Competition addict who’s won £30,000 in two years
KATY Spence could be described as Britain’s luckiest competition winner after scooping more than 250 prizes in two years.
But it’s more a reward for perseverance because the 34-year-old mother of two enters hundreds of contests a week.
Since getting the competition bug she has won prizes totalling about £30,000 – everything from a Kit Kat to five-star holidays in the US, Greece and Spain. And there’s the small matter of £11,500 in cash prizes.
She has walked away with iPads, perfume, a top-end digital camera, a DVD player and computer games alongside dozens of toiletries and cleaning products.
Mrs Spence, a mother of two, has won an incredible 267 prizes since her competition campaign began in January 2102 after meeting a woman who introduced her to ‘comping’.
‘I was hooked. I love the thrill’
And the bug bit when she received her first prize – £200 worth of Marc Jacobs perfume.
‘It just appeared on my doorstep one morning out of nowhere, with no note or anything,’ said Mrs Spence, of Boston Lincolnshire.
‘I was hooked after that and every day I scour the net for competitions. I must enter at least 100 every day.
‘Some only take me a few minutes while others can take a few days. I love the thrill they give me and the prizes can be fantastic.
‘If I need something for the house or a holiday the first thing I do is look for competitions.’
Her biggest prize was £8,500 she scooped after entering an online competition linked to Dickinson’s Real Deal show on ITV.
She calculated that 2013 was her best year, when she won prizes to the total value of about £18,800.
Mrs Spence has been able to surprise others with prizes she has won. Last year, husband Mark, 35, was treated to a VIP tour of the Formula 1 Red Bull head office and factory.
‘I have given my friends and family some amazing experiences through prizes,’ she said. ‘This year, I won a dining experience for ten when a chef came to my home and cooked us all a meal. That was lovely.
‘I am just so grateful for all the lovely things I win and often I’m able to give to my loved ones.’
Now her sons – Leo, eight, and Cole, four – are joining in.
‘The children are actually starting competitions,’ said Mrs Spence. ‘They will pause the TV if they see the word ‘win’ on the screen and rush to tell me.
‘It is becoming something we like to do as a family, especially with the creative competitions. Sometimes you have to make a video or something similar and we get quite a lot of success out of those.’