domainwatch.org

Perth’s Sunday Times has run a story on the “Win a Plasma HDTV promotion” and refers to Bradley Norrish, without specifically naming him.

Probe into competition
http://sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,16560480%5E2761,00.html

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11sep05

AN internet competition offering a television as a prize has run foul of WA authorities.

After an investigation by The Sunday Times, the Gaming and Wagering Commission has begun an inquiry into the competition, which one online activist described as a “money-grubbing scam.”

The Department of Consumer and Employment Protection has also assigned one of its investigators to look into the competition.

The competition is being run from a post office box in Wanneroo and has links to a man with a history of trying to dupe consumers.

Internet users are automatically directed to the competition when they visit sites such as music.com.au and aru.com.au.

The “Plasma HDTV Promotion” website asks entrants to provide their names and email addresses and also sign for a premium-rate SMS service to receive a weekly horoscope.

The promotion website says the horoscope costs $2.50 a month, but the fine print says the amount can be increased at the promoter’s discretion up to $30 a month.

Competition promoter Sprite Multimedia said the competition was a trade promotion. “(It) abides by the law entirely,” said Sprite’s Mark Turner.

“A full copy of the terms and conditions has been submitted to the Gaming and Wagering Commission.”

But the commission’s David Helge said calls by The Sunday Times had prompted an investigation into the competition.

Mr Helge said he was confident Sprite’s competition was a bona fide trade promotion, despite the manufacturer of the television not wanting any association with the competition. Sprite started the competition on August 1, but only contacted the commission with its terms and conditions nine days later.

Mr Helge said the commission would contact Edith Cowan University and Philips after they expressed concerns about the competition to The Sunday Times.

Telephone numbers on domain registration details for the competition website belong to Edith Cowan University.

“ECU has no involvement in this practice and has given no one permission to use these numbers,” an ECU spokesman said.

Manufacturer Philips told The Sunday Times it believed the competition was trying to use its name “to add legitimacy to a website with questionable motives”.

“We were not happy that a Philips product was used in this way, especially as the website itself looks extremely dubious in my opinion,” Philips’ David Wolf said.

Online activist Josh Rowe said Sprite’s competition was preying on the naivety of entrants and that he had lodged a complaint about it with DOCEP.

Mr Rowe’s watchdog website, domainwatch, claims the premium-rate SMS number used by Sprite prompts entrants to re-enter their numbers.

Another online watchdog, Blast Radius, described the competition as a “money-grubbing scam”.

The SMS number has a troubled history and links Sprite to a man who was taken to court last month by Consumer and Employment Protection over dozens of alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act.

A decision on the case is due tomorrow.

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