Littlewoods £25 voucher code problems resolved
Options
MSE_Martin
Posts: 8,272 Money Saving Expert
Update Note 19 Nov 2007:
All refunds should have been recieved by now. Please reply below to let us know if you've not received yours.
What's this about?
There was a £25 Littlewoods discount voucher posted here and on other forums which shouldn't have been. It was specifically for a target group, yet anyone who entered it, even if ineligible got the discount. Once Littlewoods realised this, it started to demand the cash back, and many MoneySavers were worried and panicked on this.
After a lot of messages for help from site users, I called and have had a number of, thankfully, friendly conversations with Littlewoods about it. The following is Littlewoods' new statement, and I'm really pleased it's been resolved this way.
"09 November 2007 For Immediate Release: Littlewoods
£25 Discount Voucher Code Issue
Further to the recent issue of the abuse of a specific £25 discount code; the Company acknowledges that while we were entitled to take a firm stance against this code abuse, as supported by Liverpool Trading Standards, the fact that we have done so has caused concern amongst some of our customers.
As a gesture of goodwill, on this occasion the Company has agreed it will take no further action to claim the £25 from those people who were not entitled to the discount. In addition, for those customers who have already paid the £25, it will make a refund of this amount. Any additional related charges will be refunded, or reversed if not yet paid.
Customers have the responsibility to ensure they are using a discount for which they are eligible. Our terms & conditions (attached) make it clear that promotional codes must only be used by customers who qualify for them. These can be viewed on the website.
The Company confirms that no default information will appear at the credit reference agencies as a result of the action it has taken.
If in doubt customers should only use discount codes which have been given to them directly by the Company, and should check the conditions which apply to them.
Littlewoods Terms & Conditions relating to discount vouchers
2.3 Where you have redeemed a promotional code or any other offer ("a Code") against your order, acceptance of this order is subject to our verifying that the Code has been issued to you personally, that you comply with all the terms of the offer and qualify for the Code. In the event that the Code has not been issued to you for your personal use or you do not qualify for the offer, the price of the order will be adjusted notwithstanding any email or other confirmation that you receive."
END
MoneySavers need to see this as a strong warning
I do have some sympathy for Littlewoods here. This voucher code didn't just break Littlewood's rules, it broke this site's as well. There is a prominent note at the top of this board which explains "only post vouchers which are 'open to all' and always check you know the source when you use them."
This didn't happen in this case, and it's arguable that Littlewoods would've been within its rights to take people to Court for fraudulent activity.
Luckily Littlewoods was approachable and friendly and we've managed to sort it out. However going forward it's important for people to realise that if you use voucher codes that you're not allowed to, while they may work, you may be asked for the money back.
Of course, the counter side is that Littlewoods' voucher code system isn't able to allocate individual codes or verify at the time that the correct person is using them. So it must burden a good chunk of the blame for this too.
Don't misuse Littlewoods codes going forward... I won't be able to help
Everything should sort itself out. However I do want to point out that as part of my conversations with Littlewoods, on the back of this solution I did give it my word that as part of that, if something similar happened again I would not intervene again.
Of course it also needs to introduce safeguards on its site to stop this happening, plus a more prominent warning that misusing voucher codes could be fraudulent would help.
Yet if anyone publishes an ineligible Littlewoods voucher code either here or on another discount vouchers forum; it's worth warning others of the danger - as I think we've had all the leeway we're getting.
And please be careful with codes in the future, frankly I think we've been lucky on this one, I wouldn't want to test that luck again.
Martin
PS New to the site? Lots of legit voucher codes when they're around go in the free weekly MoneySaving e-mail
All refunds should have been recieved by now. Please reply below to let us know if you've not received yours.
What's this about?
There was a £25 Littlewoods discount voucher posted here and on other forums which shouldn't have been. It was specifically for a target group, yet anyone who entered it, even if ineligible got the discount. Once Littlewoods realised this, it started to demand the cash back, and many MoneySavers were worried and panicked on this.
After a lot of messages for help from site users, I called and have had a number of, thankfully, friendly conversations with Littlewoods about it. The following is Littlewoods' new statement, and I'm really pleased it's been resolved this way.
_________________________________________________________
"09 November 2007 For Immediate Release: Littlewoods
£25 Discount Voucher Code Issue
Further to the recent issue of the abuse of a specific £25 discount code; the Company acknowledges that while we were entitled to take a firm stance against this code abuse, as supported by Liverpool Trading Standards, the fact that we have done so has caused concern amongst some of our customers.
