Topcashback Questions & Answers

B_M

TopCashBack_Company_Representative wrote: »

@B_M – If a merchant is new or switched tracking networks we do not have enough stats to create a realistic estimate for you. Therefore it may take longer than the general advice we provide as a standard terms.

If there is or was a network change, then don't you think it would be sensible and of course, honest, to provide the correct marketing material?
Members must assume what they see is correct and up to date!
I've had an initial response from 'Steven', and as stated, I'm being very, very reasonable (no argument there) and allowing TCB a full two weeks to resolve fully. If they can't manage that, I'll take over.............................. again.

Best wishes for 2018 - may all your problems be little ones.

B_M

Back again with another issue and a one that's got plenty of history to it and needs fixing fast. Unless there is a reason for the error!

TCB are well below the rate for Aviva combined home insurance, but I prefer TCB for financial purchases.
Tracked very, very quickly and at the correct, albeit very low rate for a 100% cashback site.
I've tried to make a 'highest cashback guarantee' claim, but although there are two lines in the drop-down box for Aviva, when selecting either, it states 'no transactions'. Obviously an error and the much lower TCB rate is showing in my account and I've received email confirmation!
Another support ticket in, so please both fix the bug and match my requested rate from a competitor and add my 5% top-up.

EDIT: now able to submit a 'HCG' claim on the 2nd option listed in the drop-down box. So, claim in and just waiting to be accepted.
I'm not too sure why the rate is so low though?

Update on my insurance claim above:
'Stella' replied to my ticket, basically telling me my purchase confirmation date hadn't yet been reached. Taken against the TCB promotional notes, it was well overdue and should have actually been payable a while back. I responded advising again of the January 15th deadline and overnight, my purchase has at least moved to 'confirmed'.
If the TCB info is wrong and therefore mis-leading, I'd expect at least for the TCB 'fair play policy' to kick in and not just be told to wait and wait!
Hopefully sense prevails.

TopCashBack_Company_Representative

Hey @B_M – Realistic estimates is exactly something we wish to provide. We can’t do that however with no information to go by. Only when we start to see payments coming through can be truly provide some sort of realistic estimate.

Best wishes,
Matt

B_M

TopCashBack_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hey @B_M – Realistic estimates is exactly something we wish to provide. We can’t do that however with no information to go by. Only when we start to see payments coming through can be truly provide some sort of realistic estimate.

I appreciate that, believe me.
But, when there are no stats, members look at the promotional info / notes.
Please explain this:

Unless otherwise stated expect transactions for this retailer to appear within 24 hours. Transactions are usually confirmed within a month and should become payable within 30 - 60 days after the event date, unless otherwise indicated on the Avg Payment Speed Statistics.

Realistic, no make that accurate notes need to be added.

Although the merchant in question is showing as confirmed now, it was after a 'fight'! Definitely not what was promoted! An error? Misleading? More than 60 days 'after the event', but I'm being reasonable and allowing TCB an extra two weeks from highlighting the issue to resolve before having to pester the merchant! As a 'Principal', they are unfortunately and ultimately responsible for their Appointed Representative!
We'll see, but the TCB way is normally to tell members to go away and wait, wait, wait! My way is different and works!

My Aviva 'Highest Cashback Guarantee' has been accepted, many thanks, especially after the HCG glitch in claiming initially.

Why TCB, being a 100% cashback site and proclaiming they are the 'most generous' cashback site are circa £20 less than a 'minnow' baffles me. Yes, the higher rate can be matched, along with any top-up, but members need to know that and where to look.

Aviva Home Insurance rates:
TCB is showing at £42 and that's for 'Plus' members receiving a 5% top-up.
Quidco, also a supposedly 100% cashback site, is showing at £50
Imutual is the 'most generous' at £61.20 and the cashback is guaranteed.

http://www.imutual.co.uk/aviva-home-insurance

Normally, I would have used Imutual, but as stated many times, I know where I stand with the financials via TCB.
Others may rightfully want to go via Imutual and save the hassle. Their customer care is far superior too! They take ownership of any issues and take to fruition IMHO. Many rates are higher too.

TopCashBack_Company_Representative

Hey @B_M,

I appreciate your feedback and will be sure to pass on your would rather us not put any information on in regards to payout speed if we do not have the information to do it.

In regards to why sometimes another cashback site offer higher rates sometimes, well that is something we continue reviewing with the relevant parties as we pride ourselves as the UKs most generous and we have the Highest Cashback Guarantee to back that up.

