Kraft Mails $250 to ‘Winners’ of a $17,000 Van

Kraft Inc. announced Tuesday that it is mailing $250 checks to hundreds of people who claim that they won a $17,000 van that was supposed to be the grand prize in a botched contest.

Letters accompanying the checks say the payment “represents our appreciation for your understanding and good will” and that the company is “sorry for any confusion or disappointment the flawed game may have caused.”

Because of a printing error, the “Ready to Roll” game pieces Kraft offered last month in newspapers in the Chicago and Houston areas matched virtually all game pieces in packages of Kraft cheese, making hundreds, possibly thousands, of people apparent winners of a 1990 Dodge Caravan.

The company nullified the contest June 12 after the error was discovered, prompting at least two class-action lawsuits by would-be winners.