Shoppers in the UAE were left feeling frustrated and disappointed on Friday after receiving a misleading email from the buy-now-pay-later service Tabby. The company sent out notifications to numerous users claiming they had won a Dh5,000 Emirates flight voucher, only to retract the news just hours later. In a follow-up apology, Tabby admitted the initial message was sent in error and took full responsibility for the confusion, promising to securely delete any personal information submitted by users who had attempted to claim the prize.

The incident sparked a wave of social media backlash, with many users expressing their irritation at being offered and subsequently denied such a significant reward. Curiously, many of the recipients were not even Tabby Card holders, making them ineligible for the actual raffle. While Tabby has pledged to investigate the technical glitch to prevent a recurrence, the situation has clearly dampened trust among its customer base. At the time of reporting, Emirates has remained silent on the matter, leaving affected users to vent their frustrations over the rollercoaster of excitement and disappointment.