Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I PURCHASE TICKET NUMBERS?

Playing our competitions is simple! First (1) create an account by clicking here, (2) then once logged into your account navigate to the competition you wish to enter, (3) select your numbers or use our random number picker, answer the question and proceed to checkout.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TIMER RUNS OUT AND ALL NUMBERS ARN’T SOLD?

If the competition is not full, the timer will add some time in order for all the tickets to sell on the competition. This will happen a maximum of 4 times then if the competition is still not sold out a cash alternative will be awarded instead and only the people that have entered will go into the live draw.

HOW DO YOU DRAW THE WINNER OF THE COMPETITION?

We use our complete random ball machine in order to pick our competition winner. These draws can be watched live from our facebook page.

CAN I BUY MULTIPLE TICKETS FOR A COMPETITION?

Our standard maximum entries per user is set to 25 for any one competition, however some competitions may be even more limited. Please check the specific competition stats to view the maximum ticket amount for that specific competition.

Competition play

Why should I play with Fort Competitions?

1. We think we’ve got some great prizes. Whether you fancy taking the holiday of a lifetime, getting behind the wheel of a brand new sports car, donning the latest technology or embarking on a completely new experience, we’ve got it all on our Competitions, which refresh every couple of weeks.

2. We have fantastic odds. Most online raffling websites charge crazy mark-ups on the real value of their prizes; we’ve seen cars being sold at 5x cost, electronics being flogged at 10x their retail value and all manner of uninspiring prizes being listed at unconscionable margins. These high mark-ups translate to more tickets, and more profit for the website operator, at the expense of the customer. With Fort Competitions, we take a totally different approach. We keep the number of entries low relative to the cost of the prize, and keep ticket prices low too, meaning that you get a truly fair experience, and ultimately a great chance of winning!

3. We’re totally transparent. We always state the number of tickets available for each Competition (unless it’s a charity Competition, where we want to raise as much money for the charity as possible), and so you will always be able to know exactly what your chances are of winning right from the outset. Moreover, all of our draws are hosted by an independent, audited third party service in random.org, and you can see the outcome of every draw in the publicly available at our winners page. You’ll be able to see your tickets sitting pretty in each record for the draws you have entered into.

4. We will always keep ticket prices low. With Fort Competitions, you will never have to pay more than £5 to enter a Competition and secure your chance to win – it’s our philosophy that everyone should have a chance at glory, and that even if you don’t win, you shouldn’t feel hard done by, and you definitely shouldn’t feel a dent in your bank account. Raffling should be a source of light-hearted fun, and we want to keep it that way.

Can anyone play?

Anyone who’s at least 18 years of age and a UK resident can play our Competitions!

How do I enter a Competition?

You can either enter online through our website or our app, or by submitting a free postal entry. Please see ‘How do I enter a Competition by post?’ for more information.

How do I enter a Competition by post?

By First Class stamp, send an un-enclosed postcard to Fort Competitions Ltd, including your full name, telephone number (including the area code if providing a landline number), your email address and the title of the Competition you wish to enter. This information must be handwritten in order to be valid, and printed in legible English. You will then receive one entry for that Competition. Please note that for a postal entry to a specific Competition to be valid, you must send the postal entry before the Competition ends, and we must receive it within 48 hours of the Competition ending. If you do not make a postal entry in accordance with our Terms and Conditions or we do not receive your postcard, then you will not have an entry made into the specific Competition.

How do I know my postal entry has been received?

You will receive an email confirming we have accepted your postal entry. If you do not receive an email, please check your spam/junk folders as some email providers may redirect our emails.

How many tickets am I allowed to enter into a Competition?

All of our not-for-charity Competitions have a maximum number of entries permitted, which varies between each individual Competition.

Do I have to be a member to play?

You must be a member to play our Competitions. The sign-up process takes less than a minute!

How good are my odds of winning a Competition?

Your odds depend on how many tickets are up for sale on the particular Competition. For example, if 100 tickets are available in total and you purchase 20 tickets, you will have a 1 in 5 chance of winning the Competition, or even better if it doesn’t sell out! Unless it’s a Competition for the benefit of a specific charity (where we want to raise as much money as possible), we will always clearly state how many entries are available for each Competition.

