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google: national do not call list.

click on your country.

click register.

enter your phone number......done......that simple.



it's from the government and its free, hard to believe, eh?:yh_rotfl

Odie;1280035 wrote: it's from the government and its free, hard to believe, eh?:yh_rotfl
You find it's effective, do you?

Besides, what's wrong with taking the holiday? I did once, just to see how legitimate the offer was. Had a fine time.

spot;1280116 wrote: You find it's effective, do you?

Besides, what's wrong with taking the holiday? I did once, just to see how legitimate the offer was. Had a fine time.


what holiday?

Odie;1280133 wrote: what holiday?


I hate those calls, and we get them in the mail too! They'll give you a free membership at their special place but you have to sit thru a days worth of lectures on buying this or that...or a free vacation, but sit thru a day of them trying to get you to buy a timeshare that you'll never use. The small print will say trip is not guaranteed and you may win another prize...after 8 hours of listening to their crap you end up with $10! Thankfully I've never been sucked in, but i know quite a few people that have.

spot;1280116 wrote: You find it's effective, do you?

Besides, what's wrong with taking the holiday? I did once, just to see how legitimate the offer was. Had a fine time.


I went to a baseball game years ago & had the fortunate luck to be sitting in the lucky seat...won a trip for two to Williamsburg, Virginia for 3 days & 2 nights and free train ride both ways...it was a blast and the whole trip was free except for food...even the hotel was free. Thank you AAA (the automobile club) that sponsored the trip.

shelbell;1280161 wrote: I hate those calls, and we get them in the mail too! They'll give you a free membership at their special place but you have to sit thru a days worth of lectures on buying this or that...or a free vacation, but sit thru a day of them trying to get you to buy a timeshare that you'll never use. The small print will say trip is not guaranteed and you may win another prize...after 8 hours of listening to their crap you end up with $10! Thankfully I've never been sucked in, but i know quite a few people that have.




as you said, those holidays are not free, here has always been a catch.:sneaky:



One time someone said they were caling me from Florida and I heard dolphin sounds in the background.:yh_rotfl

-he said I won a free trip to Florida but I had to pay for two helicopter rides to other places...I said hey buddy, I don't fly!:wah:

Odie;1280172 wrote: so google that number and they will be taken off.:-4


Yeah, I get them in the mail too...I know there is a way to remove your name from getting junk mail too, i just don't remember how. :wah:

qsducks;1280171 wrote: I went to a baseball game years ago & had the fortunate luck to be sitting in the lucky seat...won a trip for two to Williamsburg, Virginia for 3 days & 2 nights and free train ride both ways...it was a blast and the whole trip was free except for food...even the hotel was free. Thank you AAA (the automobile club) that sponsored the trip.


I just recently won a 3 day 2 night trip to a ski resort in Wisconsin. The difference is that I won it thru a contest I had entered thru a local radio station, not getting it thru some solicitor. Kind of like your trip from the baseball game, it was a legit trip that wasn't solicitated. I personally can't wait to schedule mine...I really need a break! :wah:

shelbell;1280175 wrote: Yeah, I get them in the mail too...I know there is a way to remove your name from getting junk mail too, i just don't remember how. :wah:


I despise junk mail now as it takes up my reclying bin and if its full?

I have to pay for additional bags!:-5

shelbell;1280178 wrote: I just recently won a 3 day 2 night trip to a ski resort in Wisconsin. The difference is that I won it thru a contest I had entered thru a local radio station, not getting it thru some solicitor. Kind of like your trip from the baseball game, it was a legit trip that wasn't solicitated. I personally can't wait to schedule mine...I really need a break! :wah:


exactly, were not talking about real trips here , that are actually won and are completely free like yours is.:rolleyes:

Odie;1280185 wrote: exactly, were not talking about trips that are actually won here.


I was just pointing out the difference between a won trip versus a solicitated trip odie...

shelbell;1280187 wrote: I was just pointing out the difference between a won trip versus a solicitated trip odie...


oh I know sis, but when you have to pay for something, its not a free trip likes yours is.

any idea when you guys are going?

Odie;1280190 wrote: oh I know sis, but when you have to pay for something, its not a free trip likes yours is.

any idea when you guys are going?


Exactly.

I'm not sure when we're going yet, but the trip is good thru May 1st. I still haven't decided who I should take...if anyone.

shelbell;1280191 wrote: Exactly.

I'm not sure when we're going yet, but the trip is good thru May 1st. I still haven't decided who I should take...if anyone.


'likes your is?' -I need to review first!:yh_rotfl



you can take me.:sneaky:

shelbell;1280178 wrote: I just recently won a 3 day 2 night trip to a ski resort in Wisconsin. The difference is that I won it thru a contest I had entered thru a local radio station, not getting it thru some solicitor. Kind of like your trip from the baseball game, it was a legit trip that wasn't solicitated. I personally can't wait to schedule mine...I really need a break! :wah:


Oh I agree Shel..winning it is way different through a radio station or ball game is way different & usually the sponsor is a national product such as AAA but the phone call ones are just shysters imo. Make sure you pack layers of clothes, long johns, stockings (yes they are very warm under jeans)...if you've never been skiing before look up stuff online...Wisconsin is freezing & don't forget to bring home your Wisconsin badger sweatshirt (mascot):wah:

shelbell;1280178 wrote: I just recently won a 3 day 2 night trip to a ski resort in Wisconsin. The difference is that I won it thru a contest I had entered thru a local radio station, not getting it thru some solicitor. Kind of like your trip from the baseball game, it was a legit trip that wasn't solicitated. I personally can't wait to schedule mine...I really need a break! :wah:


I didn't win it through a solicitor...AAA sponsors the team we went to see play..they were giving out prizes that day & I won...had my piccy taken with the official AAA rep & made it into their magazine they send out to members (of which I'm one)...they have never bothered us since...but we took the trip in November of 2000 just hubs & I and had a lovely time...car rental was also free, also brekkie was free too but we had to pay for lunch & dinner and we were never at the hotel for those meals...too busy checking out Williamsburg & Jamestown...it was spectacular

Odie;1280185 wrote: exactly, were not talking about real trips here , that are actually won and are completely free like yours is.:rolleyes:


Mine was real & not all the meals are free...usually the brekkie is but the lunch & dinner are not...Shel would need to call and find out the details regarding meals...anytime you win these trips you usually get the first meal of day free...your on your own @ lunch/dinner

hey Shellsis, I forgot to tell you!:-6

I won a contest from HGTV.......7 YEARS AGO

-$300.00 in C.I.L. PAINT

-$175.00 gift certificate from Home Sense

-2 hour consultation with a professionally decorator who help me choose our paint colours.

-2 professional painters for one day who painted our living room, dining room, door frames and baseboards and our entire kitchen in two colours our decorator had helped us chose.

that was a free contest......I paid nothing.

-your lucky also sis, as you pay absolutely nothing for you trip, now these are real contests.:-6



the ones where you have to pay something, are the ones when you receive those stupid phone calls.:-5

-if you have to pay anything from anywhere, is is not free.



-those are the types that this thread is about.:rolleyes:

Odie;1280226 wrote: the ones where you have to pay something, are the ones when you receive those stupid phone calls.:-5

-if you have to pay anything from anywhere, is is not free.



-those are the types that this thread is about.:rolleyes:


And they're the ones I said "I did once, just to see how legitimate the offer was. Had a fine time" about. I think I paid £24 ($50) as a "booking fee" to the company that had cold-called me. I had three nights next to an attractive lake in a comfortable lodge and enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps it all comes down to whether the person being phoned has a sense of humour. The cold-calling company was very careful in its script, it never used the word "free" (it used "won"), it was pushy but it came up with the goods. They were prosecuted the year after by the Department of Trade, the three intertwined companies which ran the operation, and the eventual judgement was that they were a legitimate set of businesses which stayed within the law and didn't scam the public. The judge was scathing of the prosecution. It was a bit late in the day for the three companies though, they had all ceased trading by then as a result of being shut down for so long.

qsducks;1280213 wrote: Oh I agree Shel..winning it is way different through a radio station or ball game is way different & usually the sponsor is a national product such as AAA but the phone call ones are just shysters imo. Make sure you pack layers of clothes, long johns, stockings (yes they are very warm under jeans)...if you've never been skiing before look up stuff online...Wisconsin is freezing & don't forget to bring home your Wisconsin badger sweatshirt (mascot):wah:


qsducks;1280217 wrote: I didn't win it through a solicitor...AAA sponsors the team we went to see play..they were giving out prizes that day & I won...had my piccy taken with the official AAA rep & made it into their magazine they send out to members (of which I'm one)...they have never bothered us since...but we took the trip in November of 2000 just hubs & I and had a lovely time...car rental was also free, also brekkie was free too but we had to pay for lunch & dinner and we were never at the hotel for those meals...too busy checking out Williamsburg & Jamestown...it was spectacular


Well I doubt I'll even leave the lodge, I would never be able to ski with my physical problems...but the place has a 24/7 swimming pool and jacuzzi...to me that is heaven.

