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Scooter winner deprived of prize
Neel Chandardadeo, who purchased a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes and won a scooter, is being denied his prize.
Mr. Neel Chandardadeo
Mr. Chandardadeo, of Melville Village, Wakenaam, said that on September 9 last, he travelled to the Essequibo Coast to visit his sick daughter at the Suddie Hospital. While he was waiting at a stall that sold confectionery, his wife went to a gas station nearby and purchased a quarter pint of ice cream and a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes. He said that she gave him the cigarettes.
On opening the pack, he realized that he was the winner of a scooter. Chandardadeo showed his prize to the confectionery vendor, who commented that she had been selling cigarettes and has never won a prize.
On Thursday, September 11, Mr. Chandardadeo travelled to the Demerara Tobacco Company, where a staff member collected the packet with the winning mark, acknowledged him as a winner, made him sign all the necessary documents and even photocopied his ID card.
Mr Neel Chandardadeo
He was also given a letter to uplift a scooter from Beck’s Motor World and advised to get a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
Mr. Chandardadeo went first to the General Post Office, got his TIN and then went to Beck’s Motor World. When he arrived at Beck’s, he was told that the Tobacco Company had instructed that he must return there first, because they needed to do an investigation.
The Tobacco Company told him that he had to wait for his prize because, he said, he purchased the cigarettes at Wakenaam; but according to the company, no stock with the scooter prize was sent to the island. Mr. Chandardadeo then told his story to the cigarette company, who remained adamant that because he claimed he purchased the cigarette at Wakenaam, they will not give him the prize.
Mr. Chandardadeo told this newspaper that, as a hard smoker, he purchases cigarettes anywhere, and since he did not know the people from whom he purchased the cigarettes on the Essequibo Coast, he told them he purchased the cigarettes at Wakenaam. He also said that he did not think the place of purchase mattered much.
A spokesperson from the company said that, because Chandardadeo lied about the place of purchase, he will be denied the scooter. Chandardadeo claims that the place of purchase of the cigarettes was never advertised as a condition of winning a scooter.
He believes the Tobacco Company cheated him of the winning scooter. He is also disturbed that they took all the relevant information from him. Chandardadeo is now contemplating his next move.
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