How long do Competitions last?

Our Competitions run for a fixed number of days, and the duration of each Competition is specified on our website.

What happens if all of the tickets are not sold?

If there’s no reserve set in the Competition description (which there almost always won’t be!), then we will always give the prize away, no matter how many tickets are sold. Even if we just sell one ticket, we will still give the prize away. We think this is the only fair way to go!

Can I withdraw from a Competition?

All entries are final and you will not be able to withdraw from a Competition after you have entered.

When does the draw for a Competition happen?

Unless stated differently on a Competition description; The draw for each Competition will take place within an hour of the time at which the Competition ends OR after all tickets sell out!

How do I know if I have won a Competition?

You will receive an e-mail or a call congratulating you! You will also be able to see your name printed on the website as a winner, and if you managed to miss all the announcements, you’ll also likely be put up on social media as a winner. It is super important that you keep your email and telephone details up to date – if we are unable to contact a winner within 21 days of a Competition ending, we reserve the right to re-run the draw and pick a new winner.

Where can I view my tickets?

You can view the number of tickets you have in your account section.

Prizes

How do you guarantee the quality of the prizes?

We obtain all of our prizes from carefully selected providers, and work closely with reputable firms like Virgin experiences, John Lewis, etc. to make sure that all of our prizes are exactly as described in each Competition.

What should I do if there is a problem with my prize?

If there is any problem whatsoever with the prize, from its delivery to the quality of the prize itself, then please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us right away by using the ‘?’ button in the bottom right of the screen. We will do our very best to solve the situation right away!

How do prizes get delivered?

We will either hand-deliver the prize or use Royal Mail to deliver all our prizes. Should the prize be too large or valuable to send by mail, we will arrange for it to be delivered personally.

Can I receive a cash alternative?

You will receive the prize that is specified in each Competition, and normally there will be no cash alternative available. On occasion, we might offer you cash, and this is entirely at our own discretion.

Do holiday prizes need to be taken on specific dates?

Depending on the location and the nature of the holiday, the date range for taking the holiday offered as a prize will vary.

Can I suggest a prize?

Absolutely! We would love to hear any prize suggestions you might have – just click the ‘?’ button and send us a message.

What happens if the prize isn’t claimed?

If we are unable to contact a winner within 21 days of a Competition ending and the prize is not claimed within this time, then we reserve the right to re-run the draw and pick a new winner.

Security

Do people really win?

They most definitely do! We have had hundreds of winners so far, and they were all chosen by a public, auditable, and true random mechanism provided by random.org. You can check out our winners page for a full history of all our winners.

Will I receive a confirmation email?

Every time you make a deposit on our website or you spend your tickets on our Competitions, you will receive a confirmation email of your activity.

How is the winner selected?

The winner is selected via a true random process by random number picker – which uses atmospheric noise to select a truly random number.

Does Fort Competitions have any control over the draw?

Fort Competitions could not, does not, and will never have any access or control over the outcome of the draw. The entire draw process is performed externally by random number picker, and the results of each draw are made publicly available in our winners page. 

Do I need to participate in any publicity requests?

We are a good-natured company and will never ask anyone to participate in any unreasonable publicity requests. You are absolutely entitled not to participate in anything that you are not comfortable with – the only things we always need are a winner photo, and permission to place this photo on our website.

What if I’ve lost my sign in details?

No need to worry! If you have lost or forgotten your password, just go to the ‘sign in’ page and then click ‘reset password’. If you’ve forgotten the email associated with your account, then please do get in contact with us by clicking the ‘?’ button in the bottom right of the page and we will locate and verify your account.

Payment

How can I pay?

You can pay by debit or credit card on our website, using our payment provider’s secure checkout system. Please be aware that some banks place charges on credit cards when you participate in gambling transactions, and, at times, Fort Competitions gets classified as a gambling transaction by certain banks.

 

Why isn’t my payment going through?

If you receive a message indicating that we were unable to accept your payment, please do double check your details and try again. If you’re still having trouble paying, please get in contact with us at [email protected] or use our contact from in the contact page.