Tim Hortons says potential lawsuit for Roll Up To Win prize snafu has 'no merit'
Tim Hortons insists a potential class action lawsuit involving customers who were sent an email by mistake during the company's Roll up to Win contest has "no merit."
- Sign up now for our daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Approximately 500,000 customers across Canada received the emails from the coffee giant on Wednesday, erroneously claiming customers had won a boat and a trailer worth more than $68,000, according to court filings by the Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocats.
Over 2,000 social media users joined a Facebook group where many shared their frustration with having been told they received the prize, only to be later told it was sent by mistake, without any compensation.
Tim Hortons apologized for the mistake and asked customers to disregard the content of the email.
LPC Avocats submitted an application for a class action lawsuit with the Superior Court of Quebec on April 19. The lawsuit has yet to be certified as it awaits an authorization hearing to move forward.
The firm alleges the company violated the Consumer Protection Act, which states merchants are bound to statements or advertisements about their services, including the Roll Up To Win contest.
The class action is seeking punitive damages of $10,000 for every customer who received the email and potential other damages, to be determined by a judge.
Tim Hortons says in a statement to CTV News that it will be addressing the matter in court.
"Despite this human error, we firmly believe there is no merit to the lawsuit and we will address this through the court," a Tim Hortons spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
"After the Roll Up To Win contest ended, we sent out a recap email message to give our guests an overview of their play history. Unfortunately, there was a human error that resulted in some guests receiving some incorrect information in this recap message. When we became aware of the error, we quickly sent out an email to guests notifying them of the error and apologizing."
Gilles LeVasseur, a law and business professor at the University of Ottawa, says these contests have exclusion clauses in their rules that make class action lawsuits difficult, but customers could still seek some punitive damages.
"They can do a claim against the company for the damage. But the question is, what kind of damage you could claim?" LeVasseur said Saturday on 580 CFRA's Live! with Andrew Pinsent.
"These types of situations, yes it's frustrating, yes it hurts, but the people did not really lose personally on a given account. They lost in terms of possibilities."
LeVasseur says if the lawsuit moves forward, a judge could offer customers compensation of $500 at most to close the file quickly.
"Sadly the amount that usually is settled, is not very high," he said.
LeVasseur says he would like to see Tim Hortons be more transparent with customers and apologize profusely for the wrongdoing. He suggests the company appear on television or in the media to repair the lost trust of its customers and to fix the reliability of the contest.
"You got to act right away, that’s the first step you have to do. Recognize your faults, act right away and find a solution," he said. "By making people wait like that, they lose faith in the business."
"Right now, Tim Hortons is not doing that."
He adds the company should consider compensation for customers from the error to help recover its brand quickly.
"Marketing right now is a very different concept than we had 10 years ago," he said.
"Social media creates by itself its own marketing strategy and so when the system gets going and it becomes an anti-Tim Hortons movement, you may not lose 50 per cent of your business, but you could lose 10 to 15 per cent of your clients – and that is your business at the end of the day."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Princess Anne to take part in B.C. ceremony bringing new ship into Pacific fleet
Western Canada's first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel will officially be brought into the Pacific fleet today and Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles, is scheduled to take part in its commissioning ceremony.
Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded west of Vancouver Island
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was reported west of Vancouver Island Thursday evening.
More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
How falling for a stranger she met on a beach led this woman to ditch the U.S. for the French Riviera
Niki Benjamin, from the U.S., had travelled to a paradise island to do some soul searching, and her life ended up going in a very different direction when her dog ran up to a stranger.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Feds giving Toronto more than $104M to host 2026 FIFA World Cup
The federal government will provide Toronto just over $104 million in funding to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Police clear encampments as U.S. campus arrests exceed 2,300 amid pro-Palestinian protests
Police ordered pro-Palestinian protesters to clear out of a tent encampment at New York University early Friday, a move that follows weeks of demonstrations and police confrontations at college campuses nationwide that have resulted in more than 2,300 arrests.
Wally, the emotional support alligator once denied entry to a baseball game, is missing
Emotional support animal registrations in the United States reached 115,832 last year, by an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there’s only one: 'Wally Gator.'