In recent years, many chain supermarkets and large shopping malls have promoted the establishment of membership points schemes, in conjunction with binding credit cards or electronic payment tools, so that consumers can earn points when shopping, and then exchange for various rewards after reaching certain points. To attract consumers to patronize again.
The "Member Points" complaints received by the Consumer Council tend to increase every year. There were 18 complaints in the first six months of this year, 3 more than the same period last year.
There are complaints from the elderly that the membership savings card points in supermarkets have a limited period of use, and they will be deducted regularly after the expiry date. Consumers will cause waste and loss without any intention; some consumers get special discounts with reward points, but they can redeem supermarket cash coupons. The validity period is too short; some companies have failed to redeem due to system problems. Members have been waiting for 3 months and received a reply stating that the offer is not refundable.
The Consumer Council recommends that merchants can clearly display the points balance and reminder that they are about to expire on their consumption receipts. The staff can also ask whether to use points at each checkout. This can improve the quality of customer service and help attract consumers to continue patronizing.
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The Consumer Council received a complaint. The complainant claimed that he earned points through credit card purchases. On March 26, he exchanged six 50-yuan e-cash coupons in supermarkets on the company's mobile app, and each coupon was exchanged for 10,000 points. .
The complainant subsequently used two electronic cash coupons when shopping. However, when he wanted to use the cash coupons recently, he found that the remaining four electronic cash coupons in the mobile phone program were missing. The complainant called his company for inquiries, and the staff explained the electronic The cash coupon is a "special promotion offer", which expired on April 9th, and then it was hurriedly linked up, that is, it can only be used for a two-star period.
The complainant believes that it is unreasonable for the cash vouchers to be valid for more than ten days. If they knew that the validity period was short, they would not spend 60,000 points in exchange for six at a time. The points redemption page of the relevant company did not specifically indicate the use of the cash vouchers. During the period, it was unfair to consumers, so he lodged a complaint with the Consumer Council, requesting to get back the unused cash coupon points.
Finally, the 4 unused cash coupon points were returned to the complainant. The case was resolved. The Consumer Council browsed the company’s points system page and learned that the validity period is generally displayed under the reward items. However, the validity period of each reward varies. Consumers Be sure to check carefully before redeeming.
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In addition, an elderly person complained that he would use his membership card to store points every time he made a purchase in a supermarket.
However, after shopping earlier, he found that the balance of points on the receipt decreased. From the balance of 1,521 points at the beginning of January, there were only 1,323 points left in the receipt more than ten days later. The record at the end of March was 1,594 points, but at the beginning of April There are only 1,550 points left.
The elder said that he has not used points to redeem rewards in recent years. According to common sense, the points should increase. After calling Company A, the staff explained that the membership points are valid for two years from the date of issuance and will automatically expire afterwards.
Supermarket points are deducted every month for a limited time. Elderly people who don’t know how to check with mobile phones
After many communications, the staff verbally stated that about 405 points can be repaid, but they must be used within half a month, and specifically reminded the complainant’s account that 14 points will be deducted in late April, and 77 points will be deducted in May. Another 19 points were deducted. The complainant stated that he never knew that the points were invalidated almost every month, and found that nearly 445 points were deducted last year by calculating the receipts.
According to the Consumer Council, the case reports that elderly people generally do not know how to use mobile phones to check points information, and can only rely on the point balance shown on the receipt. They also do not know that the points will be deducted after they expire. Therefore, the points were wasted and the supermarket was asked to make up for the deductions. At the same time, it is believed that there should be no expiry date for the points, and the supermarket should also improve the system to let customers know the expiration date of the points.
After the incident was mediated by the Consumer Council, the supermarket deposited approximately 800 points into the complainant’s member account at its discretion, reiterating that the points are valid for two years.
When the Consumer Council conveyed the results to the complainant, it has reminded the complainant again to pay attention to the validity period of the points and use them as soon as possible.
In addition, some companies have launched a point reward program to give free coupons to selected members, one of which is applicable to the purchase of household goods for more than 200 yuan, and 20 yuan can be deducted.
The complainant purchased a 349 yuan worth of goods from the Jiapin store and showed the company’s membership QR code when making payment. Unfortunately, the receipt did not deduct 20 yuan in the end.
The complainant immediately reported to the staff of the home product store, but the staff only said that there was a problem with the system and the exchange could not be made. It was seen that many people were waiting for payment at the time. The complainant did not want to go on the theory. After returning home, he reported to the relevant company via e-mail. Unable to use the special membership discount, waited for nearly 3 months, and finally got an email reply from the company, admitting that the payment failed to deduct 20 yuan due to system problems, and apologized for the incident.
However, the company stated that coupons are given to members for free, so it will not arrange to refund 20 yuan or equivalent points, but it has reviewed the incident and reminded partners to improve the payment system.
The complainant complained to the Consumer Council and was dissatisfied that the company took nearly three months to give a reply. He also believed that whether or not the coupons the company gave members to enjoy should be fulfilled, and the complainant had fulfilled the specified consumption amount conditions.
The Consumer Council wrote to the company requesting follow-up, and received a reply stating that it had deposited 20 yuan worth of points, or a total of 4,000 points, into the complainant's member account.
The complainant also confirmed that he accepted the relevant plan, but believed that if the company proactively dealt with it early in the morning, it could save 3 months of time. The Consumer Council believed that consumers should pay attention to checking their points balance regularly through the web and mobile apps when using and redeeming membership points. And the validity period, and redeem the rewards in time to avoid wasting points.
The number of complaints received by the Consumer Council for "member points" tends to increase every year. There were 18 complaints in the first six months of this year, 3 more than the same period last year, and 27 and 30 complaints were received in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
In addition, membership points are accumulated through consumption by consumers, so they naturally have reasonable expectations for the accuracy of points records, redemption rewards and time limits. Therefore, merchants that provide points discounts are responsible for ensuring the proper operation of the membership system and related applications.
In addition, the company should also improve the quality of customer service, such as improving the efficiency of telephone hotline services, adding points checking facilities in stores to help consumers inquire about points details and solve problems; at the same time, some consumers may not be familiar with using mobile apps, the Consumer Council recommends Merchants can clearly display the point balance and reminder that they are about to expire on the consumption receipt.
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