It looks like a few PS Vita hopefuls will be facing some serious disappointment as Taco Bell has just announced that some of the individuals who were notified as being winners of the “Unlock the Box” promotion didn’t actually win one of Sony’s shiny new handhelds.
Several customers have reported that they received a congratulatory message notifying them that they won a PS Vita, only to receive an email later from Taco Bell informing them that this was not the case. According to the fast food chain, their website was hacked, which resulted in the program awarding too many winners.
You can read Taco Bell’s official statement below:
We have learned that during a short period of time on January 30th, some people entering our Unlock the Box promotion erroneously received a message suggesting they had won a PlayStation® Vita, pending verification. After a thorough investigation, and an additional review by the independent company administering the promotion, it was confirmed that these entrants viewed these messages as a result of others who attempted to gain illegal entry and defraud the system. Unfortunately, during this time period some saw a confirmation screen but were not valid winners.
Taco Bell designed this sweepstakes to be fun for our consumers and we know that there are some disappointed fans.
We are therefore giving those consumers who viewed erroneous messages a second chance to win by automatically entering them into a separate drawing to win a PS Vita. All winners will be notified and their names posted the week after the end of the promotion. The issue that occurred on January 30th has been resolved and the Unlock the Box promotion will continue to run through March 11, 2012.
While this undoubtedly bites for those who got the message in error, at least Taco Bell is making an effort to remedy the issue.