I did notice you won the trip, I think I just didn't word my response right.

spot;1280239 wrote: And they're the ones I said "I did once, just to see how legitimate the offer was. Had a fine time" about. I think I paid £24 ($50) as a "booking fee" to the company that had cold-called me. I had three nights next to an attractive lake in a comfortable lodge and enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps it all comes down to whether the person being phoned has a sense of humour. The cold-calling company was very careful in its script, it never used the word "free" (it used "won"), it was pushy but it came up with the goods. They were prosecuted the year after by the Department of Trade, the three intertwined companies which ran the operation, and the eventual judgement was that they were a legitimate set of businesses which stayed within the law and didn't scam the public. The judge was scathing of the prosecution. It was a bit late in the day for the three companies though, they had all ceased trading by then as a result of being shut down for so long.


That's pretty good just having to pay a booking fee...they didn't make you jump thru any hoops to get it either? It seems everything I get has strings attached and hidden agenda's

shelbell;1280247 wrote: That's pretty good just having to pay a booking fee...they didn't make you jump thru any hoops to get it either? It seems everything I get has strings attached and hidden agenda's


Not on that occasion. I did, another time, attend one high-pressure 3-hour Timeshare presentation. I'd have paid to have gone to that, it was very educational.

Would anyone like to read a description of how these marketing companies operate?

This is from the judgement by the Honourable Mr Justice Park between The Department of Trade & Industry and Travel Time (UK) Ltd, Embassy Enterprises UK Ltd, Harmony Holidays Ltd and Marlborough Promotions Ltd in 1999. It's the best summary I've found.I use certain abbreviations in the judgment. Following the pattern of a number of cases of this nature I do not refer to the companies or to the individuals principally involved in them by their actual names. Thus I will call the companies Telecan 1, Telecan 2, Holcert 1 and Holcert 2. "Telecan" is a condensation of telephone canvassing, and "Holcert" is a condensation of holiday certificate. [...] Each company has the same three shareholders, three ladies to whom I will refer as P, A and H.

[...] The Telecan and Holcert companies are not themselves operators of timeshare resorts or sellers of timeshare "slots" in resorts. They are involved in the process by which potential purchasers are found. I will go into the details more fully from time to time as this judgment progresses, but in the barest outline Telecan 1 and 2 came in at the earliest stage by telephoning members of the public with a view to persuading them to attend a timeshare presentation in this country. They did this partly by the telephone call and partly by a follow-up printed invitation. The DTI say, and the Telecan companies deny, that members of the public were deceived into attending the presentations, partly by false statements made on the telephone and partly by the omission of things which the public ought to have been told.

The Holcert companies became involved at a later stage. At the end of the presentation the members of the public who had attended were given "holiday certificates" which recorded an entitlement, the nature of which I will have to describe in detail later, to a one week's holiday in a resort abroad. The certificates were issued by companies whose business it was to issue them and then to carry them out. Holcert 1 and 2 were two such companies. The members of the public took the certificates away with them. If they wanted to follow them up they filled in a form and returned it to the Holcert company with a processing fee of £29 per person. (This was in practice £58 per couple, because all timeshare marketing was directed at couples.) There is a lot more detail which will emerge in the course of this judgment, but members of the public who returned the forms and processing fees were entitled to expect that at some time over the next 18 months they would receive an offer of a holiday.

