problems inheriting nectar points from deceased mother

barneyr_2

(My apologies but I previously posted this on the praise/vent/rant board and then it was kindly pointed out to me that this board was more relevant)

My mother died in March.
She had a nectar card with over £300 on it which we can't find though we have plenty of sainsburys receipts for deliveries with a partial nectar number / order numbers etc - so initially we didn't know her number.
(we have found 3 other nectar cards which seem to have a different number)
For weeks I have been passed to and fro from nectar and sainsburys via email. Sainsburys seem to say the nectar scheme is nothing to do with them ( I know they don't manage it)
Nectar said they could'nt find my mother's details then sainsburys (despite apparently not being involved in nectar) gave them the nectar number
Nectar then said [FONT=&quot]they have located the above Nectar card number for your late mother but due to the high number of points collected needed a death certificate for security and they would "[/FONT][FONT=&quot]carry out your instructions without haste[/FONT][FONT=&quot]". I have sent them this but they havent made good on my instructions with or without haste.
Nectar now say they are [/FONT][FONT=&quot]unable to transfer any points from the Nectar card and they don't hold my mothers details registered on this Nectar card. They also say - which seems a contradiction that [/FONT][FONT=&quot]the "registered" card holder will need to contact us directly to arrange this.
I assume "this" is the transfer of points and they should be aware that the registered card holder if there is one would be my mother who is deceased and won't arrange anything. They have previously suggested that the card is not registered - whatever "registered" means.

I struggle to accept that in the day and age of databases for marketing etc that my mother's details - a regular sainsburys user registered or not - are not stored and that a transfer is not possible given the amount of info I've documented to nectar and sainsburys (receipts, addresses, dates of birth, order numbers etc) .
I feel I have met nectar criteria on the nectar website:
"[/FONT]Points can only be transferred from a Nectar Account to another Nectar Account on death or divorce if adequate evidence of the legal division of Points is given to us." and
"When someone dies, we can transfer the points onto a different account. To do this we require the legal heir to contact us and confirm the deceased collector's full name and date of birth."
I am the executor and heir to my mother's will which I have offered them as well though they seemed to say a death certificate was fine at one stage.

[FONT=&quot]I intend to take this further even if it costs more than the amount on the nectar card.
My first thoughts are to ask the Which mag legal team to help ( I am a member of Which but not its legal service) or to contact the Guardian newpaper consumer column (who would only be able to follow up a fraction of enquiries).
My first port of call is the CAB. I am prepared to instruct a lawyer if need be.
I feel aggrieved at the lengthy, contradictory process at a difficult and busy time.
I just wondered if another similar had happened to anyone else ?
many thanks
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SuperHan

A not-really-legitimate solution could be to ring them pretending to be your mother (I have assumed you're female, otherwise find someone you trust who is!) and ask them to have the Nectar card reissued to your Mum's address (assuming you still have the property) or to change the address of your card then get one sent out. Then use the points as is rather than transferring them.

I haven't dealt with Nectar, but I had two lots of correspondence coming regarding my Boots advantage card, one with a name and one without. I assume the without is for some temporary card I had some time ago. It had £8 of point on it. One phone call to Boots and they added the points to my account, even though they couldn't identify the other account as it didn't have a name attached!

unholyangel

If its not registered, whats to stop you registering it now in your own details?

Or are they suggesting that someone other than your mother is the registered "card holder" ? Your post wasnt entirely clear although I appreciate that it may be due to them giving you conflicting information. Have they provided anything in writing regarding this that would clarify (ignore anything said on the phone if it contradicts whats in writing).


Theres another board that may be able to provide better help, hopefully some of the regulars over there have dealt with this scenario before and will be able to advise:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=217

geordie_joe

It sounds like you have been dealing with different people, who have not come across this situation before and therefore are just telling you what they think should happen.

You need to get the contact details for one person and only contact them.

barneyr wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]They have previously suggested that the card is not registered - whatever "registered" means.
[/FONT]

Under normal circumstances nectar points can not leave an unregistered card.

First of all you will have to find out for sure if it is registered or not. You can do this on the nectar web site.

If it is registered then you will have to send nectar what they ask for, but get a contact name so it goes to someone who knows the story.

If it is unregistered you have t ask nectar what you need to do to prove your mother had the card and collected the points on it. Again, only deal with one person so your proof doesn't land on the desk of someone who hasn't got a clue why it is there.

JJ_Egan

Some big company's will have a probate office but Nectar points this could well be a first .

barneyr_2

thanks for all the useful advice
I don't think I can pretend to be my mother to register the card as I've told them she is dead,
its true,geordie joe, that everytime I get a different person.
it may be why last weekend I was told to send a death certificate and my instructions would be carried out. I send what was asked for and then instead of my instructions being carried out I was told no points could be transferred with no explanation as to why or what had changed.
I think I have given them every proof they need that my mother had those points if "unregistered" means nectar really don't know how many points are on a card where they have the card number.
Transferring deceased points is mentionned a couple of times on the nectar website and it never says there is any problem with unregistered cards.
the solution would be for nectar to register the card with me and then proceed I'd have thought if they were being helpful ..
I've given them a recent receipt, sainsburys order number, phone number, dob, address, death certificate etc etc as proof of who she is and sainsburys has identified her from this info for nectar.

On searching the internet I see a lot of stories now re nectar. Not sure how much you can read into them.
Reviewcentre average ratings have nectar very low, a bit behind tescocard and well behind waterstones and boots.
Those last 3 sell groceries, books and healthcare with loyalty cards as a sideline. Nectar does *one job* (admittedly for several companies) but doesn't seem to do it very well.

barneyr_2

oh I got another email from nectar saying it was being passed to I think they said their nectar specialist (not sure who the other people were then - nectar staff don't so anything else)
I don't have high hopes and will look at what other outside influence can be brought to bear

barneyr_2

Oh a latest from nectar below :
Sainsburys has told Nectar that that card is my mother's and she was using it the week before she went into hospital so this is very unlikely and of course they haven't told me where this info came from.
"The Nectar card number that was you've attached to the receipt for is not registered in your late mothers details. This card is registered with different details and is still being used by the card holder.
Whilst I appreciate the disappointment this has caused, I am unable to transfer any points from this customers account unless they advise me to do so."

nearlyrich

Good luck I have redeemed points once on a purchase in Sainsbury's when they had a double points on electrical goods. They managed to deduct double the points without issuing a voucher and if it hadn't been for a persistent and helpful customer service assistant in the store I don't think it would have been resolved. I ended up getting my kettle free because it was such a mess up...

barneyr_2

thanks, nearlyrich
I now think Sainsburys didn't tell nectar that was my mums card (we found 3 cards for my mum with more or less the same number, a different number).
they told nectar that the order number for my mums delivery was associated with that nectar card.
I think what happened was since late 2010 after her fall my mum became housebound and had sainsburys deliveries.
at that point her account became associated by sainsburys with the nectar card of a different person ... and all deliveries since then have been card-not-present automatic topups to that card.
at least it means she probably hasn't accrued £300 + of points on that card but I think she probably did acrrue £50-£100 of points (for this other personb) with regular deliveries over that time - £40 a week often more every week.
and it might mean her "previous" (only, real) card has expired with loss of points due to lack of use.
I can speculate that a sainsburys employee deliberately applied his/her or a friends card. if not fraudulent this seems at least dushonest. I can't think of a reasonable alernative explanation for what has happened and I doubt Sainsburys will investigate thoroughly without being forced. I'd like to think its a police matter - if I took £50 that wasn't mine they'd investigate

Carrot007

Just to stop everyone thinking of conspiracies for a moment!

when she started doing online orders it will have asked her to type her card number in. You say the numbers of possible different cards are very similar. Is it not just possible a couple of digits were mistyped and unfortunately were someone's valid card number.

Seems more likely to me than something nefarious.