Who doesn’t want to win something? Surprisingly, some people don’t. Here’s what do when the winner doesn’t accept the sweepstakes prize.
Sometimes people win prizes that they simply can’t use. Perhaps the acceptance terms of the prize overlap dates for which they already have plans, the prize comes with a high tax bill or the winner entered the sweepstakes with the intention of winning a different prize. Regardless of the reason, they want to decline your offer and you’re now stuck with a dilemma.
However, this won’t be a major problem for you if you make sure that your rules incorporate provisions for such situations.
Include Provisions for Declined Prizes in the Rules
Be sure your sweepstakes rules include clauses stating that the prize “cannot be transferred, redeemed for cash or substituted by winner.” Make it very clear that if person can’t take the prize (they can’t travel on the trip, or don’t like the prize, for example), then they will have to forfeit it.
Disallow Prize Transfers
While it may seem that your company is being unfair, disallowing trades and transfers actually serves some very important purposes. Firstly, it prevents your prize from being used in a way that your company didn’t intend for it to be used.
Disallowing transfers ensures that the prize will not be given to someone who is not actually eligible to win the prize because that person did not directly enter the sweepstakes. Allowing winners to transfer their prizes to others is unfair to the other participants in your sweepstakes and could lead non-winners taking legal action against your company
A Winner Who Wants to Trade the Prize Must Forfeit
By not allowing a winner to trade the prize, you can avoid trading something of more or lesser value for the original prize. Secondly, allowing winners to trade prizes could hurt your relationships with the companies you’ve partnered with for sweepstakes prizes.
Secondly, never allow winners to trade prizes for cash. The purpose of a sweepstakes is to boost your brand. When you just give away cash, you are simply paying for engagement that won’t do anything to boost awareness of your brand or emphasize its unique positioning within the market.
When it comes for dealing with unexpected circumstances during your sweepstakes, rules are vital to avoid these types of concerns. With complete rules that are designed to address all sorts of problems, you can avoid ending up with lawsuits on your hands.
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