I have been using quidco for a couple of years now and most of the time have no problems what so ever its only a couple of merchants that transactions never track and then one time I had to wait a year to get my cash back! im all for sure shop if it means transactions get tracked if other merchants don't want to join it them I wont buy from them! In full support of quidco

I have twice submitted my claim regarding Betfair, twice it has been rejected, even though I have supplied copies of everything asked, including the email from Betfair welcoming me, showing my account name on there etc PLUS my Paypal receipt details clearly showing the transaction.
I am far from happy about this, seems Quidco don't want to upset Betfair by pushing for this, so it's stuff the consumer as long as Quidco and Betfair are happy !!!

Thank God for Cashbackk1ngs !!!!

@RJohnston

Travelodge is no longer on Quidco but can be found on other cashback sites.

Not sure that sureshop actually works. Purchase in Dec 07 (4cheapcds - sureshop merchant) failed to track. Enquiry made and was successful April 08. Cashback still showing as added (not tracked or received) and it is now August 08.

I have applied Post office life insurance but it did not track yet. I have tried to put enquiry but Quidco did not have Post office merchant on its data. Can some one help me how to contact quidco to track my transaction. I have confirmation from post office same time as I applied by clicking & login Quidco site. Thanks.

On the subject of sureshop merchants, I am waiting to see how Quidco deals with the Abel&Cole scam laced fiasco ensuing...

Please dont "Nanny " us quidco we are all grown ups here and we have had enough choices taken from us......Dont make a great site less so

I see it this way... Sureshop is like ebays user rating... No sureshop, no user ratings and its a risk if the transaction tracks and you get your money... Merchants with sureshop have a high user rating and better chance of a transaction tracking... Bottom line is its my decision who i buy from and the risks taken. Quidco have taken this option away from me now which results in me not getting potential cash back from sites i visit. So now i must look elsewhere for another cashback site that offers a wider market coverage. Sorry Quidco but your shooting yourself in your foot here.. You've been good to me over the years but i'll move like the wind to another cashback site if they are offering better amounts.

I support Quidco to achieve honest responses form merchants and members. I had a mobile phone transaction enquiry which is still outstanding for 2 years. I won't use that merchant ever again. Otherwise I have been extremely pleased with Quidco.

"NEVER AGAIN I have valid car insurance bought two years on the bounce through"

Using the same insurer 2 years running may be the problem, it could be classed as a renewal. Just a thought.

Might not be the relevant place to ask....but what are your office hours? I work in the office next door to you... (CC) and am wondering if you do eves and weekends? Because I could muchly do with another job to supplement my income! Thanks

Further to my previous post I want guaranteed cashback for honest valid transactions. If this is what Quidco aspire to achieve then Iâll back them to the hilt. ECAR Insurance are a member of Sureshop but this means sweet eff all they `robbed` me of £40.

I have been using Quidco for 3 years getting family and friends to join up,but we all want the genuine cashbackers to flourish,but what about the merchants that say they cant trace your enquiry,I am speaking of ECAR Insurance,NEVER AGAIN I have valid car insurance bought two years on the bounce through Quidco and have been robbed of £40 cashback by them

I agree with what Quidco are trying to achieve, and merchants should be doing there best to answer valid tracking issues as quickly as possible.

It is though ulimately the consumers choice as to who they purchase from. If a merchant is slow or declines a valid transaction then don't use that merchant again.

The same applies to those merchants who are being dropped, just use the other cash back sites, although Quidco is still and will always be the best.

I use a number of cash back sites, with Quidco being the most often used, this increases my cash back as you will always find merchants on one site and not another. So far I have found this to suit my needs.

I will always stick with Quidco as my main cash back source as I believe in what they are trying to do as a community / co-operative, in the end it will be the merchants losing out and not the consumer. As is always said 'the consumer is always right'.

Quidco you have my full support!!

Hi

I've just joined the site as I heard you offer the best cashback.

I want to book a room at Travelodge as I'm going away for the weekend but can't find it anywhere when I try to search.

Can you help me?

More power to you..... Sureshop means a temporary change to the amount of merchants but a long term change to the hassle of things not running smoothly and all the time and effort that requires on the consumers and on quidco!!! Good for you....

Glad yours has tracked CleverClaire. I agree, with large cashback offers it is a decision maker or breaker. I also have just taken out an 18 month contract with Orange, for the HTC diamond offer, in which it was £175 cash back. I would not have done the offer had it not been for that, excellent, cashback. However, it has not tracked, validated. So currently going through an enquiry, I'm not sure where I stand if they do not pay out - I will be seriously out of pocket instead of having a nice cashback bonus.

Its like they use Quidco to drag you in, and then just ignore thier side of the deal.

I think as has said before, when people are persuaded to take out large policies, insurance/ phone contracts etc because of large cashback sums then it is an issue. I'd agree with the comments about something for nothing etc on smaller amounts- seeing cashback as an added bonus - but not for amounts like the ones given for insurance etc. These large sums make the deal - they aren't the cheapest nescessarily - but they are with the cashback - so in my mind it is a different deal. The cashback isn't a nice bonus- it is part of the transaction.
I've just taken out an 18 month contract with orange (my son's first phone -birthday this week!) but the £150 cashback was instumental in my decison - I wouldn't have made this purchase through Quidco without it - it amounts to over 50% of the total outlay- I would see it as misrepresentation by the merchant if it weren't paid.
It tracked immediately and validated - but having read various comments on here, I'm nervous till it is in the bank!!!

First of all, to those people above wondering if Quidco is skimming: if Quidco did, the other cashback sites would be offering more. I haven't found that to be the case, so I trust quidco.

Moving on to this change, why can't this be a user option? For example, under Settings, an option like "Show Risky Merchants/Offers". It can even be switched off by default.
And maybe even a little red dot or exclamation sign next to them in the listings, with a popup hint showing "This merchant has a bad reliability with cashback earnings".

Sometimes I want to buy from a particular merchant, cashback or not, and would prefer to use Quidco. But obviously if I haven't got a choice with Quidco, and can get the cashback elsewhere, I'll have to go down that route. So I say let this be a user choice.

Being a coop, maybe even an opinion poll here? (1) No unreliable merchants, cashback like an ATM
(2) Keep as is: cashback like the national lottery (3) User option: cashback how I roll my dice

If this is about getting the merchants themselves to switch affiliate networks, I'd say to add a link next to all those slow/non earning transactions to the merchant direct, so that people can email a message! You can even add the affliate networks name in the email. If carefully managed, I'm pretty sure that would do the trick!

Let this be a co-op effort, rather than a sudden chop. Slow and steady wins the race!

Quidco, If you see this first please can you review the ticket I raised today and liasie with Mark at AW re my successful enquiry in April 07 Thanks

Firstly, I have used other cashback sites, wepromiseto (awful) and topcashback (fairly good),etc , but I prefer Quidco for their excellent customer service and easy navigation of the site, ok, and the cashback amounts......

The sureshop principal (which I fully support) is a good one, and will hopefully eliminate the 'fingers crossed' approach to getting your cashback, as has happened with certain retailers.....

Keep up the good work Quidco!

I am in agreement with the principle of the SureShop system and I agree that 28 days is certainly enough time to turn around a commission query for a merchant, however if as stated the system allows previously declined transactions to be queried and then auto-approved after 28 days then it is flawed. The merchant has already looked at that sale and this can lead to a un-ending cycle of people submitting queries.

I have to admit for two established companies I am at a loss why you don't just get in a room, resolve this one issue, get AW signed up to Sureshop and then progress with the same comprehensive split of merchants as before?

Least we forget that it is a 3-way relationship (merchant, affiliate, user) and it collapses without all parties working together.

Sorry Word spelling errors now corrected!

I support Quidco on this one. Yes we could access other cashback sites but where my personal information and banking details are concerned I would only trust a cash back site that puts the resources and money into ensuring a first class and professional service, Quidco offers me just this. It takes time for a merchant to build up trust and for me feeling comfortable and secure with a merchant is my main priority. Over the past 15 months Quidco has pursued a few missing transactions on my behalf worth anything from £2 to £100 in all cases they have recovered what Iâve been owed, what more could I ask for, it all works very well and all for £5 membership.

I support Quidco on this one. Yes we could access other cashback sites but where my personnel information and banking details are concerned I would only trust a cash back site that puts the recourses and money into ensuring a first class and professional service, Quidco offers me just this. It takes time for a merchant to build up trust and for me feeling comfortable and secure with a merchant is my main priority. Over the past 15 months Quidco has perused a few missing transactions on my behalf worth anything from £2 to £100 in all cases they have recovered what Iâve been owed, what more could I ask for, it all works very well and all for £5 membership.

I've used, others and will only use quidco. Quite simply if quidco is removing the less reliable and cooperative merchants i support that - gives me a better idea of the ultimate purchase price.

I've used, others and will only use quidco. Quite simply if quidco is removing the less reliable and cooperative merchants i support that - gives me a better idea of the ultimate purchase price.

After reading this blog and the related links my head is spinning! The impression I get is that there are a number of different agendas from various individuals which only confuse the issue.

My take on it is that Quidco is attempting to tighten up the query process for the benefit of its members who are then more likely to get their cashback. The question of Quidco not paying out 100% has been answered quite clearly by them in more than one post.

I use price comparison sites and Quidco to get the best deal I can for purchases I need to make. I take into account that the cashback is not guaranteed but look at the reliability and tracking record of the merchants and their SureShop status. The cashback is a bonus on the transactions I make. I have no sympathy with those that view cashback as a way of making money. Claims of losing money are ridiculous. How can you loose what wasn't yours in the first place?

I have used Quidco for the last 18 months and in that time I've had one query which on reflection may have been an error on my part in not clearing out the cookies etc before making the transaction - I'd forgot Mothers Day and had to send flowers quickly Recently I did two more purchases and was surprised by how quick they were tracked and validated.

So Quidco keep up the good work, thank you and you have my full support.

Quidco are representing its members from dubious merchants - what else do you expect them to do.

I have had transactions not tracked and larges ones at that. The basis of my decision to buy has been cashback promised. Therefore unless the cashback system is made to work, the didgy merchant has misled me into buying from them. Some purchases are 12 month contracts/ annual insurance etc also and you cannot back track.

The SureShop scheme is a bare minimum that merchants should be able to offer. If you don't offer to resolve issues in 28 days - shows that just because you have got the money, you don't care about keeping your end of the bargain.

i for one will not buy from a non SureShop merchant ever gain.

Kudos to Quidco!!

From the day I joined, I have experienced great service from the quidco team and have felt part of the community from the off.

When I shop I take a lot (loads) of things into consideration and guaranted cashback is numero uno in the equation.

