Cheated in Facebook competition

lifeandtimes

lifeandtimes wrote: »

The small claims court will only take on your case if you have been at a lose based on a contract you had with the company.

They organised a contest and no one forced you to enter and all costs incurred are done so at the entrants expense.

There is no real legal avenue based on a contest organised by a company who then choose a winner.

I'm sure their terms stated their decision is final and these must be agreed to to enter the contest and based on this you must accept their decision whether its right or wrong

It's crap but happens all the time,look a referees in football games costing teams games by making awful calls.

Again im sorry you were screwed but this world is a crap place at times

Yeah that's what I thought, thanks for confirming! Will keep pushing from a PR angle I suppose!

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lifeandtimes

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Yeah that's what I thought, thanks for confirming! Will keep pushing from a PR angle I suppose!

No problem good luck

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_Roz_

OP, really sorry to hear about this. Fully support your efforts to get an apology on principle.

gmisk

piratequeen it looks like you were robbed tbh!
Definitely keep on them dont listen to the moaners here (btw your cake looks head and shoulders above the other entries - to my untrained eyes)

neonsofa

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Bizarre that people think because we have homelessness or other bad things in the world that we cannot also complain about competition cheating or other lesser bad things.

Newsflash::::
The homeless crisis is not going to be improved by piratequeen not seeking justice on the baking competition.

Exactly and if they are all so passionate about these causes why are they wasting their own time posting on such a "trivial" thread when they could be out doing something!

CeilingFly

Here's a different view.

I did make an error above saying that some likes cannot be seen. It is true, but only if you have blocked the person or that person has blocked you and not likel;y to be an issue.

The competition was run by a large multinational who i thought inly made Pizzas, but seem to make cake stuff too.

They had 5 "heats". the OP won heat 4 and the winner won heat 5 (might be other way around).

They and three others went into a like-off (for want fo a better word). The other three finalists were also rans from the off, but the winner and the oP were neck and neck right through to the end.

Facebook show that at the cloing time the OP has just reached the 1.1k likes and the winner was still at 1k - but as these numbers are in hundreds, its possible that the oP was at 1100 and the winner was at 1099 at that minute in time and the winner got a few more likes just as the bell went.

If you check the winner - he was pushing hard right up to 2pm, so very feasible the OP got pipped at the post.


Anyone looking at the heats and the way the voting went would see quite clearly it was all above board and that the only question was the last minute or so. But looking at the push the winner gave from 1pm right thorugh to 2pm and that the voting was neck and neck between the two since the start , you can see how 1 minute can make the difference.

I wish paddy power would pay out on a horse in ascot that was leading all the way but got beatn by a literally a nose on the line.

See - there is ALWAYS information left out. This competition was neck and neck all the way.

gizmo81

CeilingFly wrote: »

Here's a different view.

I did make an error above saying that some likes cannot be seen. It is true, but only if you have blocked the person or that person has blocked you and not likel;y to be an issue.

The competition was run by a large multinational who i thought inly made Pizzas, but seem to make cake stuff too.

They had 5 "heats". the OP won heat 4 and the winner won heat 5 (might be other way around).

They and three others went into a like-off (for want fo a better word). The other three finalists were also rans from the off, but the winner and the oP were neck and neck right through to the end.

Facebook show that at the cloing time the OP has just reached the 1.1k likes and the winner was still at 1k - but as these numbers are in hundreds, its possible that the oP was at 1100 and the winner was at 1099 at that minute in time and the winner got a few more likes just as the bell went.

If you check the winner - he was pushing hard right up to 2pm, so very feasible the OP got pipped at the post.


Anyone looking at the heats and the way the voting went would see quite clearly it was all above board and that the only question was the last minute or so. But looking at the push the winner gave from 1pm right thorugh to 2pm and that the voting was neck and neck between the two since the start , you can see how 1 minute can make the difference.

I wish paddy power would pay out on a horse in ascot that was leading all the way but got beatn by a literally a nose on the line.

