Do not call!

Oh joy,
 I have won a prize for signing a form at a Phoenix Suns Basketball game. Not hardly, lady, I would not have gone to a Suns Game. They stink!  Especially since Marley and Barkley left. If she would have said Diamondbacks... well maybe I would have at least called her back.

Attended the presentation and came away with nothing to show for it. Winning the $100,000 prize is comparable to winning the Lottery. My advice is not to waste your time on this. Here is my full story, if you'd like to know more:

Just for fun, my husband and I entered a drawing to win a cash prize or a car in our local mall a few months back. I received a call yesterday, telling us that my name had been drawn and we needed to come and claim our prize. Carol on the phone was calling from Diamond Resorts International and when I asked her about the legitimacy of this call, she assured me that their company had a very prestigious reputation and that they'd never make a call like this that wasn't accurate. She went on to explain that the prize would be either $100,000 or a new car or one of five prize vacation packages that she thoroughly explained in detail. Although I'm naturally a skeptic with these kinds of things, I agreed to make the appointment to claim my prize at Diamond Resorts in Scottsdale that evening since we only live a short drive away. I was assured that I'd only have to sit through a 90 minute presentation, with absolutely no obligations to purchase, and then I'd receive a ticket to scratch and find out which prize I'd won. My husband and I both agreed that we had nothing to lose and that we didn't want to always wonder if we'd only gone if we'd have won. The staff at Diamond Resorts was professional, the presentation was painless, and the free refreshments were a bonus. BUT at the end of the night, my husband and I both felt lied to. As we had suspected, my name was not one of an elite few that had been drawn from the mall's prize entry. Hundreds of people attend these prize presentations every week. Moreover, the $100,000 or new car prize has ridiculous odds comparable to winning the lottery. All we came home with was 2 vouchers for "free" vacations that offer such inconvenient dates and require so many expensive fees that we'll never bother using them. We feel we'd come out paying less if we plan our own vacation on our own terms. On the bright side, we'll never wonder if we'd only gone if we'd have won the $100,000. But I'd never recommend this to anyone unless you are truly interested in viewing the sales presentation from Diamond Resorts International.

I received an urgent message call at 9:04pm tonight from a Lydia. She said she was calling from the gifting dept.  The reason for her call was that I went to the Buena Park Mall Promenade,  (The Promenade is in Brea) were I filled out an entry form for a chance to win a car.  I'm calling to verify the information
, tell you about the gift and how you can go about claiming it.  Congratulations!

The person's name was Lydia at Ext. 79  It was after 9pm so I could not call.  I'm to call her back tomorrow between 2pm-9pm at 888 342-7935

After reading this website I decided to call the number to see what company it was related too. It turns out it belongs to Diamond Resorts Int'l.  I probably won't be returning the call.

This operation is still going.   We got a ph msg this morning that we "had won one of the top five gifts" to call "Jeffery Keel" back at ex62.  We had filled out an enter to win at the Ventura County Fair last September.  

From reading above, and our experience with timeshare offers, I'm sure this is a time share offer and that THE ONE "of the top five gifts" we won is just a vacation to one of their time share locations with lots of strings attached.  Your chances of winning the 100,000 is still about the odds of winning the same amount in the state lottery or at a casino.  
See the detailed post at http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/8883427935#p358110086592052830 from "There is no Spoon."  

At that same webpage I discuss under what six conditions you may still want to call them to see if the offer may be worthwhile for you.  In short: if going to and sitting thru a timeshare presentation, and getting to the timeshare itself, and the uncertanties and risks, is worth the approximate 300$ value for a similary self arranged two night getaway.  For most people the answer is a clear "NO."

I confirm that what 'There is no Spoon' says is consistent with my experience.  But a few of you may still want to take advantage of the offer with your eyes open.  

First, about open your eyes.
Though the three timeshare offers we attended between 1993 and 2003 were openly advertized as 2 night get-a-ways to a nice hotel in exchange for the 90 min presentation, a decade ago we knowingly risked mailing in a 75$ prepayment for a Bahamas cruise, which we never heard from again.  Putting the details of all these experiences together, makes a perfect fit to 'There is no Spoons' details.

The call that prompted me to come to this website started with our signing  up for "Enter to Win" at the Ventura County Fair last September.  This morning we got the phone message from "jeffery keel" at x62 that we were "one of the top five gifts."  Though my wife expected a scam, she was excited by the prospect -- someone has to win sometime.  Thanks to this website, 800notes.com, and yellowpages.com's reverse phone number lookup I now am sure the top five prize I probably (1 to 1.04) is a trip to some timeshare location.  

