OMG!!! I THINK WE WON A HONEYMOON!!!

[robbie3982]

I went to a bridal expo show yesterday and entered everything I saw. I figured, hey someone has to win right? Well, my phone started ringing a few minutes ago with a number I didn''t recognize. I was just going to let it go to voicemail, but FI prompted me to answer. It was someone from Simplicity Gourmet. We won a 3 day 2 night all inclusive honeymoon with Viva Wyndham!!! We can extend it if we want and it''s good for 15 months. We have to sit through a 90 minute show by Simplicity Gourmet on their cookware on Wednesday, so we''ll have to drive back to Pittsburgh and FI will have to leave work early (we both have to be there to claim it), but we get to taste all of the gourmet food they cook in the demonstration. I''m still having a hard time believing this is real...has anyone heard anything about this company?

 

[SarFarSuperstar]

I would google the company before you go. I know I went to a bridal expo and received a very similar call from a different company. They were only offering a hotel stay to me and then when I looked them it, they had several sorta fishy posts on the internet about them. I really don''t want to rain on your parade, because I was totally psyched when I got my call, too! Just make sure it''s legit before you take time off or travel to see them.

 

[robbie3982]

I looked them up, but didn''t find anything. If anyone can find something, let me know.

 

[Mara]

I don't know what you put in for Google but I found a few things on them...one was this:

http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff177097.htm

Also on another bridal forum there were a few posts from gals, one with 'scam' in the title but the links didn't work so I don't know if they were archived or deleted or what.

I have gotten calls like that before where you get a voucher for a 'free mini vacation in hawaii' for attending a seminar kind of thing, but no one gives you something for nothing. I typically just tell them I'm not interested and hang up.

Did you ever see that South Park with the 'free vacation in Aspen' if you just attend a one hour seminar? hehee.

 

[kcoursolle]

It seems a little fishy that you have to sit through a display if you won something...I don''t know about this one. Be careful!

 

[ephemery1]

Not sure if this is related, but I filled out a form to win a Hummer at a Flyers game last year, and got a phone call a few weeks later that I had won a 3 night hotel stay (can''t remember which hotel chain... Hilton maybe?) along with $1000 in prizes... I supposedly just had to attend some hour-long presentation at a nearby mall first. I was all excited until my friend at work said she had received the same phone call after filling out a similar form. We didn''t bother going to the presentation, so I have no idea how valid it was or how many hoops we would have had to jump through first.

But definitely let us know what you find out!

 

[robbie3982]

so, i found this: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff177097.htm

What do you guys think? Are they legit and just got screwed over that one time?

 

[flutterby]

As sad as it is, I''m pretty sure its a scam. As Mara said, no one gives anything away for free.

I tried on dresses at Davids Bridal and in a week got dozens of phone calls saying I won a free reception, or flowers, or a honeymoon at a bridal show. I never went to a bridal show.... so my gut would say it is a scam. Kinda like the time share people in vegas. Yeah, you can see a show for free if you sit through a 3 hour pressured sales pitch.....

 

[jcrow]

not to burst your bubble, but i got the same phone call saying i''ve won and all i had to do was go to that same presentation too. i declined. they called me at least a dozen times. each time i said i wasn''t interested. funny thing is i went to one bridal show and entered NOTHING.
maybe it''s legit, but i wasn''t interested.

 

[robbie3982]

Yeah, you guys are right. It seems like a scam. I dug deeper and apparently they used to be called Pro-Health Ultra and when you google that, you come up with about a billion posts where people "won." Ugh. I feel stupid and totally disappointed that we didn''t win anything

 

[IrishAngel7982]

I''m sorry Robbie! When I was in college, I also got a call saying I won a free honeymoon from a Bridal show. I wasn''t engaged. It happens, and it''s a big bummer. Sorry dear!

 

[indecisive]

Yup, everyone "wins" that if they sign up

. The hard part is to get them to stop calling.

 

[sumbride]

Don''t feel bad Robbie... these scams are very manipulative.

I once thought I had a job interview. Turns out they wanted me to sell insurance in a pyramid format! The only way I found out was by googling the address of the interview. I called and cancelled. My "helpful neighbor" wasn''t quite as upfront with me as he should have been.

Scams exist because they often work, but just look at these things with a careful eye. Sometimes you do actually win something but you shouldn''t have to do much to claim the prize. Drive by the radio station and pick up concert tickets? ok. Spend 5 hours in a high-pressure sales demo, NOT OK.