As a gesture of goodwill, on this occasion the Company has agreed it will take no further action to claim the £25 from those people who were not entitled to the discount. In addition, for those customers who have already paid the £25, it will make a refund of this amount. Any additional related charges will be refunded, or reversed if not yet paid.
Customers have the responsibility to ensure they are using a discount for which they are eligible. Our terms & conditions (attached) make it clear that promotional codes must only be used by customers who qualify for them. These can be viewed on the website.
The Company confirms that no default information will appear at the credit reference agencies as a result of the action it has taken.
If in doubt customers should only use discount codes which have been given to them directly by the Company, and should check the conditions which apply to them.
Littlewoods Terms & Conditions relating to discount vouchers
2.3 Where you have redeemed a promotional code or any other offer ("a Code") against your order, acceptance of this order is subject to our verifying that the Code has been issued to you personally, that you comply with all the terms of the offer and qualify for the Code. In the event that the Code has not been issued to you for your personal use or you do not qualify for the offer, the price of the order will be adjusted notwithstanding any email or other confirmation that you receive."
END
_____________________________________________________
MoneySavers need to see this as a strong warning
I do have some sympathy for Littlewoods here. This voucher code didn't just break Littlewood's rules, it broke this site's as well. There is a prominent note at the top of this board which explains "only post vouchers which are 'open to all' and always check you know the source when you use them."
This didn't happen in this case, and it's arguable that Littlewoods would've been within its rights to take people to Court for fraudulent activity.
Luckily Littlewoods was approachable and friendly and we've managed to sort it out. However going forward it's important for people to realise that if you use voucher codes that you're not allowed to, while they may work, you may be asked for the money back.
Of course, the counter side is that Littlewoods' voucher code system isn't able to allocate individual codes or verify at the time that the correct person is using them. So it must burden a good chunk of the blame for this too.
Don't misuse Littlewoods codes going forward... I won't be able to help
Everything should sort itself out. However I do want to point out that as part of my conversations with Littlewoods, on the back of this solution I did give it my word that as part of that, if something similar happened again I would not intervene again.
Of course it also needs to introduce safeguards on its site to stop this happening, plus a more prominent warning that misusing voucher codes could be fraudulent would help.
Yet if anyone publishes an ineligible Littlewoods voucher code either here or on another discount vouchers forum; it's worth warning others of the danger - as I think we've had all the leeway we're getting.
And please be careful with codes in the future, frankly I think we've been lucky on this one, I wouldn't want to test that luck again.
Martin
PS New to the site? Lots of legit voucher codes when they're around go in the free weekly MoneySaving e-mail
Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
Don't miss out on urgent MoneySaving, get my weekly e-mail at www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.
Debt-Free Wannabee Official Nerd Club: (Honorary) Members number 000
0
Comments
-
Thank you, Martin
0 -
Great work Martin, you da man !!Watch the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves0
-
ALL HAIL THE NEW MESSIAH ! :A
Martin my man you are truly a king amongst men ! :beer:you must see Martin's performance as a Macadamia Ball Man in the must see movie of 2003 "Danny Deckchair" - Simply Sensational0 -
If only we all had the power like martin to make the big compaines listen. Thanks for being our voice Martin :money:0
-
I didn't use the code myself but appreciate your assistance for all those that did.
Well done Littlewoods too.This was more than fair on their part.:T0 -
I'm glad your discussions were friendly Martin - comments I've seen suggest that individuals were not so lucky with Littlewoods.
It's a good "result" but they show no regard for their inadequacy regarding the IT solution (ie accepting the codes) in the first place.
I wasn't one of the unfortunate ones but have been unimpressed (to say the least) with the actions of this company. I personally will never shop with them (again) in future.0 -
Thanks for the help!0
-
Thanks Martin0
-
MSE_Martin wrote: »As a gesture of goodwill, on this occasion the Company has agreed it will take no further action to claim the £25 from those people who were not entitled to the discount. In addition, for those customers who have already paid the £25, it will make a refund of this amount. Any additional related charges will be refunded, or reversed if not yet paid.
Thanks Martin.
Did LW say when will those of us that have paid the £25 bwe reimbursed? And how, given i told them to close my account after their behaviour?0 -
Whatever we think of LW, I don't think that that should distract from the huge "thank you" and slap on the back for Martin.
Well done that man....I'd buy you a beer if I could.:beer:It aint over til I've done singing....0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.7K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 450K Spending & Discounts
- 235.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.3K Life & Family
- 248.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards