Topcashback Questions & Answers

B_M

bristolleedsfan wrote: »

Update - No Initial reason for declined

Have you had a response already?
Put in a complaint to TCB, advise it's a complaint, ask them to resolve your issue and ask what options you have (all options) to resolve this potential mis-selling issue. They should advise of the FCA / FOS route if not resolved and even if resolved.
Because your transaction had already been confirmed, there looks like something very iffy has been going on. Along with your issue being part of multiple declines.
Hoping for a rapid resolution for you and the question must be asked why the merchant hasn't been suspended, even if just temporarily. Or, is it not a merchant issue? That's why it's important to contact the merchant, to make them aware, in case it's not their problem.
Regardless, more financial transaction issues via TCB!

steve1500

I'm trying to enter my avios a/c number. Which is sixteen digits There are 3 boxes - no idea why

The first box is pre populated with the first six digits. When I try to enter the remaining 10 digits in the second box I get an error message saying you must enter the last nine digits.


in other words the 7th digit of my membership number is missing

No idea about the third box

Is that correct? Seems a bit weird not to be asked for the full membership number

thor

TopCashBack_Company_Representative wrote: »

@thor and @mamabuddah - We have had members move from rival sites to us because they're claims were unsuccessful and therefore I do know not every claim is paid out of goodwill. You'll have to speak with them to understand why they are happy to account for all of your missing cashback however as this will be their personal judgement. Unlike us we also pay members in nearly all cases more money that we are paid by the merchant through top ups.

Getting to the heart of the problem can sometimes be more than pointing the finger of blame at one party and demanding payment. There's numerous reasons why it's not the correct method to use. It's really important for us to ensure the root cause of the problem is solved and all parties are treated equally and fairly while situations like this will also prevent a similar situation happening in the future. I understand we are asking for a lot of patience

How much patience do we have to endure? I popped back into this thread to report that surprise surprise there has been zero updates since I last posted which means that my claim has now been going since July 2015. I understand that you are waiting on Argos to reply but your cashback link clearly stated 10% when in actual fact I was only awarded 1.5%. That Argos have not been able to explain themselves for well over 14 months surely goes to show they are rogue and should not be supported by your site. You say you have members from other sites coming to you but I have always been paid up at Quidco so you must understand that I can no longer trust cashbacks from tcb. For years I have been getting people in to using cashbacks and recommending the heavy hitters such as quidco and yourselves but now my conscience cannot allow me to put topcashback forward as a company they can have faith in(due to personal experience). As far as I am concerned you must have known the cashback was 10%(it was on your site after all). I don't see how Argos can dispute this and the fact I have been waiting so long for the 'review from merchant' status to conclude tells me that they know this too but don't want to pay out with the hope that tcb don't follow up any further. If this is not the way it stands at the moment then please let me know.

OceanSound

@coop missing cashback pps:

Just an idea, similar to what bristolleedsfan is saying in post #2828. This is based on my experience with Nationwide.

I applied for a the nationwide flexdirect current account. Did this through TCB. Nationwide sent me an application form/letter to sign and date by post. I signed/dated then returned it. Didn't hear anything from Nationwide. So I contacted them, only to be told they hadn't received my signed/dated application form/letter.

They sent another application form to sign/date and return. I signed/dated and put it in the post. THis one they did receive. All this meant there was a considerable delay just to open the Nationwide account, nevermind complete a switch. So, soon afterwards I received an email from TCB saying my cashback had been declined as I had not met the terms and conditions. They hinted that it was due to account switch not being completed within the 45 days.

I wrote back saying the nationwide account was only opened recently due to the first application not being received. (bTW: this is not the first time a nationwide application has gone missing - i've seen other posts where it's happened particularly where cashback is involved). TCB wouldn't budge. Kept saying it was my fault for not keeping to a term or condition.

So, I complained to Citizens Advice,. by using their online form.
they advised me to write to Nationwide, and that if I do not succeed with them, I could take the matter up with the Financial Ombudsman.

After a couple of emails to and fro with Nationwide they paid the cashback amount direct to my flexdirect account.

Anyone encountering similar problems, could approach Citizens advice first then the bank, don't get bogged down by TCB. Their replies are so robotic and have no character. Approaching citizen advice will ensure that the matter get reported to trading standards. The more of us that complaint, the more info trading standards will have about the practices of TCB.

MABLE

Top cash back rep.