My FI wins a lot of things... he''s won tickets to see Depeche Mode three times, including one trip for two to NYC. THAT was fun! He''s won furniture, dinner, money, cds, everything. But he still keeps his ears open for "scam". At least you found out before you drove all that way!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Yep, I definitely won 3 different honeymoons from the time I went to this Bridal Expo up until a few weeks ago (AFTER our wedding and honeymoon were over! haha!). I got a little excited about the first one too, but I was suspicious, and after doing a good ol'' Google search, I figured out what was going on. Booooo!!

 

[RoseAngel04]

Not trying to thread hijack, but this weekend we''re going to a Bridal show in our city and peeps have recommended that I bring labels w my name/number/address/email to give to vendors and for the prizes etc. Is giving your info to these people bad?! I really was hoping to score a free honeymoon too...I know I know wishful thinking!

They advertized having a wedding cake brides dive into (like Bride vs Bride on WE) for prizes etc...

Oh...and it just so happens that last week I WON these tix from a local radio station...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 9/11/2006 10:19:56 PM
Author: RoseAngel04
Not trying to thread hijack, but this weekend we''re going to a Bridal show in our city and peeps have recommended that I bring labels w my name/number/address/email to give to vendors and for the prizes etc. Is giving your info to these people bad?! I really was hoping to score a free honeymoon too...I know I know wishful thinking!

They advertized having a wedding cake brides dive into (like Bride vs Bride on WE) for prizes etc...

Oh...and it just so happens that last week I WON these tix from a local radio station...

The offer of door prizes is just a way to get your personal information. We''ve had hundreds of random calls over the years saying we had won a 3 night or 5 night vacation to here or there. I just tell them that we already have vacation plans and nicely hang up. Thankfully now we have our numbers listed on the national Do Not Call list, so we aren''t bothered too much anymore. But if you write down your address abd phone number and put it in numerous vendor boxes, you''re asking for a lot of calls and junk mail.

 

[Mara]

I agree with DS...basically you are just asking to be spammed with mail and/or emails by giving your information out for free prizes. I went to a few shows when I was looking and the stuff they gave out in the door packages or whatever was just all cheesy tiny stuff. Then you just have to carry it around.

I just gave my information to vendors I was seriously considering after spending 5 minutes talking to them...and I just gave them my info for them to send me more information, not to enter anything.

 

[robbie3982]

I don''t think it''s necessarily a bad idea to give out your info to win prizes. I think it just depends on what the prize is. Like if it''s at a florist''s booth and it''s to win free flowers for your wedding, I''d guess that they''ll have one winner that they pick and then they''re done and probably won''t call you a million times. Maybe they''ll send you some info though. If it''s like what I "won" then I guess it''s probably not a good idea. A cookware company giving away a honeymoon is probably giving your info to someone else.

 

[MelissaSue]

everybody wins this honeymoon.. There are lots and lots of strings attached.. but I guess it is "real".. You have to go to a cookware demo.. and they are very high pressure sales there.. trying to get you to buy this cookware.. The hotel stay is really free if you go to this demo.. but you have to pay all your own travel expenses.. etc.. I think I won that honeymoon 4 or 5 times.. Never went to the demos though..

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Having just done the "bridal show circuit", I would recommend that you DO NOT give your info out unless you''re seriously interested in securing that vendor''s services (and you''ll know after just chatting with them for a few minutes).

Note that ALL vendors at these shows will have some kind of enter to win opportunity featured at their booth. And guess what??? You''ll "win" them all!

Serious vendors are fine with just taking your name, number/or email address. And I would recommend that you set up a "fake" email address for your wedding-related communication.

 

[sumbride]

Date: 9/12/2006 12:43:35 PM
Author: ChargerGrrl

Serious vendors are fine with just taking your name, number/or email address. And I would recommend that you set up a ''fake'' email address for your wedding-related communication.

I did the email thing before we were even engaged as sort of a repository for my ideas and vendors. I used gmail which is a great way to store everything. I have labels I assign to each email and can sort of keep them filed that way, plus all the mail I get from weddingchannel and all the places I ask for catalogs don''t clutter up my real inbox. I was researching some ceremony stuff this morning and every time I found something I liked, I copied and pasted into an email and sent it to my wedding email. Later, when I need to pull it all together, I''ll just go through those emails.

 

[codex57]

Technically, I dunno if it''s a "scam". It''s more a marketing tool than anything else. Lots of companies do this.