The DTI says that Holcert 1 and 2, having collected a significant amount in processing fees, then deliberately organised matters so as to get away with sending the minimum possible number of persons on holiday. In effect it says that Holcert 1 and 2, having extracted .E58 from thousands of couples, cheated most of them out of the holiday. Holcert 1 and 2 dispute al I of this. They say that the DTI has fundamentally misunderstood the nature and the economics of their businesses. I agree with them. They also say that the DTI has leapt to incorrect conclusions from documents about an unsuccessful attempt by Holcert 1 to organise holidays for a number of clients in the winter of 1997 and 1998. I agree with them on this as well.

[...] E. Timeshare marketing, the roles of Telecan 1 and 2 and of Holcert 1 and 2

My impression from the evidence is that the timeshare business, despite occasional scandals, is flourishing. Developers acquire sites and develop resorts with a view to selling timeshare slots to purchasers from a range of countries. At present the major overseas areas for development of new resorts seem to be some parts of mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canaries. If a developer creates an attractive new resort he is likely to do well from sales of slots (at least I assume so, because there is no shortage of aspiring developers), but the resorts nevertheless need to be marketed. Three methods of attracting purchases were mentioned in the evidence: off-premises contacts, sales presentations in the purchasers' home countries, and "fly-buys".

Off-premises contacts have largely disappeared. In essence the method consisted of approaching holidaymakers at the place where the timeshare resort had been built, and trying to persuade them to come in and look around. This was not a very effective method of getting purchasers, and indeed I think (though my note is incomplete on this) that A told me that it has been heavily curtailed by some form of European Community regulation. Neither the Telecan companies nor the Holcert companies had anything to do with marketing via off-premises contacts.

However, the Telecan companies and the Holcert companies did have roles to play in connection with the other two methods. It is convenient to begin with a description of sales presentations in the purchasers' home countries. So far as this case is concerned that means sales presentations in the United Kingdom of slots in timeshares either in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. There are United Kingdom companies, referred to as marketing companies, whose business consists of organising timeshare presentations in this country. A and H have interests (but P does not) in two marketing companies. A developer of a resort engages a marketing company, like one of those two companies, to conduct one or more presentations of his resort to prospective purchasers of slots. Typically the presentations take place at a hotel or conference centre, and the marketing company will hope to persuade one or more of the couples who attend to buy a slot. If they do, the marketing company will receive commissions from the developer.

"Fly-Buys" is a term used to describe persons who receive some form of financial inducement to travel to the overseas resort, where the timeshare facilities are shown to them in the hope that they will buy a slot. The practical experience of developers is that this is an effective way of securing sales. A's current information was that between 33% and 43% of fly-buys from the United Kingdom made contracts to buy a slot. Mr Curtis gave similar evidence. I might conveniently introduce a piece of jargon at this point. In the timeshare business potential purchasers are referred to as "UPs", apparently an abbreviation of "unqualified prospects". A part of the business of Holcert 1 and 2 was supplying fly-buy UPs to developers of overseas resorts.

I shall say more about Holcert 1 and 2, UPs and fly-buys later, but at this point I return to the previous marketing method which I mentioned: sales presentations in the purchasers' home country. So far I have not described how the prospective purchasers are identified and persuaded to attend a presentation. That is where the telecanvassing company comes in. The marketing company instructs the telecanvassing company that it wants, say, ten couples who meet specified conditions to attend the presentation. So the telecanvassing company, eg Telecan 1 or 2, has a "quota" of ten "qualified shows" to provide for the presentations, and if ten qualified shows turn up it receives a commission for all of them from the marketing company. (If nine turn up it receives a commission for nine; if eleven turn up it receives a commission for ten.) A "show" is a couple who attend the presentation. They are .. "qualifying" if they meet conditions designed to exclude persons who are not prospective purchasers of timeshares. For example they have to be within an age bracket specified by the developer, they must be householders, and some developers require that they must not already own a second home or another timeshare.

Telecan 1 and 2 operated through teams of telecanvassers who telephoned members of the public and, following a script, tried to persuade the recipients of the calls to accept an invitation to the presentation. There were about 60 telecanvassers at the premises in Torquay and another 30 to 35 at Newton Abbot. For the first half or so of the period during which Telecan 1 and 2 were active (December 1995 to October 1998) the calls were "cold-calling": numbers were taken from telephone directories. There was nothing unlawful about coldcalling people (though cold-calling people indiscriminately is now prohibited), any more than there is in sending unsolicited mail through the post. Some people disliked being cold-called, but P observed in her evidence that others did not mind. Something like one in ten of persons called in this way were sufficiently interested to agree that a printed invitation might be sent to them.