I applied for a friend via Top cash back and at the time the cash back was shown as pending at £57.00 for switching main account to the Co op.. I check this morning and it is now reduced to £44 cash back. I assume the main £150 cash back advertised will be made by Co Op bank.

My question is is it usual for the cash back site to reduce the amount even though the transaction has gone through.

B_M

OceanSound wrote: »

So, I complained to Citizens Advice,. by using their online form.
they advised me to write to Nationwide, and that if I do not succeed with them, I could take the matter up with the Financial Ombudsman.

After a couple of emails to and fro with Nationwide they paid the cashback amount direct to my flexdirect account.

The more of us that complaint, the more info trading standards will have about the practices of TCB.

The CAB pointed you in the right direction, to the FOS. You can miss out the CAB now as you have been educated (take that in the right way). Now, simply lodge a complaint direct to both the cashback site and merchants. There is a possibility you have been mis-sold a financial product.
TCB are regulated by the FCA, so a complaint there may be the best option of tightening things up. They have the powers to warn a member of their conduct and even take away their license. Also lodge a complaint to the FOS, as it alerts them to issues and you can follow their guidance.
TCB, like the CAB, should be advising of the FOS route. If they don't, report them. They'll apply their own rules until they've had their hands smacked!
The reason the Nationwide settled, is more than likely to save a FOS referral fee. A lot cheaper simply to settle.

MABLE wrote: »

Top cash back rep.

I applied for a friend via Top cash back and at the time the cash back was shown as pending at £57.00 for switching main account to the Co op.. I check this morning and it is now reduced to £44 cash back. I assume the main £150 cash back advertised will be made by Co Op bank.

My question is is it usual for the cash back site to reduce the amount even though the transaction has gone through.

If you haven't been piad the full amount of any incentive for taking out a financial product, there is a chance you have been mis-sold a financial product. See above.

Anyone that has ever had a financial product declined, paid short or even unpaid after four months, go the FCA / FOS route. It really works. Small claims court is another option, if you feel you are up to it.

OceanSound

B_M wrote: »

The CAB pointed you in the right direction, to the FOS. You can miss out the CAB now as you have been educated (take that in the right way). ...

I'll be sure to take that the right way, if you could say it in a slightly more (less) patronizing tone.

Trading standards and FOS handle different functions. FOS will only deal with the fairness of how you've been treated. Trading standards on the other hand will look whether the business is acting within the law. We are talking weights and measures, the laws of the land etc...FOS won't look in to that, if the trader/bank has broken any laws. They do pass on details to the FCA (to help regulatory functions), but trading standards makes sure that companies operate within all the national/local government laws. (there are thousands of them)

That's how come I've said report it to citizens advice too. For this reason, I will continue to report to citizens advice, if I am unsure if it definitely falls under the purview of FOS or only concerns the FOS.

This is what Citizens advice told me when I reported TCB:

We’ll notify Trading Standards about this issue. Whilst this doesn’t help you resolve your problem, it gives Trading Standards vital intelligence about how the trader operates their business.

bristolleedsfan

B_M wrote: »

Small claims court is another option, if you feel you are up to it.

Or -
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

B_M

OceanSound wrote: »

I'll be sure to take that the right way, if you could say it in a slightly more (less) patronizing tone.

I apologise profusely if you think I've been patronising, that's not what I intended. I did think the word 'educated' could have been taking wrongly, hence asking for it to be taken in the correct context.
Educated as in you have now learnt, via the CAB, what route to take to resolve financial issues. As in pointed in the correct direction.
Yes, you can still follow that route, but the FCA / FOS are the governing bodies and have far greater clout.
CAB / Trading Standards for other issues, even the ASA.
I've been to the FOS many times due to issues with TCB and no doubt, I'll be going down that route again next year. I've won every complaint and have been paid fully for all financial purchases taken via a TCB promotion. TCB can fully verify that.

I wish you well and again aplogise if you've picked up my help wrongly.

Shrimply

This is my main issue with Topcashback. If a merchant rejects or alters a claim they should have to provide the reason there and then.

If the customer then disputes the claim, Topcashback could then look at if the reason for the rejection was valid and either feed that back to the customer or investigate further.

Instead if anything goes wrong we have to wait for months (and often get no response at all) for Topcashback to get more information from the merchant.

There just shouldn't be any tolerance for merchants that reject claims without explanation, or don't respond to queries about claims.