See - there is ALWAYS information left out. This competition was neck and neck all the way.

If a sporting event is neck and neck then they resort to a photo for evidence of the winner as the naked eye might not be able to decipher.

Let Dr Oetker publish their stats and then the evidence of who won cannot be contested.

CeilingFly

CeilingFly wrote: »

Here's a different view.

I did make an error above saying that some likes cannot be seen. It is true, but only if you have blocked the person or that person has blocked you and not likel;y to be an issue.

The competition was run by a large multinational who i thought inly made Pizzas, but seem to make cake stuff too.

They had 5 "heats". the OP won heat 4 and the winner won heat 5 (might be other way around).

They and three others went into a like-off (for want fo a better word). The other three finalists were also rans from the off, but the winner and the oP were neck and neck right through to the end.

Facebook show that at the cloing time the OP has just reached the 1.1k likes and the winner was still at 1k - but as these numbers are in hundreds, its possible that the oP was at 1100 and the winner was at 1099 at that minute in time and the winner got a few more likes just as the bell went.

If you check the winner - he was pushing hard right up to 2pm, so very feasible the OP got pipped at the post.


Anyone looking at the heats and the way the voting went would see quite clearly it was all above board and that the only question was the last minute or so. But looking at the push the winner gave from 1pm right thorugh to 2pm and that the voting was neck and neck between the two since the start , you can see how 1 minute can make the difference.

I wish paddy power would pay out on a horse in ascot that was leading all the way but got beatn by a literally a nose on the line.

See - there is ALWAYS information left out. This competition was neck and neck all the way.

Hi Ceilingfly, welcome back.

Your theory is nice, but unfortunately, unsubstantiated.

As I have said, the vote margin was around 20-30 votes, not nearly as close as just 1 vote. There are screenshots from 14.00 and 14.01 both showing my entry with 1.1k likes/loves and the other entry with 1k likes/loves. I didn't take any screenshots after that point as I didn't see how they were relevant, but I did keep watching the competition until about 14.30 and my entry maintained its lead up until that time. After 14.30 I don't know what the votes were because I logged off my computer for a few hours.

Even if the story you've painted was the case, why wouldn't the company just say so, instead of making up a lie about private likes? I think if there was evidence they judged the competition fairly they would have produced it by now.

The competition was neck and neck, but so much that it could be misinterpreted at 14.00. I had a lead from about 13.30-14.30 at least so unless they judged the competition outside that time window I can't see how they could have come to any other decision (if judging fairly as per their T&Cs, of course).

dudara

I took a look on the Facebook page and the brand said that they used data from their Insights page to make the decision at 2pm. I wonder if that could show a different view to the 1k, 1.1k likes shown below photos. But even so, the competition was promoted on the basis of garnering the most likes, and most people will just look at the number of likes underneath a post or photo.

Either way, the brand was silly not to screenshot the numbers and keep them as evidence. That would sort all this out in a flash.

Riesen_Meal

I admin a page with 35k likes or thereabouts on it, I think there are a fair bit of likes we can not see on the page as admins because people didn't update privacy settings when FB went up in arms over privacy about 3 years ago, so I'm pretty sure there are private "likes"...

In saying that, I hope you do get it sorted OP

How many likes are they saying you were out?

dudara

Mod note - Enough with the posts telling the OP to "cop on", "so what" etc. That is not helpful.

If you can't offer some constructive insight, then please don't post

dudara

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killbillvol2

TheDriver wrote: »

I always wondered does anyone ever win a facebook competition. I particularly dislike the "tag 50 friends and share our page" competitions

A quick way to lose 50 friends!

dudara

dudara wrote: »

I took a look on the Facebook page and the brand said that they used data from their Insights page to make the decision at 2pm. I wonder if that could show a different view to the 1k, 1.1k likes shown below photos. But even so, the competition was promoted on the basis of garnering the most likes, and most people will just look at the number of likes underneath a post or photo.

Either way, the brand was silly not to screenshot the numbers and keep them as evidence. That would sort all this out in a flash.

