great british discount prepaid mastercard offer

dharmakids

Hi,

I applied for the £20 prepaid mastercard FREE GIFT offer when I booked flights via flybe. Several weeks later and I haven't received anything as yet and today I find I can't access or log onto their website. https://greatbritishdiscounts.co.uk/

I have tried emailing them and haven't heard anything either. Anyone else having problems? Is this all a scam?!:mad:

FYI: I've put this message up on the consumer rights thread on GBD as well but it hasn't been active since last year.

Any advise gratefully received!

Many thanks in advance for your help.

sfax

£14.95/month membership? Avoid is my advice.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?36894-Great-British-Discounts

dharmakids

Thanks for your post & link SFAX

I've cancelled my membership before the 1st month was out and I guess will have to wait and see if they take any money from me despite cancelling. The prepaid mastercard was advertised as a FREE GIFT from this company and apparently available whether you cancelled after 1 month or not.

I was just wondering if anyone else had been placed in this position? IE: not able to access the website to check your account and also still waiting for the free gift?

wild_life_fan

Spoiler Alert:
the following post may dent your faith in Great British Discounts

After signing up for GBP, but later cancelling my membership (the discounts just weren't worth the hassle and were lower than deals elsewhere), I assumed I would still receive their promised £20 pre-paid Mastercard.
No way!

GBD also charged £0.95 as an up-front fee.

Since then, each time I contacted them they say they have received my claim form and have "...sent if off for processing..." and assure me the £20 card will be on its way within a matter of days.

When I email them they reply with "In order to help us deal with your query please call us on our free phone number, 0800 0394053, where we will be delighted to resolve your enquiry".
When I telephone them, I get the usual spiel.
These people don't deliver and are time wasters.

So far, 2 months later, still no card. They now claim that the company sending out the pre-paid cards has been changed and the new firm is due to start next week.

They are apologetic and say that I will receive my card, but so far they have broken their promises several times. Why would I believe them after several months?
This sounds as if it's a genuine scam.

If others are in a similar position, perhaps MSE could include an alert in the weekly newsletter?

Has anyone contacted their local Trading Standards dept about this perhaps?

JP2002

Hi wild_life_fan

I got an email yesterday from GBD which may help you, see below! the funny thing is, i already got and used my prepaid card so i don't know why i was sent this! maybe ill be getting another one
Anyway hope this helps u.

{Dear Customer,
It has come to our attention that there have been some unexpected delays with fulfillment of a limited number of prepaid MasterCards. The issue dates effected were from May 1st to May 31st 2013.
Our card provider are working to ensure the impact to customers due to receive these cards is kept to a minimum and would like to assure customers that all outstanding prepaid cards will be fulfilled in the coming days.
Should you have any further queries please contact our card provider, Smart Transfer Ltd on 0203 0262 641.}

lfc84

still no mastercard after 4 months

this is a con

wild_life_fan

Some further telephone calls to L-EV8 Marketing (the lovely people behind Great British Discounts) has finally produced some kind of result: a pre-paid Mastercard.
It took just under 4 months to get to this stage.

The card issued is a SWIRL card, posted from the Irish Republic.
But don't assume you can just use it to pay with in a shop, or use it online.....

First you are required to 'register' the card online, through the SWIRL website. You need either a UK Passport or a Driving Licence and you have to supply your personal details to register!

Then you are supposed to allow up to 48 hrs before funds are available, after activation.

The card also comes with a 4-digit pincode. If you use this to withdraw cash from a cash machine, SWIRL debits your card by 50p - an "ATM Decline Fee" - and does not dispense any money.
This step is perhaps better avoided!

When you link the card to your PayPal account, it immediately debits your card by 67p (if you want to know why, the T&C will probably say why and when, if ever, you receive this back).

However, PayPal declined the card as a valid payment method, so your next step will probably be trying to verify the card.
Remember, by this time, you still can't access the balance that's on the card.

The PP verification step debits your card by £1, although this is then later added to your PP balance, for you to use.
However, every 'purchase' with your card incurs a charge: 2.95% of the transaction, minimum 60p.
PayPal's £1 debit therefore reduces your card balance by a £1.60

When you've verified the card through PP, you can begin to use it, eg to pay for an eBay transaction.
However, every payment again incurs a 2.95% charge, minimum 60p, so you're best off using the entire balance in one transaction.

Don't try adding funds to your card from your bank account, as SWIRL charges a fee for this too.
And why would you want to add funds to the card? To use the money, you incur a charge of 2.95%, minimum 60p, every time!

No doubt, by now you're getting the message about this free, £20 pre-paid Mastercard.
My advice is to avoid it like the plague. It's serious hassle, and probably not worth it for a few quid.

To be fair, my card came with a balance of £21.50 - perhaps this is SWIRL's way of recognising that they are going to fleece you when you start accessing the £20 you were promised by Great British Discounts. But the extra £1.50 only partly covers all the charges they charge to your card before you can blink.

I don't know about you, but I think this is exactly the type of devious arrangement that gives the financial services industry a bad name.

As for Great British Discounts, if the experience with the ghastly prepaid card hasn't put you off, have a look at the wonderful discounts available to you, dear valued customer.

SPOILER ALERT:
When you're finally enjoying the rewards of your hard work (it's like getting blood out of a stone) and the £0.95 fee they charged you up-front, you may wish to search the Internet for examples of the problems experienced by people who try to use a prepaid Mastercard....

Enjoy!

triggersaver

Right, so the other day I got sent my SWIRL prepaid credit card. I registered online and waited a couple of days. This morning I withdrew £20 (there was £21.50 on the card) from an ATM and it worked fine!

I've just called SWIRL to cancel the card as I'll certainly NEVER be using it due to all the fees. The cancellation process was easy. BTW, if you call them just hit '0' to be put straight through to an adviser rather waste time listening to the pre-recorded spiel.

So, yes it was long winded, yes I had to give up some personal information, but in the end I got my £20 back! Was it worth it though? :-/

dalesrider

dharmakids wrote: »

I've cancelled my membership before the 1st month was out

and apparently available whether you cancelled after 1 month or not.

and also still waiting for the free gift?

I know this is a reply to a old (fed) post and the poster has not been back but.....

:rotfl:

Me thinks long wait.