Make sure you read the fine print of Tim Hortons Roll Up the Rim contest

Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim Contest is back for its 30th year, which means people across the country will be slowly and steadily thumb-rolling the rims of their cups, in the hope of discovering the word WIN.

Those who unearth this precious three letter word, will be the lucky recipients of one of 40 grand prizes, including the all-new 2016 Honda Civic Sedan EX-T, recently named North American Car of the Year. Prizing also includes 120 LG 4K OLED TVs, 100 $5,000 CIBC prepaid cards, 25,000 $100 TimCards, and millions of coffee and donut prizes.

However, like with all competitions, it’s important to read the fine print very carefully before claiming a prize, otherwise you might find yourself walking away empty handed.

This actually happened to one woman in Newfoundland and Labrador last year. According to CTV News, Samantha Burke of Clarenville, N.L., tried to claim a $100 Tim Hortons’ gift card in the coffee chain’s Roll Up The Rim to Win contest. However Burke was denied because she was not aware of new contest rules that state that winners of gift cards (and larger prizes) must also send in/show the part of the cup rim that contains the prize’s PIN code.

Under the rules and redemption section on the contest’s website it states that Tim Hortons “reserves the right […] to reject any potentially winning RIM TAB if the prize message is not presented in its entirety.”

Burke can’t possibly be alone in her thinking that all she needed to have on her to claim her prize was the winning message, especially when so many people are guilty of skim-reading the rules and regulations part of a competition.

The Roll Up The Rim Contest may be quite simple to play, but there are some definite dos and don’ts to remember, namely, if you happen to reveal the word WIN don’t throw out the cup with the pin code still attached!

One final word of advice: You may want to finish the whole beverage before rolling, so you don’t end up with your drink on your lap.