They say if something is too good to be true it probably is.
And I recently had first hand experience of that proverb.
Some weeks ago a friend e-mailed me a promotional e-mail. You know the kind, they usually offer something like viagara tablets or cheap car insurance, but this one was different – it was promising me a free laptop.
Now I already have a laptop, but the prospect of a free one was too good to turn down - especially as it was coming from Sony Ericsson - a company I was familiar with.
And what did I have to do, I hear you ask.
Simply copy the e-mail into eight other contacts, including one from Ericsson, and the laptop was mine. Easy.
Within five minutes the task was completed and I sat back waiting for a delivery.
That was June 12.
And the most exciting thing the postman has brought me in that time is a gas bill.
Fortunately I kept a copy of the e-mail and this week, while clearing out my inbox, I decided to do something about it.
In their wisdom Ericsson, or to be more precise, Nigel from Ericsson, had left an e-mail address at the bottom of his request.
So I e-mailed him, very politely pointing out that it had been 10 weeks since I had submitted my laptop application and I had heard nothing back.
No response.
But I was not to be put off. Nigel also had the good grace to attach a phone number at the bottom.
So I called him.
No response.
I left him a brief message asking him to get back to me as a matter of urgency. I’m expecting a call back any day.
Now who mentioned a free lunch?
Alex James writes a weekly blog published every Monday on www.newportadvertiser.com