Basically, you have to sit through this high pressure sales pitch. Even if you don''t buy, you will get that "free" vacation. However, it''s tied to "partners" such as being required to use a particular airline or something like that. The end result is that the "free" vacation ends up being just about as expensive as if you had gotten it at a travel agency.

Sometimes, they don''t even force you to sit through a sales pitch. At the bridal show I went to, I picked up a couple of travel brochures. They offered great rates at certain hotels. Again, they were contingent on you using some "partner" company of theirs where you ended up not getting that great a deal after everything is said and done. Some of the deals really are a bit cheaper, but you better want to go there and stay at a hotel for that long in that price range. I didn''t so I passed.

 

[robbie3982]

I got a call today and apparently I "won" a $500 gift certificate to American Laser Centers. I looked them up and looks like it''s the same kind of thing. I wonder how many things I''ll "win" before people stop calling...

 

[codex57]

Date: 9/12/2006 2:56:50 PM
Author: robbie3982
I got a call today and apparently I ''won'' a $500 gift certificate to American Laser Centers. I looked them up and looks like it''s the same kind of thing. I wonder how many things I''ll ''win'' before people stop calling...

It doesn''t stop, unfortunately. I have a dedicated e-mail account for things I know will send me spam. I gets over 1000 pieces of garbage in like 3 days or so. I tried to unsubscribe every now and then, but have long since given up.

 

[budgetbride]

It''s actually one of wedding''s most lucrative marketing ploy. The whole free thing. In the end you have to pay for fees and etc...kinda like the whole timeshare thing.

One thing that I do is I write my name differently if I''m sorta interested in something. For example my name is Jennifer Smith(not my real name) When I''m sorta interested in something I write J Smi...so when I see things with J Smi I know it''s junk stuff. When I use my full name it''s something I know I really want.

 

[codex57]

Date: 9/13/2006 1:04:09 AM
Author: budgetbride

One thing that I do is I write my name differently if I''m sorta interested in something. For example my name is Jennifer Smith(not my real name) When I''m sorta interested in something I write J Smi...so when I see things with J Smi I know it''s junk stuff. When I use my full name it''s something I know I really want.

Very smart! I''m gonna use that idea if you don''t mind.

 

[speak04]

I received the same phone call last week and my fiance and I decided to attend the show just in case it was not a rip off. There were 4 other couples there and we did havae to sit through a 90 min. sales pitch, which was not high-pressure. The guy that did it was actually very funny and friendly and reminded us a few times we didn''t have to buy anything to get the free trip. We did end up purchasing a small amount of cookware but the couples that didn''t still received the free 3 day/2 night trip. It is all-inclusive and we can pick from about 6 different destinations. Air fair is not included. We hope it''s not a scam and we have their customer service phone # and when we called 2 times we were able to reach someone. I don''t see how it is a scam really. We also don''t have to attend anything while we are on the trip, which a lot of these things usually require. Anyways, just go to the show (which isnt too boring), and don''t buy any cookware, and walk out with your free trip! You do have to pay $50 to the company which the trip is through, but I believe it''s refundable. There were two young men that were giving the presentation and we spoke with one after the show and he said his friends'' dad owns the company, they''re from tennessee, etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[MINE!!]

Might want to check out this link.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/heart-of-american-bridal-department-free-trip.34774/

There is a whole thread on these scams...

 

[robbie3982]

We actually "won" another free honeymoon. It was actually 3 trips: one to vegas for a week, one to some place tropical, and one to florida. It included everything but food and they wanted me to pay $300 something immediately. Yeah...I wasn''t going to do that. Why can''t I really win something?

 

[orbaya]

Date: 9/11/2006 6:38:59 PM
Author: msflutter
As sad as it is, I''m pretty sure its a scam. As Mara said, no one gives anything away for free.

I tried on dresses at Davids Bridal and in a week got dozens of phone calls saying I won a free reception, or flowers, or a honeymoon at a bridal show. I never went to a bridal show.... so my gut would say it is a scam. Kinda like the time share people in vegas. Yeah, you can see a show for free if you sit through a 3 hour pressured sales pitch.....

I know this is off topic, but I had to share. The last time we were in Vegas, we were approached about sitting through a sales pitch to get a free show. I told him we''d think about it. He then asked me if we''d be back, or if I was just trying to get rid of him. I told him that I was trying to get rid of him...you should have seen the look of shock on his face LOL! I don''t think he was expecting that answer.