Yesterday, after receiving a tip from a reader I explained that Jackson Hewitt had filed for bankruptcy last week and consequently their “Win Win with the Big Check” video contest had fallen into legal limbo. The company pulled the rules and a relevant video from the web and they had stopped responding to the finalist’s calls and messages. It seemed like Jackson Hewitt had decided never to pick a winner and just pretend like the contest simply never happened.  And because filing for Chapter 11 protects a company from civil suits and from paying off their debts, it would be nearly impossible for the finalists to force Jackson Hewitt to pick a winner and pay out the $20,000 prize.

But this afternoon, after nearly 6 weeks of silence, this message appeared on the “Big Check” facebook page:

So what happened?  How come Jackson Hewitt suddenly remembered they were running a video contest?  Well….I think it was me!  I checked my traffic logs and I noticed that someone from Jackson Hewitt’s headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey viewed my “Big Check” post today.  And a few minutes later, the company announced they’d finally pick a winner next week.  Good for them for doing the right thing.  I guess sometimes big companies just need a friendly (and public) reminder when they fail to fulfill their obligations.  So if you happen to be one of the “Big Check” finalists and you wind up winning, be sure to remember to cut me off a slice of that 20K!

June 1, 2011 Update: Ah ha, it seems the mystery may have been solved.  I heard from one of the finalists in this contest today and he said that he liked my last post so much that he posted it onto every Jackson Hewitt facebook page he could find!  He added the note, “Look how Jackson Hewitt botched the Big Check contest.”  The comments were quickly deleted and JH immediately announced they would be picking a winner next week.  Teamwork: FTW!