I'm taking on Woolworths

Recently I purchased two transactions At BWS via shopback as they were having a big cash back promotion

What I did not realise is when you pay with the Woolworths gift card you are unable to claim cashback.

My argument has two sides.

  1. you can only view the terms and conditions of shop back , at least when you are using the app on your phone if you click the red cashback info at the bottom ..

  2. No reasonable consumer would expect that a store gift card would cause trouble

  3. When selling the physical or non physical gift card Woolworths group has stated the card is valid as cash at BWS how but through this policy that shop back has said has been employed by BWS I am being significantly disadvantaged and it goes against with terms and conditions of the gift card

Long story short Woolworths has given me a $30 gift card , shop back has given me a $10 gift card

I have a meeting with the ACCC on Tuesday and I am going to fight this - ok I admit i dont ACTUALLY have a meeting with them in person, The person I need to speak with should be available on Tuesday

I am still out by $15 and my time and quite frankly I wouldn't care if I was out by 50 cent the principle is wrong and I believe it is illegal

Related Stores

Woolworths
Woolworths

Comments

  • +2

    Isn't the problem with Shopback and not Woolworths?

    • No it's because op didn't read the terms for that specific offer which said don't use gift cards but op used gift cards and now it's somehow Woolies fault ?

  • +1

    Yes! We stand with you!

  • +4

    It's ****** like this that take up the ACCC's time when there are people out there getting ripped off thousands.

    What a strange world we live in.

    • +1

      Dont worry, this wouldnt even get on their radar. They have plenty of people in their Infocentre whose job it is to take complaints and provide advice. Its just when its a walk-in complaint that wastes time.

  • +2

    How much is your time worth? Sounds like the efforts you'll be putting in will effectively mean you're working a slave labour rates.

    • He can still lodge his complaint to ACCC while he lines up at Centrelink.

      • +1

        Kiwis can't get Centrelink

        • +2

          Kiwis can't get Centrelink

          I heard thats illegal, did you read the dole terms and conditions? It implies Kiwis are people too.
          You should let the ACCC guy know when u meet with him on Teusday.

  • +1

    Yes this is a travesty. I like where you stand

  • "My argument has two sides.

    <snip>

    1. No reasonable consumer would expect that a store gift card would cause trouble"

    Don't forget to bring a reasonable consumer with you if you're actually going to argue that point. If you're having trouble finding one, basically just read them your "I never read the T&C's and now everyone's about to be sued by me and I'm going to win" fantasy and pick people who avoid eye contact and try to change the conversation.

  • +2

    I have a meeting with the ACCC on Tuesday and I am going to fight this

    No you're not. ACCC doesn't deal with end users or have meetings for issues like this.

    you can only view the terms and conditions of shop back , at least when you are using the app on your phone if you click the red cashback info at the bottom

    Again also not true

    https://www.shopback.com.au/bws

    I am still out by $15 and my time and quite frankly I wouldn't care if I was out by 50 cent the principle is wrong and I believe it is illegal

    Nothing illegal happened here. There was a promo that had terms and conditions. You failed to meet them.

    • Yeah, I thought the ACCC receives complaints and then looks into whether any requires action against the business rather than dealing with any individual dispute.

      That's the job of state and territory fair trading departments and small claims tribunals.

      • That is correct, ACCC gathers the complaints from people and then sees what high level issues really needs addressing once enough people complain about a retailer, OEM or a certain issue ie giftcard expiry times. They don't deal with individual disputes like the OP is claiming they do.

      • few states have fair trading tribunals anymore - 2 effective.

        fair trading departments are also similarly useless in many states now …

    • I believe OP is arguing the T&Cs are unfair. If Woolworths are saying that GCs are the equivalent of cash when spent at Woolworths then they should not be enforcing restrictions on gift cards via Shopback.

      • I would rather OP argues there are so many excluded cashback category on Amazon, and cashback from Amazon in general.

      • Woolworths doesn't say they are the equivalent of cash though

  • +6

    I'm a hollywood screenwriter and I'm not exaggerating when I say this story could be the next big David and Goliath movie picture, I'm talking Erin Brockovich big. I'll get in touch with Eric Bana's people and we'll get this baby moving. I'll DM you about renumeration but we can only pay you in gift cards, hope thats OK.

    • My cousin Hugo Weaving wants to be the villain CEO in this. Or the good guy. Or a drag queen lawyer representing the plaintiff. Whatever, it'll be fun!

      • -1

        no wenham? bank was great - comedy of the year in the making…

  • +1

    Boy I’d like to be in that meeting when they laugh you out of the room, and you storm out clutching your gift cards and printed out talking points.

  • You are not supposed to drink all the Kool-Aid

  • +1

    lolololol

  • Lol @ "I have a meeting at the ACCC…" Yeah. Nah. Took them forever to chase Kogan down… I'm sure they are going to schedule a meeting for a $30 gift card…

    • -3

      you forget its NOT ABOUT THE MONEY BUT THE PRINCIPLE!

      • +8

        In principle, you're not the sharpest tool in the shed.

        • +3

          Let me correct that for you “ In principle, you're not the sharpest tool in the shed

      • +1

        Can be about the principle all it wants, but the ACCC are not going to "schedule a meeting" over a $30 gift card.

  • +1

    It's always interesting when someone makes a mistake and then tries to blame everyone around them for it.

    There's also an art to cutting your losses - I'd much rather have 10 hours of my time than worry about $15.

  • Good luck with that, champ.

  • Good luck op.. I think it's better to not use shopback and don't shop at best.

  • Let me guess… you are from Victoria… correct

    • HMMMMM… i thought my name would give it away !

  • I hate gift cards for how much anti-consumer it is, the fine print is another one to the pile.

  • I feel like I should be paying OP for this post was an entertaining read at lunch, would you accept gift cards as payment from Coles instead ?

    • -3

      I would! in fact apart from spending my gift cards given to me for woolies i plan on boycotting them altogether
      Please send me the coles gift cards via pm

  • +9

    Translation: I am terrible at making good risk reward decisions with my time and am proud of being a minor nuisance to large organisations.

    Weird flex but Ok.

    Don't worry. Lacking meaning in one's life seems to be a growing issue with society. You aren't the only one.

    Can I suggest getting a hobby or a pet as a starting point?

  • I think you'll get your $15 back, but your arguments are merely personal opinions, rather than being made from a legal viewpoint.

    In any case, you should demand that the Woolworths CEO be instantly dismissed and then you become CEO.

  • +2

    this is some of the best trolling i’ve seen here in a while. A-
    (only a minus because it didn’t include an MS Paint diagram)

  • +6

    This is why I got out of retail as fast as I could, spending your days and weeks dealing with people like OP is enough to make you want to end it.

  • +1

    Learn to read T&C. Stop wasting ACCC Time.
    Post should be closed.

  • +1

    I thought it was universally known on Ozbargain that no cashback with gift card unless it is through Amazon or Ebay without promo code

  • LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

  • https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/contracts-agreements/unfai…

    How can I tell if a term in my contract is unfair?
    There are a number of factors to consider when deciding whether a term is potentially unfair. The fairness of a term must be considered in the context of the contract as a whole.

    The following questions can help you recognise a potentially unfair term, but it is important to note that the final decision on whether a term is unfair can only be made by a court.

    • Does the term cause a significant imbalance between your rights and obligations and those of the business? (Subjective)
    • Is the term reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the business? (Subjective)
    • Would the term cause you detriment (financial or non-financial) if the business tried to enforce it? (Subjective)
    • How transparent is the term? (It is very transparent, most Ozbargain aware of it)

    Good luck OP

  • +4

    I love this website.

    • +1

      best damn website in the entire world

  • +3

    Lmfao prepare your butthole.

  • I am not even sure what your argument is here. I couldn't understand your judgement as it was worded very oddly? Sounds more like a TLDR T&Cs now i want compensation. Honestly it's pretty explanatory that gift cards would not form part of the cash back promotion as they are not legal tender as such they are a non cash payment facility, they are a store credit which has been paid in advance usable at the determined locations. Also the T&Cs are their for viewing and are in no way hidden.

    This is how your argument is sounding, 1. get cash back on the gift card and then 2. get cash back from using the gift card which would merely just exploit the system. The only plausible way i could even possibly see this being an issue is for the VISA gift cards which arguably could in fact give a cash back promotion due to their nature, even so it does not seem this was the gift card in question.

    • Currently, we can double dip at Dan Murphy's. It is also explicitly mentioned in the SB and CR T&C's.

      But meh. 100 fingers pointing out OP didn't read make us "haters" / PRO-Colesworth.

      It is people like OP who needs to get off the high horse

  • I think you mean you have a meeting with ACA. I'll be seeing you on TV soon!

  • +2

    TLDR; OP didn't read terms and conditions and now pissed off.

    • +1

      And thinks he/she is a community hero

  • 2. No reasonable consumer would expect that a store gift card would cause trouble

    I dont think this is true though is it? I think most people would pay card/cash to be safe.

  • +3

    Wish someone created a website called TimeBack so I can get a $10 gift card for the time wasted reading OP’s ridiculous entitled argument and responses.

    Actually a website where you get a small percentage cash back for reading a dedicated terms and conditions page in full and ticking a declaration box before taking advantage of any promos would avoid this sort of thing in the future too.

  • Lol @meeting with ACCC, if you're woolies CEO telling everyone you're going to merge with Coles then they'll give you an appointment in a month time, otherwise just get back on the queue.

  • +2

    Geez you sound like d1ckh3ad.

  • +1

    That's a lot of words to say "I can't read and I think that's everybody else's fault"

  • +7

    The worst thing about this thread is that negative votes are capped at 5.

    • -4

      votes are capped at 5.

      Just get a premium account, then you get unlimited votes.

  • I think everyone needs to take a step back here and think of the possibilities and outcomes if OP wins & gift cards get truly treated as cash.

    1.Buy WW giftcards at 5%
    2. Buy new set off WW CG at 5% off, using CG's purchsed in point 1
    3. Rinse & Repeat infinitum !

    Get in there OP - fight the good fight.

    Everyone get their bots ready to buy and re buy GC's.

    We will all be Rich - and have the OP to thank

    • +3

      Or WW stops the 5% off GC's and OP ruins the party for everyone

      • I don't know who negged this awesome idea tbh… We should be able to buy giift cards with gift cards.

    • The op has shown that if you complain you get some back so maybe not five but you could get two or three percent back each time if you complain….

  • When selling the physical or non physical gift card Woolworths group has stated the card is valid as cash at BWS

    OP, have you got an example of where Woolworths have 'stated the card is valid as cash at BWS'.

    I've always had the belief that a gift card is a lower form of cash, even though their conditions have improved a lot in the last few years (in terms of expiry for example).

  • +5

    I have a meeting with the ACCC on Tuesday

    Accc organised a meeting with you? In person? Over $15?

    • It's not the money, its the principle!

  • I do believe New Zealand handles this much better…. it is time for you to return to your ancestral homeland and make things right once again.

    You would never return of course, lie sleeping in wait at the Auckland public cemetery’s plot of the unknown - until one day you are needed yet again.

    Goodbye master kiwi, and may the Haka be with your diseased spirit……

    • Why is it that trolls always appear online?
      Do you feel like you are safe in your mums garage so you have the right to attack others?
      Shame on you

  • +1

    Sometimes I question if there's any hope for the future of humanity when I read posts like this.

  • So, what happened then?

    • I settled with them, cannot say details but lets just say i am very happy.

  • Don't suppose we get an update? Or has OP run off with their tail between their legs? 😂

    • I settled with them, cannot say details but lets just say i am very happy.

      • Hi, just wondering if you had settled with Woolworths or Shopback? I'm having a bit of trouble with Shopback and a gift card I purchased..

        • I'd say neither, he's talking rubbish. ShopBack probably gave him $50 and banned him from ever using their services again, since apparently he can't read.

Login or Join to leave a comment