Online sales - sharp practice?
Discussion
Morning,
Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
Ian Geary said:
Morning,
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
This bit is definitely scummy.The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
The "Charge for next day delivery" - I guess what you're paying for is guaranteed NDD. I know with Amazon it nearly always turns up quicker than they say.
Many years ago I had to order a part from IBM and I had a choice of a high premium for next-day delivery or seven-day delivery.
I chose the seven-day option. It arrived on day 7 as expected, but in typical IBM fashion, they had waited 6 days and then sent it next-day, so the cost to them would have been the same either way.
I chose the seven-day option. It arrived on day 7 as expected, but in typical IBM fashion, they had waited 6 days and then sent it next-day, so the cost to them would have been the same either way.
Ian Geary said:
Morning,
Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
They're not trying it on, it's just a function of how the systems in the logistics flow are working and what availablility the courier concerned has. In this instance you've got (very) lucky that an order manifested on a Sunday night was able to be fulfilled and scheduled for delivery by the courier concerned on the Monday. Very often "next day" orders placed on a Sunday aren't processed until the Monday, so "next day" becomes Tuesday. So the fact that a non next day order placed on a Sunday was delivered on the Monday is extremely lucky.Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
The delivery thing is sometimes how it works.
The refund and the membership thing is disgraceful. They should already have your card details from when you paid anyway.
I would be keeping a close eye on my statements going forward and I would rather pay a little more elsewhere than reward such practice with repeat business.
The refund and the membership thing is disgraceful. They should already have your card details from when you paid anyway.
I would be keeping a close eye on my statements going forward and I would rather pay a little more elsewhere than reward such practice with repeat business.
We recently had an identical experience with - I suspect - the same online retailer.
Ordered Sunday with 3-4 day delivery
Delivery confirmed as Monday, next day
Turned up on the doorstep at 08:15
Excellent service
Same experience with 'Special refund offer', too - I spotted the membership fee thing just before I hit 'submit'.
Shabby service
Ordered Sunday with 3-4 day delivery
Delivery confirmed as Monday, next day
Turned up on the doorstep at 08:15
Excellent service
Same experience with 'Special refund offer', too - I spotted the membership fee thing just before I hit 'submit'.
Shabby service
Ian Geary said:
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
I think Moonpig do this as well. Scummy thing to do.It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
Tycho said:
I think Moonpig do this as well. Scummy thing to do.
They do, and when I pulled them up on it they said it was nothing to do with them.I told them it was scammy, and as it was on their website it looked like a moonpig scheme, and that the 'subscription' part should be made more prominent.
Despite them knowing about it for at least 5 years, they've never bothered to fix it, so I have to assume they get a kickback too.
Moonpig customer serviced said:
Thanks for getting in contact with us regarding the Complete Savings Loyalty Scheme.
Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
I replied telling them what I thought of their response, and am still waiting for a reply 4 years later.Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
Ian Geary said:
Morning,
Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
I had the second thing this morning with an online purchase from a hardware seller that station's tools ready for click and collect. It was a £6 purchase, so odd I'd get £18 back. Again like the OP, it was a sign up to a club for £18 a month. Very sharp practice indeed, as it's presented to appear as if it was a cashback from the retailer, not a third party. The bit further down about signing up for a club and monthly payment whilst not deliberatley obscured is certainly not immediately obvious.Just wanted to share this as much for a moan as needing any practical help. I won't name and shame.
I was buying some kitchen appliances direct from a wholesaler. Competitive price, nice website etc. placed order Sunday evening.
Delivery: standard 3-4 days or more for next day delivery? Went with standard. Monday morning - text - your delivery will be today.
Now that is fantastic delivery speed, but we're they just trying it on to charge a next day delivery premium?
The other thing - spent over £300, and when complete had the screen "saving of £20 is available off your next purchase". Ok, fair enough, this isn't uncommon.
It says "enter your details to claim", ok, name, address, card number? Hmm. Read it and it says "this is so we can add the refund back to your card".
Still hmm. Read further down on a smaller side panel - "this card will be used to take the £18 per month membership fee, until you cancel"
Now nowhere did the main header or text indicate this was about signing up to a £200 a year membership scheme.
Ultimately it's a first world problem etc, but this just felt like sharp practice to me?
Completesavings.co.uk - This website is owned and operated by Webloyalty Sàrl ("Webloyalty Sàrl"). Webloyalty Sàrl is a limited company registered in Switzerland, with registered number CHE-344.043.246, at Avenue Reverdil 8, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland.
Web Loyalty is or was owned by the Affinion Group - has form - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinion_Group
This sort of scheme has been around since the 90's.
