalled and couldn't understand how or why I had just rolled over and given up my prize. I was just so certain that it was blindingly obvious that I had won I didn't bother to stick up for myself.

A few years after, I did get to eat at that restaurant once and it was incredible but it maybe made it even worse that I had been robbed of that first lunch. I don't do raffles anymore. Happy to give to a good cause, but no raffles.

Fight for your prize!

Noideaatall · 09/12/2022 17:42

oh god, this is clearly a thing! I left a school fair once before the raffle, one of the mums in our class texted me and told me I'd won a large food hamper. I was so excited. When I went to collect they handed me a few hair products in a bag. I was a bit Confused but the other mum said she must have made a mistake. Hmm.

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 09/12/2022 17:47

cansu · 09/12/2022 17:26

Seriously? Get over it. Pick up your bottle of plonk and sweets. Give the poor people a break. All this drama over a bloody raffle.

No YOU get over it.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/12/2022 17:52

the trick to the "guess the number of sweets" thing is to hide in the centre of the jar either a bunch of those tiny rolled-up tubes of violet sweets (counting each tube as 16 sweets so a handful can be 100) or some enormous gobstoppers - then fill all the space around that is visible with more average sized sweets.

I wouldn't put it past some organisers to put a jumbo kitchen roll tube in the middle, where you can't see it, and then pack around it. Like the 'display' packs of food you get in supermarkets where the bit you can see looks lovely but 'co--incidentally', there's always a really bad bit (or nothing at all) under the part where the label is.

Gwenhwyfar · 09/12/2022 17:53

"I wouldn't want Prosecco as an alternative price when the original was sweets."

I would though and it's likely to be worth more than a chocolate selection box.

cansu · 09/12/2022 17:58

No you get over it. Is this panto??

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/12/2022 17:59

"I wouldn't want Prosecco as an alternative price when the original was sweets."

I would though and it's likely to be worth more than a chocolate selection box.

Depends on the kind and number of sweets; but 'guess how many sweeties' competitions are clearly targeted at children, so Prosecco is useless as a prize for them, however much its cash value.

Reminds me of this!
twitter.com/fakeshowbiznews/status/1568663128975745024

Needmorelego · 09/12/2022 18:01

@Gwenhwyfar I wouldn't enter a competition if the prize was Prosecco. I would have no use for it.
I only enter competitions or raffles if I actually want the prize.
The prize here was sweets. I like sweets so I would enter that.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/12/2022 18:07

I only enter competitions or raffles if I actually want the prize.

I remember a news story from Germany from ages ago, when Take That were quite new on the scene and worldwide heart-throbs. There was a highly-promoted competition with the prize being to spend the whole day with TT and there were obviously hordes of teenage girls who were crying in desperation as they soooo wanted to win it.

The winner was drawn and it turned out to be a middle-aged woman who'd never even heard of TT, but she just entered every single competition that she stumbled across!!

PuppyMonkey · 09/12/2022 18:08

Stand down @cansu , she got her true prize, which you’d know if you RTFT. No need for a fight…Grin

Gwenhwyfar · 09/12/2022 18:09

Needmorelego · 09/12/2022 18:01

@Gwenhwyfar I wouldn't enter a competition if the prize was Prosecco. I would have no use for it.
I only enter competitions or raffles if I actually want the prize.
The prize here was sweets. I like sweets so I would enter that.

But you can always give a bottle of Prosecco as a gift.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/12/2022 18:09

No you get over it. Is this panto??

Stand down cansu , she got her true prize, which you’d know if you RTFT. No need for a fight…

Yep, it's behind you now.

amonsteronthehill · 09/12/2022 18:12

Someone has behaved badly ... possibly had her own children who wanted it.

JustCakeInDrag · 09/12/2022 18:12

Prosecco is cheap plonk. I would be willing to bet that the original large jar with 400-odd sweets cost more than the consolation bottle of Prosecco.

Gwenhwyfar · 09/12/2022 18:14

JustCakeInDrag · 09/12/2022 18:12

Prosecco is cheap plonk. I would be willing to bet that the original large jar with 400-odd sweets cost more than the consolation bottle of Prosecco.

Really?
i'd like to see your calculations. They'll be bargain basement sweets.

JustCakeInDrag · 09/12/2022 18:19

Gwenhwyfar · 09/12/2022 18:14

Really?
i'd like to see your calculations. They'll be bargain basement sweets.

Show quote history

And it’ll be bargain basement Prosecco too!

Gwenhwyfar · 09/12/2022 18:22

JustCakeInDrag · 09/12/2022 18:19

And it’ll be bargain basement Prosecco too!

Show quote history

And it can still be gifted.
To whom could you gift 400 sweets? No adult would want them and the parents wouldn't be happy if you gave a child so much sugary shit.