I seriously doubt these people got our numbers from any lucky draw thingy, in which we had so-called "implicitly granted them permission to contact us to claim the prize which we had signed up for."
I for one, can be such a hermit and pessimist that I have not entered into ANY lucky draw or contest whatsoever in no less than 5 years. Basically too lazy to fill up any form since I never thought I would be lucky enough to win anything.
While I have nothing to do with CASE, suffice it to say in my line of work, I do come across numerous such complains of hard selling tactics that begins with the temptation of a free gift.
So one fine day about a year ago, I myself received a call from one so and so company (can't remember the name anymore), with the usual congratulatory speech and prize I've won and asking when I wanted to collect the prize. Knowing that it was a scam, and also knowing very well that I did not partake in ANY contest, never filled in ANY entry forms, I questioned the caller exactly which contest I took part to win the prize. He replied saying "remember those times you filled in those lucky draw entries blah blah blah", to which I bluntly replied I never did. He was stumped and subsequently claimed that the company he is representing is contracted by the lucky draw contest organiser to contact the winners and that he does not know the exact details.
By making us feel that we ourselves actually did actively do something (ie. fill in those contest forms) to earn the prize, and by leading us on to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are somehow the ONLY lucky, special, one and only in the universe to have won this once-in-a-lifetime exclusive only-made-for-special-ME prize, we are no longer simply tempted to claim it. In fact, we feel obligated and even a certain pride in claiming the prize that only 'I' could have won.
To Siron, I can only say that you have fallen once for their mind tricks and their tactic of exploiting human frailties of temptation, greed and inferiority, and even a natural desire to please and not to disappoint the 'helpful salesperson who spent so many hours painstakingly explaining his product to you' The least you can do is help him out and buy his product right? WRONG. It is such natural human reaction to reciprocate that these hardsellers are specifically exploiting.
Now this company is targeting another one of our human weaknesses, that of instilling fear and a sense of loss and uncertainty. By sending out these lawyer letters, these companies are now harping on your fears to make you 'willingly' fork out your hard earned money to them. Where they had once achieved 2 years ago by exploiting your desires, they are trying to do the same again with threat to induce the fear of reprisal.
Suddenly the nightmare that started 2 years ago is back to haunt you again. You do not know what will happen if you were really brought to court for breach of contract and you start to fear it affecting your job or even causing you to lose your job. All this because of what you did wrong by not fulfilling the terms of the contract which you never really agreed to willingly? WRONG! It is their tactic to do a wrong to you and yet turn around and make it look like they are the ones who were wronged. Don't fall for their psychological tricks again!
Do you think that the nightmare will end simply by paying up obediently? They will merely tempt you with what is rightly yours (ie.The benefit of not having to pay annual maintenance fees. Hell, you never had to pay maintenance fees if you did not sign up in the first place!), on the condition that you fork out another 12K?? How can one contemplate paying that astronomical sum of money for a right that is yours to begin with? Ask yourself what have you gained from 'selling off' that right in the first place, and then again ask yourself is it worth to 'buy it back' with yet another 12k??
The least you can do now is to stand up to them and show them you're not a mindless weakling. Why were there no legal action against you when they sent you the lawyer letter in 2003? Why wait another year before sending another lawyer letter in 2004? As far as you are concerned, you have not been formally sued in court. No matter how many letters you receive are only empty threats. For all you know, these lawyer letters are really to them, 'subscription reminders'.
Anyway take heart and good luck! What you lost cannot be recovered, but don't be victimised any further in both monetary and psychological terms. Finally I apologise for any harsh words that I may have said above, but really don't want to see more people fall prey to these necessary evils of capitalism that abuse psychological knowledge for unethical economic gain.
