Local BBB concerned about 'February sweepstakes'

The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana is very concerned about the number of inquiries/calls we have been receiving about sweepstakes; it seems to me that inquires are frequently from lonely senior citizens so much so we have decided to issue a warning to senior citizens and other consumers to be wary of sweepstakes and other contests that link the chances of winning to the purchase of merchandise. Several area consumers have told the BBB that they or their parents purchased thousands of dollars of junk in desperate attempts to win cash sweepstakes prizes.

One 77-year-old grandmother said her husband spent an estimated $7,000 on mail-order products linked to a sweepstakes he was convinced he could win. He hoped to use the winnings to replace his hearing aid and take her to Italy on a dream vacation to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. He won nothing.

Throughout the years the BBB of Acadiana has seen scams like these take advantage of consumers hoping to get something for nothing. The odds of winning anything in a sweepstakes like this are very remote but the mailings can seem so enticing, so alluring, that they can suck consumers in, often breaking their hearts and sometimes breaking their bank accounts.

Some sweepstakes companies air television or radio commercials urging consumers to watch for their mailings, implying that prizes will be awarded soon. The mailings often contain enticements that suggest a prize is about to be awarded in a consumer's local area. Some mailings are personalized and refer to the recipient by name. Often, there are special tickets or tokens that must be affixed to entry forms. Packets also may include offers of household products, coin sets, beauty products and other items.

Although disclosures about winning are there; the disclosures about the chances of winnings may get lost in all the paper stuffed in the envelope or are in very fine print; often difficult to read. The odds of winning are often 1 in 100 million or less. Buying products has no effect on a consumer's miniscule chances of winning.

There is something you can do: stay in touch with loved ones who might be victims of this scams. One example is that a couple's daughter said her father ordered several magazine subscriptions as well as merchandise. Once she and her sister found out what was happening, they felt compelled to take oversee their parents' finances and have their mail sent to one of the daughters' homes. The daughter notified the sweepstakes company to stop sending anything else to her parents' home. If you would like to be removed from calls lists contact:
The National Do Not Call List telephone: 888-382-1222
Louisiana Do Not Call List telephone number: 877-676-0773

The BBB of Acadiana offers the following advice for consumers doing business with mail order or Internet companies offering sweepstakes prizes:
*Do your homework. Ask whether this is, in fact, a legitimate company and whether it has awarded sweepstakes prizes in the past; ask for proof.
*Study your odds of winning. Federal law requires companies to include a notice outlining odds of winning various prizes.
*Understand that making a purchase does not increase your chance of winning. Under law, anyone entering a company's sweepstakes contest has an equal chance of winning whether he or she orders anything.
*Monitor the activities of loved ones carefully to keep them from spending large amounts of money in attempts to win a sweepstakes.
*Always check out a company before you do business at www.bbb.org .
If you have any concerns about a sweepstakes do something smart; contact the BBB at www.bbb.org or call 981-3497.