From about mid-1997 onwards Telecan 1 and 2, as well as using the cold-calling technique, began to make "CSL calls". CSL stands for consumer survey list. Some organisations had obtained survey forms from members of the public who indicated that they were willing to be approached with commercial invitations and offers. They gave their own personal details in the surveys. By the last few months of Telecan 2's operating period 70 per cent or more of its telephone calls were CSL calls, not cold calls. Quite large sums had to be paid to obtain CSL lists, but the response rate from the public was a lot higher than that to cold calls, and it was proving economic for Telecan 2 to shift the focus of its business from cold calling to CSL calling, despite the cost of the lists.

The telecanvassers who made the calls were instructed to follow a script which they had in front of them at their telephones. There are disputes about the script and its contents. I deal with them under the heading "Your choice/our choice" in Part I below. However, the general lines of the script are not disputed, and a copy of the version around which the evidence revolved is annexed to this judgment. It is the cold-calling script, not the CSL script. It begins with an "attention-grabber" after which come three token questions followed by a series of questions designed to establish whether the recipient of the call meets the qualifying conditions required by timeshare sellers. The major content of the script comes after "I have some terrific news for you," about a third of the way through. The script for CSL calls (which was not in evidence) took a different form down to that point, because the telecanvasser introduced the call with a reference to the consumer survey and because the information to show that the recipient met the qualifying conditions was already contained in the survey. From that point on, however, the cold-calling script and the CSL script were the same.

There were two key points. First the recipient was told that he or she had "won a 7 day self-catering holiday for 2, including flights to your choice of either Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands or the Balearics, where you will stay in a fully equipped apartment in a resort offering the finest sports and leisure facilities, restaurants and entertainments. Second, to collect the holiday, the couple had to attend at the presentation, and an invitation would be sent to them.

If the recipient of the call did not agree to accept an invitation to the presentation that was the end of the matter, but if he or she did the telecanvasser sent a printed invitation by post at the end of the shift. So normally the invitation arrived the day after the telephone call. It referred to the telephone conversation and said (in capital letters) that the couple had been selected to receive "a one week luxury self-catering holiday for two in either the Canary Islands, Spain or the Balearics, including flights and accommodation". (At some time Portugal, which was listed on the version of the script annexed to this judgment, had been deleted.) The venue and time for the presentation were given. A number of Terms and Conditions were stated on the second page of the invitation, of which I should quote one:"Spain, the Canaries and the Balearics air fares and accommodation for two are included. There is a £29.00 per person processing fee for documentation plus nominal holiday insurance. Destination, gateway and departure date will be advised by the travel company."The invitation said that if the recipients had any queries they should call the Telecan company on two numbers which were prominently displayed.

If the recipients of invitations attended the presentations, that was the end of the Telecan company's involvement except for receiving its commission from the marketing company. If a recipient couple did not attend a telecanvasser called them to try to re-interest them. This is called re-pitching. Nothing turns on it, but I should mention it to complete my summary of how Telecan 1 and 2 operated.

The next stage was the presentation. Typically it was held at a hotel or conference centre in the United Kingdom. It was conducted by a marketing company and the object would be to interest the attendees in purchasing a timeshare slot at a resort. The resort might have been in this country or abroad, and (to anticipate) would not (except possibly by coincidence) be the overseas resort to which the couples might later be sent by the holiday certificate company. Neither the Telecan companies nor the Holcert companies were responsible for the presentations. The two marketing companies which were controlled by H and A might have been, but the Telecan companies did a lot of business obtaining attendees for presentations conducted by other marketing companies in which none of H, P or A had any interest.

It was from the end of the presentation that the holiday certificate companies became involved. The main inducement to the members of the public to attend the presentation had been the statement that they had won a one week self-catering holiday for two. At the end of the presentation all the qualifying couples who attended were given "holiday certificates" issued by a company like Holcert 1 or Holcert 2. These gave the detailed information about the holiday.

The exhibits in evidence included the form of holiday certificate which Holcert 2 was issuing in its final months. The certificate contained some descriptive material, some formal Terms and Conditions, and a form for the recipient to complete and return to Holcert 2. Of course if a couple, either with or without reading the certificate, did not want to take the matter further, they did not fill in and return the form. That was the end of their involvement. In the account which follows I assume that they did want to take it further.

