B&Q where PLUS means OR

RXTwister

Hi All, I wonder if I could get some opinion.

B&Q offer a 10% discount through out may on any purchases.

They also run some day only or long weekend discounts of 15% of any purchase over £50

The 15% discount according to the small print is applied after any other discount. The small print also excludes the use of gift cards, local markdowns, TradePoint, repair, delivery, installation of goods, concessions, diy.com and nextday.diy.com. and cannot be used in conjunction with staff discount card, Trade discount card and Diamond card.

However it does NOT exclude the 10% May discount card.

Further, next to each instore till and on every isle there is a banner or large promotion poster which clearly says 15% off everything when you spend £50 or more PLUS 'get this 10% off everything everyday in May' (their words not mine)

So naturally on my £155 of decorating items I thought i'd receive 10% off, when i showed my May 10% discount card and then a further 15% off because i'd spent over £50.

But I was told i could have only 15% discount and the signs in store meant 15% over £50 OR 10% off, NOT BOTH.

When I pointed out that the signs and advertising all over the store said 15% PLUS 10% , The store manager explained that i 'did not under stand'.

Where do I stand on this? I have more decorating to do and i'd like to take advantage of this offer by purchasing using my credit card now, rather than wait until next pay day and miss out on the discounts.

It seems to be to be rather misleading to use the word PLUS if they mean OR.

somethingcorporate

Had the same thing in our B&Q at the weekend. The signs are very explicit yet at the tills they are refusing to do both!

RXTwister

To add insult to injury, when I asked for a copy of the promotion and associated terms, the store manager picked up the Point of Sale promo banner approx A3 in size and thrusting it in my direction said 'here is that big enough for you' and laughed at me.

Seems a strange way to act in the face of what i saw as a legitimate query.

RXTwister

According to consumerdirect.gov they can refuse to honour any promotion, the choice to sell at an advertised price is theirs.

So this means they can intice you into the store, let you fill your basket and then decide not to honour the promotion at the point of sale.

Apparantly they are making an invitation to 'treat' they are not obliged to sell goods at the displayed price or discount the goods even if additional signage such as that in the B&Q store suggests that the price will be discounted.

I'm really hacked off witht he way the promotion is being implemented and witht he store managers attitude. But it seesm there is nothing I can do !

ampersand

Hello twister -

Have just found CEO's name, Ian Cheshire and suggest you write to him, Recorded Delivery.
Portswood House,
1 Hampshire Corporate Park,
Chandlers Ford,
Eastleigh, Hants SO53 3YX

Obtain the name of the manager who dealt so badly with you. Remember, this may have been a 'duty' manager, rather than the Store Manager - immaterial nonetheless.

Let us know how you get on.

Optimist

There is also the B@Q feedback site The store manager will (or should) ring if you put poor feedback and want to discus

RXTwister

Thanks.

I'll send something to the feedback site PLUS ( thats AND ) i'll write to the CEO.

I did call B&Q head office, complaints. A Very pleasant conversation, but to no avail. They simply don't want to acknowledge that the word PLUS means 'as well as or and' not one OR the other.

I read the point of sale document that i have, to the lady on customer services, who informed me that it was not correct and they'd like me to send it to them.

I have to get a copy of it....its a bit too large for my scanner!

RXTwister

Things are moving forwards. Thanks for the help I've had on this forum and a few of the suggestions.

Finally Trading standards have taken this on board, It seems that they agree that the discount should have been both 15% and 10% not one or the orther, they are currently in discussion with B&Q head office.

I'll update on the outcome later this week.

liam8282

I was in homebase at the weekend, it was a 10% discount day for the bank holiday and I had a 15% discount voucher (from my homebase / argos card).

They let me use both, no questions asked.

pendulum

I made several trips to B&Q during the 15% off period and got a few 10% off cards, I did wonder if I could use the 10% off card as well as the 15% off promotion to get 25% off but by reading the back of the card I worked out that I couldn't. I have one here and it does say the 10% off card cannot be used with any other storewide events or vouchers.

It should have been made clearer that you couldn't use both the 15% and the 10% card together.

Weirdlittleman

Tbh B&Q will just argue plus means they had 2 promotions running at the same time, possibly misleading but does it explicitly say they can be used in tandem? No doubt it also had "T&C's apply" which did say you couldnt use both together.

You cant read the terms you like and not the ones you dont.