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Tourists warned of scratch card con

10:39am Monday 22nd October 2007

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HOLIDAYMAKERS are being warned against buying scratch-cards abroad following a rise in the number of touts.

About 400,000 people fall for the con each year and now passengers flying from Manchester Airport to the Costa del Sol, Tenerife and Gran Canaria are being given leaflets urging them to be on their guard.

Those who get the cards find each one is a winner, but to claim their prize they have to go to a lengthy presentation in which they are encouraged to sign a holiday club contract which often ends up being access to an internet booking service and offers few advantages.

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Tubby Scruff, Alderley Edge says...
11:38am Mon 22 Oct 07

Good to see you've reported this correctly at last..it's only taken 3 weeks.

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exboltonian, southcoast says...
11:44am Mon 22 Oct 07

This was rife when I visited Malta recently.One guy in our hotel signed up and was bragging about his achievement and how he was looking forward to his low cost holidays. A friend of mine whose father also signed upto one of these clubs never got a single good deal. Mugs that are stupid enough to fall for this scam deserve all they get. A fool and his money are soon parted. Magic beans anyone??

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blue, Lancs says...
11:50am Mon 22 Oct 07

Its a class scam all the way, the presentation lasts about 3 hours, the aircon is turned off to make the room hot, and before your allowed to get to the free drinks and food you have to sit in this stifling heat, and the quickest way out is to sign up and avoid the lengthy sales pitch. Because you can only concentrate on how uncomfortable you are, your more suscpetbile to suggeation and high pressure sales techniques. Was taught similar tactics in my double glazing days.

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Brak, Bolton says...
12:02pm Mon 22 Oct 07

Yeah we went Malta too and they just pull up in cars and try and accost you! We just told them to get lost and carried on walking.

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kieanders, bolton says...
12:21pm Mon 22 Oct 07

when i went to tenerife 10 years ago, the touts offered some great deals, free waterpark tickets, lunches, walkmans, alcohol, allsorts. my parents spent 2 afternoons a week accepting the free gifts, even bartering with the tout for more (even got cash one day) then attending the presentation, sticking out for 3 hours and then claiming their prizes without sigining a contract. happy days!

the presentations are high pressure sales rooms though, gotta be strong to turn them down.

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charmaine, tonge moor says...
1:53pm Mon 22 Oct 07

i once won £16 on a scratch card, i wasnt on holiday though, i was in wigan

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Brak, Bolton says...
2:27pm Mon 22 Oct 07

were u holidaying in wigan charmaine?

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charmaine, tonge moor says...
2:35pm Mon 22 Oct 07

no i was on a nite out, do some people go on holiday in wigan? i can see why there is lots to do and its a proper funny nite out.

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kieanders, bolton says...
2:44pm Mon 22 Oct 07

charmaine wrote:
i once won £16 on a scratch card, i wasnt on holiday though, i was in wigan
its like being on holiday though!

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charmaine, tonge moor says...
2:48pm Mon 22 Oct 07

i suppose it was really, i had my passport with me for id, ha ha ha. i have only been once but i would go back, it was mint, i had a right laugh

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gazz_ball - Supera Moras!, bolton says...
4:10pm Mon 22 Oct 07

charmaine wrote:
i suppose it was really, i had my passport with me for id, ha ha ha. i have only been once but i would go back, it was mint, i had a right laugh
Where did you fly from? What's the airport like in wigan?

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charmaine, tonge moor says...
4:22pm Mon 22 Oct 07

we didnt fly you idiot, jaynes brother gave us a lift in his car, wigan isnt that far away only probably about 40 or 50 miles or something, its not even got an airport.

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Paul, Exeter says...
8:52pm Mon 22 Oct 07

Fly? Fly?
Surely you would get a boat and then get off at Wigan Pier

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kieanders, bolton says...
8:54am Tue 23 Oct 07

charmaine wrote:
we didnt fly you idiot, jaynes brother gave us a lift in his car, wigan isnt that far away only probably about 40 or 50 miles or something, its not even got an airport.
40 or 50 miles? really?

its strange that manchester is only about 12 miles.

and that night i walked back to westhoughton from wigan pier didn't seem like 50 miles!

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Hamish Macbeth, Whitefield says...
9:08pm Tue 23 Oct 07

I went on holiday to Wigan once...
But I didn't speak the language - had no phrase book - and got the screaming s**ts from eating pies...
Think I'll stick to to Bolton

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bigal, Thailand says...
8:13am Wed 24 Oct 07

The language is easy. You speak a kind of English and say the word "p*ssing" everywhere. For example "When does the p*issing cruise leave for the bahamas"?

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