rip off photo contest

[clive francis]

A dive mag in the uk DIVER are running a digital contest for underwater photography (sorry guys you have to be a UK or Irish resident).

It states that a winner will be announced each month and quaterly then a final year winner.

Well they anounced the winner for the first month (January last year) and none since.

Despite numerous emails and phone calls asking when they were going to anounce the winners I gave up, and i now refuse to enter any more photo's because they have not honoured their end of the agreement.

Are they breaking the law by advertising a competition and not anouncing the winners?

 

[Dee]

clive francis once bubbled...
...Are they breaking the law by advertising a competition and not anouncing the winners?

As you pointed out, you're in the UK and so is the contest. I would think it would be governed by UK rules and you would know those better than most of the rest of us do.

 

[mollydog18]

the only thing I noticed was that in the rules it states that winners will be notified by email- maybe this their way out of having to post/print anything. Of course that makes me wonder if their actually still giving things away as promised...Sea & Sea is the sponser- maybe you could contact them?

 

[RSdiver]

I've seen this before and am quite suspicious as submitters give away ALL RIGHTS to their photos as stated in the contest rules.

The promoters end up having a huge portfolio to sell to clients.

 

[clive francis]

just sent sea and sea an email asking if they are actually going to judge the competition and said that both them and the magazine were very unprofessional as i had asked several times by mail and telephoned.

so we will see what happens.

not too sure in the US but here in the UK i think it is law that competition results are published when asked for.

 

[Dee]

I think the rules about publishing contest results are up to the different committees in charge, no law pertaining to it at all. I know some I've looked into made you contact them to see if you had won or placed, they didn't contact the winners at all.

I'm more concerned with those that require the photographer to give up all rights to the photos enterd...whether you win/place or not! Always read that fine print!!!

 

[PhotoTJ]

Some contests I don't mind giving up rights, (Nikon, National Geographic), but not for something...cheesy.