Complaint Review: UBI Payment Services

I received a letter in the mail in a clear plastic bag/envelope. Enclosed was a single piece of white printer paper and a small envelope.

The piece of paper was folded into 3 sections. On the back and on the top section, was printed my name and address, upside down (which showed through the clear bag/envelope thing) and on the bottom left corner of this section of the paper was a rectangle that was sectioned into 3 parts. The first larger section says "AIR MAIL If undelivered, PLS return to: s/o TMF Orchard Post Office PO Box 51 Singapore 912302". The next smaller section says " SINGAPORE PP1880" and has a company logo that is the word Singapore in cursive font and POST in a black box. The last section is a picture of a silhouette of a Traveler's Palm Frond with the words "Traveler's Palm" above it.

The middle section of the paper was left blank except for a very very very light/faint gray color type saying "OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES".

The middle and bottom sections are separated by a very faint gray colored dotted line.

In the last bottom section of the page followed more very faint gray, very tiny type saying " This contest of skill is open to legal U.S. and Canadian residents (except residents of Florida), and residents of other countries. Void in Florida and where prohibited by law. This contest will not be mailed into Texas. You must be 18 years or older to participate.

The Sponsors employees or members of their immediate family, agents or any other person who is connected with the creation or administration of this contest are not eligible to win. The $5,000.00 Grand Prize in this contest is subject to all federal, state, and local regulations.

By entering this contest, the contestants will be deemed to have read and understood these rules and to be bound by them and by any other requirement set out in any related promotional material. All contestants must be 18 years of age or older to participate in this contest. This contest may consist of a number of varying presentations sponsored by Windsor-Morgan & Parker. Only those contestants notified by mail will be eligible.

No purchase, payment or contribution necessary to enter or win. This contest of skill is not a lottery, game of chance, sweepstakes or gambling. There is no luck or chance involved. There is a substantial degree of skill necessary to win the $5,000.00 Prize. All contestants must submit the correct final tiebreaker puzzle to win. Additional tiebreakers may be necessary to decide a winner if contestants have tied scores. The additional tiebreakers commence 0 days prior to the deadline date. The Sponsor is not responsible for entries which are lost, stolen or delayed by mail. Multiple entries per contestant are accepted.

The final teibreaker must be received by December 30, 2010 deadline date. The $5,000.00 Prize will be paid within 30 days from the deadline date. The winner will be notified at the address given in the contact details. The winner will be required to send a copy of their passport or identification to the Sponsor to confirm their age and identity. Acceptance of the $5,000.00 Prize by the winner gives the Sponsor the right to use the winners name for promotional purposes, both immediately after their win and in the future, unless prohibited by law. No contestant can win more then $5,000.00.

Participation to this Contest of Skill constitutes automatic acceptance of all conditions set out in these rules.

Sponsored by Windsor-Morgan & Parker. PO Box 4805, Robina Town Centre QLD 4230, Australia.

Privacy Policy: Occasionally, we make our lists available to carefully screened companies whose products or services might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to release your name, or continue receiving our own mailings, please write to the address above.

UBIPS 121407"

On the other side of the paper was the following:

Top middle stated in bold type "UBI Payment Services Guaranteed Delivery Statement". On the right top corner is a rectangle box separated into two sections. The first left side section says " Approved by Accounting Department", the right side says " Statement Value $5,000.00 Check". Under this is what is supposed to look like an authentic stamp of approval but it has obviously been printed with the rest of the paper, and above/over it says "STAMP OF APPROVAL FROM THE ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT". The 'stamp' itself is a circle with the word 'UBI' on the bottom 5 times and on top 5 times, and in the middle it says "* RELEASE APPROVED 'Y symbol' BY ACCOUNTING 'Y symbol' DEPARTMENT *".

The letter starts in the middle of the page and says " Dear (my name),

This is a very important statement. You are guaranteed to receive $5,000.00 if you return the release form as instructed and fulfill the contest requirements.

The Accounting Department has retained the services of a reputable courier to deliver the check for $5,000.00. This is a contest with additional tiebreakers to determine the winner. This contest of skill is not a lottery, game of chance or gambling.

Please do not delay in responding. There is no purchase, payment or contribution necessary to enter or win.

(My name), this document is to serve as your official certification that you are the sole and rightful owner of $5,000.00 Payment Number UBI5. This is an official document confirming your status regarding the guaranteed payment whose distribution is now pending.

Respectfully,

(Joe Ryan's 'signiture' which is printed)
Joe Ryan
Accounting Department"

At the bottom of the page it says "Detach and return release form in envelope provided" with two arrows pointing down to a dotted black line. Under this is states "RELEASE FORM" on top of a box on the left side, and "PUZZLE" on the left. Under the word "PUZZLE" is has the following: "Circle the correct answer" and under that it says "20 + 5 = 25 21 23". On the left side under "RELEASE FORM" is has a 4 small boxes and 1 larger box. the first box on the upper right side says "Approved by Accounting Department". The box next to that says "Statement Value $5,000.00 Check". The next box says "Payment Number UBI5". The box underneath the first box says "Dated July 15", and the one next to that is the larger box which says "Check ID Number USHORG05 Q489063568".

Next to the boxes, on the right side it has 2 check boxes, one on top of the other. Next to the one on top it says "I wish to claim the $5,000.00 check.". Next to the bottom check box it says "I, (my name), confirm and authorize you to deliver the $5,000.00 check at (my address) Please sign below to accept official contest rules listed over." and then a line with "signed by (my name)" at the very bottom right side. On the very bottom left side, under the boxes, there is a scanner bar.

On the right side, bottom of the page, turned vertically, are a couple of codes which say "USWMPSCPW01L2","USWMPSCW01","005028".

The envelope is small and on the front side, upper left corner, there is a solid blue box with "AIRMAIL INTERNATIONAL" in white print on it. The upper right side has a black box (not solid) which says "INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE REQUIRED", and in the middle of the envelope is another bar code with the address "PO Box 4805 Robina Town Centre QLD 4230 AUSTRALIA" printed.

On the very bottom left side of the envelope is a printed in small type "UBI5BBB".


This all looks very suspicious to me and I would not buy into it. They are trying to get you to think you have nothing to lose by saying "no purchase necessary" but they make you pay for international postage which is NOT cheap. Also, the so called rules and regulations are stating the exact same things that the actual letter say except they try to hide the rules on the back of the page in the lightest font they could possibly find, so you have to fold the page up and hold it at an angle to see it. The fact that the "seal of approval" is not even a real stamp kind makes me laugh also. Another thing that gets me is that there is no set person in the "accounting department" mentioned until the fake/printed signature. Even AFTER the signature it still just says "approved by the accounting department". Also the address stated on the "please return to" section, the address for the sponsor, and the address on the "acceptance envelope" are ALL different! One is in Singapore, and one is in Australia. Highly suspicious. Lastly I would like to point out that you really have no idea what you are "accepting" when you sign and return, because they don't send you the full official rules until AFTER you send in your signature. They can scan your signature into a computer and reprint it just like they have done to the one they used to send you this letter in the first place. I wouldn't chance it.

BrieseGirl
Spring Valley, California
U.S.A.