I've got your back quidco. xxx

Sounds like AW are just bitter and don't like the idea of consumers having a say. They're also misinformed - "It is well known that cashback users are not loyal to just one site"? Rubbish! Quidco all the way. If they feel "bullied" or "pressured" into signing up to Sureshop that's a pity, but really all they're being asked to do is resolve queries within a month which is really not unreasonable if they give a damn at all about their customers. Getting the cashback drags on enough as it is. After all, we as consumers are taking a risk, buying something we might not normally have bought because of the prromise of cashback - the least they can do is respect that. I resent the suggestion that all or even most enquiries are fraudulent. Maybe there's a small minority who abuse the system but their tracking is nowhere near as good as they think it is - It seems as if any cashback over £10 is declined as a matter of course! This is to protect the merchants as well as the customers, if they're honest then they have nothing to worry about. We're behind you Quidco - if they choose otherwise it's their loss!

I have earned over £1000 in two years and am also a member of a couple of other cash back sites, or should I say was. These sites have 'dodgy' methods and are no where near as honest and transparent as Quidco.

I have encouraged both my father and wife to join and they have earned about £200 or so each as well.

I will completely back Quidco as will most members..you always get people who moan. The people who remain silent are generally the happy ones.

Keep it up Quidco!

@JAJewsbury, Quidco has my details of my bank for the past two years and have been paying through it .

This deal was for £120 cashback on Lloyds TSB Insurance which shows as "successful" yet payment from Quidco is not forthcoming.

I paid the policy in full in advance with my credit card in January.

@ Cobra, have you put your bank details into quidco?

Just found out the £100 I am due for my Vodafone contract hasnt gone through as apparently the contract didnt complete !!! I use the phone as my everyday mobile phone..... someones telling lies.... very upsetting from someone that calls themselves a sureshop merchant !!

Quidco: You have still do not appear to have answered to my query.
I would again like to draw your attention to this:

cobra says:

July 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Quidco were offering £120 cashback on Lloyds TSB Insurance.

I bought a Building and contents insurance on 17 Jan 2008 with Lloyds TSB Home Insurance.

I paid the policy in full in advance with my credit card.

Iâve had a âsuccessfulâ status with Quidco yet it shows Payment Date as âunknownâ.

So I donât know who to turn for my £120.00

great move quidco, saves the hassle with tickets.

ukpotters , i would suggest to anyone to clear all their internet history and cookies etc. if they do something like that as like has happened to you they could track the cashback/commission back to a site that you have previously visited, i use firefox and it all clears everytime i close the internet so i get fresh cookies straight away through quidco.

does this mean the sign up offers and daily cashbacks disappear?? i dont think these are worth complaining about if you miss out on cashback.

I support Quidco and recommend them all the time but feel let down at the moment as I have had a Car Insurance claim refused as they say the tracking network say that the cashback has been claimed by another network. Case closed as far as Quidco are concerned. But i want to challenge this as I know I made an original search using confused.com to find the cheapest insurance and i then went via quidco onto Esure to make the actual payment and finalise the contract. So I can only guess that confused.com have somehow claimed my £70. IF quidco read this could you comment, if not let this be a warning to other people that use confused.com first.

I support Quidco in this and feel quite sad that so many do not. I used another Cashback site before I found Quidco and not only did they rip me off, they also ripped off my Sister - who I had recommended to use them. Very embarrassing to recommend someone and then see them cheated out of their cashback. In one instance I contacted the merchant directly (a gambling web site) and asked them why they'd refused to pay my cashback (£20). They told me that they could see from their system that I'd come from that cashback site and that I should take it up with them, the problem was with the CB site. I'm convinced they paid that CB site and they kept my money. The refused to reply to my tickets about this particular case and that was when I left and found Quidco. I only use it to buy things I would buy anyway, I learnt that lesson from the other site. Buying things solely to get CB is a mugs game. Consider it a bonus. Good luck with this decision Quidco.

In reply to Quidco's latest reply:

Thanks for the reply, and clarification on this. As you can imagine, the "other team" are throwing various things around, and I just felt it was upto Quidco to deny the allegations. Thanks for doing so!

Good on you Quidco! As the Quidco customer base continues to grow then it will be in the vendors interest to deal with them, so I'm hoping you will force their hand and they will go with SureShop.

If not, they'll miss out on sales. My motto has always been, "If I'm buying online, I'll buy through Quidco. If it's not on Quidco, I ain't buying!"

BTW I know other cashback sites exist but I often find the best discounts on Quidco and I like to see my pot growing in one place, where I trust the company and know I'll get my money.

Keep up the great work.

I wonder what the point really is when I have two "added" payments from sureshop merchants, which although "added" still remain unpaid from May 2007 and December 2007. They may be able to deal with the enquiry within the time limit but there is no onus on the merchant to actually make payment of the money once they agree that it is due.

You have my support Quidco!

Tbh as long as I get the cashback that quidco advertise I don't mind them skimming bonuses or whatever off the top (if thats what they do), personally I have had no problems with being paid, and the products are things I would have bought anyway so the cashback is a bonus, I've even recommended them to a few friends.

I would appreciate it though if quidco would post a list of the merchants that will be leaving as a result of this announcement, I notice that several people have asked, and yet they have remained silent.

If quidco doesn't offer the merchants I use then I'll just go elsewhere for those merchants, quidco will remain my primary site though where possible - ease of use , no problems etc are all worth it.

Well said Quidco!

hevster - Yeah we are taking a strong line but we felt it has come to the point where we need to. It takes someone to draw a line in the sand in order to move things forward and we believe that if we draw this line things will improve for Quidco members. If we are going to keep growing we need the assurance that Quidco members WILL get paid for genuine eligible transactions. We don't believe that merchants using on a network unwilling to make this guarantee should be promoted to members.

bluegnu - Merchants are on and off various networks so it's possible a current other network merchant used to be on AW when you had your enquiry and v.v. We can tell you that AW does have outstanding historical enquiries.

RE the FAQ do you mean about this issue? If you would like to write up a list of short questions (FAQ style) then we'd be happy to answer them succinctly (might be slightly more than yes/no but short like that).

callum9999 - We do not "skim" amounts of what we are paid by merchants. You are getting the 100%.

zoonyx - "Override" is what networks bill to merchants as their management fee and is not something we have anything to do with. We get paid by networks for the merchant commission which we list on Quidco pages at 100% of what we are paid for a transaction. Outside of this transaction commission merchants, agencies, networks do run various performance incentives/bonuses with prizes or cash. We have no guarantee of ever receiving these kind of bonuses and often don't, but when we do we put it back into Quidco through the Quidblog giveaways and resolving old enquiries etc.

To be clear by way of example: We are not getting paid £10 for your transaction, keeping £2 and only paying £8 to you - which seems to be the insinuation in the part you quoted.

Hope that helps clear things up! Sorry for the slow response but Carol is away on holiday so we are not as quick reading everything on here right now.

I had a £60 unpaid 'sureshop' item for which there was no justification. I see no difference in the way that these items are treated. Time for a change perhaps.

I actually thought that Quidco would have responded to my last post! They told me to post questions for them to answer and then my post doesn't get answered. I think zoonyx is right to ask for answers to specifics, just not sure why Quidco are stalling.

Actually, I take back some of my post based on what I've read elsewhere.

Let me be clear, I support quidco, and will continue to do so. However, I feel quidco in this blog post have specifically avoided certain issues.

For example:

Would quidco like to respond to this

http://www.affiliates4u.com/forums/a...tml#post412162
especially the comment from the Affiliate Window COO, I quote
However at present we believe that Quidco have agreements with a number of networks to share override revenue generated from member purchases through the merchants they manage.

------

I would REALLY like a reply to the above statement.

Difficult one this.

I will go elsewhere probably providing its an cashback offer worth giving up my email address for.

However, I fully back quidco on this, and I suspect I have a dodgy merchant I'm waiting on cash from on my account - its only a couple of quid, but has gone on months and months.

I want to stick with quidco because some of the cashback implementations work absolutely spot on.

How about we list the merchants we have never had a problem with.

For starters:

HMV. Works, tracks, pays, without fail, every single time.

You have my support! I have always been very happy with Quidco.

still no answers for me !

I know this will echo a lot of other users sentiments, but I wanted to lend my voice of support to Quidco. It is very positive that the Quidco team are not afraid to take a risk in the best interests of the community as a whole, and illustrates their strength in leadership.

Good call.

I currently recommend Quidco as the first choice of cashback sites, as I've had all my cashback come through, and the site is easy to use. Unfortunately, the first experience of someone I've recommended is to have to query a cashback award, which is currently still pending. I'm hoping that the situation is resolved in their favour, as I really don't want this to put them off using cashback sites.

As such I fully back Quidco in trying to ensure that merchants will pay what they say they will pay, as this does sometimes determine which merchant one buys from.

I have to agree with that article on a few points, I quite often see rates on quidco which are lower but never connected it with this.

As far as i can see using quidco is 'money for old rope' I shop where i would normally shop and on price - the extra cashback is a nice earner. I love getting it but also wonder whether it would be better for all if the prices were lower to start off with.

Whenever i have looked at other cashback sites i keep coming back to quidco as it generally seems to be the best on the items i'm looking for. The missing transactions have always been found and - with one outstanding - paid.

Quidco, I would like to know which merchants are from which affiliate scheme. The reason I ask this is that I have a few queries outstanding and I can only assume they are not from AW because they say they have no outstanding queries - or they are being selective about the truth. But how do I know?

Secondly why not set up a FAQ section to answer all the members queries. I can trawl through hundreds of posts on this and other sites and still not see the answers to all the questions that have been posted. Your stance is only laudable if there is no way there can be any hidden agenda or misinformation. At the moment I can easily get a biased opinion depending on what posts I read.

Simple yes / no answers on a clearly visible scale might save a lot of time and effort. Even let AW and other post questions if they want. Why hide from visibly answering their questions and accusations? Whether you like it or not, this subject has been made public and you have added fuel to that now.

I don't want to cause any trouble, I enjoy using Quidco and if you can check my visitor stats you'll see how often I visit this site! I would hate to see it implode as a result of mud sticking.

Sorry - I just read my comment back and the choice part of it was as clear as mud!

What I meant was that I'd rather have more merchants than less merchants, but more importantly than that, I'd rather have real cashback than the false promise of some. I'd sacrifice choice for quality and reliability every time.

Since Quidco looks to be making that same choice, I am more than happy to support them...

Apologies if I offended anyone above. I should have said 'I' rather than 'we'. I don't pretend to speak for anyone but myself in my comments. I can see a few people who appear to think like me, but I would never presume to know their minds.

@Quidco - Ok, pardon my terminology. Are you not taking a rather strong line with the tracking networks then? What is wrong with the plan of having the SureShop Approved list of merchants and then others who don't want to sign up to Sureshop?

As consumers we know you are doing your bit to promote a better situation with SureShop. And that is a good thing. However, as quite a few people have pointed out, we'd rather keep the wider choice and be allowed to take the risk of dealing with companies whose commission may or may not track as effectively because they chose not to sign up to SureShop. The system seems to have worked very well for the vast majority up until now.

I like the freedom of choice. Cashback isn't guaranteed anyway, and I accept that sometimes it doesn't work out. I think it's wrong to remove some retailers/networks for being less reliable as it still only effects the minority of transactions.

I'd rather not have to have a portfolio of cashback sites to fanny around with, worrying about who has which retailer and getting my cookies all mixed up in the process.

Sureshop helps build confidence, but I'm happy to take my chances with non-sureshop merchants in good faith. That should be my decision to make.

bluegnu - We are happy to have an open discussion with members like we have been doing in the comments here. Where we draw the line is when competitors, banned members, the network or other biased parties attempt to disrupt the conversation. If you have any questions please go ahead.

srjohnst - We think it is preferable to have merchants fully supported by a network so that members are assured of getting genuine cashback rather than listing more merchants where it is a game of chance.

hevster - We are not strong arming merchants. The merchants work through a tracking network. We are requiring the tracking network to be responsible for their maintenance and management of merchant tracking accounts.

dbuk44 - No it's not related to John Lewis. They left as they reviewed their online marketing plan and didn't see cashback fitting into it at the time.

bluegnu - We don't believe in public mud-slinging or trying to smear others... even when we disagree fundamentally with them to the point we break a relationship. We don't think it's the best way to approach an issue.

We could come on here and post all sorts and engage in some kind of smear campaign but at the end of day we have to hold to what we know to be true and to make the difficult decisions in order to move forward.

We never wanted to be in a situation like this as it is disruptive to Quidco, to Quidco members and to our merchant partners. However there come times when tough decisions have to be made and this was a situation where we believed we could not move forward with this tracking partner with any kind of security for our members.

I'm assuming that Quidco are able to keep some kind of record of successful/unsuccessful merchant enquiries. And also which merchants pay up and which need constant chasing.

Surely it would be better to drop persistent offenders rather than a blanket drop on non-sureshop merchants as appears to be happening now?

I agree with hevster above - most often I'll decide what I want to buy, check out various merchant's prices, then go look for the merchant on quidco. By the time I've found the best deal and decided to buy, quidco is just a way of getting money back on something i would have bought anyway. In my mind i think of it as a bonus, not something that really influences my decision of who to buy from.

Is this related to the disappearance of John Lewis from Quidco?

Little inconsistent to hail the arrival of new unknown companies in the sidebar, but not the departure of well known brands.

Sounds like Quidco are not really going to achieve what they set out to do, as laudible as the intention might be. I'm all for people trying to make the commission/cashback process quicker and more efficient for the customer because, let's face it, the customer is the one who matters most in all of this. We are the ones handing over the cash for goods and services and merchants should care most about getting that money by giving us the best reasons to hand it to them. However, I don't think Quidco are approaching the situation in the best way for members.

By strong-arming merchants and affiliate sites to accept Sureshop or leave the members of Quidco are potentially going to lose out. Sureshop is by no means guaranteed so I'm not sure why Quidco are forcing merchants down this road? I'd rather have the current range of merchants we have and, possibly, have a slightly higher risk of tracking than lose a large number (and from looking into who might leave it is not inconsiderable) of merchants and then I have to go to several cashback sites to make my purchases.

As someone pointed out earlier, if Quidco truly is a 'co-operative' then Quidco should do what gives most benefit to members. If that means keeping those merchants with Sureshop as their 'preferred' merchants and keeping those others who don't agree with Sureshop and letting members take the risk of buying from them then that works for me. I'm also pretty sure that as a 'co-operative' the members should be asked what they want. Unless Quidco think they can make the assumption of what we want and then ask us to support it, which is the case at present? If so I'd drop the term 'co-operative' from the mission statement folks. I have no problem with that, I don't really go in for the whole 'corporate community' load of bs anyway, we are all in this to make more money for ourselves. If you are going to claim to be something then you have to act accordingly and a 'co-operative' implies working together and taking decisions together.

Personally I like things how they are. I have had next to no issues with tracking in the last year or so and I've made over £500 commission with little problem. I don't even look at the Sureshop thing when I make a purchase. I know what I want to buy and who from. If Quidco offer the chance of cashback on it that is great. It will very rarely form part of the decision making process about where to buy from. The risk should be ours to take. We all know there are no guarantees with cashback or commission on the web. All I know is that I'd rather only have to have one website to go through than several and I'd rather than one was Quidco because so far their system works for me.

I've used Quidco for just over a year. I have had no real problems at all, and of the two issues I have had, one was sorted very quickly, and the other is in the process of being sorted. Any other times I have not had a purchase tracked, it has been my own stupid fault for having clicked through, then double-checked something with Kelkoo etc. It was quite right to not track - cos it shouldn't have!

Same as Cefnicomputers, I'd rather see a wider network than a smaller network. I completely understand why Quidco want to do this though. I will keep using them - unless the choice gets so small that it's restrictive (which I doubt they would do).

The one thing I can't help thinking is that wanting the max amount of cashback from the max number of companies, and wanting a high chance of getting the money in a good amount of time sit at opposite sides of the see-saw. If some dodgy company pops up offering to pay a ridiculous amount, but then drag their heels and don't pay it (and may never have intended to) - I'm quite happy they won't be on Quidco. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up on some of the other cashback sites, but I'd rather have the cash and deal with someone who cares than have a pretend balance sitting in an account where I might not ever see the money at all.

I guess we'll have to see how it plays out. Although the links through to the other site tell a nice story, it smells a bit of mud slinging. If they offered such a great service and it made such commercial sense, surely people would be queueing up to join them - not leaving them. And if Quidco are the ones making the mistake, then time will tell.

I am with Quidco becuase I like the service they offer. I like the turnaround times. I like the communications. If that ever changes, I may move on. I won't be moving on because some company I've never heard of don't like the fact that another business has decided not to use them.

iwantmorecash1 says:
July 27th, 2008 at 9:35 am

i use a few cash back sites,
In my opinoin Quico is my MAIN one.
The reasonfor tis is :
They normaly have the bast rates.
They pay out quicker.

I use a few sites too. I just did my car insurance with one of them, same cashback, it got awarded within 2 hours and will be paid in 2months, the same retailer is a 3month wait here! Its still best to shop around.

I must say, I find Quidco's silence on a lot of these issue quite deafening. As I have said before, all I want from Quidco is that they pay the amount they advertised. The deleted posts from AW throw some accusations, and quiestions on this blog seem to remain unanswered or sidestepped. I fear Quidco a the moment is in danger of self-destruction unless there is a full, frank and open discussion about this. Deleting posts only adds fuel to the fire. I am happy to use Quidco, I like the service they offer but I am not going to pretend that I will continue to use Quidco regardless. I have always thought they would be more honest than they currently appear to be, add that to the fact I hav a number of outstanding tickets and all of a sudden you do start rethinking who the best cashback site might be. That's not a threat, that's just showing how damaging the affair is potentially for Quidco.

@jeryymrtin, it's now getting more complicated than that as Quidco has said they also use IP tracking - if you have a dynamic IP address, you will need to change it before completing your transaction - clearing cookies is no longer enough. If you have a fixed IP address, or one that never changes (Virgin Media cable for example), then you may still be linked to your Go-compare price check.
Additionally Quidco has suggested that details of the price comparison may be logged with the merchant even though you never clicked through. see point 3 from another Quidblog thread:

1. Did you go direct through Quidco to the merchant and complete the quote in the same session? Did you complete this quote and take out an active policy?

Itâs necessary to both take and complete the quote through Quidco. If you take a quote but are not approved, or if you later finalise the quote over the phone, this will not be eligible for cashback.

2. Did you click through someoneâs link to a comparison site (or sites) to shop around for the lowest premium? Did you visit or click links on other finance related sites before visiting Quidco? Or use a search engine to find a comparison site?

If you did any of the above, any or all of those sites may have placed a cookie on your computer, because they all wanted commission for your purchase.

3. Once on the comparison or finance site, did you enter details which could later be matched to your final purchase (address, email address, postcode, etc.)? Did you click through a link on the comparison site to the actual insurerâs site?

Either action may have resulted in the comparison site tracking your sale to the merchant (separate from a cookie and therefore impossible to delete from your end).

I appreciated you're swamped at the moment, Quidco, but I really think what we need is a comprehensive list of which sites will no longer be part of Quidco from 1st September.

Could you please provide this?

Well done Quidco. AW seem to think that Sureshop is putting undue pressure on retailers- how? Is 28 days an unreasonable timescale in which to reply to earnings enquiries? 'Sour grapes' is what springs to mind here. I have never used Quidco exclusively, however over 90% of my transactions have been through Quidco and I have been very pleased with the service- long may it continue.

mackatora,

You need to understand how transactions are tracked, if you don't clear your web browser cookies etc. Then of course it will potentialy track with a comparison site and not Quidco.

What I did was used Go-compare through the Quidco link to find the best car insurance quote which for me was ESure and Priviledge, this tracked for £1.

Then I cleared my cookies and exited my browser.

I then logged back in to Quidco and went direct through Quidco to the relevant insurer link, to get a quote knowing that they gave the best quote when I used go-compare, I then have the option to except the quote and complete the transaction or not, if the transaction was completed I know from past experience this will track. I have always had my big cashback insurance transactions track.

You have to always clear your cookies not matter what cashback site you use not just Quidco.

Quidco keep up the good work, there is a few people on here that are trying to smear you and confuse genuine Quidco members.

i use a few cash back sites,
In my opinoin Quico is my MAIN one.
The reasonfor tis is :
They normaly have the bast rates.
They pay out quicker.
In 3 yrs i have only submited 4 tickets and only 1 is still outstanding. (with one other site i have had to put a tickrt in for nearly ever transaction and they took 12 months to sort them out )
NEED I SAY MORE.



PS
I THINK ALL THIS SLAGGING IS VERY JOUVENILE BY THE OTHER AFFILIATE WINDOW PEOPLE.
(sorry i cant spell)

You get my vote team! as things are going to start to bite soon, with all our bills going up, looking for a sureshop and knowing that you have a much better chance of getting the pennies, than not using a sureshop jobbie! bit of a no brainer really!

dhh: I think the recent declining of many transactions due to 'duplicate referrals' puts a hole in your theory there, in effect we are no longer allowed to do the 'research' anymore, I had a transaction declined, probably due to using a comparison site, therefore in effect I have to take the quote offered and I'm not allowed to make sure its actually the best deal, cashback or not. Obviously anyone only wants to take a deal if it comes out 'best value for money', I have not submitted an enquiry because in practice, according to the rules, I had a duplicate referral, I can't debate that, so my knickers aren't in a twist, however - if I am not allowed to search for the best deal, I can't do my research without installing other browsers, clearing cookies, blah blah blah. I should be given cashback on the referral link that I followed through on and not ones that I didn't use!! Fair or not?

I don't bother check to see if the merchant is a 'Sureshop' one or not. It doesn't make a difference because as I see it, cashback is never guaranteed, even if there is some kind of pseudo badge of approval awarded to the merchant.

I just take my chances - if it gets paid out then is a bonus, if not - I don't get my knickers in a twist about it all - I just shrug my shoulders and move on. As long as you have done your research and got the best deal with or without cashback, and it was a service or product you were going to buy anyway, it doesn't make much difference since you have still got your goods or service that you bought.

Considering the commercial sensitivity of the allegations that AW are making against you including the one about not paying 100% cashback and taking "kickbacks" from other networks, will you be taking legal action against them for libel?

A lawyer and £500 in court fees would go a long way to proof to everyone that AW is incorrect and that there are no substance in their allegations. Given the scale of the allegation I would be surprised if you couldn't find a lawyer willing to do it on a no win, no fee basis.

This is all very interesting stuff.

I think there are three distinct types of cashback and I treat them all differently.

Type 1 is your usual 5% from play.com etc. You are going to buy anyway and the cashback is a nice little discount if you get it. It's not a deal breaker, and over a year you might end up with fifty quid.

Type 2 is your gambling/lottery type cashback. You see £20 at Sun Bingo. You do the necessary just once and it's free money when it comes in. If it doesn't you don't mind.

Type 3 is the deal breaker type of cashback paid on house/car insurance and mobile phones. These are big amounts of money and despite the Quidco line of 'nothing is guaranteed', the cashback is a big factor.

I actually think that Type 3 cashback shouldn't exist. If Phones2U or Prudential have £100 up for grabs with a valid transaction then they should just use 'quidco' as an 'in the know' discount code. The 'Will I/won't I' lottery is all very well for a few pence, but the fact is that people are making fairly big purchase decisions on a cashback gamble and I haven't ever regarded that as a good idea.

Plus AWin has these exclusive

Comet, Dixons, PrezzyBox, Currys, Toysâr'Us, Robert Dyas, ELC, Majestic Wines, BuyaGift, IWantOneofThose

You can see all the posts that quidco delete @ MSE! http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=12819625&posted=1#post12819625

To date, we have not engaged any parties in discussion of speculation or factual inaccuracies and will continue to remove any comments here which are intended to formulate an Affiliate Window smear campaign against us.

We respectfully request that any member of Affiliate Window who wishes to discuss the situation with us further does so off public forums.

I do think Quidco is great, but perhaps more transparency would have stopped some of the moaning now.

Why was nothing2hide s comments deleted?

I see the usual 'sheep following sheep' attitude here. I`m not a Quidco-fanatic, I pay them a fiver, they manage my cashback.

So can I ask two pragmatic questions:-

1- The A4U blogs seems to suggest they offer higher commission on some of the merchants being 'pusueded' to switch. What are you doing Quidco to retain highest rates? (//...I for one will be checking Martins best cashback tool more often).

2- What does this mean, in English...
'Quidco have for a long time operated on the basis of member sign up fees, a struggle for a company offering a supposed 100% cashback to their members. However at present we believe that Quidco have agreements with a number of networks to share override revenue generated from member purchases through the merchants they manage. This would exclude Affiliate Window as we ultimately declined a proposal for this'

I thinkit's a load of rubbish when in the linked articles, they say that cashback purchasers tend to use more then one cashback site. Until I discovered Quidco, I used to use GreasyPalm. Once I discovered Quidco (almost 2 years ago, I think), I have made one purchase through GP - the rest have all been through Quidco.

To be honest I view quidco as exctly what it is i.e a way of getting the discount that everyday companies would normlly pay to affiliates, in other words you are getting money back that was never going to come to you, I'm sure many affiliates have problems with not always getting their cut so to speak.
I am surprised at how much moaning there is on here about not always getting this money back, perhaps I am too well ntured but my theory is I only buy stuff I was going to by anyway after looking around so if I get anything back it's a bonus.

It is my understanding that quidco's move to drop some merchnts over tracking issues is born out of people moaning about not always getting their free lunch, I wonder how mny missed payments are the fault of idiot users not using the site properly ?

I would much rather see a wide network of merchnts that will probably pay out as opposed to a smaller list that will definitely pay out, perhaps it would be better to maintain the high level of merchants but give them a start rating as to the likelyhood of actully receivng a payout.

Fully support Quidco in this, but I am still waiting for an answer (not the money, just some answer) for a genuine purchase from Priviledge Insurance, from back in April this year. Does not seem to me as if this Sureshop counts for much?

QUIDCO >> posted a question on rpoints site, got this response within seconds!!

From: evilsly
To: stewinscotland
Posted: 25 Jul 2008 21:48
Subject: cashback kings
Hello,

cashback kings is owned by rpoints, but we do not allow discussion of it on the rpoints forum, in the same way we don't allow discussion of other competing sites.

by the way, isnt it just the Rpoints site with a new name? seems very simular....strange

HAHA just looked at CBK website, what a crap and dodgy looking site, dont think I would ever trust it for my cashback!â¦â¦â¦.reccomended by BBCâ¦dont think so

I do beleive they pay 100% of the cashback as they dont have a penny for website improvements, try again QUIDCO RULES

:-)

I have nothing but praise for the professionalism/competence of this site/personnel and have recruited several of my family onto it also from other sites.
Go for it Fiona you have the full support of genuine Quidco fanatics.

Woah... I think this is getting a but hijacked by a load of people who are just out for blood as they've been caught abusing Quidco. If they don't like it, then go elsewhere- we won't miss you- just stop annoying us!

My take on the situation is that Quidco shouldn't have been SO heavy-handed as to exclude AW entirely, but could have given big red markers over their merchants (with ideas for alternative merchants who DO support SureShop), or other similar ways to 'encourage' them to get on board. This has become something of a PR disaster for QC with other sites - those less concerned with their members - standing to gain the most.

Also, there NEEDS to be more honesty about these bonuses. It is all very well 'saving' them for a potential future amnesty, but that's not transparent, and it can't suffice. I suggest making these bonuses viewable online, and then distributing them regularly with prize draws- some entirely randomly, others based on the top Quidco'ers etc.

@Quidco, you said:

@miffyl - Merchants have different targets/communities they want to hit and pay more or less generally depending on the volume a site is driving. This is the reason Quidco cashback is usually higher than other â100%â sites as we are passing back those increased amounts.

Does this mean CBK are driving a greater volume to Pru than you?

Fair enough Quidco, good luck with it. I just think you are trying to hard to please a society which demands these days. As a big user of quidco, I can tell you I would rather have a sustainable quidco, than one which is taking such rash decisions to please those who go round stating how unfair quidco is, how they nicked the money and making up non truths and lies which I see all over forums....people desperate to swindle a company and taking talking about taking people to court because they didnt honour a mis price and so on.


This is the way I see it, and I really don't want quidco to fail if the merchants decide to pull out. As the whole site is founded on the quidco etiquette, I do believe its going against it's ethos by demanding such terms on merchants and demanding resolutions.

I'll continue to use your guys as you have been nothing but superb, but my concerns are you seem to be jumping on the consumer demands bandwagon, which is a terrible shame. This is business afterall, everyones here to make money, from the merchants, to quidco, to the affliate companies, to us, the quidco users. It worked well, but demands and changing the whole way something has worked for a number of years doesnt bode to well, regardless of size.

But as it's business, good luck! I know you wouldnt take this decision if you had any beliefs it could cost this place, so guess we gotta trust you!!

I have always found Quidco to be honest and fair. I still have an unpaid validated £90 from April waiting, but do believe it will be paid this month. As for tickets, never had a problem. And for enquires taking over 6 weeks (always sureshop) adding a comment always produced a reply within a day or two. I think Quidco do a marvelous job under difficult circumstances, what with technical issues and suspect merchants. Especially i think there are a large number of uneducated users who dont understand how cookies work and wrongly believe cashback is 100% guaranteed. I personally salute quidco, and anything they do to make cashback tracking more reliable can only be good. Personally i rather have an 8% guaranted cashback than a maybe 10%. Sureshop doesnt work, so i`d prefer only merchants 100% commited on Quidco. Thoses that aren`t can go elsewhere and the customer can give it a go and see what happens.

@JAJewsbury

You have more chance in getting a reply on this topic then sending the idiots a message via the ticket system!

@quidco dont worry you dont need to ban me i wont be making the mistake and using quidco again so that keep ya mind to rest but then again surely you want me back so you can scam me again

@Quidco.... any updates on my out standing query with one of the sureshop merchants since April?

@quidco.. you can ban me to try and shut me up but ill be back with another account. You say to me to contact us but i have 25 times in 10 months and each time you dont get back to me.

Ban me and ill make a new username. As this is a hugh post I will to warn others that you ban without contacting the member and you scam us!

OMG so you say this

@Kayleigh75 - Again it will be easier for us to take criticism from active Quidco members rather than new ones recommending competitors As said we are happy to put you in touch with the merchant to confirm we are passing on the full 100%.

You have failed to give a reasonable answer and this is what you do. no wonder the people that pay quidco want out! your a bunch or scammers right?

I would be an active member if your cashback rates were as good, I use the site that is going to give me the most.

@JohEdwar - I think we are on a different topic here. If you've been banned for transaction abuse it is probably best to contact us direct about any questions that are unanswered. You can do so here: http://www.quidco.com/contact-us/?category=Comments+and+Suggestions As we do not allow banned members to return we will need to close your duplicate account.

@Kayleigh75 - Again it will be easier for us to take criticism from active Quidco members rather than new ones recommending competitors As said we are happy to put you in touch with the merchant to confirm we are passing on the full 100%.

Kayleigh75, You hit the nail on the head! Quidco dont like us to know that. so guess what they keep it to themself.

I have one outstanding from a sureshop merchant since April....

" pay out 100% of the commission we are paid for a transaction. If any
member has concerns about this we are happy to put them directly in touch
with a merchant to confirm they are getting the full 100% of the rate the
merchant is paying us."

Then why for example does JackpotJoy pay £10 on Quidco but Wepromiseto pays
£20 PLUS WPT says they only pay out 50% on this retailer as "This retailer
does not permit us to pay 100% cashback for commercial reasons. The excess
will be added to the honest pot." and there are many many more like this.

@quidco why not visit http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1002167 there you have over 300 members that have contacted you and you didnt even bother to contact them back. You say you are doing this for your members but you never reply to them!

Look at this post.

I have two tickets open - one for Hilarys blinds since 18/04/2008 and one for Insure Insurance since 11/05/2008. I have had no update on the first since 21/05/2008 and since 16/05/2008 on the second!! If this is what you call very quick, I wouldn't want to receive a slow response.

Im sorry but your we doing this for the members does not wash with me or your other members and im prety sure that soon the members will get fed up with your crap and go else where.

100% cashback would be true if you paid out and didnt scam your members!

without = with ekk lol

@quidco you have my email address so I want a valid reason why my account was banned and without a valid reason! You can email me and I will send you my username.

Just to make it clear to QUIDCO and Other members i HAD to rejoin as they banned me in october last year. (Hence why i rejoined today)

Many thanks for the response, it puts to rest a lot of my concerns.

@quidco I have an account and you banned it without a reason and i wanted to share with others and i didnt even make the point that you pretty much ban anyone that makes any cash. Yes you stole over £2000 from me. You say i abused the system but offered NO PROVE!

@bozman - Sorry just missed your comment. This is the same response as to mflint and tomsmith. We have always told member they must go directly through Quidco in order to have an eligible transaction. If they go elsewhere Quidco members do realise their transaction may not be eligible.

Again - the response timeline we ask from merchants is not a validation for regular transactions - it is the amount of time we give a network to communicate with their merchants and let us know if a manually raised enquiry should be validated or declined.

We really do expect any merchant on Quidco to have the minimum level of customer service to respond to any questions within a month. We don't think that's too much to ask...

@FastShow - We pay out 100% of the commission we are paid for a transaction. If any member has concerns about this we are happy to put them directly in touch with a merchant to confirm they are getting the full 100% of the rate the merchant is paying us.

As noted in response to Archie12 yesterday, there are various bonuses that can be given by merchants, networks, agencies for hitting performance targets. We put these unallocated monies back into the Quidco community either with giveaways on the Quidblog or monetarily putting it back into member accounts or enquiries.

tomsmith1984 - We do educate members they must go direct through Quidco. The recent huge blog on the insurance comparison issue shows this. Also in regards to the merchant you worked for I am sure they knew enquiries not elgible for cashback (i.e. when the member went through another affiliate after Quidco) would be declined.

grdesign - We totally understand what you are saying and this is how we have been operating. However we really believe that in order to move the cashback idea forward there does need to be accountability across the board and that members should have solid reassurance on ALL merchants that they will be paid cashback for an eligible transaction. That in a nutshell is the hard choice we had to make...

@mflint - We really do believe it is pretty easy for a network to communicate with it's merchant and get a response on whether an enquiry is valid or not within 1 month. That's not really too much to ask! I think maybe you are confused with normal transactions - the one month response is purely in terms of us giving enquiry information and asking "eligible or not?".

@miffyl - Merchants have different targets/communities they want to hit and pay more or less generally depending on the volume a site is driving. This is the reason Quidco cashback is usually higher than other "100%" sites as we are passing back those increased amounts.

@duggie1982 - As in response to FastShow we'd be happy to put you in touch with whatever merchant you are concerned about to confirm we are indeed passing on 100%.

@JohEdwar - It would be a bit easier to take your comment as valid criticism if you didn't just join today and post a recommendation for a competitor

Speaking from amerchant's POV, unfortunately affiliate tracking is not as straight forward as customers think. To further expand on tomsmith1984's post, merchants work with many 3rd party providers in addition to Affiliates e.g. price comparison sites such as Kelkoo that work on a CPC basis. If the customer clicks through quidco and then through Kelkoo, the merchant pays Kelkoo a CPC (cost per click) and would be tracked by the merchant as a "kelkoo" sale. If the Quidco customer then raises a query regarding cash back, the merchant will look up the customer's order number, see the source code as being Kelkoo and therefore decline the commission otherwise they will pay out twice! Similarly merchants that use multiple networks may find double tracking between networks for the same order number - again resulting in a commission decline for one network or the other.

With regard to the 28 day review - if your line of business involves pre-orders e.g. home entertainment sector, it can be many months before the product is released and commission is validated and then paid. In such instances 28 days is obviously not suitable as the commission can be awarded by the merchant and the customer then cancelt eh order before release date.

Good point miffyl. Quidco say its a co-op so should be giving the customer 100% of the cashback offered from the merchant and take nothing from it! So is this the case quidco or does quidco take some of the 'pot'?

I have noticed that quidco pretty much ban anyone that makes a little more then they like. I dont use quidco any more really its point less as theres a much better cashback site CBK that really pays 100% and if not they match any other cashback site.

Im happy that the sureshop will end cos its rubbish! you cant expect a site to have to payout if they should not to.

This will be the end of quidco and im so happy! CBK all the way to the bank!

Can you also comment on this please:

miffyl says:

July 24th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Out of genuine curiosity, if Quidco offers 100% cashback, why is your cashback lower than a competitors?
Prudential Car Insurance:
CBK £90
Quidco £75
If I was to join CBK and pay my £5 fee, I would still be £10 better off.
Links removed as it prevented posting!!

Im with you all the way - GOOD LUCK

There's lots of bonuses Quidco dont seem to pay. Im now using Wepromiseto as they pay out more thru a honest pot.

Hmm, not sure about this. In the case of AW, they're not trying to take advantage of Quidco, or Quidco members as far as I can tell. Just a different of opinion, that's all.

(And, to be honest, if I were AW, I'd be concerned about the "automatically approve after 30 days" clause - it's madness to try to force this on all affiliates)

So I continue to use Quidco, and enjoy dealing with them. I continue to appreciate the customer service we get from Quidco. But can't support this "Sureshop only" stance... sorry!

Quidco, surely you should just offer the choice? The sureshop merchants, in my mind have been poorly implemented. It gives us a guarentee, but all the sureshop merchants have broke that guanretee, I still have enquiries with sureshop merchants outstanding from April. Now, quidco could lay the blame on the merchant, but then why not just take them out of the sureshop guarentee, leaving ONLY those who do honour the guarentee as sureshop merchants.

It seems to me that every merchant I use is a sureshop merchant. Surely this can't be realistic?

So although I agree with what you are doing, at the same time I see quidco alienating themselves, getting too big for their boots and demanding stuff, which could ultimately mean merchants become annoyed and then here comes the decline of quidco, and I really don't want to see that happening. Surely it's just easier to allow us, the users to have the choice instead of taking those merchants away from us, I'm afraid to say, for Quidco's own goals.

I'll be honest, massive fan of quidco, but if topcashback offers a merchant I want to use and quidco doesnt, I will use TCB...and I do, Ebay. TCB has stated it may stop at any time, use at your own risk. It's hardly a risk it's a bonus if I'm going to be buying from there anyway.

Just let us have the choice and only apply sureshop to those who DO agree and work that way. Sureshop is a waste of time otherwise, and shows it from my enquries outstanding. You can't force a business to do something and forcing the merchants into a corner is going to create bad feeling, something I didnt think quidco were in favour of. It's now happened, as we can see.

Good lucky quidco, but I'd just back down on this, bigger you are the harder you fall.

I have always been an advocate of Quidco, and fully support their 100% cashback model. However having worked on the affiliate programme previously for a merchant who will be affected by this change, I fully support the network in not letting Quidco bully them into using their Sure Shop agreement.

The program I ran was on multiple networks, and there were many occasions where we had to decline Quidco commission; simply because the customer had clicked the Quidco link through to the merchant site, then gone back the site where they found the deal (usually a price comparison site) and clicked through to the merchant on that site too. Therefore the cooke was overwritten and the last referrer was the price comparison site - hence (quite rightly) declined Quidco commission. This then means the merchants are wrongly branded "dishonest" (as I have seen a number of times on this thread).

In my opinion Quidco have two options:
1 - Educate their users properly so they know they CANNOT click any other link between the Quidco link and the merchant. If they do, they risk losing the commission.
2 - Quidco use their own tracking solution and allow merchants to sign up directly to Quidco. This will allow complete transparency in all the tracking.

Lets hope something happens, because Quidco is a fantastic consumer service and merchant's brands are being damaged due to circumstances that are beyond their control.

I would like to add my congratulations to a site which has done in my view what it stated out to do.

Whilst I have had tracking issues, I have always recieved a constructive response (if it was my fault) or the problem resolved with a payout from the merchant if there was a technical problem.

I was advised of this site by a friend and I since tell all my freinds about how good this co-operative is.

I understand quidco's dilema of Growth and still wishing to keep to its core principles and wish it well in coming to terms and managing its own success.

Good luck for your future successes

From what I have read, no you don't stand to lose them. Quidco has said they will cover them from their own pocket if they have to:

âquidco says:

July 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
@juliakerr - If there is any affect on outstanding member enquiries we will cover it from our pocket. Obviously this is a tough thing to do but we do not want members adversely affected by our stance on this matter!â

I have several queries with you regarding untracked items - do i stand to lose these if the company is removed from quidco?

Whilst I have not had to complain about untracked transactions so far, I can understand how frustrating it would be and back Quidco completely in any changes that address this issue.

Having said that I do check other cashback sites before making a purchase. If a store I use is removed (and I cannot find comparable cashback from another store) I would use another cashback site that still has a relationship with that store.

Overall though, I fully support Quidco in trying to make the site the absolute best they can for their members. Thanks Quidco.

Spoke too soon, that will teach me to be too efficient! We've just checked with the network and we are correct to be displaying £65 for Virgin Media as that's what the rate should have been dropped to by the network but it was missed for some reason so was tracking in at the wrong rate which I assume is why other sites didn't change it.

I'll remove my other message so it doesn't confuse anyone (sorry guys!) Regarding bonuses and overrides that's not really my department but as mentioned by a colleague above we allocate our bonuses and prizes to a pot which get offered on the blog as competitions and are used to pay for old unresolved enquiries (such as the 2005 Amnesty)

Thanks Fiona, I'm glad to see the paranoia about messages being removed wasn't entirely justified! Any chance of a response about bonuses and overrides?

As I said on MSE:

"I agree, I don't have any intrinsic problem with Quidco keeping these payments, but they can't do so at the same time they are loudly claiming they offer 100% cashback, and that their defining characteristics in the marketplace are their honesty and integrity.

Also, if they are making money in this way, why am I paying a £5 fee? QC tell me this is because it is their only source of income, so on that basis I accept it, but I may feel differently based on the answers to the questions that have been asked."

Quidco very much give the impression they take NOTHING but the £5 fee. Maybe this is all a storm in a teacup, but from my perspective, in all the dealings I've had with Quidco, they've gone out of their way to make clear every penny they get goes back out to the cooperative (ie. us). Like I say, there might be a perfectly legitimate explanation for everything and I'm more than happy to reserve any further judgment until Quidco respond.

I always assumed that 100% cashback meant 100% cashback made from my transactions. I assumed that any bonuses that were made as a result of Quidco reaching targets were indeed kept by Quidco to do whatever it is they wanted to. I've no objection to this at all.

If Quidc says I'll get £50 for something then that's what I expect. If they then make a bonus for x number of referrals then fine, I still get the £50 advertised. If they chose to reinvest it in Quidco or take it home, I'm really not bothered.

I think there are some questions about transparency, but I don't think Quidco have mislead anyone from what I have seen.

OK I went to the forum post you suggested and I don't know which side I'm falling on at the moment. I think Quidco is an amazing site, I'm just touching my first thousand pounds with them and look forward to many thousands more. However, they are asking some very valid questions at MSE and the thread you linked to which don't seem to be getting an answer (indeed, someone is suggesting that the questions have been asked here already and summarily removed; at MSE they simply go unanswered).

So, I am very much hoping I will be proven wrong by getting an answer to these questions:

- Why are you only offering £65 for Virgin Media Cable when the standard rate is £100 (as evidenced at other cashback sites)?
- What happens to any "bonus payments" and "overrides" Quidco receives (I remember in the good old days you used to dish these out amongst customers of the site in question, I haven't seen that for a long time)?

These are valid questions when as a company you claim to both: operate a 100% cashback model, and; operate in an open and honest way. If you are taking a rake back from over payments and bonuses for volumes, you should be clear about this - the site is founded upon the basis that the users receive every penny of what is paid to Quidco, outside of a £5 fee which is deducted each year.

I look forward to your response.

Assured cash back is what we want and this is what Quidco is working towards even if the merchants/affiliate networks fail to pay up at the end of the day. Any override/bonus that Quidco gets I would hope to be used to pay for 2006/2007 missing payments (as for the 2005 enquiry amnesty).

Forum comments from certain merchants on affiliates4u regarding what they think of their 'cashback customers' will now definitely ensure that I will now never purchase from these merchants whether they are on Quidco or not.

i supoty Quidco.
I use quid co as a main cvashback site and other sites opccasionaly, i find the service , cashback and speed on quico far better than any other site.
Im all for guarenteed cashback rather than maybe cash back.

in all fairness, I have doubted Quidco's means of surviving from their £5 a year fee, so it wouldn't surprise me if something a-miss happens behind the scenes with the cashback affiliates - but, so long as they pay what they say I don't mind much right now - but as with all things internet, the better cashback site from Quidco is probably in the making as we type.

------------ MERCHANTS -----------
Quidco is the only cash back site I ever use.
If you have good tracking and honestly review queries then sureshop is your guarantee for punters banging on the door if you're competitive.

The quidco guys are awesome. I hope they buy up one of the better networks soon too


Oh and in case it wasn't clear,
--------------------------------------------------------------
----- Quidco is the only cash back site I ever use. -----
--------------------------------------------------------------


L

Is it time to change the tracking model? I welcome using unique email addresses for every transaction that merchants have to track.

track567@loafer.quidco.co.uk - send me a receipt by email and quidco can keep a copy too

Then again the silly off-site cookie tracking is broken my all modern browsers as the "check" on the final site fails too since you need to bounce the browser through redirects to get it to work properly an that doesn't work well with secure sites.

I've never really bothered with any other cashback sites except ipoints, I've found you very good over the years and have had about £1000 back in cash.
I guess as ever if you stop carrying the merchants I use or a competative selection of shops then I'll stop using you.
All the best with the new plan...

I think the word honesty comes into this and Quidco needs to clarify whether override commission is being earned and whether they are keeping it as part of their revenue to ensure the business is profitable and thus will be still here in 5, 10 years time.

Honesty is needed from members of cashback sites and dont expect cashback as well as use of a coupon and thus ask from the merchants to pay in terms of marketing twice to get a product sold. A click through to the site from the cashback stating the cashback will not be paid if a coupon is used.

The networks should be putting pressure on the merchants to ensure that enquiries are answered within 28 days and answered in a way that is irrefutable to the customer who has raised the query in the first place i.e. a generic we had to pay another affiliate is not acceptable however we had to pay affiliate X as our system is showing that the client's IP address was used in the affiliate X's search engine.

Clarity and hard irrefutable evidence of why a transaction has been declined would provide reassurance that the customer, network, cashback site and merchant are all singing in tuen with each other and would highlight which part of the choir is singing off tune.

The networks and cash back sites should not be frightened from dropping clients and merchants that are shown to be not acting to the choir's best interests, once identified those merchants and customers who frequently sing off key should be circulated to other cashback providers and non conforming merchants to other networks to ensure that the choirs are all providing a least an in tune song even if the songs are different within the different cashback/network environment.

AW are looking to protect and ensure that merchants aren't getting fleeced as are Quidco - from my own view - I will use just Quidco as the principals they espouse are the ones that coincide with mine however they need to put the override commission question to bed immediately - quidco members are mature enough to handle that they might be getting £80 out of a total of £88 on a transaction.

I am happy that this has come to the public forum as it allows all sides to see what elements that drive their businesses.

Quidco were offering £120 cashback on Lloyds TSB Insurance.

I bought a Building and contents insurance on 17 Jan 2008 with Lloyds TSB Home Insurance.

I paid the policy in full in advance with my credit card.

I've had a "successful" status with Quidco yet it shows Payment Date as "unknown".

So I don't know who to turn for my £120.00

Fully support Quidco on this, I have been a member for about 18 months, Quidco is a very good site to use and I have told all my work mates, they do not believe it until I pull up my account.

I've had a good read through a4u and a few of the different links posted on here, I can't help but compare the situation to Jerry Maguire

I've not been a member for very long, but my experience so far has been very positive.

I say good luck and thank you to quidco for looking out for us - the customers.

And as for 28 days not being long enough? They need to get real.

Out of genuine curiosity, if Quidco offers 100% cashback, why is your cashback lower than a competitors?
Prudential Car Insurance:
CBK £90
Quidco £75
If I was to join CBK and pay my £5 fee, I would still be £10 better off.
Links removed as it prevented posting!!

I've just tried to post but it's not appeared - are all posts being viewed prior to posting (very big brother) or is it because I posted a link to a rival cashback site (genuine reason)?

I agree with what most people are saying here,and it will be touch and go as to wether people stay loyal to Quidco or move to another cashback site.The only thing we can all do is to wait and see how many companies actualy pull out of Quidco and basicly force us to shop for what we want else were.I do like Quidco though.

Not all the complaints are to do with tracking, my Churchill car insurance tracked then it was declined 4 months later, my Green Flag tracked and it was declined 4 months later, both these items were bought correctly through Quidco AND were both done on a new computer, now if these were declined because they say I had gone through an other comparision site then that is untrue, both the car insurance and the breakdown cover are still in force (I have provided all the details for proof of this) I must add I do not know why they were declined apart from it being on that infamous day 18 june (?). The Insurance has now been validated but still waiting for Green Flag to reply.
This leads me to think are some of the merchants just declining the transaction to save money or even to delay the payment.
Is there no way Quidco can sort out there own webpage for each merchant so there is no way a merchant can say the sale came from elsewhere?
I think u switch do a similar system.

I appreciate you haev your own opinion but I can only comment on my own experience beckymudd. In that respect maybe I've just been very UNLUCKY with the other AN's.

I think everyone accepts that cashback should not be taken as 100% guaranteed, but then Quidco don't claim otherwise on their site. As I said, I just want to know with a high level of certainty that it will track (I didn't say absolute certainty). Personal experience to date has shown for me that it has.

I don't think merchants respect all quidco customers, when they decline valid transactions we move our custom elsewhere.

I always look at who pay's and who doesn't before i do a transaction regardless of sureshop or not.

I tell my friends and work mates about which companies do and don't pay. I kow they respect my opinion and have switched to companies that have tracked and paid.

I have sureshop transaction outstanding from last November, so i'm not really sure how that's helped.

I always via cashback as a treat not as a definate, so never bank on it, always look at the deal itself - without the cashback - that's a bonus.

The comments about sharing 'override revenue' do concern me, perhaps quidco's should consider a more mutualised 'shared ownership'. That way override revenue would not be a concern quidco's profit would be its members profit.

How can Quidco tracks better than others? They all use the same tracking systems provided by the affiliate networks it's just the luck of the draw at the end of the day, as mentioned above using cookies to track commissions is never 100% safe hence the reason for the sureshop.

Yes sureshop provides more peace of mind but cashback should not be taken for granted 100%.

To be honest, I've tried some of the CB sites that AW suggests in the past and have had frequent problems with transactions tracking with just about all of them. In fairness to Quidco they're the only one which seem to track reliably and on the odd occasion I've had a problem with a merchant tracking they've worked hard to follow it up on my behalf. Good for you Quidco and thank you for looking after our interests. If I'm going to be spending any large amounts with a merchant I want to know with a high level of certainty that I'm going to get the CB due to me.

Hmm looks like some messages have been deleted here including 1 that seemed to ask a couple of questions taken from the link Archie12 has posted.

Any idea why?

I respect the decision. What we (the members) need to know, though is:

1) Which companies use this Affiliate Window?
2) How will this affect payment currently tracking?
3) What percentage of Quidco's merchants use Affiliate Window?

@Archie12 - Thanks for notifying us of that post.

Merchants, agencies and networks sometimes offer various bonus and incentive schemes to encourage sites like us to work towards performance targets. When we receive awards or bonuses we take that unallocated money or prizes and put it up on Quidblog as competitions for members or use it to resolve old enquiries (like our 2005 enquiry amnesty). The insinuation that we are not acting in the interest of our members in these cases is a bit absurd.

I guess we can only say it would be stupid of us to refuse bonuses instead of using them to resolve member problems which we wouldn't be able to do otherwise.

Thanks for all the comments on here and the support of our members. It's great to see the community at work in a real way

2 Big thumbs ups from me guys! Keep up the great work!

The good thing about how the system is now is that you have a choice. Use Quidco as normal, or use Sureshop for added protection. Why not just let us have the choice.

I always thought Quidco was about a cooperative, "Quidco is a cooperative." (taken from the Quidco Etiquette). So where was the consultation with your users. At the end of the day, Quidco is Quidco because of its members. It wouldnt exist without us.

Many of us like to have a choice, and thats why the SureShop logo works. Why not keep the shops you are planning on removing and add a new logo (the not guarentee shops) or (use at your own risk shops). Theres no point using other cashback sites as they would all have the same chance of failing to track.

If people start going elsewhere were all loose out.

Looks like AW have posted another response.

I think this is a great idea, as one of those affected by the churchill Insurance problem it would cut all this out hopefully. I have tried other cashback sites but think taht Quidco is better than the rest, all problems are usually sorted out quickly and until now have been 100% happy. I don't blame Quidco for the insurance problem as you are trying to sort it out but am unhappy with companies who don't want to pay up....lets get rid of them.

If this increases certainty of cashback if a valid transaction is made then I think it is a good thing. Weeding out those merchants who won't play ball is a good way of helping to do this.

Well I have been using Quidco as my main cashback site now for a while. I do occassionally use two others when they offer a better deal for something, but I use Quidco now because i like it. I actually find Quidco slow to resolve my queries compared to other cashback sites, I'm not sure why that is, but I do have trust that I will get the correct outcome from Quidco.

I'm all for this move if it doesn't affect the choice we have to greatly and it improves the service. I was interested in:

"quidco says:

July 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
@juliakerr - If there is any affect on outstanding member enquiries we will cover it from our pocket. Obviously this is a tough thing to do but we do not want members adversely affected by our stance on this matter!"

Where we have outstanding queries from merchants that are removed does that mean they will get paid regardless? I've had one query outstanding for 7 months - if this stance means this will never happen again then I'm all for it and I'm MORE likely to take less cashback and use Quidco if I know queries will be resolved in a timely manner.

From Quidco somewhere above this post:
"We would rather have less merchants that members know they can genuinely get cashback from rather than just adding merchants on even if they havenât made a commitment to supporting members."
Now that is a wonderful customer service ideal, this is why I will only use Quidco for my cashback. Good luck in moving forward Quidco Team!

You should look to name or shame sure shop merchants who perform poorly too. Curry's still have failed to pay an added amount after a successful enquiry in April 2007 refuse to use them now

I am fully behind Quidco in this and also echo the thoughts of others.... That if they are a genuine and honest merchant who realise that cashback is both good for the customer and merchant they should have no issues joining SureShop. I would also further question any merchant who didn't or hasn't joined SureShop, as I have recently, to why they wouldn't want to join. Funny thing is when we are being ripped of by merchants in general their PR team always come back with if you don't like it don't buy it/subscribe to it/join it or leave... I can see this statement coming back to bite them.

dialaphone are also exclusive to AW from 1st August.

I think SureShop is a great idea. However as an affiliate and a merchant we have suffered at its hands as much as been rewarded by it. I think there was an easier route than making this hard decision and it seems neither party sought to find it. This is strange as the interests of quidco members, affiliates and merchants seem to have been compromised by a decision made for reasons which can only be above and beyond the obvious.

I personally only want Networks comitted to supporting genuine member queries. If networks are concerned about bogus queries then it is easy enough to obtain the information to validate genuine enquiries. I'm fully behind the Sureshop scheme as a happy medium between customers, Quidco, Merchants and networks. Quidco keep up the great work!

My experience with Sureshop is poor too. 3 transactions all gone way more than 60 days since being sent to the merchant without resolution - so where is the value in choosing SureShop merchants ?

Stick to your guns QuidCo! Cashback promises are worthless if the network/merchant does not pay out. There is nothing more disappointing then carefully placing an order only to see the order fall to track or takes ages to come through. It's a false economy fall all parties involved.

Building a relationship based on trust is key to long-term growth.

could this be a slow end to quidco??? When people start using other sites for cashback on their purchases, will they really want 2 or 3 cashback sites. Personally I already do for the few sites not on here, but I know a lot of people wouldnt want to have to keep swapping between them. Its a shame as the current format seems to work for many sites, so why change it.

I use quidco for pretty much everything I can.

However, the "sureshop" doesn't make me pick one merchant over another. And TBH I'm not sure that the SureShop works properly, as for one I have a Privilege Home Insurance Transaction from Jan, and Privilege Car Insurance transaction from Mar, both of which are are still not resolved.... thats a funny 28 day resolution?

Just a suggestion- but could you not keep your link with these merchants, but clearly mark that they are not part of sureshop, and as such dont come with the sureshop guarantee. Then it would be up to members to decide if they want the cashback and are willing to risk not having tracking queries satisfactorily resolved. Its not an ideal situation- but I am all for the notion of informed choice. By clearly stating those that were not on sureshop, then members still have the option of getting the casback, but are aware it is not guaranteed. Personally I think we should have the choice to take that chance.

On a seperate note- I also am not happy about some of the comments from some of the merchants- they dont seem to have a particularly high regard for the consumers!

I'm right behind quidco on this i've lost quite a fair ammount on companys who don't pay up.
Well done quidco

I think SureShop is very important. I bought home insurance through Barclays last year and it didn't track. Thanks to Quidco's efforts I eventually got my cashback about 10 months later, I would've much preferred to have received the money in a more timely fashion. Keep up the good work guys.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

On the one hand, the story appears to be that Quidco contacted the merchants directly informing them that they've dropped the affiliate network they work with, rather than informing the network themselves. That's not a great way of doing business, and would certainly frustrate me in that situation. There's also an issue with who Quidco consider as being an 'important merchant', as companies such as BuyAGift and IWOOT are exclusively on Awin, so shortly won't have a presence on Quidco.

On the other hand, as a consumer I quite like having the perceived protection of the SureShop system, and any steps taken to improve cashback reliability has to be a good thing. Whilst, undoubtedly, the soon-to-be-missing retailers will be available at other cashback sites, I frankly don't have the time or energy to hunt around for differing cashback deals - I'm of the school of thought that I buy the best value I can and, if I can get cashback on top, so much the better. Quidco serves that purpose well enough for me.

It's a brave move by Quidco. Only time will tell if it's the right move.

STUPID QUESTION ALERT:

Do this mean that merchants won't be offering the chance to pre-order an item if it's going to take longer than 28 days to come in?

I've never lost money on Quidco, but when I had an issue with a deal through another cashback site a couple of years ago, the network just never seemed to feel it had any responsibility to look into the failure to track, and therefore pay.
I understand that some networks feel the setup should only be for, as originally designed, incentive links between the two merchants involved, and the customer shouldnt be heard.
For cashback to improve it probably needed a leading player to make a stand, so I support it fully.

@derrickfellows - Sorry we didn't realise you needed to be approved as an affiliate to post . We've taken out the links as that's not going to work

@installspark - most of the merchants you list run through Quidco on other affiliate networks and will not be leaving Quidco. Most big name merchants run through multiple affiliate networks so although you may see them on a client list for one network they are also using others.

@flyingflea - If you do not support merchants who support Quidco member enquiries why would any other merchants bother to keep trying??? Basically you are saying "I don't care if you support my enquiries, I'll shop through you anyway." That's not the way most members think as they actually want merchants who put in the effort to check out their enquiries.

What we are asking for is networks to fully support getting members resolutions on their enquiries. If they cannot do this we see no reason to continue featuring their merchants on Quidco. We would rather have less merchants that members know they can genuinely get cashback from rather than just adding merchants on even if they haven't made a commitment to supporting members.

As far as I can see, if I was a merchant with a sole network that did not agree to 'work' with Quidco, then I would be losing the ability to market to this large Quidco community.

As a merchant I would then be actively seeking other affiliate networks that were willing (and able) to work the Quidco way (respond to queries in a reasonable time) in order to be able to market to the Quidco community again. Therefore merchants that initially disappear are likely to reappear at a later date.

If as a Quidco user I withhold from using other cashback sites that are willing to use these less 'technologically advanced' and 'under-resourced' networks, then the drive for merchants to seek out a quality affiliate network that is able to resolve queries in a reasonable time frame will result in merchants reappearing back on Quidco that much quicker.

Obviously, for those merchants that are already marketing through 'quality' networks choose the cashback site that is able to negotiate the highest rewards.

I forgot to add, I bet you would still be working with AW if it wasn't for so many of the other affiliate networks agreeing to SureShop. This is a really risky move you've taken, Quidco. I hope for your sake AW will have you back if you find other affiliate networks side with AW and drop out of SureShop.

Sorry Quidco, I know this isn't what you want to hear but I will continue to use other cashback sites that offer 100% cashback with no annual fee if they offer a retailer that you don't. The cashback market needs competition and by trying to get your members/customers to exclusively use Quidco in a bid to impact AW is like telling Tesco telling it's customers not to shop at other stores because it has chosen not to sell certain products that other supermarkets sell. Just as the wholesalers can turn to other supermarkets, the affiliate networks can rely on other cashback sites (albeit not as big as Quidco).

You shouldn't have to bully them into changing the way they do things so that you can operate the way you want to. Let them do their thing and you do yours. At the end of the day, they don't want to lose money from bogus transactions which is fair enough. So it is YOU who need to take steps to prevent members from doing this.

P.S I hope this doesn't affect the status of my outstanding tickets!

In a nutshell quidco got kicked off the affiliatewindow network which has made the rethink.

The SureShop theory is good, but I have a ticket outstanding on Dixons since May 2007 (OK - prior to the SureShop agreement) which was last 'sent to merchant' for approval in June 2007. Latest news (from Fiona in June 2008) is that nothing further has been heard !

I'm happy to take a small reduction in cashback & be offered a smaller pool of shops on quidco - within reason - to be guaranteed prompt payments & efficient sevice. You've still got me Quidco!!

Affiliates have had it there way for ALONG TIME! Power to the people, quidco gives people a voice to speak with in terms of volume.

I have personally delt with un-honnest affiliate programs in the past (at work) and cashback sites such as quidco do put the pressure on them. This is a good thing in a relatively unregulated market. After all less we forget all we are doing is cutting out the middle man.

The affiliate still makes alot of money from us, as well as the merchant!
**********************************************************

I agree, 28 days is easily enough, I suspect its a case of dont want to not unable to.

Let's look at it technically, Using cookies and such technology to track sales is flaky at best, considering you have to go through intermediate sites to track sales. Bring into the equation different browsers/settings, COOKIE TRACKING IS FLAKY AT BEST.

They bemoaned being asked to join SureShop... that programme was there to ensure they just LOOKED at the enquiry in a timely manner. It's not a hard task, and if a store doesn't want to put in that little bit of effort to check out a sale, then they're not worth shopping with. I've had a few transactions not track and if they're taking my money, and having put in honest enquiries I at least deserve to have it looked at within a bloody *month*.

Merchants - put it this way. There's always other stores. You need US, not the other way round. All quidco want is whether you agree to the transaction or not you to have looked at it within a month, not hard.

Perhaps to make it better for the merchants and to avoid all these false enquiries, a confirmed order number could be relayed to quidco in reference to the click through and kept on file here temporarily until the enquiry window expires - that way quidco have more info to pre-check before sending off the enquiry.

There's ways both sides can work together to find a solution that suits everyone.

What is Quidco going to do if the other affiliate networks decide to change there mind about signing up to sureshop?
This could lead to Quidco not having any merchants, while cashback sites like Cashback Kings getting lots more merchants and more members!!!!!!

I with Quidco on this one rember the customer is always right even when they are wrong.............

sounds like a good idea, but is it the beginning of the end, after all merchants could just offer the discounts direct on their websites. They dont get any issues then, though its more likely they will just pocket the cash as extra profit. Unfortunately indemic of the UK 'greed' culture.
I hope it works out though, I have been on Quidco for about 3 months and had no problems yet but I have 140+ pounds still tracking which now leads me to think I might never see it so it would all be a waste of time if I dont.

Are merchants you drop going to honour tracks in progress?

How about a list of merchants affected, then I will have a better idea of how much this bothers me (if at all).

I'm sure we all want as wide a breadth of sellers to buy from as we can, but it is difficult to effectively manage a quality service both due to problems from sellers, and maybe from the volume of incorrect claims.

Quidco supplies an excellent service, and are transparent and honest. I trust that Quidco are working in our best collective interest with this decision.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here but if merchants are being hit with false/fraudulent claims and are forced to accept them then in time this may cause merchants to pull out of affiliate schemes and then the majority of us honest users would lose out too surely.

Thanks for the quick reply to my question, good to know that, as always, quidco is looking out for its members

Keep up the good work

i think its a great idea stick with the companies that track correctly im waiting on one now.

I will only purchase from Sureshop merchants.

Hey, this sounds like good news! I hope this effects the merchants who have tracked NEGATIVE amounts into my quidco account. Example: Cash back from PC world tracked fine, £31.33 validated into quidco, so i know it tracked ok, yet 3 days later another transaction showed up, -£31.33 (minus!) and then the same thing happened when it went to received, £31.33 was received into my account, but 3 days later, to my dismay, the -£31.33 went to 'received' and actually took the money from my account! Apparently this was the merchants way of declining my transaction, but how can they do that, cos I have evidence that it tracked ok as I have the first transaction in my account! So unfair that they actually have the power to REMOVE money from my account!

Anyway, if this move will stop this happening, i'm all for it!

I fully support Quidco and their actions to improve the cashback experience. Over the years i have raised a number of queries, none of which have been fraudulent or opportunistic, and nearly all of which Quidco have resolved to my satisfaction. The introduction of 'SureShop' was an excellent move, and improved my confidence in the whole process greatly.

I switched to using Quidco 3 years ago, and since then have never had the need or desire to use any of the other cashback sites that keep large amounts of the cashback for themselves.

Stick to your guns Quidco, and i (and no doubt many other loyal Quidco users/members) will stick with you - after all, you do offer the best cashback deals around.

Del

-=- HERE IS AN IDEA -=-

Guys, I think you should be even more transparent and also rate the Aff. networks in the same way you rate the merchants.
If a network has failed to do their duty to 5% of inquiries and took forever to investigate (and not as a percentage of transactions, just enquiries) then in the interests of transparency this should be part of the users decision making process regarding the promotion too.

Something like this:
AW: inquiries rank #2 : avg response 1 month
Inquiries over last 3 months 58 Resolved 32 in favor
24 pending (2 this merchant) and 3 against (1 fraud, 2 demonstrated invalid)

-=- What do you think? -=-

Quidco,

I think you should amend your opening post to include what you posted at 7:50pm...

"There should be a minimal effect as most important merchants run on several networks so we can simply move tracking to a network which fully supports that merchant"

This is VERY important; there will inevitably be many scaremongers out there and I think it is important for you to highlight that this issue will not effect many large merchants. It has certainly helped put my mind at rest!

Apart from that - GO QUIDCO!

I'm right behind you!

Interesting. I've been thinking long and hard about this. I agree with Quidco's stance and I was concerned to read some of the comments on the affliates forum about how merchants should be put above customers (whatever happened to the customer is always right?). But at the end of the day I go through cashback sites to maximise the money I can save and as I've never had problems with other cashback sites paying out I will continue to check who pays the most and use that cashback site for my transaction. It looks like Affiliate Window have some very big names, so unless Quidco can still keep these merchants through another network then the reality is Quidco will be getting less of my business in future.

I back Quidco on this ... I have been caught by the "cut and run" brigade in tha past and I'm currently awaiting the resolution of my lastest car insurance cashback query :^(

Cashback shouldn't be a lottery - if a merchant offers cashback and the buyer complies, then there should be no problem. If there is, it needs resolution quickly. If merchants want to drag their feet, they need to be "encouraged" or asked to leave. If a claim is denied, the denial needs to be explained. Otherwise the concept loses it's value.

If this means less merchants - so be it.

Well there are other affiliate networks and there are other cashback sites that pay 100% so you can still use Quidco or use another site for that purchase that Quidco dont support either way its not a lose to Quidco as you are a member and will pay your annual £5 fee assuming you gain enough over the year

I fully support Quidco with this move.

There is nothing worse that doing everything correctly (clearing cookies etc.) and making a genuine purchase for it to not track and your enquiry being ignored by the merchant.

I have lost £105 through enquiries which merchants failed to acknowledge and pay up.

Let's not forget that merchants benefit from being associated with Quidco. I will often buy from a merchant who appears on Quidco over one that does not, I am sure I am not alone. Those that choose to leave Quidco stand to loose out.

What will happen about the Sure Shop merchants who are on the AW network? Will you still have these available through other routes or will these merchants disappear?

If these merchants are going to be no longer available, then you are likely to lose alot of members as most of the AW are the big names such as Vodafone, Empire Direct, Pxmania, Play.com and Woolworths to name but a few.

It's interesting that only a party from the networks has argued with my earlier point. Especially when the rade site in question doesn't allow a similar right to respond to all the associates criticising this move by Quidco. I haven't noticed ANY Quidco members commenting about it. It's plain to me that some networks and (perhaps a smaller) number of individual merchants are dishonest and greedy and shown up by those which aren;t - and which will continue (no doubt) to participate fully in Quidco's activities. If we lose a few bad apples I say "good riddance"!

I'm coming up for my 3rd Quidco birthday and from day one, I've always felt that Quidco put members before merchants.

I've had problems with merchants over the years but Quidco have always done their best to fix where possible and update me where not.

I think this modification to merchants will be beneficial to all members. Keep it up.

Good despite doing everything in my power to get items tracked properly having a dedicated browser for Quidco, clearing cookies etc. and honouring our end ie paying for good/services. I dont want to find its been refused (like Greenflag) if they cant pay up and good riddance to affiliate networks/companies who wont pay up. There are plenty of other companies out there and we as customers are the ones calling the shots

Hi Quidco
So how does the 30 days come into effect if I have to wait 60 days - that has confused me?


BTW Really happy in the whole with the site as made loads on things I have / would have bought anyway

Go for it - if you can make sure every transaction made through this site is a valid one - no reason not to do what you can to achieve that goal.

Absolutely 100% behind this move. I made what I know to be an totally cast iron eligible purchase as it was worth £40, but it didn't go thru. It wasn't Quidco's fault, I'm sure but it's frustrating. I would have made the purchase anyway, regardless of Quidco but it would have helped!

Well done Quidco.

Hi roonster,

With the new SureShop rules it doesn't matter for you as a member anymore. As soon as you submit you will get a resolution in 60 days. That means you don't have to worry about processing times and when things are sent etc.

We will definitely let you know when we drop merchants. There should be a minimal effect as most important merchants run on several networks so we can simply move tracking to a network which fully supports that merchant.

This is a network issue more than a merchant issue as merchants are generally 100% willing to support SureShop as they know the effect it has on their customer service.

Quidco> The problem is we dont know when the request goes over to the merchant; the enquiry (well mine anyway) do not state that it been sent.

In addition, are we likely to be told who will be leaving?

When I first found out about cashback sites I was thoroughly enthused and signed upto as many as I could find. Over the years, all but one have been discarded for one reason or other. Quidco is the industry standard in my book.

"Sadly not true as the forum mentions merchants losing money to invalid cashback claims being automatically approved."

28 days EXTRA (on top of the time we have to wait to make a claim) is a long enough time for a merchant to approve claims. Although I do think automatically approving them after 28 days is too much. Maybe an alternative would be to approve half the cashback after 28 days, and then the other half after another 28 days.

@juliakerr - If there is any affect on outstanding member enquiries we will cover it from our pocket. Obviously this is a tough thing to do but we do not want members adversely affected by our stance on this matter!

@roonster - We ask merchants to give us a resolution on an enquiry (telling us if it's valid or not) within a month from the point we send it to them.

Quidco> When does the month start?

Just wondering what will happen if you already have an unresolved enquiry with one of the companies who will no longer be with quidco

Other than that, totally understand what you are doing and why you are doing it

Apologies if it has been mentioned already, but couldnt see an answer

I've tried other cashback sites, but I prefer Quidco. I will not be using other cashback websites in the future, and promote Quidco to everyone I come into contact with when its appropriate.
Quidco tend to have the best rates, and I also prefer the way the site is set up, without ads.
Quidco rules! : )
The future plans to improve quality will be good, and may lead to growth later on from merchants who decide to conform!

Jiffy - Merchants have a month to approve or decline an enquiry. If they cannot review a Quidco member's enquiry in that period it is considered validated. There is no reason for a merchant to "lose money" unless they cannot review a member's enquiry for validity within a month.

That is hardly onerous and the minimum customer service we would expect from any of our merchant partners.

derrickfellows - "Genuine merchants have nothing at all to fear from this"
Sadly not true as the forum mentions merchants losing money to invalid cashback claims being automatically approved.

You can't post on the industry forum unless you register as an affiliate. Somewhat of a closed rather than sure shop if you ask me! Everything on there is about "protecting" the merchants and nothing at all about their customers.

I strongly support this move; whilst most merchants do pay what is due there are a hard core few who refuse to, even when it's obviously a genuine transaction. That smacks of the word "con" to me. I think the number of enquiries ignored by come merchants must vastly exceed the so-called disingenuous ones suggested by the closed shop. I'd rather be restircted to honest merchants than sucked in by the dishonest ones thank you very much!

Genuine merchants have nothing at all to fear from this - only the dishonest ones. Whilst I'm on here - what about those networks which only ever paid HALF of the genuijne cashback when an enquiry was necessary because they didn;t pay up in the first place? The other half went straight into the networks' coffers - how dishonest is THAT?? They are there to make profit - Quidco isn't.

Well done Quidco.

Are you able to give an idea of which merchants will disappear?

I'd prefer a Sureshop merchant over a non Sureshop merchant but I'll happily use a non Sureshop merchant if I'm getting a better deal. If merchants choose not to join Sureshop, that's fine by me as I use other cashback services although Quidco is my main one.

quidco - Good call, I'm sure you've reflected on the possible 'membership' fall, however I'm sure you will regain ground if 100% satisfaction with tickets can be achieved. Interesting times indeed. Good luck.

Same goes here, I'm a Quidco devotee and the more Quidco can do to make the system work effectively, the better as far as I'm concerned. Go Team Quidco!!!!!

aScottishBloke - That is exactly what this issue is about. As above, we have made the tough decision to drop those merchants which aren't fully supported by their tracking network.

I want guaranteed cashback for honest valid transactions. If this is what quidco aspire to achieve then I'll back them to the hilt.