Nationwide 5% cashback on supermarket spending

TheBanker

Section62 said:

HonestJohn said:

I think the Nationwide are getting too much stick here. If you don't need the cash donate some of it to a local food bank or whatever.

Whether someone needs the cash or not doesn't mean they can't have an opinion on whether or not the scheme was well designed.

As it happens I will be donating the equivalent of mine to a local debt advice charity.  I'm aware some of their clients are probably paying Nationwide 39.9% APR for their overdraft.  Those 39.9%s in turn will be helping to fund the £100m giveaway.

I guess some people will never see an issue with that, when Nationwide are claiming the moral high ground by "helping" members.

I'd prefer some honesty... like "We're giving £100m away to get more current account customers".

See I don't think it was about that. Because it was announced abruptly about a week into February, so unless you were already a Nationwide current account holder, you wouldn't have realistically been able to qualify for the February cashback. If it was about attracting new customers I think they would have announced it in February, to start run from March to June (or just for three months from the first purchase, or something...).

Nationwide know how to attract new current account customers - they do it by paying people £200 to switch to them, then offering 5% interest on current accounts for the first 12 months. 

They said it was about helping members, and it does.

Section62

TheBanker said:

Section62 said:

HonestJohn said:

I think the Nationwide are getting too much stick here. If you don't need the cash donate some of it to a local food bank or whatever.

Whether someone needs the cash or not doesn't mean they can't have an opinion on whether or not the scheme was well designed.

As it happens I will be donating the equivalent of mine to a local debt advice charity.  I'm aware some of their clients are probably paying Nationwide 39.9% APR for their overdraft.  Those 39.9%s in turn will be helping to fund the £100m giveaway.

I guess some people will never see an issue with that, when Nationwide are claiming the moral high ground by "helping" members.

I'd prefer some honesty... like "We're giving £100m away to get more current account customers".

See I don't think it was about that. Because it was announced abruptly about a week into February, so unless you were already a Nationwide current account holder, you wouldn't have realistically been able to qualify for the February cashback. If it was about attracting new customers I think they would have announced it in February, to start run from March to June (or just for three months from the first purchase, or something...).

Nationwide know how to attract new current account customers - they do it by paying people £200 to switch to them, then offering 5% interest on current accounts for the first 12 months. 

They said it was about helping members, and it does.

"Tom Riley, Director of Retail Products at Nationwide Building Society, said: ..... We’re helping members with £10 a month cashback on supermarket spending – just one of the benefits of having a current account with the world’s biggest building society.”

The cashback will also be available to new members opening a current account during this time."

(my bold)

TheBanker

Your bold doesn't contradicted anything I posted.

wmb194

MACKEM99 said:

wmb194 said:

TL;DR; Dear oh dear. Most people buy their food at the main supermarkets. Most people's grocery spending will have been covered by this offer. Is this just another example of how you can never win? No good deed goes unpunished?

Come and shop in my store ..You might get discount.  I would prefer a yes or no rather than might.

Were you ever worried your spending wouldn't count at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, Ocado or Waitrose?

Section62

TheBanker said:

Your bold doesn't contradicted anything I posted.

You said "See I don't think it was about that" and "If it was about attracting new customers I think they would have announced it in February, to start run from March to June (or just for three months from the first purchase, or something...)."

Nationwide themselves said the offer was a benefit of having a current account with Nationwide, then explained that it was also open to new members who opened a current account during the offer period.

It is possible your claim is correct and Nationwide didn't launch this scheme as a promotion of their currrent accounts, but if so then it is odd that Nationwide's "Director of Retail Products" used a press release about the offer to promote their current accounts and how opening one would make you eligible for the scheme.

Do you still think the whole scheme was funded by Visa?  If so, then what actual help did Nationwide give members, other than passing on someone else's generosity without giving them the credit due for this benevolent act?

sevenhills

It's good to get £10 back, since there is often £1,000+ in the account.
I guess some people micro manage their money and get interest on surplus money.

MACKEM99

wmb194 said:

MACKEM99 said:

wmb194 said:

TL;DR; Dear oh dear. Most people buy their food at the main supermarkets. Most people's grocery spending will have been covered by this offer. Is this just another example of how you can never win? No good deed goes unpunished?

Come and shop in my store ..You might get discount.  I would prefer a yes or no rather than might.

Were you ever worried your spending wouldn't count at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, Ocado or Waitrose?

Yes I was.  From t&c:

Some of the stores likely to qualify for cashback include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Lidl, Waitrose, the Co-op and Iceland.

I prefer "will"

wmb194

MACKEM99 said:

wmb194 said:

MACKEM99 said:

wmb194 said:

TL;DR; Dear oh dear. Most people buy their food at the main supermarkets. Most people's grocery spending will have been covered by this offer. Is this just another example of how you can never win? No good deed goes unpunished?

Come and shop in my store ..You might get discount.  I would prefer a yes or no rather than might.

Were you ever worried your spending wouldn't count at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, Ocado or Waitrose?

Yes I was.  From t&c:

Some of the stores likely to qualify for cashback include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Lidl, Waitrose, the Co-op and Iceland.

I prefer "will"

Yes, but those shops were never seriously in doubt*, surely? Nationwide and Visa were hedging. But as I wrote, no good deed goes unpunished. I suppose this promotion just shouldn't have happened. We'd all be better off. /s

*Well, possibly the Co-op because the Co-op is a very strange organisation.

Section62

wmb194 said:

MACKEM99 said:

Yes I was.  From t&c:

Some of the stores likely to qualify for cashback include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Lidl, Waitrose, the Co-op and Iceland.

I prefer "will"

Yes, but those shops were never seriously in doubt*, surely? Nationwide and Visa were hedging. But as I wrote, no good deed goes unpunished. I suppose this promotion just shouldn't have happened. We'd all be better off. /s

*Well, possibly the Co-op because the Co-op is a very strange organisation.

I think there was doubt about some of them.  The blurb also said "The list of qualifying stores may vary from time to time, and not all supermarket locations in a chain may qualify."

What exactly does that mean?

From this thread alone we know that Co-op and M&S were two 'chains' where some stores (or perhaps just tills) were included or not included in a way that the average customer wouldn't understand why.  And we also know that some B&M shops were included when others weren't.

The impression I got was there was also some doubt about 'express' type stores being included or not, separate from the exclusion of shops attached to petrol stations.

This thread has got to 38 pages - to some degree because there was some doubt about the inclusion/exclusion of certain stores.  If we, the well informed, were having to check and double check then what chance did the average person needed a bit of financial help stand?  And to be fair to MACKEM99, they were making exactly the same point they are now, way back on page 2 of this thread.

dealyboy

I have not received my March cashback yet (4 weeks and 1 day since end of March). I know they have 6 weeks to pay the cashback but I also know it's while they don't exhaust their payment pot of £100m.

What if they run out of money? I know there's no cashback but is there any comeback?, or is it just 'bad luck mate we didn't get to you!'.