Quidco - would this be unethical ?

Justie

greyster wrote:

So.... buying a CD off cdwow for a friend is not allowed on quidco

Going by the letter of the law, so to speak, if you're buying it as a gift then it's allowed but if you're buying it on their behalf and getting the money from them then it's not. There is at least a grey area about buying things which are then paid for by work and the OP did not make it clear if the flights, hotels etc were for his/her own use or whether they were buying them on behalf of the company for others to use. The question was whether this was ethical not 'can I do this'. In practical terms it seems that lots of people do similar things and therefore the OP is probably safe to do it, I am just suggesting that there are ethical problems with it which is how the OP framed the question.

Ickle_Maisie

If you didn't do it too often then quidco wont get suspicious, but if for example you book different flights and hotel rooms for the same day then they will click that their not all for you! But I say go for it, providing you're careful there should be no problem!

Baggiebird1nil

I have booked Hilton rooms for my boss through Quidco and received their cashback even though I cancelled the rooms later so they can't be checking their stays. I have also booked a flight to Paris for my boss today through Air France at £329 and got 1.5%. This is the price we would pay through Air France anyway so nobody is losing and I'm gaining a little!

Wolfhound

I'd explain to my boss that there was a way to book flights and hotels that could save a bit of money. When he finds out how little money is involved he'll probably say keep it. Well, he might :rotfl:

Does anyone know how long you should wait before contacting Quidco if payments are not tracked ? I bought something and it says it should track in seven days but it has been longer than that now and is still not showing.

DonGotti

Nice to see that people still think about the ethical consequences of their actions! I don't think there's anything wrong with it. If you feel bad, why not give it to charity?

[Deleted User]

Doing it in style...
Stay in the hilton, earn hhonors points
Pay for it with a Hilton hhonors American Express card .. get extra points
Pay for it through Quidco.. get 4% cash back

Come on.. what's the ethics? If your company makes you spend on your credit card, then you're lending them money. I've spent 10k on my credit card in the last year for business trip travel costs.. i'm just a bit miffed that i didn't find quidco earlier.

If I had the corporate diners club card, i'd be earning points on that anyway - they know, they approve.

We've got a $100m annual expense bill .... think of all the quidco!

Ickle_Maisie

Wolfhound wrote:

Does anyone know how long you should wait before contacting Quidco if payments are not tracked ? I bought something and it says it should track in seven days but it has been longer than that now and is still not showing.

Usually you should wait about 30 days, 7 days is just the average though in my experience if it doesn't track within thier estimated time it doesn't track. Good luck with the enquiry.

edit: spelling

PBA

While personally I don't think this plan is ethically wrong, the ethics here are totally irrelevant. Even though it doesn't cost the company any extra you are effectively defrauding them as you're negotiating an extra discount on company purchases which you aren't passing on. If you have a nice boss then it should be fine (but still probably best to put it towards the Xmas party rather than in your own pocket) but there are certainly bosses out there who would see this as gross misconduct.

Elliebell

I would too!

It doesnt show up that your using Quidco on any sort of invoices etc does it? If so, if it was me, i'd mention that i booked it through that site as it was cheaper. Guess it depends who you work for and what they are like. I work for the local goverment but due to the sector i work in, i can use sites like this as my boss is ace and knows about stuff like that!

I'd go for it!

UltraCheap_2

I say go for it!!