When to take advantage:
We are going to pass on this offer.  But if you:
1)  live close enough to attend the 90 min timeshare offer
2)  are strong enough to not fall for the offer  (my wife thought the were a bit too pushy, I felt they were reasonable)
3)  if you do decide to buy a timeshare (we did decide to proceed with buying one at Polo Towers in Las Vegas undergoing rennovation that was half the price of the new units just built and also for sale) you READ AND UNDERSTAND the contract and decide if it still is for you (we didn't and went back the next day and cancelled as they tell is your 3 day right of recission  -- I'm pleased to report that that TS org was totally pleasant about cancelling the contract and didn't try to dissuade us)
4) you consider the probable vacation prize worth all the costs and conditions 'There is no Spoon' informs you of are acceptable  (for us, a key condition would be that we could drive to the vacation site in 4 hours)
5) you're wise enough to turn down the cruise if you are unlucky enough to win it  (or can drive to the port of deparkation, or want to go so bad you are willing to jump thru all the hoops and pay all the associated costs and take all the risks they put on you)
6) you are not hoping to win one of the tangible prizes (cash, gas card, home theater or whatever)
Then maybe it is worth your while to call them back and see if the 90-min promotion and the vacation are close enough, and the vacation spot is desirable for you enough to make this worth you while.

But I suggest instead you just find a TS location close to you, call them and say you are interested, and what promotional package can they offer to make it worth you while to come hear their pitch.  Then:
-- learn about the downsides of timeshares (rarely rarely rarely a good financial investment)
-- learn about timeshare swaps  (hard to swap if your TS isn't a popular destination),
-- go enjoy your night or two little getaway witht the free brunch and dinner,
-- listen to the pitch,
-- wisely decide if you are ones that TS make sense for  (keep your head).
-- and drive home rested and happy.

Or decide that saving 300 bucks on a nice weekend getaway isn't worth all the research, presentations, pressure, hoops, and uncertanty and plan your own 300$ getaway.  Or as a consolation, be a tourist for the day in your own or a neighboring town, drop 30$ on a dinner for two, a 1$ on a DVD rental, 5$ on desert, and enjoy your own bed.

This is a hoax call...no gift nothing...all waste of time if we call back or go to the location that they have specified during the voice message of call..

Nice all i needed to know

I got the same phone call.  Thanks to all of your advice, I didn't fall into their trap.

It's a call center. You likely entered a drawing somewhere, or someone entered for you.  My hunch is that 99% of the time, a person does this in "good-faith", with the however slight hope they may win something.

A few weeks later, this "call center" contacts the person via the phone number entered on the "prize drawing form".  The call center agent will claim that you "may have won" whatever it is you entered the drawing for.

The bottom line is: it's extremely unlikely that you "won" anything.  The truth is, this is a marketing tool used by many "timeshare" companies in order to sell ownership in their timeshare.  By having you complete a drawing form, they get your phone number, name, email address, etc., you now represent a a "qualified sales lead".

Beware!

I also did received a call from Rey @619-858-3120 ext 59 of PMR Gift Center and informed me that I'm one of those who qualify for the grand draw with prices from Range Rover SUV or $100,000.00, Las Vegas Gateaway, Trip to Hawaii, South-West Airlines fly to any destinations and so on and so forth,,,,he's asking me and my wife with the kids to attend,,,,too good to be true, this was about the info I've entered at Journey's Concert at Irvine, CA 3 months ago,,,,are we going to attend? I think this is crap!!!

I received a call from (619) 858-3120 but when I checked the message, "Alicia" from "PMR Gifting Center" gave me a call back number of (877) 603-7365. She said that she had "great news" in regards to a raffle or something I entered at the nearby mall - which had to be months and months ago. At first I was excited (I mean who wouldn't be at winning something) but then my rational side kicked in due to the suspicion behind the two different numbers and the fact that they've called several times before but thus was the first time they left a message . I background checked the 619 number and it came back as "Great America." Needless to say, I think I'll pass on their "great news" since they couldn't even tell me what it was.

Got a voice mail on my work phone (the call came in at 6:20 PM) from a Mrs. Norman telling me about some wonderful gift opportunities and to call her back at (888) 342-7335.
I called back next morning to a company that identified itself as Pacific Monarch Resorts and was told Mrs. Norman would be in after 5:00 PM.
Not calling back as I presume it's going to be one of those time waster time share pitches.
Oh, the toll number that seems to be associated with the toll free number is (951) 905-5380, which is west Riverside County.

dont do it! its a scam

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR GET YOUR HOPES UP !
IT'S NOT REAL PEOPLE !!!