Before I give a few more details of the holiday certificates which were issued by Holcert 1 and 2 it may be helpful for me to give a general explanation of two features which, I understand, are standard for the businesses of all holiday certificate companies.

First, there is a distinction between "Option 1" and "Option 2". The certificate gives the couple a choice between the two options. If they elect for Option 1 they are entitled to free flights for two and a week's free accommodation for two in a holiday resort in one of the overseas destinations. The disadvantage of Option 1 is that there is little or no flexibility. The couple are allotted a flight and a destination, and basically have no choice. This had been foreshadowed by the printed invitation to the presentation. I have already quoted an extract from it which includes the sentence: "Destination, gateway and departure date will be advised by the travel company." Option 2 is different. The couple have some range of choice for destinations, departure dates and departure airports. However, although the accommodation is provided free, the flights are not. Option 2 couples have to pay for their own flights.

Second, I ought to explain the economics that underlie the businesses of holiday certificate companies. The companies are committed to their clients to provide flights and resort accommodation for a week, though if clients elect for Option 2 the commitment does not include paying for the flights. The companies have contacts with overseas resorts which want regular opportunities to show their timeshare facilities on site to potential purchasers - to fly-buy UPs. A holiday certificate company negotiates with a resort on the basis that it (the holiday certificate company) can supply a number of UPs. In return the resort company agrees to supply accommodation for the UPs at times when it is available - almost inevitably outside the high season. In the case of any UPs who purchase a timeshare slot the resort company pays a commission to the holiday certificate company. In addition the holiday certificate company will try to get the resort to pay per capita sums to it in respect of all of the UPs who travel: in the case of Option 1 UPs these per capita sums go towards meeting the company's major expense, which is the cost of the air tickets.

I am not sure how far these economic underpinnings of a holiday certificate company's business were understood by Mr Hill at the time of the petition. They were certainly not clearly explained in his affidavit. Mr Hill believed that the only money of any substance which was available to Holcert 1 and 2 was the processing fees of £58 per couple. He pointed out that, if Holcert 1 and 2 had to pay for the flights of all their Option 1 couples and only received £58 per couple, they would be bound to make large losses. I suspect that even after all the evidence in the case the DTI still believes that that was the essential reality for Holcerts I and 2. However, I do not. I am satisfied on the evidence that, if Holcerts I and 2 could negotiate for per capita contributions from resorts for their UPs, and if a reasonable proportion of the UPs purchased timeshare slots so that Holcert 1 and 2 would receive commissions, the companies would make profits. I revert to this theme at a later point in this judgment.

I now revert to the holiday certificates which were issued by Holcerts I and 2, and which were supplied to all the couples who had attended the presentation in the United Kingdom. If a couple wished to take the matter further they made their choice between Option 1 and 2, filled in the form accordingly, and returned it to Holcert 1 and 2 with their processing fee of £58. From the Terms and Conditions set out in the certificate I mention the following. Costs and expenses at the accommodation which were not covered by Holcert 1 or 2 were the recipients' responsibility. The recipients had to agree to be shown the timeshare facilities at the resort. The processing fees of £58 per couple were non-refundable. They covered "[Holcert 2's] administration, costs and expenses...".

Couples who sent the form and the £58 fee to Holcert 1 or 2 received within four weeks a "Holiday Pack", which included a "Holiday Reservation Form" for them to complete and return. If they had chosen Option 2 the form had spaces for information about their preferences for destination, dates and departure airport. If they had chosen Option 1 they had to complete a question which began "Although not guaranteed, we would have preferred ..." They then ringed their preferred choice of certain specified destinations, departure airports and seasons. The form continued with these words:"Please Note: The preferences are for statistical information only. No match of preferences when allocating holidays is promised .... Nonacceptance of holiday for any reason ... will absolve [Holcert 2] of further responsibility in fulfilling the Option 1 offer. Option 1 is offered once only."I comment in passing that, if this wording was intended to cut down Holcert 2's contractual commitment to less than it had previously been, it may have been too late to do that. It seems to me that the contract was made when the couple returned the holiday certificate, duly completed with their £58 processing fee.

