I should be so lucky

BULLSHIT

My heart almost sank when I received a letter yesterday that marked "Urgent Notice". Such letters usually come from two sources - the financial institutions for the money you owe them; or the Army calling you up for reservist training.

I'm one of those who are not a "valued" customer of the banks, not because I owe them money; but because I do not roll over my credit card balances to allow them to earn interest. So that rules out the bank. I have had completed my reservist liability a couple of years back; so the Army is also very unlikely.

The letter turned out to be from a private company telling me that I could drive away with a new Hyundai Accent or receive $10,000 cash. All I have to do is to pick up the phone, dial a toll-free number and make arrangement for a time to collect my "choice awards". For good measures, the company also "showcased" the "lucky winner" of the previous draw. To make the draw more authentic, the letter also came with "Terms and Conditions" to qualify for the draw. It also added that "unclaimed awards are to be donated to charity" after the promotion ends and that S$32,130 worth of prizes in previous promotion has been donated to charity.

Anyone in his right frame of mind would have smelt a rat immediately. Firstly, I have no recollection of having entered any lucky draw organised by the company concerned. Secondly, the letter was not dated nor signed.

This ploy engaged by companies out to fool "gullible" and "greedy" Singaporeans are not new. Just like the telephone calls I received from telemaketeers telling me that I've won prizes from their lucky draws and requesting me make a trip personally to their office premises to collect the prizes. When I told them I've never entered the draw, they said the draw was "auto" and they got my mobile number from purchases I made from shopping centres. After one time too many of receiving such calls, I usually told the party at the other end that "I don't think I'm so lucky, thank you very much". They would usually hang up the phone immediately.

I've also learned a lesson never ever to give away my contact numbers no matter how innocuous the requirements to do so might be. You know sometimes when you make a purchase of more then $30 at the shopping malls and you're entitled a free give? Usually, the information counter staff will ask you to furnish your contact number when you collect the gift. I once refused to reveal my number and the counter girl insisted that I do, saying that it's "company's policy". So I simply gave her a fictitious one.

Fortunately, I've never fallen victim to ruses described above. But I've heard of people who have. Thinking they've really won a prize, they actually took time to meet the "tricksters" only to be pressurised into making purchases of merchandises they did not need. Some of these involved timshare holidays.

If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing in life is free. Unscrupulous retailers abound, and there's no such thing as a free lunch.