I got this message on the answering machine at home. It was some guy telling me that I had put my name into a drawing and that I had won a prize. It sounded conspicuously like some kind of advertising pitch for a three reasons: 1) He started talking before the beep and the beginning of the message was cut off, so he was probably a recording. 2) His voice sounded like it was coming through one of those lousy headsets with people in the background. 3) He didn't use my name. The whole thing sounded like a recording just meant to be dialled at random.
Anyway, I ignored it. He said something about winning a car or some nonsense, but if it was some marketing thing I didn't feel interested.
So I was at work last Tuesday when my cell phone rings. The answering machine had called me because I had gotten another message. The message sounded like the same guy, but he had left a different message. So maybe it wasn't a recording. Anyway, I was bored, so I called the number he left.
A woman answered and I told her that I had been told via an answering machine message that I had won a prize. After confirming several details (they already had this information), she told me again that I had won a prize.
I would receive one of five prizes:
- A Ford Explorer
- A 4-night Hawaiian Vacation
- $2500 in cash
- A Bahamas vacation, including 4 days in Florida and 3 in the Bahamas
- A 27-inch Panasonic TV
This group of prizes sounds familiar. It sounds exactly like prizes offered to my parents when they were suckered into a timeshare presentation back when I was a young'n.
Anyway, I set up an appointment with the woman on the phone to visit this prize claim office. I'll be stopping by on Wednesday at 8pm to their office in the Devon Square business center.
Here is the address of the place:
724 W. Lancaster Ave.
Suite 104
Devon Square Business Center
Devon, PA 19333
I wonder if anyone else out there has heard of Global Advantage or knows why they would offer these prizes. But let me show you how this works...
Obviously, these prizes are the bait. I was told that there would be a giant bingo-like chamber in which there would be cards. Each card has on it a scratch-off area. The scratch-off area reveals a number one through five, indicating the prize that you have won.
Each contestant extracts a card from the tumbler, scratches off the number, and wins a prize.
But everyone wins the same prize. In fact, I can tell you that everyone will win prize number 4.
I can also tell you that prize number 4 does not come with airfare, car rental, or any other amenity but the hotel stay. In addition, if you win the prize and you do manage to make it there, you will be required to attend another timeshare presentation in both Florida and the Bahamas. While you're there, you will probably be hooked with another prize possibility.
I wouldn't deem it impossible to receive the Hawaiian vacation prize with the same downside - no transportation to or from the destination. But the other three are pretty much out of the question.
Fortunately for you all, Berta and I have a timeshare and don't really need or want another one, especially not from a fly-by-night operation such as this. I've told everyone I know about how great our timeshare is. If they choose not to do it on their own based on that, I'm not going to force them into a bingo-style farce that prys their money out of their fists.
So when we attend Wednesday, we'll be sure to take a camera and a pack of playing cards and really scope out this Global Advantage company. Hopefully they'll break all my expectations and we'll end up with a new TV or some large pocket money.
Stop back again on Thursday to see how things went!
