Big cash prize claimed; one more outstanding

Big cash prize claimed; one more outstanding

Regularly visiting her parents in Whangarei has paid off for a Mangawhai Heads woman who has claimed the $100,000 Kachingo! prize issued by BP Wylies.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, visited her parents the weekend before Labour weekend, stopping at BP Wylies to fill up on the way home.

But it wasn't until her mother phoned later that week that she had an inkling that shopping at BP might have hit the jackpot for her.

"Normally when I fill up I stop the pump at the nearest dollar. But I remember this particular time the attendant did the honours for me and he filled the tank to the top, so there was an odd number of cents on the bill.

"The problem was, I couldn't remember the exact amount when mum phoned to say someone who shopped at BP Wylies had won the big Kachingo! prize. It was actually only $28.33."

The woman located her Kachingo! tickets and her daughter checked the numbers on the reward scheme's Internet site.

"She said she'd call back if it was a winner - this was the Friday night of Labour weekend - but for various reasons I didn't hear from her until late. I can tell you, I was quite excited by this stage and it was a long wait.

"When she called, quite late, she said, 'mum, you've won a prize and I know it's more than $100'."

The long weekend wait for the Kachingo! offices to open on the following Tuesday seemed like a month to the woman.

"When this sort of thing happens you actually can't believe it. Even after I spoke to the Kachingo! people I still couldn't quite grasp the significance of it all. I think it's only when you actually do something with the money that you think, 'I wouldn't have been able to do this if I hadn't won a Kachingo! prize'."

The woman works full time and has adult children. A devoted family person, she will share her winnings but some will be used for travel and personal pampering.

The AA member always shops at BP to get her Kachingo! tickets and AA Rewards. She also does her grocery shopping at Woolworths Kensington in Whangarei 'to get the city prices' as well as for the Kachingo! tickets.

"I've only checked my tickets once before at the self-checker at Woolworths. I'll certainly be checking them more regularly now!"

The winning ticket is the first and only cash prize of more than $20 to be issued by BP Wylies.

Big Fresh in Whangarei has issued two $100,000 first prize Kachingo! tickets, one of which has been claimed. The supermarket also has 12 outstanding $1,000 prizes waiting to be claimed. Woolworths Kensington shoppers have yet to claim four $1,000 Kachingo! prizes.

BP spokesperson Jane Diver says it's a great result for BP to have another big winner come forward.

"One of our Auckland customers won $250,000 in a January draw and of course the Dunedin fire-fighters had their wonderful win in July. We've also had lots of $1,000, $20 and $5 winners but it's great to score a big one again.

"Here at BP we've now issued tickets to the value of more than $1.4m since October last year and more than 29,000 BP shoppers have claimed $920,000 in cash prizes. It all goes to show how important it is for people to keep checking their tickets - anyone can win, even by spending as little as $28."

Kachingo! spokesperson Dean Cook echoes the statement.

"With a weekly draw it is very important for people to check their tickets regularly. Put it in your diary, tie a knot in your tie - it doesn't matter how you remind yourself so long as you check them."

Kachingo tickets expire 6 months following the draw for which they are valid. Prizes of $1,000 or more must be claimed from Global Online Promotions by telephoning 0-9-309 4055 during business hours. Smaller prizes of less than $100 must be collected in-store.

About Kachingo!

Kachingo! is a customer rewards programme invented in New Zealand. It is the only one to give shoppers cash rewards just for shopping at any store within the Kachingo! village of partners. The village consists of BP, Super Liquor and Woolworths, Big Fresh and Price Chopper supermarkets. Since launch Kachingo! has paid out more than $4.5m in cash prizes to more than 85,000 customers and given away more than 1.3 million instant rewards.

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