The Sunday Telegraph

I won a £2k holiday but then my wife died

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Q In 2015 I bought a Fruit Shoot drink for one of my children and won a competitio­n for £2,000 towards a family holiday. The offer had a two-year validity but towards the end of the period, in 2017, I inquired about using the vouchers to book a Disneyland trip.

I nearly got to the point of booking, but then, suddenly, my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and died just 11 months later. Obviously going on holiday was the last thing we were thinking about.

Then, about a year after my wife’s death, the pandemic hit. It was such a hard time for our family, who were still deep in grief for my wife. And any postponed plans for a holiday weren’t going to happen then, due to all the various travel restrictio­ns.

Now, finally, I am ready to rebook the trip with my children, so I asked Britvic, which owns the Fruit Shoot brand, whether it would be willing to let me claim the prize, even though I am well out of time. But there seems to be no one there that can help and I just get passed around.

I’d be grateful if you could get through to Britvic and get me an answer? If it says I’m out of time, I will accept it, move on and book the holiday. It’s just that the £2,000 would make such a huge difference to me, as I’m now supporting three children on one income. I just want to know. –DM, via email

A You’ve had a really tough time these past few years, first losing your beloved wife and then having to remain strong through the pandemic for your three children. If anyone deserved a holiday, it was you, so I was keen to help.

You won this competitio­n some eight years ago in 2015 and it expired six years ago in 2017. This is a significan­t passage of time and, under ordinary circumstan­ces, you wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on. But there wasn’t much ordinary about these circumstan­ces. Consumer brands like Fruit Shoot run competitio­ns to boost sales, so when you didn’t claim the prize (through no fault of your own), Britvic may have inadverten­tly profited at your expense. I felt sure that if its bosses heard about this, they’d want to make things right.

You sent me your wife’s death certificat­e, which I passed on to Britvic. I also found an online tribute about her by a former employer, which confirmed the date of her diagnosis. I sent this to Britvic as well, as it couldn’t hurt to evidence the facts of the case. Happily, it didn’t take long for Britvic to do the right thing. When I called you to let you know it had decided to honour the £2,000 holiday vouchers, you became emotional. This was a drop in the ocean for Britvic, but to you, I could tell, it meant so much.

You said you’d been comforted by reading the wonderful tribute by her former colleague, which you hadn’t thought about for a while until I unearthed it to show Britvic. In it, a colleague mentioned how your wife had told her how lucky she considered herself to be, to have a husband and children, who she loved and a career that she had thrived in and enjoyed. A spokesman from Britvic said: “We were very saddened to hear about the tragic passing of the customer’s wife and the difficult circumstan­ces he and his family have been through. Recently, Britvic’s consumer care team has been in contact with the customer and will be honouring the prize in full. We wish the family all the best for the future and hope they enjoy the holiday.”

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