The NS has done it yet again - an error at the Dutch rail company saw thousands of people in the Netherlands receive an email awarding them the prize of a luxury home dinner for six prepared by a private chef worth over 1.000 euros. Unfortunately, the flame of excitement was soon extinguished when the NS sent a follow-up email retracting the prize with an apology.

Error with NS Wintercity prize email

As part of the NS “Wintercity” advent calendar, participants stand to win all kinds of daily prizes from Christmas sweaters to an exclusive dining experience. However, despite there being only one winner for the dinner, a confirmation email was sent to 6.000 people on Saturday.

Understandably, the email recipients were excited as the prize including a five-course meal for up to six people prepared by a private chef in the winner’s home is valued at over 1.000 euros. Thousands of “winners” had their hopes dashed the next day when a follow-up email arrived in their mailboxes apologising for the mistake. Some of the not-so-lucky people have commented about the error on social media platform X; “I was already planning to surprise my parents after a tough time. This is really disappointing.” 

Another NS mail system error sends out faulty emails

"It was a technical problem," NS spokesperson Erik Kroeze explained. "People had not yet participated in the competition for the chef at home, but received the confirmation email stating that they had won the prize. However, the competition for the 'chef at home' was not until the next day, on Sunday. Unfortunately, something went wrong there."

A similar situation occurred earlier this year when the public transport provider mistakenly sent birthday presents to 500.000 people. While all the recipients were allowed to keep their little birthday gifts, this is not the case with the luxury dinner. "We understand how disappointing this is for those who received the email," an NS spokesperson told NOS. "It may come across as sloppy, but we’re continuing with the Wintercity campaign."