Subway gives A$2,664 gift card to woman to reimburse fine for bringing its sandwich into Australia airport

Marketing on point.

Belmont Lay| July 19, 2022, 04:41 PM

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Subway has fully reimbursed A$2,664 (S$2,542) to the Australian woman, who was fined that amount for failing to declare and bringing a half-eaten foot-long Subway sandwich into Australia via the airport, breaching biosecurity rules.

The woman, Jessica Lee, put up a TikTok video on July 18 to unbox the box of merchandise Subway sent to her.

@_jessicaleeee Replying to @subwayaustralia ARE YOU KIDDING?! 😩😻😻 basically free subs for a year #fyp #subwayfine #subway #eatfresh ♬ original sound - Jessica Lee

Subway wrote in a card: "To say thank you for eating fresh, we've uploaded a Sub card with A$2,664 just for you. We hope this covers all your chicken and lettuce needs."

"Love, from your Subway fans."

The A$2,664 reimbursement came in the form of a gift card that could be used to buy Subway products.

The box of merchandise she received also included a hat, pens, shoelaces, scrunchie, stickers, bottle opener, socks, cardholder, cookie key chain, playing cards, and a tumbler.

The video has been watched 1.1 million times within a day.

What happened

Lee brought a half-eaten foot-long Subway sandwich with her on the plane from Singapore into Australia, she explained in a July 1 TikTok video.

However, she ended up forgetting about her sandwich and failed to declare two ingredients, chicken and lettuce, when she landed in Australia, known for its tough border controls.

“It is my mistake but like, I bought a foot-long Subway at Singapore airport because I was a hungry girl after my 11-hour flight,” she said.

Australian immigration officers discovered her sandwich after she and her boyfriend declared that they had cigars with them and the couple was subjected to further checks.

She also said she did not think the declaration form applied to pre-purchased food that was not in her luggage.

Lee said: "It literally did not occur to me that my Subway had chicken and lettuce in it, which is fresh produce."

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