Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Ontario resident Shawn Baxter told CTV News Toronto that he received the email from the coffee chain on Wednesday afternoon advising him that’s he’d won a watercraft through the Roll up to Win contest.
“I was definitely excited and my wife was on her way out the door and I called her back,” he said.
“I was in a bit of shock. We verified the email address and it looked legit. It had listed everything that I won over the past contest … They all matched.”
Tim Hortons sent another email to all customers subscribed to its promotions on Wednesday afternoon stating the initial email was sent in error.
“We’re reaching out to let you know that technical errors may have resulted in incorrect information about rolls or prizes being included in your Roll Up to Win recap email which you received today,” the company stated.
“Unfortunately, some prizes that you did not win may have been included in the recap email you received. If this was the case, today’s email does not mean that you won those prizes.”
The company further stated that prizes won in the contest would have been revealed immediately when rolling up the rim, and any large value prize would have had a further “verification process.”
“We apologize for the frustration this has caused and for not living up to our high standards,” the company said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.
Tim Hortons needs to do more than just explain what the error means, Baxter said, adding those impacted should be compensated.
“I mean, we're talking $65,000 boat and all of a sudden you're telling me ‘No, it's not mine,’” he said.
“You know, you go to a store and they post the wrong price. They take care of that and honour that price. … I’d like to see something from them, of course. Ideally the boat, but I doubt that’s going to happen.”
A similar incident happened in March 2023 when customers were told in an email that they had won the company's jackpot draw, a $10,000 daily prize meant to be awarded to one person per day.
The company said at the time that it offered a $50 gift card as compensation to players who received the award notice. The company also said it was in the process of contacting the false winners to express "regret for the disappointment caused by this error."
“You think with all their checks that are in place with mass corporations before mass emails go out, you would think they would be correct,” Baxter said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
DEVELOPING Police begin removing barricades at a pro-Palestinian demonstrators' encampment at UCLA
Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.