Imagine telling your kid they’ve just won a holiday…
only to take it back hours later.
That’s exactly what happened after a Mother’s Day competition run by a Northampton restaurant — and people are seriously not happy about it.
A Northampton mum has been left fuming after her young son was announced as the winner of a Mother’s Day competition, only for the prize to later be taken away.
Jodie Chapman, 37, says her son entered a competition run on Instagram by Cartel Brasserie & Grill, which offered a trip to Spain as the prize.
Out of hundreds of entries, her son was selected as the winner using what was described as a random selection process. The restaurant even shared the result on social media — confirming he had won.
But just hours later, everything changed.
The restaurant contacted Jodie to say her son did not meet the competition requirements, citing an 18+ age restriction. As a result, the prize was withdrawn and awarded to another entrant.
The issue, according to Jodie, is that no such age requirement was clearly stated.
She says neither the original Instagram post nor the restaurant’s website included any visible terms and conditions or mention of an age limit.
“I told him he’d won… then had to say he hadn’t. He was absolutely gutted.”
The situation didn’t end there.
Feeling guilty, Jodie says she went on to spend around £500 of her own money to take her son on a trip to Spain anyway.
“Mum guilt kicked in,” she explained. “I thought I’m going to have to make this right.”
The complaint has now been escalated to the Advertising Standards Authority, which has confirmed it is currently assessing the case to determine whether further action is needed.
In response, the restaurant said all of its competitions are subject to clearly defined terms and conditions, including eligibility requirements such as a minimum age of 18.
It added that after the initial winner was selected, standard verification checks were carried out — at which point it was identified that the entry did not meet the criteria. The prize was then withdrawn and a new winner chosen.
However, checks have reportedly found no accessible terms and conditions on the restaurant’s website, and no clear mention of an age restriction in the original promotional post.
The situation has raised wider questions about how competitions are being run across pubs, bars, and restaurants — particularly when it comes to transparency and fairness.
For many, the issue isn’t just about the prize.
It’s about announcing a winner first… and checking the rules later.
So what do you reckon…
Should a venue be allowed to take back a prize after announcing a winner — or is that completely out of order?
