Miele cashback promotion for AO customers

Lad

Hi

I purchased a Miele washing machine from AO in April when Miele was running a cashback promotion. Before I purchased it, I checked Miele's T&Cs and I clearly qualified for the cashback. AO was one of the participating retailers, the washing machine was included in the promotion and the dates were all good. AO's website was also promoting the cashback which was how I knew about the promotion. With the cashback, the cost of purchasing a Miele washing machine was at a price I was willing to stretch to given their reputation for longevity. Without the cashback, I would've gone for a different manufacturers' machine.

I duly sent off my application to Miele together with my proof of purchase. They have now written back to me and said that AO is not a participating retailer and therefore my application has been turned down. I checked their online claims form earlier and AO is mysteriously no longer in the drop down list of participating retailers yet when I sent off my application, it was there. It had to be there as the retailer is a mandatory field on the form and only participating retailers are included in the drop down list. In addition, AO is still mentioned in their T&Cs! I am livid that my application has been turned down given that I checked before I bought and I clearly qualified for the cashback. The cashback was the incentive for me to pay the extra for a Miele otherwise I would've bought a different machine.

I can't be the only AO customer who has fallen foul of this and was wondering if anyone else has successfully challenged Miele and got their cashback?

Thanks.

Sandtree

Lad said:

Hi

I purchased a Miele washing machine from AO in April when Miele was running a cashback promotion. Before I purchased it, I checked Miele's T&Cs and I clearly qualified for the cashback. AO was one of the participating retailers, the washing machine was included in the promotion and the dates were all good. AO's website was also promoting the cashback which was how I knew about the promotion. With the cashback, the cost of purchasing a Miele washing machine was at a price I was willing to stretch to given their reputation for longevity. Without the cashback, I would've gone for a different manufacturers' machine.

I duly sent off my application to Miele together with my proof of purchase. They have now written back to me and said that AO is not a participating retailer and therefore my application has been turned down. I checked their online claims form earlier and AO is mysteriously no longer in the drop down list of participating retailers yet when I sent off my application, it was there. It had to be there as the retailer is a mandatory field on the form and only participating retailers are included in the drop down list. In addition, AO is still mentioned in their T&Cs! I am livid that my application has been turned down given that I checked before I bought and I clearly qualified for the cashback. The cashback was the incentive for me to pay the extra for a Miele otherwise I would've bought a different machine.

I can't be the only AO customer who has fallen foul of this and was wondering if anyone else has successfully challenged Miele and got their cashback?

Thanks.

Do you have a copy of the T&Cs that shows AO were included at the point of purchase? Have you spoken to AO at all?

The fact its in the drop down option of the claim form in itself doesn't prove they were included in the T&Cs... in a previous life we did a promo and the form included all official and known unofficial distributors as we wanted to gather info on who was pushing a promo that was only eligible for a subset of the official distributors... our T&Cs clearly stated which companies were.

Whilst slightly different to cashback sites like Quidco the rule of thumb has always been that post sale promos should be a sweetener and not part of the primary decision making. In part the issue is that you are not in contract with Miele as you bought it from AO and so have no legal claim against them.

Lad

Thanks, Sandtree. Yes I have sent an email to Miele but am expecting to hear a reply that isn't favourable to me. There must be a load of peeved off people who bought from AO only to find the rug has been pulled right from under them. I just wanted to see if there were anyone out there on the forum with the same issue.

The T&Cs says:
"2.1. This promotion is available through selected retailer only (See approved retailer list in Store Name drop down here)" in which AO appeared in the drop down when I sent off my application. It's now gone but when I applied, it was there. So at the time I submitted my claim, all conditions were met.

All cashback promotions that I have claimed against in the past have all been successful and so I thought nothing more when I saw the Miele one.

screech_78

We get this all the time with the company I work for (also a large retailer). 

My view is that the retailer is who you have the contract with and if the cash back was advertised when you made your purchase, they should be liable if the supplier won’t pay out. 

I will usually let us take the hit and reimburse the customer, although some of my colleagues feel differently and won’t do that. In my mind, if customer is to take it further, I believe we’d be the ones who are liable given it was part of the purchase contract. 

I’d go back to AO - escalate it to their complaints team if they have one, be super polite and hopefully they will help. 

Lad

Good shout, screech_78. I'll ping them an email as well and see if they have anything to say.

Lad

For anyone who this issue is affecting, AO are a participating retailer and apparently Miele will be adding them back into their list of retailers. So check their website in a couple of days time when Miele's system should have been updated with AO back in.

Murphybear

I can’t help with this but wanted to say you should be happy with your Miele washing machine.  Our washer dryer lasted 20 years and washer dryers are notorious for going wrong.   We never had to call anyone out in that time.  We actually left it in our bungalow when we moved and the buyer was more than happy to have it.

We had friends in Holland whose Miele washing machine was still going strong after 40 years.