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PCH

It’s illegal for a company to tell someone to pay to enter a sweepstakes contest, or that buying something increases their odds of winning. You might not be surprised if a fly-by-night contest promoter deceived people by saying these things. But would you expect a well-known company that’s been running sweepstakes for decades to deceive people?

The FTC says that Publishers Clearing House used language and designs on its website and in its email marketing that tricked consumers, including many older adults, into believing they had to buy things on the PCH website to enter a sweepstakes. Or that doing so would improve their chances of winning a prize.

Customers who did buy something on PCH.com were in for a few surprises. (And they didn’t involve someone arriving at their door with a giant check and a TV crew). The FTC says

  • PCH hid shipping and handling fees that added an average of 40% to customers' orders.
  • PCH's claims that orders were risk free were bunk. Customers had to pay the shipping costs to return merchandise.

As part of a settlement, PCH agreed to pay $18.5 million, among other things.

If you’re considering participating in a sweepstakes contest, here’s what to know:

  • Real sweepstakes are free and by chance. It’s illegal to ask you to pay or buy something to enter.
  • If you sign up for a contest, the promoters might sell your information to advertisers. If they do, you’re likely to see targeted ads online and get more junk mail, telemarketing calls, and spam email.
  • Scammers try to try to trick you into believing you won a prize. Never share your financial information or pay fees, taxes, or customs duties to get a prize.

Learn more about recognizing prize and sweepstakes scams. And if you see a prize scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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Submitted by Ismael Pagan on June 28, 2023 | 8:21AM

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I been with PCH since stuffing envelopes with 3x5 cards for over 30 years now an it was until I publish on FB the certificates they send in the mail for been a customer for such long. I never won a price until I wrote on FB never won for 30 years to later receive two (2) checks for around $5 and a $6 after I posted it on FB! Yep the amount of stamps and envelopes to include going to the post office "Snow or Rain" never won a real thing but two miserable checks that barely add up to $10 didn't even cover for my time and gas to mention the cost of stamps and envelopes. I still have the certificates to show off to the public!

Submitted by I was playing … on July 11, 2023 | 6:29AM

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I "won" allot of cash but was misled BC apparel without the instant win all the way across the field of the game they are only coins even with the rest being wild they had two of them 5000 and 3000 I called only to be told to email screenshots and I did and no response at all to my email I had to go into the privacy policy to re read basically all of it to learn you not only don't win but you have to search to actually claim the money and they basically said I was uneducated to believe it would be that easy to win and I was then ask did I do the search online/