MoneySupermarket Cashback - Too good to be true? Maybe...

scgh

Moneysupermarket.com offers cashback (in my case £30) to switch energy suppliers.

"Really easy" they say, "no need to do anything, it will just appear in your bank account".
I ask "Do you send a confirmation email?".
"No, it will just appear in your bank account" they say.

Yeah right.

Luckily I was forewarned by MoneySavingExpert, and I have been chasing them. The saga started in May 2012 when I took up their offer on their website and it took effect June 2012. The cashback wasn't paid out, so I chased them. "You need to wait for 3 months from the effective date" they said.

It has been 9 months now, and surprise, surprise, still no payment. They have told me there is no reason why it hasn't been paid, all details are correct on their system. They are going to schedule it for payment again. Maybe one day soon I 'might' receive it.

While some people seem to get their cashback, many, many others don't.

If you were due a cashback, it might be wise to chase the payment too.

Wywth

scgh wrote: »

If you were due a cashback, it might be wise to chase the payment too.

Good advice, and welcome to MSE.

Where were your forewarned of an issue by MSE? You do realise that MSE is owned by MoneySuperMarket, don't you?

Have you tried contacting the MSE team about this, as the cashback offer is only applicable via the special MSE link.
There were some issues in the past with uSwitch, but i think that's resolved now
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/954917

Perhaps PM MSE Archna if you are still having issues, pointing out clearly that it is MSM (who you say have already confirmed you eligibility to you but still haven't paid you) rather than uSwitch.

Ultimately, you appear to have all the evidence required to commence legal action against MSM to recover the money if necessary.

Could I ask, as a matter of interest, why you decided to use MoneySuperMarket to arrange the switch? The MSE article indicates SimplySwitch would offer £40 cashback and Energylinx £34 cashback (that's assuming a dedicated cashback site doesn't actually offer a lot more)

GraceCourt

scgh wrote: »

Moneysupermarket.com offers cashback (in my case £30) to switch energy suppliers.

For some reason, despite the fact that I've e-mailed the Webmaster, MSE has confused itself over cashbacks, and therefore it continues to confuse everyone else!

On this page, it states:
Our top pick, based on historical reliability, feedback and research, is Energyhelpline. It pays £15 for a dual fuel switch or £30 if you switch to separate gas & elec suppliers.

Of course, it doesn't! It pays £30 for a dual fuel switch, or £15 (for each fuel) if you switch to separate gas and electricity suppliers.

Black marks, MSE, it's difficult enough for most consumers to understand the switching process without you confusing them like this at the same time!

Wywth

GraceCourt wrote: »

For some reason, despite the fact that I've e-mailed the Webmaster, MSE has confused itself over cashbacks, and therefore it continues to confuse everyone else!

On this page, it states:
Our top pick, based on historical reliability, feedback and research, is Energyhelpline. It pays £15 for a dual fuel switch or £30 if you switch to separate gas & elec suppliers.

Of course, it doesn't! It pays £30 for a dual fuel switch, or £15 (for each fuel) if you switch to separate gas and electricity suppliers.

Black marks, MSE, it's difficult enough for most consumers to understand the switching process without you confusing them like this at the same time!

Unfortunately, I think it is you that has got it wrong.

Via the special MSE link, EHL pays only £15 for a dual fuel switch (switching your gas and electricity to the same supplier)
Or it pays £15 for each individual fuel switch (don't try doing this to the same supplier as then you will only get £15 in total)
You can get £30 only by moving both gas and electricity to separate suppliers

http://www.energyhelpline.com/cashbackmse/fri/Domesticenergy/Domestic/GenericContent?reference=cashback

scgh

Sorry for the late reply!

Wywth wrote: »

Good advice, and welcome to MSE.
Where were your forewarned of an issue by MSE? You do realise that MSE is owned by MoneySuperMarket, don't you?

Yes, I was forewarned of an issue by MSE. It was via the weekly email and would have been about 2 months before MoneySuperMarket bought MSE. Ironic huh?

Wywth wrote: »

Could I ask, as a matter of interest, why you decided to use MoneySuperMarket to arrange the switch? The MSE article indicates SimplySwitch would offer £40 cashback and Energylinx £34 cashback (that's assuming a dedicated cashback site doesn't actually offer a lot more)

At the time (a year ago) I only went with MoneySuperMarket because the MSE email recommended it as the best deal then (although it did warn that you had to chase the cashback). I didn't know about SimplySwitch... surely MSE would have included it in their weekly email, so perhaps it wasn't the best deal then? Anyways, thanks for the tip - I am just about to move home and I will check out SimplySwitch this time.

Wywth wrote: »

Ultimately, you appear to have all the evidence required to commence legal action against MSM to recover the money if necessary.

Thanks for the reassurance. However, all the chasing via phone has paid off and I now have my cashback.:T So it worked out in the end, but only due to my persistance.

Wywth

scgh wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply!


Yes, I was forewarned of an issue by MSE. It was via the weekly email and would have been about 2 months before MoneySuperMarket bought MSE. Ironic huh?


At the time (a year ago) I only went with MoneySuperMarket because the MSE email recommended it as the best deal then (although it did warn that you had to chase the cashback). I didn't know about SimplySwitch... surely MSE would have included it in their weekly email, so perhaps it wasn't the best deal then? Anyways, thanks for the tip - I am just about to move home and I will check out SimplySwitch this time.


Thanks for the reassurance. However, all the chasing via phone has paid off and I now have my cashback.:T So it worked out in the end, but only due to my persistance.

SimplySwitch and Energylinx have been offered as a comparison site with cashback via MSE for a number of years ... and both have always beaten MSM for cashback value for a switch like yours.

Anyway, glad you got the cashback from MSM....and proof it wasn't too good to be true. If you read the reasons why certain comparison sites are recommended by this site, you would realise they all offer cashback (or wine, etc)