I've had a look at the page insights thanks to a friend who managed a Facebook page (& I think someone else posted their own screenshots of it earlier in the thread). Afaik the page insights do display the exact number of likes/loves etc rather than the rounded down numbers that are displayed on the public posts themselves. However, these numbers are definitely the same (I described earlier in the thread that it was possible to work out the exact number of likes on the posts by hovering over the estimates, it just required a bit of adding up). In order for Facebook to display the rounded down estimates my entry had to have >1100 likes/loves, and the other entry between 1000-1099 likes/loves. I wish I took screenshots of the exact numbers but I only took screenshots on my phone and the Facebook app can't display the exact numbers.

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Nah, it only ever rounds down rather than up. I wish the votes never surpassed 1000 it would have been easier to see what the margin was in the screenshots then!

Fieldog

Fieldog wrote: »

I admin a page with 35k likes or thereabouts on it, I think there are a fair bit of likes we can not see on the page as admins because people didn't update privacy settings when FB went up in arms over privacy about 3 years ago, so I'm pretty sure there are private "likes"...

In saying that, I hope you do get it sorted OP

How many likes are they saying you were out?

Any chance you could post a screenshot showing that? I'd be very interested.

Edit: sorry to answer your q they said that the other entry beat mine by 10 likes/loves. This would mean that if these 'private likes' existed the other entry would have had to have had 30-40 of them to catch up with my total and surpass it by 10, and that's assuming there were no 'private likes' on my entry.

Sounds pretty ridiculous to me.

Riesen_Meal

Deleted User wrote: »

Any chance you could post a screenshot showing that? I'd be very interested.

Where would I go to find it?



I know when I have posted an update and it says 2 people liked it, I click on the 2 people and it says "Facebook user" with the blue silhouette background and say Mick O Brien...

I assumed it was that persons privacy settings as to why it says "Facebook user"

If there is a way to show it I gladly will!

EDIT : Unless they "liked" it and hadnt liked or blocked the page as such? I'm not sure

Baggly

Just to play devils advocate (as others have too), if any of the people who have liked or loved the post have that brand/supplier blocked, their name will not appear in the list of people who have liked or loved the post. Now, the company should just look at the number and that is that.....right?

Not really; i administer a few different pages, and we use an app to monitor competition entries and verify everything is on teh up and up (and please dont think im accusing you of not being legit - i believe you are). But this app counts up the entries submitted rather than scrobbles the numbers.....and in such an instance, the names of the people who have their privacy turned up to 11 wouldnt show; same for anyone who has the page blocked.

I dont know if this is the answer, but there are instances where a page owner doesnt have all the info.

I hope you get clarity and transparency from the company - if not a prize, especially if indeed your tally is correct! Id hesitate to start a public war with the company (and fair play to you for not doing so now), as i can see a case where the company thinks they are doing the right thing with the info they have!

Indeed, i have run competitions in the past where the 2nd place person has demanded a prize based on a close run race, and we had to hold our ground against caving in on that occasion - so maybe the company thinks they are in such a situation.

Again, you seem legit, and you seem to have your numbers done, so id give you the benefit of the doubt - just sharing my experiences in similar situations.

Oh and no, ive no connections to the crowd that ran this competititon, the company who are behind it or anything else to do with the competition.

Fieldog

Fieldog wrote: »

Where would I go to find it?



I know when I have posted an update and it says 2 people liked it, I click on the 2 people and it says "Facebook user" with the blue silhouette background and say Mick O Brien...

I assumed it was that persons privacy settings as to why it says "Facebook user"

If there is a way to show it I gladly will!

EDIT : Unless they "liked" it and hadnt liked or blocked the page as such? I'm not sure

Ah see, in that scenario it still showed you the total number of likes, just not the profiles of every user who liked it. I'm certain there is no way to make one's like so private that it isn't counted towards the total number of likes displayed on the post! Sure if it was all FB likes-based competitions would be a total farce coz you could never know how many votes anyone has!