Best wishes,
Matt

B_M

TopCashBack_Company_Representative wrote: »

Hey @B_M,

I appreciate your feedback and will be sure to pass on your would rather us not put any information on in regards to payout speed if we do not have the information to do it.

In regards to why sometimes another cashback site offer higher rates sometimes, well that is something we continue reviewing with the relevant parties as we pride ourselves as the UKs most generous and we have the Highest Cashback Guarantee to back that up.

Best wishes,
Matt

Better off not putting false and misleading pre-purchase info to be honest and ultimately, it's the 'Principal' who is responsible.

Topcashback Ltd Status: Appointed representative (Reference number: 476080) This is a firm or individual that can act on behalf of another firm (its principal) that is authorised in the UK or regulated in another EEA country. The principal is responsible for the appointed representative's activities.

Pre-purchase info:

Unless otherwise stated expect transactions for this retailer to appear within 24 hours. Transactions are usually confirmed within a month and should become payable within 30 - 60 days after the event date, unless otherwise indicated on the Avg Payment Speed Statistics.

Post-purchase info after several weeks and when pre-purchase info has proven incorrect:

A lot of policy based transactions can take longer to progress; we do hope that yours is moved to confirmed by the end of January, however, please can you be aware that it can take 6-8 months to be validated and then will progress to payable after the validation period.

(worth reading the full ticket, even if just to exercise your chuckle muscles)

Nothing further worth adding to the ticket after that! Just a case of waiting now, up to and including 9am, Monday, 15th January. At least I can show I've been pro-active and tried.
At this present time, it's looks like yet another mis-selling complaint! A new experience though with a different merchant. Reviews are bad though regarding their customer care (?), so interesting times ahead.
I'll update as and when.

TCB being the most generous cashback site?
Very debatable now to be honest, but definitely once upon a time. Rates have dropped, 5% top-ups have also dropped on many purchases and the HCG has been trumped by Quidco.
The time to purchase from TCB now is when TCB do have the lower rate and then request the HCG and top-up.
A TCB insider may think they are still the most generous, but outsiders may differ.

Have a great weekend and don't choke laughing at my ticket.

matchplayer

I was thinking of buying my Annual AA membership & clicked through to see what price it was. Mid range showed £10pm or £99 for the year. I then came here to MSE, clicked around and saw the Topcashback deal- ''Want to save more? Buy the 'vehicle cover' breakdown policy – via Topcashback* – and get £47.77 cashback (when the premium is between £114 and £143.99). This effectively reduces the annual premium (after cashback has been approved) from £119 to £71.23/yr.''
This is the point- after joining Topcashback I went back to the AA & the cover had changed to- £10 pm or £119 for the year. a £20 premium & as Martin says, Cashback is not guaranteed! if the link did not work properly you may never recieve it & are therfore £20 worse off. If it does work you will have saved £27.77. Is this FALSE ADVERTISING?
I logged back in with the wifes account (could have cleared cookies), & it was indeed still £99 without the topcashback cookie. Also if you see that bit in brackets (when the premium is between £114 & £143.99) so you cant actually use topcashback with the AA normal price anyway???

B_M

matchplayer wrote: »

I was thinking of buying my Annual AA membership & clicked through to see what price it was. Mid range showed £10pm or £99 for the year. I then came here to MSE, clicked around and saw the Topcashback deal- ''Want to save more? Buy the 'vehicle cover' breakdown policy – via Topcashback* – and get £47.77 cashback (when the premium is between £114 and £143.99). This effectively reduces the annual premium (after cashback has been approved) from £119 to £71.23/yr.''
This is the point- after joining Topcashback I went back to the AA & the cover had changed to- £10 pm or £119 for the year. a £20 premium & as Martin says, Cashback is not guaranteed! if the link did not work properly you may never recieve it & are therfore £20 worse off. If it does work you will have saved £27.77. Is this FALSE ADVERTISING?
I logged back in with the wifes account (could have cleared cookies), & it was indeed still £99 without the topcashback cookie. Also if you see that bit in brackets (when the premium is between £114 & £143.99) so you cant actually use topcashback with the AA normal price anyway???

False advertising?
Well, as per my above posts, TCB do indeed use misleading advertising notes and don't remove them once pointed out! Tells a story? Must work for them, but equally it works for members as it makes it easier to create a mis-selling complaint.

