ShopBack Didn’t Track for Large Bookings

Roujuzi on 31/05/2024 - 07:24
Last edited 31/05/2024 - 07:25

After using shopback for 5 years, I unfortunately have to stop using them. Tracking accuracy has always been an issue, sometimes they are missing but for small amount I didn’t mind, and for more than $10 if I contact them and most of the time they could fix it.

However I made three bookings via shopback in Jan on the same day, 12% cashback should be around $150 in total and all of them didn’t track. I used their chrome extension and made sure I did everything right and the shopback extension is in green saying cashback activated.

I am very experienced after 5 years of usage, my cashback amount with them is over $2000 from hundreds of transactions. So after the cashback didn’t track, I didn’t cancel the bookings because I was so confident I did everything right.

But after 10 emails they refused to honor the cashback, which is quite disappointing and exhausting. I find Cashrewards is a lot more reliable in terms of tracking. I regret using shopback just for 2% extra cashback advertised.

I searched and found others have similar experience, getting rejected for large purchases. I wonder if this is how they make money?

General Discussion

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Comments

  • JimmyF on 31/05/2024 - 08:00
    +7

    ShopBack Didn’t Track for Large Bookings

    Shocked I tell you, totally shocked!!!

  • MS Paint on 31/05/2024 - 08:08
    +5

    Didn't you get the memo?

    We only use topcashback now.

    • Roujuzi on 31/05/2024 - 08:24

      lol thanks for letting me know. Time to register for topcashback I guess.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 31/05/2024 - 10:18

      All hail top cash back and our boy, @tightarse

  • DingoBilly on 31/05/2024 - 09:44

    Seems like you might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

    You've had $2000 worth of successful cashback, and there was a problem on one day which prevented you from getting cashback.

    I can almost 100% guarantee you will have a similar experience at any of the other cashback sites with missing rewards, if not a worse experience ($2000 cashback approved is very good!).

    For reference I've had issues with SB before, had $25 rejected but have also had $200+ a pop approved. It's not some conspiracy about rejecting large cashback, that's stupid and a terrible business model. It's just how it works - don't buy things you weren't going to buy already if the cashback didn't exist.

    • JimmyF on 31/05/2024 - 09:54
      +1

      It's not some conspiracy about rejecting large cashback, that's stupid and a terrible business model. It's just how it works

      The 'just how it works' is the conspiracy, as oddly it is always the large cash backs that have 'issues'.

      I gave up on all these cash back sites when oddly enough all my little orders I was placing had been going through, but all the big ones seemed to fail from the same place, some computer, clicks etc all shown. Same browser etc.

      Too much of a coincidence for me as it happened just about every time I did orders and I place orders in batches once a week. So stopped feeding them, as surely I couldn't have always got the small order right from a cash basket point but screw up the big ones!

      • DingoBilly on 31/05/2024 - 12:56

        It's possible but just seems so unlikely. The reputational risk of it all is too high, and the benefit of having some algorithm to reject 1% say of larger cashbacks makes no sense (it's not a lot of money, and the loss of reputation you incur wouldn't be worth it).

        I think it's a decent amount of confirmation bias and conspiracy theory seeking myself. But at end of day, the same advice applies to only buy things you were going to originally. Cashback is then just a nice bonus if it does go through.

        • JimmyF on 31/05/2024 - 13:42

          It's possible but just seems so unlikely. The reputational risk of it all is too high

          It is what it is, this was my experience, it reflects many others on there.

          But at end of day, the same advice applies to only buy things you were going to originally. Cashback is then just a nice bonus if it does go through.

          Agreed, but I gave up as I felt it was a unfair arrangement.

        • star-ggg on 31/05/2024 - 13:58

          There's just too many complaints about regular SB users not having issues until they have a large cashback. However, I agree you should be happy to purchase the original product or service at the non-cashback price in the first place.

    • Roujuzi on 31/05/2024 - 21:45

      The $2000 was from small cashbacks, mostly just a couple dollars per transaction, rarely more than $10. I online shopped a lot and it is over a span of 5 years. I also use Cashrewards, and I always intend to use CR for large purchase because I feel they tracked quicker and rarely miss one. But this time I just used shopback for 2% extra cashback, lol

  • frondono on 31/05/2024 - 11:05
    +2

    I stopped using all of them years ago because of this. Made some good money while the sun was shining though.

  • OzBestDeal on 09/07/2024 - 13:15
    +1

    Had similar experiences with ShopBack…
    Multiple large cashbacks (eg. PureVPN, amaysim, optus, and those survey savvy), those are tracked but didn't get paid.

    Tried to escalate to customer service which didn't give any response at all.
    ShopBack should be banned from OzBargain for misleading business conduct.

  • ocam on 11/07/2024 - 09:29
    +2

    Have you considered going to the ACCC? I’m thinking of doing so myself.

    I’m in the same boat as you: their big BWS cash back offer on Better Beer didn’t track or come through. Don’t really mind but it’s just an example of the mega promotions not being honoured.

    I’ve also had a hotel booking (stay completed in early Jan 2024) not come through even though I’ve sent records of my stay including bills at the hotel. I got told to wait an SLA period (which passed 6 weeks ago) and I keep getting the line that they haven’t heard back from booking.com

    Seems odd that it’s the large cash back amount which has an issue.

    The comments here about don’t buy things you wouldn’t otherwise doesn’t really make sense to me. In my case, I was on my honeymoon and booked a nicer room on the basis it would be affordable with the cash back. But the point is that if we hold up our end of the deal, the merchant should also regardless of product/service being acquired.

    Will update here if I lodge an ACCC complaint - I might give it to the end of the month as there is another hotel booking cash back that is coming to its payment date tomorrow and I’d like to see if that gets confirmed.

    If I lodge, I might post here and perhaps others who have been similarly impacted can provide their examples to the case officer

    • Roujuzi on 11/07/2024 - 17:43

      I’m not sure if $150 is worth my time lodging with accc. But if you have a larger amount, I would say worth trying. And maybe let shopback know your plan to see if they will honour the cashback.

      • ocam on 11/07/2024 - 19:22
        +1

        Yeh the honeymoon cash back is 850 for one hotel and 300 for another - so fairly big amounts. I’ll give them a couple more days and then take action

    • Buyer0fBargains on 13/07/2024 - 09:18
      +1

      More people should. They get away with murder because people don't have the time or energy, don't know their rights etc.

  • michaelTito on 14/07/2024 - 12:30
    +1

    Reason why I don’t use shopback anymore. Bunch of scammers

  • ocam on 19/07/2024 - 15:05
    +1

    I just received the $300 hotel cashback (albeit a couple months late) - the $850 one still outstanding and that is 6 months overdue. Will probably lodge a regulatory complaint if nothing happens within the next 7 days

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