IT'S ALL BULLSH*T  !

Hah, I just got a call from this lady. But she changed her ext to 79. LOL. She said I filled out a form in xxxx restaurant......

A person named Christina of PMR Gift Center left a voice mail on my mobile phone yesterday saying that me and my wife just won wonderful prizes - 100K, Car or vacation in Hawaii / Vegas. She called my work phone as well on same day. I gave Christina a call the following day to check the details of it. She gave me the address where can I go and collect my prize/s. I am having doubts right now because I am not sure if this is something legal and valid especially after reading the comments posted here. I think they are selling something (a property in a resort maybe) and they are using this mode of advertisement. What do you think?

Caller ID (951) 905-5387 but they asked for me to return their call at the 888 number.  Said they were from the $100,000 Giveaway Gift Center, and that they missed me at the April drawing.  Also said in the message that my gifts, and a bonus prize were waiting for me at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Showroom.  There's a drawing again tomorrow and I'm invited to attend.  

I assume the "drawing" is a timeshare presentation.  I won't be going.  I haven't been in that mall for two years at least, so I don't know where this company got my information.

The person  called me about "the exiting gift giveaway". Is it all ridged nowadays? What is doing our law enforcement doing about it?

Tim called from a Mall in Vegas, Outlet mall and said "You won a car"  not that simple yet so we shall see, I think there is a (buy this house or condo or time share first... or give me your banking info then you get the car.   We shall see.

Paul

Took my number off a car entry at Christmas in the Park. Has called every night for a week and claims they can't take me off their list.

i got a call, and a voicemail.  Gave me a call back number of 888-342-7935, she said to ask for Desiree at extension 44.  I called back, a "resort" anwered and said that promoters were at lunch, and for me to call back at 1:00pm.  I googled the number to make sure if it was a scam, and since reading these posts, i will not call back or answer again.  The woman on my voicemail comgratulated me, said I won a vacation at a resort from a drawing.  She said I filled out for it at a restaurant, and I like to fill those things out, so I tried to think of when I did that specific one.... I have no clue.

Ha ha ha!!!!!  I LOVED your post!!  Oh my goodness - they sad part is, people actually fall for these scams.  Thanks for enlightenning us! My son got a call today.  All we have to do is tell them he's 17, unemployed, no credit cards, still in high school............ That should eliminate future calls1

It's Pacific Monarch Grand Vacation.   EVERY prize is basically a VEGAS trip.  And, you HAVE to certify mail the claim in-- they only tell you that in person.... it doesn't say it on the form anywhere.   I got sucked in by my husband to go to the sales presentation in Rancho Cucamonga.  All in all, I could tell where the scams were and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the "couples" that bought into it were part of the employees but they weren't pushy when we told them we weren't interested.

http://oconley.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/2hr-waste-of-time-suckers/

Got a call to my wife's cell for me saying I had entered a contest at the theater and won.  Had to call back to claim it.
Per the above, I did not call back.

got a call from 888-342-7935, a woman named Brenda told me I won something...it was a Fraud !!!! it was acutally some kind of timeshare company....im so glad i was smart enough to not fall into their trap.

they called me 3 times (Deborah, somebody I don't remember and Frank).
They said I could win 100,000, a car or some other prizes (the smallest being a $100 gas card) just by going at a 90 minute presentation tonight at 8:30.
Well, screw it, my husband and I are going... we never know... Plus we're not stupid. As soon as they ask any credit card information we're out of there.
Can somebody who went as far as going to the show room report their experience?
Thanks

BTW, (in addition to my post last night about PMR) I also found quite a few bad experiences about PMR on Ripoff Report.com at the following link (It's a good site for checking all companies before buying from them):

http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp ... bmit2=Search%21

Happy reading!

Sylvia phoned from her number 1-866-448-3427 (ext 71) at my mobile, and I was chosen for an entry. She told me I can win a 1000.000K or a car, etc. of any 5 prizes including a trip of 3 days/ 2 nights for either a cruise or time share (the catch was to observe "out of being skeptical", their customer service, etc. something like a "secret shopper" and report to them what we have observe). I was not really excited as I was a little confused and I was not convinced. Then she tells me to call a day before I show up at 866-5404601 to get the pass word for bonus gift and show up the day after at San Mateo Showroom next week.. That day I spoked to her, she said she was going to send me an email of the details she has told me, its been 3 days and no email from her. Hmmm, I am getting concerned about this! If any of you have done this before, can you please tell me what is really going on..?? Looks like this is a scam. I am afraid!!