Local Contest Entries Sold to Telemarketers?

Posted by the VP
December 10, 2005

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I got telemarketed a couple nights ago. This is significant for me, since I am non-published and have been registered on the government’s Do Not Call list for almost two years. I rarely get telemarketed anymore, so when I do I try to find the source. This one claimed it was a result of entering a local contest at an Idaho Falls business, but declined to say which one. Isn’t that convenient?

My phone rang in several short rings, which is caused by my security screen feature alerting me the person tried calling with their number blocked. My service requires them to unblock their number before it can ring through, then the phone rings in the short tones to alert me it was one of those calls.

They asked my wife for me by name, so they certainly had my info. They said I had won something from a contest I entered recently in the Idaho Falls area. My “prize” was a three- or four-night stay at a hotel in Anaheim or Las Vegas. I would not be awarded air fare, but once I sat through a four-hour presentation in one of those cities I would also be awarded a $75 gift certificate good at several retail locations. The telemarketer then asked if I was married.


I asked what location it was that I had entered the contest? The reply was at some business in Idaho Falls, but that the business had asked not to be identified. Uh-huh. Isn’t that convenient? I asked to be removed from their list, got confirmation of my request, and hung up.

I was left wondering what store I had made the contest entry at? I remembered a Farr’s Jewelry contest for a TV at Town & Country Gardens, but I am sure there were some others I entered the last few weeks.

It really left a bad impression that a local business might do that; it seems very underhanded. Any comments on businesses that do this type of thing would be greatly appreciated across our entire community.

So I have learned not to enter these contests where I have to give my contact information and realistically have little chance of winning anything besides annoyance calls.

Open Sores

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