Ocado recently sent me an “£18 money-off voucher” which involved “simply completing three shops by 24 September”. I did so within the deadline but never received the voucher, so telephoned Ocado in October at which time they confirmed that I had completed the requisite number of shops. But the only voucher I received was for 33p and I complained that this was a “hollow” offer with quite steep deflation.
I’m wondering how prevalent this practice might be? I guess if it’s an isolated glitch one has to accept that these things happen, but if it’s more systemic then such offers might be of wider interest. I am a “Smart Pass” holder and while the amount of money isn’t huge, I wouldn’t have done those three shops without that inducement. DS, Lindfield, West Sussex
This is the way retailers encourage you to spend even more money, of course, and it seems really odd that an £18 voucher should tumble in value to a paltry 33p. Ocado says: “Our records show that DS was sent two emails on 7 September, one of which included his £18 and the other a voucher which was part of another Ocado initiative. It’s very unfortunate that DS has reported not having seen this email in his inbox and we can only apologise for the confusion this has caused. We have since issued DS with a replacement voucher.”
You were eagerly awaiting the voucher and were regularly checking your emails – including your spam – to make sure you hadn’t missed it. Ocado accepts this and says it is impossible to pinpoint what happened.
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