The AA issue is that the AA offer 'At Home' free of charge if going direct. The TCB link doesn't show a 'like-for-like' comparison (ie 'At Home' isn't free). Naughty? You decide.
Obviously this devalues any cashback amount, so you have to decide whether to go for and pay a lesser amount, or pay more and take a chance with cashback (this can take many, many months).
A plus is, AA Breakdown Cover is classed as a financial product, so this would make it much easier to get your cashback. If TCB don't give it to you in a reasonable time (less than 4 months), you could get it from the AA via a mis-selling of a financial product complaint. AA are pretty good, so little chance of it having to involve the Financial Ombudsman Service.
If you do go via TCB, make sure you take screenshots of the offer and promotional material and notes. What is stated and the reality is very much different.

Hope that helps and good luck.

B_M

Before Matt, or other TCB employee posts back on here, please fully read this first and I mean fully and several times if needed for it to sink in.
Yes, it's still there, a bit like the misleading and wrong info I advised you about a full week ago. The one that has been avoided despite asking for views on it.

Anyway, TCB do, or so they say, have a 'Mission Statement'.

https://www.topcashback.co.uk/about?cat=Mission-

Our Company
TopCashback's Promises To You
Our promises to you are much like a mission statement, something that’s usually defined as "a guide for the actions of the organisation, spelling out the company’s goals and strategies".

To many though, a mission statement might sound like something that a business with nothing better to do would concoct, or something that sounds very nice on paper but that a company never puts into practice. We believe that TopCashback is different and so we want to tell you about our mission statement, which encompasses our core values and our promises to you. We hope you recognise it in the way that we treat you throughout your membership and interactions with TopCashback.

Why do we have a mission statement?
As TopCashback grew following its inception way back in 2005, we were forced to make individual decisions more frequently. Not only that, but these decisions were getting bigger (and scarier) and would have impacted more and more people!

As a result of this we found that we needed to know exactly what TopCashback stood for in order to help us make those decisions. We therefore realised that we needed a mission statement and a set of core values, which we could use to steer these decisions.

Another important element about mission statements is that, in theory, they underline everything a company does. This is why most companies’ mission statements are deathly boring and talk about things like maximising profits in order to satisfy shareholders (not very beneficial if you’re not a shareholder!).

What we are trying to say is, the words you read below in our mission statement and our core values tell you what we are REALLY about and how you should expect to be treated by us as a company.

In every interaction with our staff, our members, our merchants or anyone else who we come into contact with, we aim to follow our own mission statement and core values, which become our promise of how we behave.
Mission Statement TopCashback is, and will continue to be, the UK’s most generous cashback site, providing market leading cashback and money saving deals to its members.

TopCashback aims to grow as a company by building a reputation for being ethical and honest, and by treating our staff, members, customers and suppliers with the respect they all deserve. Or,in other words, always following the policy of ‘Fair Play’.
Core Values of TopCashback
Fair Play
The principle which should define all our interactions with our staff, members, customers and suppliers can be summarised with the popular saying, "Do as you would be done by" – or as we prefer to say, 'Fair Play'. This means that any decisions made by the business should consider how others would expect to be treated.

Honesty & Integrity
As part of the Fair Play philosophy, we aim to be honest and act with integrity at all times.

Generosity
Wherever possible, we intend to offer the most generous deals for our members.

Streamlining
We aim to create the most efficient and streamlined organisation in the sector, wherever possible; through employing technology to its best effect.

Long Term View
We are not aiming for short term profits but, rather, in a financially sustainable manner, to grow a popular website with a great reputation. We believe this is the best way to benefit everyone in the long term.

Customer Service
We aim to build lasting relationships with our members through our customer service, ensuring that we deal with each enquiry with honesty and integrity, and focus on offering a consistent level of excellence.

Just a few pieces highlighted, but there could be more.

TopCashBack_Company_Representative

Hi everyone,

@ B_M – Thanks for your further feedback and comments.

@matchplayer – I will emphasise here you have the ultimate purchasing power. On every one of our pages, it states cashback cannot be guaranteed.

Going direct may offer different sorts of offers. E.g going to the merchant themselves they may offer a voucher code or something like that. It uses the commission it would have awarded to companies like us to fund that.

This is why you find cashback declined due to not last referrer if something like that is taken rather than clicking through from us.

I hope this explains.

Best wishes,
Matt from TopCashback