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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
PuppyPerson · 09/12/2022 08:50

Berrystraw · 09/12/2022 08:35

I have always found complaining about small errors in community events and excellent way to remain friendless.

For me, this is the point. It's not a gambling-licence worthy competition for a high value prize. It was very likely a genuine error made at a community event. No one is trying to con OP out of a jar of sweets.

ArmWrestlingWithChasNDave · 09/12/2022 08:51

Dogue · 09/12/2022 08:01

Oh right I’ve mentioned the license laws now to them - whoops.

This is why you should never take anything vaguely resembling legal advice from Mumsnet. We have a lot of Judge Judy viewers who think they're lawyers.

MandyMotherOfBrian · 09/12/2022 08:51

Another OP posted something similar the other day - they’d won a nice bottle of some fancy gin or something I think - but similar to you the organisers kept putting them off and in the end they were also offered some ‘consolation Prosecco’. It must be a thing, and village fairs up and down the country are ordering cases of consolation Prosecco in advance and snaffling all the good prizes. I jest, but I’d be a bit miffed too, not least because I don’t like Prosecco.

SuperCamp · 09/12/2022 08:52

Do you live in the village?

Quoting the Lottery Laws at the committee volunteers will go down in history.

It is such a pain following up with people who leave before the prizes are announced. Yes they should have had better communication, and of course it is disappointing.

”Oh no! Was it the jar of sweets? My little boy would have been so excited, is there anything that can be done?” Would have been a better response.

KitKatKathy · 09/12/2022 08:53

Having spent a huge amount of my own time helping to organise a charity fair last weekend, I wouldn't be best pleased to receive a text message quoting legal lotteries regulations and I would probably tell you to take the price of a replacement jar out of my volunteers wages...

I understand you want the prize, but firstly, you are not sure that it was even the sweets that you won - maybe you didn't - and secondly, these are most likely volunteers trying to do a nice thing. People will stop volunteering altogether if they get threatened with legal terms for simply trying to raise twenty quid for a good cause.

BloodAndFire · 09/12/2022 08:53

DownToTheSeaAgain · 09/12/2022 08:50

There's a war in Ukraine, we are in the middle of a profound cost of living crisis and you want a beleaguered volunteer to magic up a few sweets she almost certainly doesn't have any more.

Perspective?

There needs to be a new equivalent of Godwin's Law for posts like this.

Às any thread gets longer, the probability of a self-righteous, hypocritical post pointing out that the subject of the thread is not as serious as the war in Ukraine approaches one.

Zelenskyy's Axiom?

gaf · 09/12/2022 08:53

Oh FFS, why does someone always pop up with ‘there’s a war in the Ukraine you know’.

🙄

DownToTheSeaAgain · 09/12/2022 08:55

gaf · 09/12/2022 08:53

Oh FFS, why does someone always pop up with ‘there’s a war in the Ukraine you know’.

🙄

Well because it is true. My point was don't sweat the small stuff. There really is more to life than a bag of sweets.

SomeBeings · 09/12/2022 08:59

It's annoying but I think I'd leave it be. Disappointing but probably a genuine error.

stuntbubbles · 09/12/2022 09:00

DownToTheSeaAgain · 09/12/2022 08:55

Well because it is true. My point was don't sweat the small stuff. There really is more to life than a bag of sweets.

Show quote history

Probably why the OP began “In the grand scheme of things I’m probably being petty”.

Tell you what would be really cheering in a bleak winter of bad news and cost of living and all the rest: winning a massive jar of sweets.

nomcachange · 09/12/2022 09:00

Her kid probably ransacked them and she can’t be arsed replacing it! I really hope ~I~ you get to the bottom of it OP :D

nomcachange · 09/12/2022 09:00

I

SuperCamp · 09/12/2022 09:00

Tbf you don’t know you won 1st prize for the sweets.

I once won a packet of stuffing, 4 years out of date, at a school Christmas Fair. A bottle of Prosecco would have been a welcome consolation prize.

nomcachange · 09/12/2022 09:00

No idea how to strike through text, clearly!

Bonbon21 · 09/12/2022 09:02

Someone upthread mentioned the war in Ukraine and perspectives...
The war in Ukraine is being fought for principles...

And this 'missing' prize is also all about principles... yes small scale.... but principles nonetheless...

