Finally back-but....May 2001 update (freemoney.fm)

Member Name: JEHodgson

Product:	freemoney.fm
Date:	04/07/00 (156 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Chance to win money?

Disadvantages: See updates; million pound draw is cumbersome and has poor odds- though it is still free.

MAIN NOTE- This has been updated repeatedly, but this time the important bit is here at the top, so you don't have to scroll down if you have read it already.

May UPDATE- More news in- the site is online but the whole thing has changed. It's now a monthly draw, where you enter your details and answer a pile of click and fill in questions (5 -10 minutes worth if you do it properly and are quite quick at this thing!) so they can send you loads of junk mail it seems- both email and land/snail mail. You only enter once to qualify for twelve months. I've just done it, though I'm not too keen: purely for research for all you dooyoo'ers! I'll let you know how much rubbish I get ansd if it is worth the effort: keep your eyes peeled! (urgh!)

APRIL UPDATE- read below for all the details and history, but prepare for worse news. The draw and the site have gone offline- apparently for a few days- HA! and I'm the Queen of Sheba. The message that says
"Freemoney is currently being tested and as such, will be offline for the next couple of days. " (Thats lifted direct from the site by the way) happens to end with:
"Thankyou for your patience and sorry for any inconvenience.

FM Webmaster
20th February 2001"

Well I have no patience left, so called
'freemoney.fm' . I have less patience than a doctor with a bad reputation. (excuse bad pun )
I tried to wait before I wrote this and gave them the benefit of the doubt, but no. I don't know if we'll see it again; it's been down for so long it'll get a serious case of the bends if it comes back up. There are those who suggest server problems, others who suggest financial difficulties. Well to be honest, I don't know, but I do know that it's a waste of time going there right now- so don't bother. If it ever returns, I'll let you know.
**********Here resumes the*********
********** previous op
inions!********
BAD NEWS- apart from the fact that the draw has been offline for over a fortnight, and was occasionally missing before that too, I received a phone call the other night at about 7.30pm from some telemarketing person. He went into detail about how he got my details from Freemoney.fm. I was not happy about this, so I have checked the rules on the site. It could be my bad memory, but I'm sure they are different now (my review below seems to back me up)- They say that if you don't want them to pass on details, let them know at registration. As this wasn't a stipulation when I joined, how have my details been passed on?

I am rather displeased, and am considering not using them anymore, as every time I go they are not working. A sad state of affairs for a once Very Useful site. I hope they sort it out, but I won't hold my breath..

Here follows the previous opinion:
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NOTE- I have updated this twice- see further down the page for the latest details.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
This is a site which seems to me to have all good points and no drawbacks!
All you have to do is go to the site whenever you feel like it, and answer a very small number of questions.
They promise not to use your details for any other nefarious purposes, such as junk email- and as far as I can tell, they have kept their word.
In return, they enter you into a free draw for one thousand pounds. This can be done once every day, and they have recently added the chance to win a million pounds.
For a free chance to win money at no hassle to you, it seems silly not to try it!

ADDENDUM
In response to queries, here are some further points that I hope prove more useful.
The site rules allow anyone to enter, though if you read the 'smallprint' you may find you are ineligible to actually win IF a) you are not 18 years old or b) if you live in
a country where entry is illegal under your laws (though it seems that this is up to you to determine this)

I do feel they should find some way of making it very clear whether you are legally entitled to win under these clauses. Obviously the 18 years old part is easy enough, and for those of us in the UK it is simple but for other nationalities, they could play under false pretences, and may win, but then not get the money. Wait a minute...... that means they would still have lots more 'hits' to tell their sponsors about, and that they sometimes wouldn't need to pay out. Hmmmmm....
<br>
The question section varies in length from day to day. For example today I had to answer just one question with three multiple choice answers. Sometimes it's a good few more, but rarely more than 2 pages of quick questions.
They are usually multiple choice, and are the standard consumer survey questions- such as would you buy X, when did you buy your Y and which brand of Z do you buy.

The questions are on behalf of a number of firms who want market research figures, some big names are on the list- I checked it and found the following were included-HSBC Bank, Egg, QXL.com, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Direct Line, Lloyds TSB, General Insurance, Bosch and BOL.com.

You can expect to find questions on behalf of these coming up regularly- which brings me to another point. Many people including myself are a little annoyed at the constant repeating of identical questions. Having studied statistics myself, I understand the need for retesting to ensure an accurate result and to check for variances, but it gets wearing for the users! Having said that, I feel this is a small price to pay for the benefits of the site.

***Something I haven't bothered with is the million pound combination draw. This is a new feature where you must enter an 8 digit number to win. I don't do this part for the following reasons: Ther
e are 100 million different combinations, and so for each separate draw, the odds are more than 7 times worse than winning the lottery jackpot. Unconfirmed estimates (also mentioned on this site) put the odds of the first draw at 5000 to 1.
It takes a while to do (at least on my connection - is this the same for everyone?) and the reason I like the 1000pound draw is the speed.
Each time you do it you get an email confirmation with a lengthy code to verify any claim you may make. I don't need any more email that I am unlikely to use, thanks!


Basically I think the main draw is excellent-and seems sustainable, unlike many other such sites- it's a shame they have to use the million pounds gimmick to attract more customers.



CURRENT INFO - UPDATE
The freemoney server has been 'having problems' for ages, but has finally opened up the draw again. I'm not impressed. The first day I tried it, I noticed that the questions were on behalf of a named company as usual, but it then said - 'who may contact you at a later date'
BOOOO HISSSSS! (Sorry, Christmas is nearing- pantomime fever)
One of the big draws (no pun intended) is that you arenot subjecting yourself to laods of junk email. I am unhappy about this- I also don't like the new design of the front page which requires me to scroll down to enter the draw, therefore taking longer. Picky, it's true' but when I recommended this site on its simplicity, I don't want people to go there to find it isn't simple anymore. I am still not too pleased with the excessive urging to try the million pound draw.

Summarising? (again) Sadly, I am increasingly less impressed- while still worth a visit, I have been doing so less often. I hope the situation will improve- I will update if it does. Until then, my 5 stars are down to 4. ***Now 3 and falling- (update above)

Summary: