Nikon "Cash" back

[Tigger.ufo]

Got my prepaid visa card last week and read all the stuff that came with it.

It says "Your card can be used immediately and can be used everywhere Visa cards are accepted, including online."

It also says " This card does NOT have ATM access, but will require the use of a PIN when making purchases.

Fair enough, I thought, and filled my car up with diesel yesterday, at a garage I use frequently with my Visa card.

So, go into pay and it is fairly busy (as it is cheapest fuel in the area) and put the card in, it shows the full amount on it, do the PIN which it says is OK, it whirrs away and then says " payment declined" WTF!!!!!!!! cashier redoes it all and I go through the same process and it does it again! By this time there are sounds of dissent in the queue, so I pay with my normal Visa which goes straight through.


Fast forward to this morning when I speak to Nikon first, where I express my displeasure about the lack of "cash" back and the embarassment caused, then I am put through to Citi contact centre where, after explaining it all again, they activated the card so I could withdraw the cash from an ATM!

Now, if they can do that so easily, why the hell not do it in the first place and either send the card activated or send a cheque like they used to?

Coincidentally, I have received Nikons customer survey this lunchtime asking about what I think about the scheme which I have completed fully!


Heather

 

[Joeturner11]

Got my prepaid visa card last week and read all the stuff that came with it.

It says "Your card can be used immediately and can be used everywhere Visa cards are accepted, including online."

It also says " This card does NOT have ATM access, but will require the use of a PIN when making purchases.

Fair enough, I thought, and filled my car up with diesel yesterday, at a garage I use frequently with my Visa card.

So, go into pay and it is fairly busy (as it is cheapest fuel in the area) and put the card in, it shows the full amount on it, do the PIN which it says is OK, it whirrs away and then says " payment declined" WTF!!!!!!!! cashier redoes it all and I go through the same process and it does it again! By this time there are sounds of dissent in the queue, so I pay with my normal Visa which goes straight through.


Fast forward to this morning when I speak to Nikon first, where I express my displeasure about the lack of "cash" back and the embarassment caused, then I am put through to Citi contact centre where, after explaining it all again, they activated the card so I could withdraw the cash from an ATM!

Now, if they can do that so easily, why the hell not do it in the first place and either send the card activated or send a cheque like they used to?

Coincidentally, I have received Nikons customer survey this lunchtime asking about what I think about the scheme which I have completed fully!


Heather

Feel the same way as you do, I had £160 of my Nikon 70-200mm on one of these cards, A cheque would solve all the problems its mad how they do it this way, because its not really cash. They want you to go and spend it on something else instead of saving the money.

 

[gramps]

I thought you had to activate all cards before use?

 

[tijuana taxi]

Where I worked used these cards for their recognition schemes

When I received one (my only one) of the awards I definitely had to activate the card online before i could use it, think you could also ring a number if you couldn't get online

 

[Leslie]

I got my card through a couple of weeks ago for £40. Used it the next day without activating it to pay for a filling at the dentist.

 

[Tigger.ufo]

I thought you had to activate all cards before use?

Nope, definately no need to activate it before using it, as confirmed by Citi support centre.

I had done everything I should have done, but it was still declined.

My point is that if it was activated for use in ATMs in the first place, I could have just got the cash and not have to think about where I can use a Visa card. ( if it worked.....)

 

[gramps]

Well at least you didn't have to use it at the dentist like poor old Leslie

 

[Sphinx]

Hi,
Does anyone know how long roughly does the take for the visa card to arrived after you have registered?

 

[Tigger.ufo]

Mine was about 3 weeks I think.

 

[Sphinx]

thanks

 

[Pookeyhead]

I don't get the whole cash back thing. Why not just make the damned product cheaper.. then I'll have more cash anyway, and they'd still sell the product.

 

[Thegreatroberto]

I don't get the whole cash back thing. Why not just make the damned product cheaper.. then I'll have more cash anyway, and they'd still sell the product.

Exactly. And they call it "cash back" which it is not. Apart from the obvious issue of it being a promotion, I just don't see why they just don't lower the price, albeit for a limited duration. The administration must be quite a b@ll-ache. Last time I had to phone up Nikon to remind them I had not yet had my money.

 

[Llamaman]

I don't get the whole cash back thing. Why not just make the damned product cheaper.. then I'll have more cash anyway, and they'd still sell the product.

1. A lot of people don't make the claim
2. They get to keep the cash for a while
3. They get your details
4. Accounting. A discount reduces turnover, whereas a rebate goes against cost of sales. Turnover is often used by analysts as a metric for market share, so keeping it high has some appeal.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Bukksh1t in other words. OK.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I don't get the whole cash back thing. Why not just make the damned product cheaper.. then I'll have more cash anyway, and they'd still sell the product.

I imagine it's for the retailer's benefit. They've bought in stock at X to sell at Y then suddenly there's a promotion and they have to sell at Y-Z and lose money. That makes them unhappy and they stop promoting that manufacturer's products. With cashback offers it's only the manufacturer who takes the hit and the retailers carry on making their usual mark up.

 

[Thegreatroberto]

Ok with all the above, but Nikon please stop calling it cash back. It's not. Cash is .....well cash. Not a credit card thing.

 

[StewartR]

I imagine it's for the retailer's benefit. They've bought in stock at X to sell at Y then suddenly there's a promotion and they have to sell at Y-Z and lose money. That makes them unhappy and they stop promoting that manufacturer's products. With cashback offers it's only the manufacturer who takes the hit and the retailers carry on making their usual mark up.

I think that's it exactly.