Properties that are sold via ‘win a house’ competitions are under the spotlight again following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority over a recent promotion.
The £5-a-ticket lottery offered people the chance to ‘win a castle’, a £1.5 million Baronial-style 1880s-built mansion in Dumfries & Galloway (above).
A final draw took place in May this year and instead of the original prize of Orchardton Castle plus £10,000, three prizes totalling £77,000 were given out.
“When I started this competition, it never occurred to me that people would not jump at the chance to live in such a beautiful area with a building that could give them a lifestyle and income that could be a dream come true,” said owner and author Susan DeVere on her ‘Win Your Castle’ website.
Funds
The lottery raised £107,000 and after 15% was deducted for advertising costs and 15% for a donation to charity, the remaining funds were then distributed.
The ASA says the date of the draw was changed at least twice before being completed and that the ‘minimum required’ was not reached.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code requires that promoters must award the prize as described in their marketing communications or reasonable equivalents, normally within 30 days.
But the complainant challenged whether the competition has been administered fairly after entering the promotion in the hope of winning the castle.
The promoters of the ‘Win Your Castle’ failed to response to the ASA and, after looking at all the evidence, the watchdog concluded that the promotion had not been administered fairly and was in ‘breach of the CAP code’.
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