Veronica Baca thought she’d won a new home. She had been named a finalist in a contest. She pulled the lucky key that opened a prize door at halftime of a Broncos game. She toured the house. She agreed to let the company use her image in advertisements. She signed a form titled “Centex House Party Grand Prize Release.” She was even in the local newspaper.
Now Centex says the accidentally named two winners and that Baca agreed to be in a raffle to see who would really get the house. She says she never agreed. Centex says the other person won the house.
Now she’s mad. We’d be mad too.
Baca agreed in the release to be used in ads that ran in both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post on Oct. 23.
“Congratulations, Veronica Melita Baca. Her Key Opened the Door,” they read.
“This is the day that I won the house. This is the day that my key opened the door and the fireworks went out. This is a lucky day. A dream come true. And to see myself like this, it seems like now it’s just a nightmare. And they have caused this to me. I don’t deserve this,” Baca said while looking at the Post ad.
She even toured the Brighton home with more than 2,200-square-feet, four bedrooms and 2½ baths, with several excited family members.
After living in their Lakewood home for 35 years, this was a magic moment for the couple.
But on Tuesday, she learned another Lakewood woman had been chosen for the house.
Contest organizers said the finalists would have to agree to a random drawing of names.
Baca’s lawyer refused.
“We do not consent to a redrawing of the contest, as my client won the contest according to the rules,” said attorney Jamey Jameson.
Baca says that Centex has offered her a $25,000 gift card to a furniture store, but she refused.
Home ‘Winner’ Says Prize Taken Away [WMTW] (Thanks, Tim!)
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Given that many new houses have defects, even code violations, that cost thousands to fix, she may have dodged a bullet if she never gets the house, LOL! Many builders do promotions or charitable stuff that’s more an ad than a giveaway. I’ve read several stories along these lines in the last few years where a prize house was never delivered, or the “winnder” didn’t actually “own” it, or the taxes were so high they had to sell it immediately, or the construction was junk, etc. It’s nice to read about the real outcome sometimes, instead of the idealicized version. BTW anyone buying a house should check out hadd.com as one person here commented about which builders they’d crossed off their list.
Uh, that’s “winner” not “winnder!” Sorry.
I’m a little surprised that she is even able to file a lawsuit because most contests, sports tickets, purchases, etc, have an arbitration clause in them, meaning she’d given up her right to sue when she entered the contest. Most builders and home warranties have this clause so it’d be very surprising to me if the contest rules didn’t.