NinetyTwoTeam

Most of these are scams, the 'winner' being a person affiliated with the company or a fake profile, it's just free publicity for them.

If you didn't pay anything you have no recourse, there's no T & C's to bind them. It's about as official as Father Ted's lovely girl competition

Pter

Pter wrote: »

Just to play devils advocate (as others have too), if any of the people who have liked or loved the post have that brand/supplier blocked, their name will not appear in the list of people who have liked or loved the post. Now, the company should just look at the number and that is that.....right?

Not really; i administer a few different pages, and we use an app to monitor competition entries and verify everything is on teh up and up (and please dont think im accusing you of not being legit - i believe you are). But this app counts up the entries submitted rather than scrobbles the numbers.....and in such an instance, the names of the people who have their privacy turned up to 11 wouldnt show; same for anyone who has the page blocked.

I dont know if this is the answer, but there are instances where a page owner doesnt have all the info.

I hope you get clarity and transparency from the company - if not a prize, especially if indeed your tally is correct! Id hesitate to start a public war with the company (and fair play to you for not doing so now), as i can see a case where the company thinks they are doing the right thing with the info they have!

Indeed, i have run competitions in the past where the 2nd place person has demanded a prize based on a close run race, and we had to hold our ground against caving in on that occasion - so maybe the company thinks they are in such a situation.

Again, you seem legit, and you seem to have your numbers done, so id give you the benefit of the doubt - just sharing my experiences in similar situations.

Oh and no, ive no connections to the crowd that ran this competititon, the company who are behind it or anything else to do with the competition.

Hi, thanks very much for your reply.

I would have thought that anyone who has the company page blocked would not be able to see the competition entries at all and therefore would be unable to interact with them in any way, because they were posted by the company on their page?

I am willing to believe it's possible to hide your name on a list of comments/likes, but not that the comment/like itself wouldn't be counted in the total number of comments/likes displayed.

Thanks for your support anyway, I do wish to avoid having to take this public and I am to explore every other reasonable avenue before resorting to that!

NinetyTwoTeam

NinetyTwoTeam wrote: »

Most of these are scams, the 'winner' being a person affiliated with the company or a fake profile, it's just free publicity for them.

If you didn't pay anything you have no recourse, there's no T & C's to bind them. It's about as official as Father Ted's lovely girl competition

Actually, they posted T&Cs for the competition on their Facebook page, which outlined how the winner would be chosen (public vote, entry with most likes/loves)

CeilingFly

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Not on Facebook - it has to hit the 1100 to show 1.1k

OP is accepting that it was neck and neck all through the competition.

Seems she got pipped at the post and all 5 heat winners had to come through heats too - so very difficult for any "favouritism" that some posters are suggesting.

Likewise some are shouting scam, fix etc. Pity they don't look at he evidence that shows it was run properly and neck and neck all they way.

Even OP is saying it was about 20 likes - with a big push from the winner in the last few minutes, 20 are easily done.

I did a FB post today on one of the pages I manage - we had about 200 likes within 30 minutes (its now over 2000 5 hours later) with no sponsoring of the post. So 20 likes at the last minute is very plausible if you push hard enough - and the winne was puishing hard.

Maybe the OP didn't quite give the same final push and was pipped on the line?

Story is now quite different to what was originally said - reaidng the OP and a few others you'd think it was a blatant scam when the reality is a neck on neck from start contest to the very last second and the OP got pipped at the post.

Baggly

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi, thanks very much for your reply.

I would have thought that anyone who has the company page blocked would not be able to see the competition entries at all and therefore would be unable to interact with them in any way, because they were posted by the company on their page?

I am willing to believe it's possible to hide your name on a list of comments/likes, but not that the comment/like itself wouldn't be counted in the total number of comments/likes displayed.

Thanks for your support anyway, I do wish to avoid having to take this public and I am to explore every other reasonable avenue before resorting to that!

AFAIK (and i wouldnt really know as i cant see people who have my pages or my personal profile blocked), but they can see me, i just cant see them or interact with them.

