To paraphrase Dame Shirley Bassey – you’ve seen it before, and you ‘ll see it again, yes you’ve seen it before – just little bits of history repeating. In this case we’re talking about Dame Shirley’s least/most* (delete where applicable) favourite Liverpool-based catalogue shopping empire – Littlewoods – because once again, their online discount vouchers are causing a lot of people sleepless nights.

In July of last year, Littlewoods offered a £25 discount code that was eventually used by 3,000 customers ineligible to use it, according to the company. Over two months after customers had paid for goods and received them, Littlewoods demanded the discount back. Eventually Littlewoods backed down in most cases (although not all), pointing out they would not be so forgiving in the future.

And here we are. HUKD forum member Slash has been in touch with Bitterwallet to tell us Littlewoods recently repeated a similar offer; an online promotional voucher that gave customers £50 off purchases with no minimum spend (the voucher also worked in combination with existing 3 for 2 offers). Seemingly the code was meant for friends and family, and new customers only, although that didn’t prevent it from working for many existing customers. And of course, it’s very simple to set up a second account to take advantage of what was a spectacular offer (the voucher has now expired).

Many people have already received their goods at the discounted prices. So why the sleepless nights? Because nobody is sure whether Littlewoods will attempt to reclaim the £50 discount from customers they believe to be ineligible. Worse still, if they behave as last year, Littlewoods won’t attempt to reclaim the rebate until two months after goods have been dispatched, meaning the date for returning items has long since past; their policy states goods must be returned within 14 days.

The customer seemingly has no choice to pay full price for goods they can’t return and (the more cynical observer might suggest) were baited into buying.

Last year, Littlewoods pointed irate complainants to their online terms and conditions which, while absolving the company of any responsibility whatsoever in transactions it agrees to, dictate Littlewoods is within its rights to take money from a customer’s account as and when it sees fit:

2.3 Promotional codes are codes that enable customers to obtain benefits such as discounts, free delivery and free gifts. These codes are non-transferable so may only be used by the person to whom they are issued and must only be used in accordance with their terms and conditions of use. If you use a promotional code to claim a promotional benefit, you must first check that it was issued to you and that you are eligible to use it. By using it to claim a promotional benefit you will be confirming that:-

(i) you are entitled to use the code;
(ii) you meet all the conditions that apply to its use;
(iii) you agree to the terms set out below.

If, before accepting your order, we find that you are not entitled to use the code or do not meet all the terms and conditions of its use, we may reject your order or alternatively process it without the promotional benefit being applied. If, after accepting your order, we find that you were not entitled to use the code or did not meet all the terms and conditions of its use, we may reverse the benefit that you obtained. If you transacted on a cash basis e.g. by debit or credit card, we may take a further payment, equivalent to the value of the benefit obtained, from the card used. If you transacted on a credit basis, the value of the benefit obtained may be charged to your credit account.

In a nutshell, the issue is this;

• despite acknowledging that promotional codes sent to a relatively small number of people will be circulated to a wider audience online, Littlewoods has promoted an offer that essentially equates to free money
• despite the promotional code been intended for specific customers, the company has apparently put no systems in place to prevent the wrong people using them
• Littlewoods has agreed a discounted price with customers, sent a confirmation email and dispatched the goods
• Littlewoods has debited the full price of the goods from a customer’s account, and then refunded the discount
• In two months time, Littlewoods may decide that several thousand customers are ineligible for the discount, and attempt to reclaim it

Now we must stress, this is yet to occur; Littlewoods may honour all the orders as agreed. However, that would mean the company losing out on tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. You might think a person using promotional codes not meant for them is tantamount to stealing, and they deserve everything they get. However, there are some serious issues to consider:

• Given the furore concerning a near-identical promotion last year, the most basic, responsible action that Littlewoods could have taken, would have been to prevent existing customers from using the code. Nearly every other site that deals with online transactions can ensure this occurs. Yet according to many people in the HUKD forums, Littlewoods haven’t bothered. Why?
• If Littlewoods can determine whether or not a customer is eligible for a discount, why is it only done after two months – when goods cannot be returned – and not at the time an order is placed? Shouldn’t Littlewoods be in some way accountable for vetting customer accounts or transactions? Wouldn’t that be the responsible action to take? Are Littlewoods not accountable for any aspect of the sales they agree to?
• Terms and conditions aside, by accepting an order and fulfilling it, aren’t Littlewoods entering into a legal contract? Can Littlewoods legally charge the customer more than the agreed price, once goods are dispatched and the contract becomes legally binding?
• If Littlewoods do invoke their terms and conditions and decide the customer has breached the agreed contract, why does the transaction remain complete? Why is there no option for goods to be returned and money refunded? As HUKD member Slash points out:

The biggest difference between Littlewoods and other companies is that when other companies find out something is mis-priced or a voucher should not have been used, they would just cancel the order.  Some companies would honour their mis-pricing as well.  Whereas, Littlewoods would process the order and then try to recoup the amount in question afterwards.

So what happens next? We may have to wait several weeks find out, but it seems unlikely that Littlewoods will let so much money go. We’re going to try and find some answers in the next few days, both from a legal perspective and from Littlewoods, too. If you have any more information – perhaps Littlewoods reclaimed your discount last year (or perhaps they were unsuccessful) – then let us know at the email address or in the comments section.