A Refund for (Your Name)

Hurry! Read this!! You could be a Winner!!! This is Top Priority and Confidential.

Any day now, about 5,000 Californians should begin receiving a Grand Total of nearly $5 million in refunds from Publishers Clearing House with checks made out to (your name here). No, really. Following on the heels of the national tobacco settlement, this latest important agreement is another part of a promising series of cooperative consumer protection legal settlements negotiated jointly by dozens of state attorneys general, including California’s Bill Lockyer. The Prize Patrols could already be on their way to (your town). Besides Publishers Clearing House’s $18.4-million national refunds, other multi-state, multimillion-dollar sweepstakes settlements involve Time Inc., Reader’s Digest, American Express Publishing and US Sales Corp. Their refunds also will go out in coming days and months.

Just imagine what you could do with $5 million--the sports cars, vacation travel, college educations and jewelry, or maybe Caribbean island getaway you’ve always wanted. Then, forget all that because the refund money will not go to everyone who momentarily pondered the meaning of a $100,000 check delivered to his or her home every month. Instead, the settlement money will go to so-called “high activity” customers, those who in recent years made purchases of $2,500 or more from Publishers Clearing House.

Apparently, among the recipients of 100 million yearly pieces of Clearing House bulk mail, quite a few Americans are susceptible to intimations of sudden wealth (the second home you could buy, the electricity bills you could pay). Although the legal agreements do not address how anyone finds the time to enter enough sweepstakes to spend $2,500, let alone finance the postage or actually read the magazines and books they bought thinking that improved their chances of winning, they do list many new protections.

All future sweepstakes mailings must contain clear, conspicuous Sweepstakes Facts disclosures that a purchase is not necessary, has no effect on the winning odds and that no prizes are yet awarded. The mailings may not resemble checks or government documents, imply they are special delivery or that (your name) has already been determined to have won something by the Prize Control Coordinator, who needs to know how you want your fortune paid. Also, the company will remind everyone still spending more than $1,000 annually that they do not need to buy anything to win.

These little-noticed settlements are an important coordinated step nationally in improving consumer protections against misleading sales pitches and companies that have long counted on the sometimes spotty enforcement approaches of authorities in 50 states.

Important: Reading this editorial will not affect the chances of (your name) receiving a sweepstakes refund.