Gift cards and being charged a different price at the till

Uriziel

If I understand correctly OP is getting an employee discount and is basically playing the system to get a discount on the gift card and then again on their shop which they pay for with the gift card and this is why they do not disclose which supermarket.
If this is correct this has nothing to do with consumer rights. I would not complain. Supermarkets are known to be very happy to fire shopfloor staff on a whim if they break any of the rules they are given. They will not discuss or negotiate with you.

born_again

kkgbd2223 said:

Hello, many thanks for all of your replies, this is appreciated and sorry for the delay in posting.

Yes you are right, the higher prices when using a Gift Card are not shown or revelaed until the payment method using a Gift Card is presented.  I have contacted their Customer Services and been told that they do sometimes charge higher loyalty prices when using a Gift Card for payment.

Yes you are also right that I obtain the Gift Card through my employer's "benefits" scheme which offers a 5% discount.  I have complained to the company that runs the scheme that they are advertising the scheme as offering a 5% discount, when in fact, some items may be more expensive bought with the Gift Card than would be the case paying by cash or bank card, hence there is not a 5% discount.

For the moment I'd rather run this through my employer's HR team (who administer the staff benefits scheme) so I'd rather not name any company's involved for the moment.  I'll post back when I know more.

Store you are buy items from will have no idea where the gift card came from, or how much you paid for it.

Seller also has nothing to do with where you redeem them & how the retailers T/C effect them.


So come clean & name the retailer that is charging more. Which would give people trying to help you a chance to see their T/C 🤷‍♀️

user1977

Uriziel said:

If I understand correctly OP is getting an employee discount and is basically playing the system to get a discount on the gift card and then again on their shop which they pay for with the gift card and this is why they do not disclose which supermarket.

Eh? That's not "playing the system", it's completely acceptable and normal.

photome

Could be the Coop , I believe  some branches  have started offering loyalty discount 

flaneurs_lobster

user1977 said:

Uriziel said:

If I understand correctly OP is getting an employee discount and is basically playing the system to get a discount on the gift card and then again on their shop which they pay for with the gift card and this is why they do not disclose which supermarket.

Eh? That's not "playing the system", it's completely acceptable and normal.

Is the suggestion that the OP is an employee of the supermarket that's shoggling the prices? 

AFAIK that's not how employee discounts work at the supermarkets, that's applied via a staff card, but it's certainly a plausible reason for OPs reluctance to name names. Perhaps if they were to confirm....

Okell

sheramber said:

Nobody can offer any help without confirming the terms and conditions on the gift cards / the supermarket concerned.

If you don’t name them then what do you hope to achieve by posting?

This ^

I wouldn't be surprised if the T&Cs of these gift cards say that purchases are only eligible for 50% of any loyalty card discount.

But so long as the OP pointlessly plays secret squirrel and cloak and dagger by not naming the supermarker it's all speculation.

Okell

kkgbd2223 said:

... I have contacted their Customer Services and been told that they do sometimes charge higher loyalty prices when using a Gift Card for payment...

So when you asked them the rather obvious question "Why, and how am I expected to know when?", what did they say?

Did they direct you to any T&Cs?

Grumpy_chap

MattMattMattUK said:

So out of curiosity I tested this with Sainsbury's this morning and it does not apply to them/Nectar discounts. Full discount applies regardless of payment method.

And it is not Tesco.
I have purchased gift cards through Rewards Gateway so a discount of 4% or 5% depending on when purchased.
Then go to the store and buy things as usual, including using Clubcard.
Then pay, using the gift card at full face value.
Never any conflict.


I did once have a purchase from Nike where it was possible to buy the gift card at a discount, or follow a link to the Nike website and get the same discount through a tracking cookie.  That was clear in the terms that the link-through could be followed or the gift card, not both.

Alderbank

photome said:

Could be the Coop , I believe  some branches  have started offering loyalty discount 

Indeed they have, and for quite a long time now. I believe the Co-op first started offering a loyalty discount in Rochdale in 1844.

I remember that 50 years ago and more my granny made sure she claimed her 'divi' at the Co-op.

photome

Alderbank said:

photome said:

Could be the Coop , I believe  some branches  have started offering loyalty discount 

Indeed they have, and for quite a long time now. I believe the Co-op first started offering a loyalty discount in Rochdale in 1844.

I remember that 50 years ago and more my granny made sure she claimed her 'divi' at the Co-op.

Yes they have always had dividends but I thought a loyalty card was a new thing at Coop where prices are different with/without the card same as Tesco etc