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Buy an MP4 player and win £8m of London flats
Sri Carmichael12.11.08
AN £8million block of London flats went up for grabs today in Britain's biggest free prize draw which is set to raise £600,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.
Up to 200,000 entry tickets for the raffle to win the entire development of 11 Whitechapel apartments are being given away by property developer MIA Developments Ltd.
The raffle tickets are being given to people who buy a £60 MP4 player from the developer who claims the move escapes sanction by the Gambling Commission because entry is then free, unlike other recent property raffles which have been shut down for not holding lottery licences.
MIA launched the competition because it feared it would fail to sell the flats in the current market.
The two one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom flats in Myrdle Street, which will be finished next month, come with steam room Jacuzzi baths and Italian-designed kitchens with stone worktops.
In the current market they could together be rented out for some £500,000 a year. If all the MP4s are sold, enough will be raised to net the developers around £7million and cover PayPal transactions, stamp duty, VAT on the gadgets and their wholesale cost. The MP4s are being sold at nearly £30 below their recommended retail price.
Great Ormond Street will receive a donation of £3 from each MP4 sold - netting the hospital £600,000. The closing date for buying the MP4s players is 2 March when the draw takes place.
MIA's managing director Rafik Patel, 27, said: "Someone will be made for life if they win these flats. The draw is a great way to raise money for charity while making sure someone wins some fantastic flats and we make a profit in this difficult economic climate. "There's been a huge amount of interest from banks and mobile phone companies who want to become our corporate partners in the future.
"You could open an account with them and be entered for a draw to win our properties. It's a great concept and I think it will be huge, especially as it looks like it will take years for the housing market to recover here."
Mr Patel wanted to raise money for GOSH after his nephew had three months of life-saving treatment there last year when he was born with a heart defect.
"He's ok now thanks to the hospital," Mr Patel said. "I wanted to give something back." The hospital is planning to use the £600,000 to build a four-bed cardiac ward in its new heart and lung centre, due to open in 2012.
A spokesman for the charity said: "We were delighted to get involved. This will provide a fantastic boost to fundraising that will help thousands of children get the care they need. We're always looking for innovative ways to get people on board."
For more info visit http://www.winalondonpad.com/
Reader views (11)
Dear Mike,
I have been asked to respond to your message. Please read our T&Cs carefully to get all your questions answered. Term 8 states
8.Entries made by the Entrants to the Prize Draw will only be valid if a ticket or MP4 player or a product from one of our partners is purchased via the Website(s)
This clearly states that tickets count as a form of entry.
The MP4 players that we originally sold have been withdrawn by the manufacturer in January and since then we have offered a new MP4 player which is more expensive.
The winner will be draw on 5th March, we are comfortable with our legal standing and are not concerned with the Gambling Commission as our competition is a game of skill.
- James, London
In the Detail... Lots of questions in the detail, not too many answers, this article as others mentions a £60 mp3 player, the cheapest on the website is £99 plus £4.95 p & P making £103.95. The draw gives £3 for each MP3 player solder to Great Ormand Street. Also the drawer only goes ahead if over 20,000 MP3 players are sold, so suppose 1,000,0000 people enter but dont buy an MP3 player, my questions are:-
1. Does the competition go ahead? the Terms and Conditions do not make it clear.
2. Why is there a descrepancy between the £60 on News items and the £99 plus P & P on the website.
3. If the sale of the MP3 product is to get around the gaming rules, then what happens if people just buy the tickets without the MP3 player.
This starts off with a good plan, then we get a few people involved and they say.. oh lets sell that load of MP3 players we had at the same time, that will sort it... but no it just confuses things.. What happens if the Gaming commission investigate as in the case of the Devon House - Judgement expected shortly.
Mr Patel - Good idea - let down by detail.. or am I wrong post detailed replies on here to explain ....
- Mike, london
shame the site does not mention the music player at £60. And that the ticket for £50 will not be valid by the gaming commission. Im I missing something?
- Bob, london
All of these 'win a house' competitions are exactly what our country needs during these financially trying times. We've bought tickets to winalondonpad.com and various others and hope that everyone else does too.
- Kerry, London
This is a super idea for a great cause.
Seemingly everyone wins - let's just hope everything is ultimately proved to be beyond reproach and that 200,000 entrants are found.
I'm certainly one and I|'ve already bought one!
- Geoff Long, Cheshire
Hi this is Doc!...What a brilliant Idea!..In these times of financial unrest, and such a volatile world market, I thank the people who thought up this brilliant idea! Everyone wins in this situation, absolutely splendid!..I spoke with my family members, We are all going to buy into this cause, and are looking forward to seeing the hospital get a new wing, and, who knows??...For 60 Quid!!..we may even win??..Have a great day!..Cheers, Doc J
- Doktor J Feelgood, Surfers Paradise, Qld, Australia
To Md, London.
My apologies, perhaps I didn't explain clearly enough. This scheme is supposed to get around the issue of needing a gaming licence for a paid for game of chance (a lottery) by offering a draw ticket as a free extra for buying an MP4 player. However, if the MP4 player is worth nothing like the money that is being charged for it, then it does not constitute a "free" draw but instead falls foul of the Gambling Act 2005. Hence the article mentioning that it was an attempt to get around the problems that other similar schemes have had.
- Dilbert, London
The importance is not the MP4 player, that's jus a bonus for your comntribution, almost like a letter once you've donated to a charity. Great ormond street is a fantastic hospital, this is not only boosting their profiles, but is helping a family sell on these properties in an innovative way. I'll be definately buying a ticket, it'd definately be worthwile!
- Nargis Smith, Leytonstone
You are missing the point Dilbert. The MP4 player is nothing more than a £60 "raffle ticket", for which you get an MP4 player thrown in and a chance to win the flats.
If you are that interested in the features and benefits of the player, you could always investigate more by viewing the website.
- Md, London, UK
Interesting that they don't tell you the make or model of the MP4 player, or how much memory it has. There are plenty of MP4s on Amazon for £20, so the assumption must be that you're paying three times what the MP4 player is actually worth, for a 1 in 200000 chance of winning a jackpot.
- Dilbert, London
I think this is a wonderful idea, especially that the developer is helping a world reknown charity....
I'ver already bought a ticket....
- Charles Akuji, Ipswich, Suffolk
