Very discount code accepted but they took full amount

carlw

Hi

I recently spotted a discount code online for Very.co.uk for £15 with no minimum spend required. So i found an item i liked on their website, which cost £12 and processed the order using the code. The item was £12 plus £3.95 delivery minus the discount code of £15 which was accepted, left a total of £0.95. Everything went through smoothly, and i received a confirmation email from Very stating the above. The item was delivered yesterday and i checked my bank account and they had taken £15.95 so i logged onto the Very website and noticed in their FAQ that their procedure is to take the full amount, and credit the discount when the item is dispatched. As i had received the item but not the discount i sent Very an email asking where my £15 credit was. Their response was that the code was actually for insurance customers and should not have been accepted so they will not be crediting it back to me. I then phoned up their customer service team and they are unsure about what to do, and are also saying the code should not have been accepted and certainly should not have reduced the postage cost (ie discounted the total by the item value at most) so somebody will call me back next week to discuss it. What are my rights. I only agreed to pay £0.95 and i have a confirmation email saying that is the order they accepted. I feel like i have been robbed, they have helped themselves to money i didnt authorise them to. Any advice welcome. Even if its not what i want to hear.

Many thanks

Carl

Equaliser123

You haven't been robbed. You tried to use a code that wasn't for you. Very's terms and conditions permit them to recover this amount.

Simple solution will be to send the goods back and avoid using codes in future unless you know that they are available for use by everyone.

go_cat

Completely agree with the above.

Op there is so much on here about Very / Littlewoods codes and reclaiming the money often much later.

Count yourself lucky they didn't allow use of the code therefore allowing you to send the whole lot back, other people haven't been that lucky :eek:

Browntoa

if you look at the very/littlewoods threads on here there are warnings by me , codes without the FULL terms and conditions are removed

carlw

Thanks for your replies, i will bare that in mind when i speak to their customer services department.

I must admit this wasn’t what i wanted to hear, and the way i see it is that i only authorised them to take £0.95 from my bank account and as they accepted the code and emailed me a receipt confirming this, i don’t think they should legally be able to help themselves to more funds from my bank account when they realise they should have declined the code. It is an error on their part that the code should not have been accepted. By being accepted i was under the impression i was permitted to use it. If it had declined the code i would not have continued with the purchase.

There is section on this site for mispriced items at supermarkets. A similar scenario would be for a supermarket allow someone to purchase the item at the reduced price and later to debit the customers bank with the correct amount once they had realised they had charged the wrong amount for the item.

thanks again

carl

Browntoa

Martin had to step in once before and left this warning as he said they would not back down again.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=594235

"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

carlw

Browntoa wrote: »

Martin had to step in once before and left this warning as he said they would not back down again.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=594235

"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

Thankyou thats really helpful, i think ill save me breath and just send the item back and be more careful next time. Lesson learnt.