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Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

thehustle.co

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Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#141

Post by joncrane »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130
Animats wrote: post #9

Since this is a California on-site thing, California sweepstakes law applies.[1] - "The exact nature and approximate value of the prizes must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when they are offered." - "The law prohibits the company from misrepresenting the odds of receiving any item offered." - Prohibited: "Failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented." Online complaint form here…

I'm frankly surprised these aren't being blown out of the water by litigation. One might even be able to make the argument that the mall operator, timeshare commission payers, et cetera are complicit.

Prosecutors' offices have other incentives. Keep in mind that the chief prosecutor in any given jurisdiction is likely often egotistical, ambitious individuals. Also, there are plenty of more serious and/or complicated crimes going on in any given jurisdiction.

Also keep in mind these scams tend to occur in well-populated areas.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#142

Post by FactolSarin »

pwg wrote: post #99
quickthrower2 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the scam? "Free flight" if you buy the timeshare or something?

Roping the unsuspecting into an incredibly expensive time-share using hard-sell boiler-room tactics without ever being up-front about the true costs. I sat through one of these once, curious about how it was going to go, and with the intent going in of not ever buying anything anyway. They present the timeshare as if it costs only pennies a day, and never admit to the true cost unless pressed very hard (and even then…

My wife and I had a lot of trouble having children, and went to Mexico for IVF. Although we were staying in Cancun, we basically had no money. We had planned on just lounging on the beach for a week, but several different groups were offering free little day trips to different destinations if you set through a timeshare presentation.

We ended up doing that three times, and even knowing what I was getting into ahead of time I found their "hard sell" tactics both persuasive and exhausting. I didn't get roped into anything, but I can definitely see how it happens.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#143

Post by jsjohnst »

pc86 wrote: post #135
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm frankly surprised these aren't being blown out of the water by litigation. One might even be able to make the argument that the mall operator, timeshare commission payers, et cetera are complicit.

Mall operator, really? They're renting space in the mall out, that's it.

Read up on accessory laws in the US. Not saying it’s an open and shut case, but there is enough grey area that a DA wanting to make a name for themself for political gain could easily justify trying.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#144

Post by monochromatic »

pc86 wrote: post #135
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm frankly surprised these aren't being blown out of the water by litigation. One might even be able to make the argument that the mall operator, timeshare commission payers, et cetera are complicit.

Mall operator, really? They're renting space in the mall out, that's it.

If they rented that space out to a brothel, would they be liable?

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#146

Post by jsjohnst »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #38
coldtea wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Prohibited: "Failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented." They can't mock-award it to someone of their own?

I'm fairly sure there's federal laws that forbid that. Of course, it's not a crime if you don't get caught. Plus there's a small sub-story in the article about someone that did win a Tesla, but couldn't afford the taxes they had to pay to actually get it. You can win a car but you have to be able to pay taxes and insurance for it, too.

That example was in Vegas were in casinos they do have legit give aways of cars. I use the term legit a bit loosely, you really can win, but the odds are highly unlikely.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#147

Post by djsumdog »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #38
coldtea wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Prohibited: "Failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented." They can't mock-award it to someone of their own?

I'm fairly sure there's federal laws that forbid that. Of course, it's not a crime if you don't get caught. Plus there's a small sub-story in the article about someone that did win a Tesla, but couldn't afford the taxes they had to pay to actually get it. You can win a car but you have to be able to pay taxes and insurance for it, too.

Some of these promotion companies pay a lot of money just to have their cars as part of promotions (and the sweepstakes companies can get into big trouble if their systems are not setup to give away x cars. Most of them are time seeded so someone is guaranteed to win one a week).

If your already investing that much money, can't the company also cover the taxes, or do most states have laws forbidding that? It seems like bad publicity if your "winners" have to pay several thousand in sales tax to get their "prize car."

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#148

Post by glenneroo »

sumedh wrote: post #123
glenneroo wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have more or less the same story moving to Austria. I get spammy calls but they are actually legit surveys (quality of life, political leanings, newspaper preferences, etc) and only because I gave up my phone number at a party many years ago and haven't bothered to have it removed. I get once of these survey calls about every 3-6 months and if I'm not in the mood I just tell them I don't have time and they never ca…

> rather it's directly connected to your bank account, So a debit card?

I thought a debit card was just for withdrawing cash? We have bank cards (Bankomat Karte) for withdrawing cash - in fact, when you pay and want to use the card, many people just say "karte" (literally: card) to mean a bank (debit?) card and not a credit card.

Our Visa cards can also withdraw using a pin, but I don't know anyone who does (anecdotally speaking - but I do pay attention to shoppers ahead of me in line, seems like a rare occurrence). I personally use it to (very rarely) purchase products for which I don't have enough cash on hand, and because banks generally set the withdraw limit to 400€/day. On top of that, most places (IMO) still don't accept credit cards or will charge 3-5% fee (such as the official Apple dealer McShark). Visa transactions are also hindered in comparison, there tends to be less information available about the purchase and seller names are truncated to ~20 characters. Also the booking is often delayed (online) until the statement is sent per e/mail, unlike bank transactions which appear online within 24 hours.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#149

Post by djsumdog »

wmeredith wrote: post #106
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, it's quite common to have raffles and similar events rigged. I've heard of lots of companies that have booths at conferences where they scan your badge for a """chance""" to win some prize. Then they look up each person's credentials, and if someone is high up in a company that they wish to establish communications with, they give that person a prize to get their foot in the door.

This is just a modern version of the fishbowl of business cards. You put out the bowl and say drop in your card to win “x”. Then when it’s time to do the drawing you look through the cards to see who’s the most advantageous person to establish contact with.

Huh. I never realized that's what those were for.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#150

Post by ngvrnd »

Angostura wrote: post #108
pwg wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roping the unsuspecting into an incredibly expensive time-share using hard-sell boiler-room tactics without ever being up-front about the true costs. I sat through one of these once, curious about how it was going to go, and with the intent going in of not ever buying anything anyway. They present the timeshare as if it costs only pennies a day, and never admit to the true cost unless pressed very hard (and even then…

> I was watching the gullible filling out their "loan applications" and setting themselves up for $500/month for the next ten to twenty years before they could pay off the 'loan'. I presume that quite a few of these are actually timeshare employees playing the role of "conspicuously convinced punter"

let's hope.
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