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It’s one of life’s great moments: the moment you receive that email, phone call or letter telling you that you’ve actually won that competition you’d forgotten even entering. But once the excitement has passed and your heart rate has returned to normal... what should you do next? Keep Track of Competition Entries Well, the first thing is not to forget that you’ve entered the competition in the first place! If you’re serious about trying to win some of the fantastic prizes offered today in every medium from television to travel competitions, then you need to keep track of your entries. Keep a note in your phone’s diary to record the date, company name and details of the competitions you enter so that you can keep track of closing dates and look out for replies. Check Your Email It may sound obvious, but there are people who missed out on prizes they’d won because the email notifying them went into their spam folder, so it’s a good idea to check your inbox and spam folder regularly. Verify Your Win Sadly, there are unscrupulous people out there who will use scam competitions and scam notification letters and emails to try and get money or bank account details from you. It’s important to make sure the company and competition you’ve won is legitimate before you get too excited. The first step is to check out their email/website for an actual, physical address. If you’re still worried then it’s a good idea to call them - it can be easier to judge if a company is legit over the phone. If in doubt, Google them, see what other people are saying about them. Let the Company Know You Want the Prize Once you’ve received your notification and you’re happy the competition is legitimate, you must remember to respond. There’d be nothing worse than winning a fabulous travel competition only to find the prize had been given to someone else because you failed to get in touch! Send off an email straight away to confirm that you’ve received the notification. Most competitions will ask you to verify certain information about yourself. Don’t worry about this (you checked them out, remember?) - this is just to ensure that you are who you say you are and that you meet any entry requirements outlined in the competition’s terms and conditions. Keep Your Eye on the Prize You’ve been told you’ve won, but until the prize is actually in your hand it’s a good idea to keep track of it. Make sure to ask the competition runner when it will arrive and in what format (a travel competition prize may be in the form of e-tickets while others may arrive in a brown package on your doorstep). If nothing arrives after a reasonable amount of time, don’t be afraid to get back in touch with the company running the competition to chase it up. When, at last, it does arrive, it’s always a nice idea to send a thank you to the company involved. Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of InsureMore, an award-winning team of specialists in global single trip and annual travel insurance policies. Besides providing great deals on travel insurance, Patrick also collects and shares the best free travel competition offers to help his clients’ opportunities to win a free break.
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