Sarahcoggles · 09/12/2022 09:02

DownToTheSeaAgain · 09/12/2022 08:50

There's a war in Ukraine, we are in the middle of a profound cost of living crisis and you want a beleaguered volunteer to magic up a few sweets she almost certainly doesn't have any more.

Perspective?

Just because there are worse things happening, doesn't mean we're not entitled to be upset by smaller things. If only that were true, I'd never have bothered to upset myself over being dumped as a teenager because I could have worried about nuclear war instead!

Clymene · 09/12/2022 09:04

KitKatKathy · 09/12/2022 08:53

Having spent a huge amount of my own time helping to organise a charity fair last weekend, I wouldn't be best pleased to receive a text message quoting legal lotteries regulations and I would probably tell you to take the price of a replacement jar out of my volunteers wages...

I understand you want the prize, but firstly, you are not sure that it was even the sweets that you won - maybe you didn't - and secondly, these are most likely volunteers trying to do a nice thing. People will stop volunteering altogether if they get threatened with legal terms for simply trying to raise twenty quid for a good cause.

What's the nice thing they're doing? Keeping the prizes for themselves?

mum11970 · 09/12/2022 09:05

PuppyPerson · 09/12/2022 08:22

As someone currently spending most evenings organising a Christmas fair that is happening this weekend, which is entirely organised and run by volunteers, and is happening to raise money for charity and provide a nice time to the community, I think you are being unreasonable to cause a fuss over what is very probably an unfortunate mix up. These events are run by volunteers, so that people can have a nice time. I think you should try and get over it, it's a jar of sweets.

Have done many PTA raffles in years gone by and there is no reason this problem should occur. If the prize winner is not in attendance, at the time the winning ticket is drawn, the ticket should be immediately stuck to the item they won and a note immediately made of who won it. The prize and the contact details of the winner should remain with the same person. Their prize should never go missing.

PuppyPerson · 09/12/2022 09:05

Bonbon21 · 09/12/2022 09:02

Someone upthread mentioned the war in Ukraine and perspectives...
The war in Ukraine is being fought for principles...

And this 'missing' prize is also all about principles... yes small scale.... but principles nonetheless...

Maybe Putin's mum was cruelly cheated out of a jar of sweets that was (possibly) rightfully hers when he was a kid by scheming Christmas fair volunteers, and that's why he invaded Ukraine. Because 'principals'. 😐

Sarahcoggles · 09/12/2022 09:05

I've run loads of fundraising events when my kids were at primary school, and I'd have been mortified by a cock up like this. The whole point of fundraisers is that you want people to part with their money, in exchange for something (a prize, a show, whatever). If you don't provide that for them, then you may was well just knock on people's doors asking for cash for nothing! And just because someone is doing something as an unpaid volunteer, doesn't mean they're allowed to mess it up, any more than if they were being paid.

DownToTheSeaAgain · 09/12/2022 09:06

@Sarahcoggles point taken but the misplaced quoting of the lotteries act to a volunteer seems to me to be someone taking the whole thing a bit too seriously

mum11970 · 09/12/2022 09:08

KitKatKathy · 09/12/2022 08:53

Having spent a huge amount of my own time helping to organise a charity fair last weekend, I wouldn't be best pleased to receive a text message quoting legal lotteries regulations and I would probably tell you to take the price of a replacement jar out of my volunteers wages...

I understand you want the prize, but firstly, you are not sure that it was even the sweets that you won - maybe you didn't - and secondly, these are most likely volunteers trying to do a nice thing. People will stop volunteering altogether if they get threatened with legal terms for simply trying to raise twenty quid for a good cause.

It’s not difficult to give the prize to the correct person.

mum11970 · 09/12/2022 09:09

This exactly ☝️

mum11970 · 09/12/2022 09:10

Sarahcoggles · 09/12/2022 09:05

I've run loads of fundraising events when my kids were at primary school, and I'd have been mortified by a cock up like this. The whole point of fundraisers is that you want people to part with their money, in exchange for something (a prize, a show, whatever). If you don't provide that for them, then you may was well just knock on people's doors asking for cash for nothing! And just because someone is doing something as an unpaid volunteer, doesn't mean they're allowed to mess it up, any more than if they were being paid.

Sorry was supposed to quote this ☝️

diddl · 09/12/2022 09:11

Tbh I think it was odd to tell you that you'd won a prize "but she didn't know the details".

If she'd never said anything at all you'd be none the wiser!

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