"Complete savings"...scam??

flaneurs_lobster

Had similar at the end of a Trainline order last week. Just underhand and sneeky way to sign up punters. 

MSE_Molly_G

Hi all. We've published a story on Complete Savings as the regulator has banned these ads after we complained about them being misleading. The cashback site – and its advertisers – will now need to make it clear that you're signing up for a monthly paid subscription to receive the 'Welcome Reward'. See the full story: 

Misleading 'click to claim' cashback ads BANNED after MSE complaint – Martin Lewis urges you to check you're not paying for these subscriptions

Thanks!

marcia_

 Thats brilliant well done MSE their sneaky ways should now go away 

Catsareboring

I may be a minority here, but I actually really like complete savings. The problem is, I think the reason it's so good is because it's subsidized by those that don't understand it because it's so vague. Essentially, it gives you 10% off loads of places like M&S, Sainsbury's, eBay, Hotels.com. In return you pay £15 a month, but get that £15 back if you make a monthly purchase with the website you signed up with. Most likely due to a commission deal. So, yes, really really really good - however possibly just really good due to how many people unknowingly sign up

trooperdore

These cashback adverts are on Evri's website as well and possibly on Parcel2Go.  I only just stopped a teenage family member from accidentally signing up when they were booking a parcel the other day, and I heard him say "Ooo, cashback!"  

A lot of people are so used to free cashback sites like TCB & Quidco now that they don't even think that it might be a chargeable service and click without thinking or reading the small print.  It's worth taking a few minutes to mention ads like these to family members who might click without thinking, especially kids, the elderly etc.  Don't automatically think that they'd have the common sense to avoid getting caught out. The family member in question is otherwise very sensible, but just didn't have the experience to know any better.

DBL_folk_888

I just spotted this on MSE today, and felt compelled to join the discussion. (Afraid that it was gonna spell the end of Complete Saver...) Yes initially I too hadn't a clue what they were touting when first offered (at the time) an ambiguous £18.67 Cashback on my eBay purchase. I'd take their money, set a reminder and Cancel Subscription before the end of the month. 

But when I got wise to the fact that one-hand-washes-the-other (the £15 monthly charge, is negated by a £15 Monthly Bonus, paid for making any purchase through their link) I finally saw the light: I buy something off eBay at least once a month. So having a regular 10-11% discount on all purchases is fantastic. 

Occasionally I make purchases for flights, trains, hotels, car hire and Ticketmaster, and aim to do so via Complete Savings links, all with a min 10% deduction. 

All in all, Complete Savings have paid out £625 (I think I've been using it steadily since circa 2019) and it hasn't 'cost' me a penny. With the exception that you must make a purchase to receive the Monthly Bonus. In that case I could filter eBay results by price and pay something at 99p if needs be. But there's always a CD or book or random item that I need to get anyway, so it never comes to that!

So yeah, that's my tuppence worth. It's kind of vague at the start but once you understand it - compare it to TopCashBack who pay back just 1% for eBay purchases - it's a valuable saver. Thanks for reading.

amurray88_2

CompleteSavings is brilliant - it's a membership yes, but has (and continues) to save me a fortune. My wife and I are both members - it costs £15 each per month but as long as we buy something (a 1p sim card from ebay) each per month we get that back.

On top of that you get 20% discount on One4All gift cards which we use on just about all our groceries (£200 gift card for £160) and get a huge amount of cashback on things on top of that.

It's far far better than Quidco and TCB. Problem with the advert? possibly. Scam? definitely not.

marcia_

amurray88_2 said:

CompleteSavings is brilliant - it's a membership yes, but has (and continues) to save me a fortune. My wife and I are both members - it costs £15 each per month but as long as we buy something (a 1p sim card from ebay) each per month we get that back.

On top of that you get 20% discount on One4All gift cards which we use on just about all our groceries (£200 gift card for £160) and get a huge amount of cashback on things on top of that.

It's far far better than Quidco and TCB. Problem with the advert? possibly. Scam? definitely not.

 The scam comes from how they get people to sign up not how the site/cash back works. 

MeteredOut

marcia_ said:

amurray88_2 said:

CompleteSavings is brilliant - it's a membership yes, but has (and continues) to save me a fortune. My wife and I are both members - it costs £15 each per month but as long as we buy something (a 1p sim card from ebay) each per month we get that back.

On top of that you get 20% discount on One4All gift cards which we use on just about all our groceries (£200 gift card for £160) and get a huge amount of cashback on things on top of that.

It's far far better than Quidco and TCB. Problem with the advert? possibly. Scam? definitely not.

 The scam comes from how they get people to sign up not how the site/cash back works. 

It's not a scam - they just play on people's laziness to not read web page content and automatically tick the "I agree to the terms and conditions" boxes.

marcia_

MeteredOut said:

marcia_ said:

amurray88_2 said:

CompleteSavings is brilliant - it's a membership yes, but has (and continues) to save me a fortune. My wife and I are both members - it costs £15 each per month but as long as we buy something (a 1p sim card from ebay) each per month we get that back.

On top of that you get 20% discount on One4All gift cards which we use on just about all our groceries (£200 gift card for £160) and get a huge amount of cashback on things on top of that.

It's far far better than Quidco and TCB. Problem with the advert? possibly. Scam? definitely not.

 The scam comes from how they get people to sign up not how the site/cash back works. 

It's not a scam - they just play on people's laziness to not read web page content and automatically tick the "I agree to the terms and conditions" boxes.

 Its misleading hence scammy which is why it has been banned from advertising the way they do