Technical error told Tim Hortons customers they’d won $10K
Technical error told Tim Hortons customers they’d won $10K
A Southwestern Ontario man, Jeremy McDougall, has sought for legal assistance after receiving a notification from the Tim Hortons digital app that he won a grand prize of $10,000, only for it to be turned down and called a “technical glitch” by the company.
A screen grab of Jeremy McDougall’s winnings and an emailed response from Tim Hortons.
McDougall, 37, of Tillsonburg, and his wife have been in a challenging financial situation as she had lost her job right before Christmas. He states that the notification of the win had made them have a glimmer of hope. The Roll Up To Win campaign was a popular annual contest that was formerly manual and required customers to loosen the rim of their paper cup to see if they were a winner. However, it had been adapted to the company’s digital app and that is where the technical glitch had occurred.
The restaurant chain has been facing a public–relations nightmare since the contest’s first day last Monday as a “small subset” of players were incorrectly notified that they had won the jackpot draw, which was intended to be a daily prize for one person. A $50 gift card was offered to the players who received the wrong award notification and the company had been in the process of contacting them to express their regret.
Potential legal fight
McDougall had taken a screen grab of the winning message on his phone, which had later disappeared. He had gone to the Tim Hortons in Tillsonburg that he had purchased the coffee in and the owner had verified that the win had been legitimate. After hiring a lawyer, a legal fight seems to be looming. This situation has left many people feeling upset and disappointed, as it had been a chance to win something big, yet they are not receiving the prize they had been notified of.
People have taken to social media to express their frustration, as one man stated “I want the $10,000 that your app told me I won.” As a result of this situation, the company has a lot to answer for and further action may be taken by the those who had been wrongly notified of a win.