POINTLESS
Glitch hits supermarket’s vouchers scheme
Loyalty card customers missed out on thousands of bonus points because of a technical glitch.
Sainsbury’s ran Swipe and Win in their 605 UK stores from October 6 to 8.
Customers who spent £100 or more received individual bonus vouchers for 200-5000 Nectar points.
However, shoppers who added the points to their Nectar balance on October 8 couldn’t see them in their online accounts.
One customer, who is missing 4300 points, said: “I spent a fortune in Sainsbury’s that weekend to take advantage of the bonus offer.
“It’s a great promotion – iff it works.
“As a family, we ended up withh four tokens for 200 points, onene for 500 and three for 1000.
“These were all handed over in store along with my Nectar card.
“I received receipts showing that the points had been added to my balance.
“But nearly a fortnight later, there is still nothing showing and I’m fed up chasing Nectar.”
Swipe and Win, which runs twice a year, is used by shoppers to boost their balance ahead of the supermarket’s Nectar Rewards’ double- up event, when points convert to pounds and are worth twice their value.
Sainsbury’s announced the return of the double-up last Friday and this year’s promotion runs from November 15 to 21.
A previous spring double- up, expected at Easter, was cancelled by the retailer, leaving customers disappointed.
Nectar, the largest loyalty scheme in the UK with more than 19million active members, is owned by Canadian firm Aimia.
Partners include Sainsbury’s, BP and Virgin Trains.
Shoppers who complained to Nectar were told the issue affected “a large number of customers” but only those who redeemed their bonus vouchers on October 8.
They were advised that a time frame for adding points could not be given. Sainsbury’s said: “We can confirm a brief technical glitch meant some customers’ bonus points weren’t added as quickly as they should have been.
“This has already been fixed and customers’ points are up-to-date.”
It’s a great store promotion – if it works