While I was at uni I had a part-time job working in a BT call centre that took calls for external clients. One of our calls was the Scoot Home Shopping Service. Scoot was a directory services provider - similar to Yellow pages, but by phone. Their call handlers would ask if they would like £30 of free fuel and put them through to us.
We would then explain by a careful script that Scoot Home Shopping Service provided discounts of electronic items such as fridges and freezes across the UK. On top of that, they would get a cheque to cover £30 of fuel. All it would take was £1 by card, and a further payment of £79 after three months, but you could cancel at any time.
There were T&C's to getting that £30 of fuel including sending £10 receipts in at certain time windows. Obviously, people forgot to cancel, and it really went wrong for them when they set up a retentions number, and some people spoke to the call handler who flogged the service... They moved call centres fairly quickly as sales numbers dropped.
We were told it was not a sales call, just an 'information' call. Was far from convincing!
The background...
Scoot Home Shopping Service was owned by the Cendant Corporation, a very large US based business, who owned brands such as Avis and NCP in the UK. The home shopping service was in a division called CUC International which was exposed in 1998 to have fraudulently overstated it's income by $500m, the biggest accounting scandal of its time and which caused the stock price to crash by 75%.
It's a nice business.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cendant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUC_International
Web Loyalty is or was owned by the Affinion Group - has form - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinion_Group
This sort of scheme has been around since the 90's.
While I was at uni I had a part-time job working in a BT call centre that took calls for external clients. One of our calls was the Scoot Home Shopping Service. Scoot was a directory services provider - similar to Yellow pages, but by phone. Their call handlers would ask if they would like £30 of free fuel and put them through to us.
We would then explain by a careful script that Scoot Home Shopping Service provided discounts of electronic items such as fridges and freezes across the UK. On top of that, they would get a cheque to cover £30 of fuel. All it would take was £1 by card, and a further payment of £79 after three months, but you could cancel at any time.
There were T&C's to getting that £30 of fuel including sending £10 receipts in at certain time windows. Obviously, people forgot to cancel, and it really went wrong for them when they set up a retentions number, and some people spoke to the call handler who flogged the service... They moved call centres fairly quickly as sales numbers dropped.
We were told it was not a sales call, just an 'information' call. Was far from convincing!
The background...
Scoot Home Shopping Service was owned by the Cendant Corporation, a very large US based business, who owned brands such as Avis and NCP in the UK. The home shopping service was in a division called CUC International which was exposed in 1998 to have fraudulently overstated it's income by $500m, the biggest accounting scandal of its time and which caused the stock price to crash by 75%.
It's a nice business.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cendant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUC_International
mmm-five said:
Tycho said:
I think Moonpig do this as well. Scummy thing to do.
They do, and when I pulled them up on it they said it was nothing to do with them.I told them it was scammy, and as it was on their website it looked like a moonpig scheme, and that the 'subscription' part should be made more prominent.
Despite them knowing about it for at least 5 years, they've never bothered to fix it, so I have to assume they get a kickback too.
Moonpig customer serviced said:
Thanks for getting in contact with us regarding the Complete Savings Loyalty Scheme.
Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
I replied telling them what I thought of their response, and am still waiting for a reply 4 years later.Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
I suppose this company just added themselves to Moonpigs website without them knowing.Tycho said:
mmm-five said:
Tycho said:
I think Moonpig do this as well. Scummy thing to do.
They do, and when I pulled them up on it they said it was nothing to do with them.I told them it was scammy, and as it was on their website it looked like a moonpig scheme, and that the 'subscription' part should be made more prominent.
Despite them knowing about it for at least 5 years, they've never bothered to fix it, so I have to assume they get a kickback too.
Moonpig customer serviced said:
Thanks for getting in contact with us regarding the Complete Savings Loyalty Scheme.
Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
I replied telling them what I thought of their response, and am still waiting for a reply 4 years later.Complete Savings is a third party company that is offered to you after placing an order with Moonpig, normally after the final confirmation screen. This is a chargeable service entitling you to a number of benefits and discounts across multiple outlets of which Moonpig is one. Please note they are not linked to Moonpig and we do not pass any of your financial or card details directly to Complete Savings. The Complete Savings sign up process involves you clicking to agree their terms and conditions, including the monthly charge.
Should you have any additional queries you can contact Complete Savings directly using the details below, and they will be able to access your details and update or cancel your account with a full refund if needed.
Email: customerservice@completesavings.co.uk
Telephone Number: 0800 389 6960
I suppose this company just added themselves to Moonpigs website without them knowing.Edited by FMOB on Thursday 6th June 13:33
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