If you take it from the point of view of you getting harrassed with messages etc by someone you don't like, if you block them, you still want to be able to check they arent talking about you. So the blocking will stop their ability to tag/message you, but it wont stop you checking up on them (unless they block you in return).

And you are right, in their insights, the like will be counted, but as i said, if they arent relying on FB insights (and i dont either, as they can be flawed by way of competition spamming, vote buying and fake profiles) they it may be the numbers wont match those on FB. (again, i reiterate im not accusing you of these things - just saying this is why all admins dont use FB for counting up comp entries).

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CeilingFly

CeilingFly wrote: »

Not on Facebook - it has to hit the 1100 to show 1.1k

OP is accepting that it was neck and neck all through the competition.

Seems she got pipped at the post and all 5 heat winners had to come through heats too - so very difficult for any "favouritism" that some posters are suggesting.

Likewise some are shouting scam, fix etc. Pity they don't look at he evidence that shows it was run properly and neck and neck all they way.

Even OP is saying it was about 20 likes - with a big push from the winner in the last few minutes, 20 are easily done.

I did a FB post today on one of the pages I manage - we had about 200 likes within 30 minutes (its now over 2000 5 hours later) with no sponsoring of the post. So 20 likes at the last minute is very plausible if you push hard enough - and the winne was puishing hard.

Maybe the OP didn't quite give the same final push and was pipped on the line?

Story is now quite different to what was originally said - reaidng the OP and a few others you'd think it was a blatant scam when the reality is a neck on neck from start contest to the very last second and the OP got pipped at the post.

I never said the votes weren't very close throughout the voting period, nor did I ever call the competition a scam. I also never accused them of picking a winner out of "favouritism", although the winners of the heats were decided each week by the promoters not by votes so not really sure how that rules it out either.

You seem to have missed the post where I said I maintained a lead for at least another 30 minutes before I logged off and stopped checking (needed a lie down lol!)

I have screenshots from 14.00, I have screenshots from 14.01 both showing I had 1.1k vs 1k total votes. Even a friend of the winner posted his own screenshots showing the same thing from 14.00?

I appreciate you want to consider both points of view but it seems like you're reaching a bit?

mahamageehad

OP, if you were cheated, I feel for you but without a screenshot from their insights I can't definitively say they're wrong.

The promoters are likely using full metrics rather than on-post metrics. For example, one of my pages now has a post with 270 reactions on it - 251 likes, 15 loves, 3 hahas and 1 wow. However, extended metrics give me 333 reactions on the post - 309 likes, 19 loves, 4 hahas. That figure is what shows up in the insights panel, the 333 rather than the 270, but if you go to the page you'll just see 270. Also, if they're basing it on Insights, it's likely that they'll be using the total of all reactions rather than just likes and loves.

So it sucks, but it could be legit. In general, this kind of trouble is why I usually advise against FB comps for brands, and if they do go ahead it needs to follow Facebook's guidelines strictly as well as having approved terms and conditions from the legal team.

Baggly

mahamageehad wrote: »

OP, if you were cheated, I feel for you but without a screenshot from their insights I can't definitively say they're wrong.

The promoters are likely using full metrics rather than on-post metrics. For example, one of my pages now has a post with 270 reactions on it - 251 likes, 15 loves, 3 hahas and 1 wow. However, extended metrics give me 333 reactions on the post - 309 likes, 19 loves, 4 hahas. That figure is what shows up in the insights panel, the 333 rather than the 270, but if you go to the page you'll just see 270. Also, if they're basing it on Insights, it's likely that they'll be using the total of all reactions rather than just likes and loves.

So it sucks, but it could be legit. In general, this kind of trouble is why I usually advise against FB comps for brands, and if they do go ahead it needs to follow Facebook's guidelines strictly as well as having approved terms and conditions from the legal team.

This is pretty much bang on, imo - admins see stats that others dont.....it sucks but thats the way FB is set up due to myriad privacy settings.

That and the other stuff i said before.