Henceforth in this judgment I shall concentrate on Option 1 couples. The DTI's allegations against Holcert 1 and 2 concentrate on Option 1. I should record, however, that about 45% of the UPs who returned the holiday certificates elected for Option 2. During late 1997 and most of 1998 (until the appointment of the provisional liquidator) Holcert 1 and 2 sent out a substantial number of Option 2 couples. There are no complaints about this aspect of their business.

In the case of the Option 1 couples the next thing to happen after they returned their Holiday Reservation Forms was the notification to them by Holcert 1 or 2 at some time within the next 18 months of a holiday destination and a departure date and airport. If they wished to accept they had to do so by telephone within 36 hours. The holiday certificate had included this passage: "There will be no further correspondence until notification is given. Valid applications will, within 18 months of it being validated, receive notification of departure date, a departure airport in the UK and the resort of stay seven to ninety days before departure. You must confirm your acceptance within thirty six hours by telephone and post."With reference to the last two words, in the case of the Option 1 offers which Holcert 1 sent to clients it dispensed with the requirement for acceptance by post as well as by telephone. It requested only acceptance by telephone.

I have been on the do not call list for over a year now and it has stopped all those annoying telemarketer calls.

Jazzy;1280269 wrote: I have been on the do not call list for over a year now and it has stopped all those annoying telemarketer calls.


It's rather less effective in the UK because the legislation can't ban marketing calls from overseas, and a lot of the advertising here is made from foreign call centers. I wonder why your enforcement is so much more effective?

Jazzy;1280269 wrote: I have been on the do not call list for over a year now and it has stopped all those annoying telemarketer calls.


That's great Jazzy, thanks for letting me know that it does stop all of them.

She had said I may still get the odd one.



I just found this awesome way of stopping them yesterday.

Odie;1280290 wrote: That's great Jazzy, thanks for letting me know that it does stop all of them.

She had said I may still get the odd one.



I just found this awesome way of stopping them yesterday.


When you first register, it takes 30 days before the calls stop. I don't know why it takes so long but I just wanted to mention this. Also after the 30 days if a telemarketer calls make sure you get the company name and phone number. On the Do Not Call site there is a section to report the call. It only happened to me once and they never called me again. Make sure you also register your cell phone number(s) as well.

Jazzy;1280298 wrote: When you first register, it takes 30 days before the calls stop. I don't know why it takes so long but I just wanted to mention this. Also after the 30 days if a telemarketer calls make sure you get the company name and phone number. On the Do Not Call site there is a section to report the call. It only happened to me once and they never called me again. Make sure you also register your cell phone number(s) as well.


She did tell me it could take up to 2 months, I guess it takes a while plus now there are new phone numbers

this is the one I had been receiving now for a month, when I picked it up, no one was there.

1-000-000-0000



Normally when they call it says 'blocked call'.



I will for the others as I do have call display and will notify DNC, thank you for letting me this!:-6



I don't own a cell.....thank goodness, not about to pay 100.00 for bluetooth.

Odie;1280226 wrote: hey Shellsis, I forgot to tell you!:-6

I won a contest from HGTV.......7 YEARS AGO

-$300.00 in C.I.L. PAINT

-$175.00 gift certificate from Home Sense

-2 hour consultation with a professionally decorator who help me choose our paint colours.

-2 professional painters for one day who painted our living room, dining room, door frames and baseboards and our entire kitchen in two colours our decorator had helped us chose.

that was a free contest......I paid nothing.

-your lucky also sis, as you pay absolutely nothing for you trip, now these are real contests.:-6



the ones where you have to pay something, are the ones when you receive those stupid phone calls.:-5

-if you have to pay anything from anywhere, is is not free.



-those are the types that this thread is about.:rolleyes:


Isn't it exciting to win stuff? My trip was the top prize...it was so awesome! They also cover everything...meals have their $ limit tho.

We've been registered with them for a while now.

it's the best thing and no more annoying phone calls!

ButterflyPrincess;1280436 wrote: We've been registered with them for a while now.

it's the best thing and no more annoying phone calls!


that's great BF!

glad some do know about it.

shelbell;1280428 wrote: Isn't it exciting to win stuff? My trip was the top prize...it was so awesome! They also cover everything...meals have their $ limit tho.




I was shocked when they phoned!:guitarist

keep thinking I won something.:wah: