41% of Cashback Site users have made a complaint about not receiving their money - 19 Aug, 2010

Cash back websites give online customers money back if they buy goods via their website rather than going to the retailer directly. The retailer pays a commission to the cash back site for delivering business, a percentage of which is then shared with the customer. The business model means the retailer gets more sales, the cash back site makes a profit and the customer saves money. Payouts of over £50.00 are common for items such as car insurance, gas and electricity.

In the survey of nearly 1,000 people via the website cimysteryshopping.com, the majority said they used cash back sites for as many purchases as they could, but nearly half of respondents said they had experienced problems getting their cash back. But different web sites had dealt with the issue in vastly different ways.

The survey showed that the most popular purchases through cash back sites were insurance, entertainment items such as books and cds, then clothing.

The best site for paying out was Cashback Kings. They had the lowest level of complaints with 61% of their customers saying they were content and when customers did complain, three times out of four it was successfully resolved and money paid.

"Cash back is your money, you have a right to it,” says Ian Hughes, Managing Director at Consumer Intelligence. “If you aren’t happy with your car insurer, you switch. If you aren’t happy with your electricity provider, you switch. If a cash back site can’t give you your money efficiently and correctly, you should switch. There are some that can and will, so avoid the chaos and chose the best. Our advice is to shop around for a site that suits you using all the information available before making a decision.”

The survey found over 60% of cash back sites had a negative perception, but the two with the most positive perceptions were Top Cashback and Quidco. Of the major players compared, GreasyPalm had the lowest score for resolving complaints and, not surprisingly, had the most negative customers.

“This is something we will be tracking over the next few months and we encourage companies to sort out any service issues and consumers to check out the options before they sign up,” added Ian Hughes.

Ends

Notes to Editors

(1)  Research from Consumer Intelligence, based on a survey of 969 cashback site users carried out in June 2010 via www.cimysteryshopping.com