Have you ever seen the popups or adverts on a website “get free laptop etc”? Well I come across such adverts all the time, and one day my curiosity got the better of me.

I decided to sign up to a website offer said free gift, this was a free Xbox 360. Now I have a very optimistic view of these type of websites, but after seeing so many I thought there has to be something about them to warrant so many sites and adverts.

This signup was painless, you are then presented with a varied option of gifts. I decided for the Xbox 360 as this would at the time make a great gift my children.
Once you decide which gift you want you then have to complete one of the offers on the webpage, these vary from free trials to joining online entertainment sites such as Gala bingo.

I opted for the two week free dvd rental from lovefilm, as I had wanted to start renting dvd’s online so it seemed a good option at the time. A few days later the first dvd arrived on my door step, promptly watched and returned the dvd ready for my next rental to arrive. Now this is a two week free trial, so at this point im getting free dvd rentals. As the two weeks came to an end I noticed on the website I had used to signup to lovefilm had credited my account.

Im now thinking “that was easy for a free Xbox 360”. But that was not the case, you then have to refer friends family to join using a unquie URL you are supplied from the website offering the free gifts. I thought to myself that since I had joined and had been credited I would follow through the whole process and see if this “free” Xbox 360 turns up.

Three weeks passed and I finally gained the required amount of people to join to get my free gift. I was full of anticipation but at the same time was thinking “Is this all just a scam?”. I had to wait one week for them to check my account for any signs of fraud which is outlined in there T&C’s.

It’s arrived I heard a voice screaming down the phone at me, I was thinking what the hell is she talking about? The Xbox 360has arrived she yelled again. I was so delighted with this news I went home an hour early from work to see this Xbox 360 for myself. As I walked through the door I was greeted by my two children with smiles wider than I’ve ever seen. We quickly unboxed and setup the console but I was still at this point in an aura of disbelieve.

This event has made me create websites which help other people get these free gifts one of which is very popular at the moment is myfreeiphone.co.uk you do have to have friends or family who will help you out to sign up etc, but you can also advertise on classified adverts online. These sites really do work if you can put the sentence “nothing in life is free” to the back of your head.