Everyday Rewards: Woolworths voucher loophole pays for booze-fuelled party and trolleys of groceries

Woolworths customers who used a loophole and shared points between multiple accounts to earn vouchers claim to have redeemed enough for trolley-loads of groceries, while a group of 50 partygoers shared points to buy alcohol.

The now-closed loophole saw people creating burner accounts to claim a generous 1000 points for downloading the Everyday Rewards app.

The points were then shared back to a main account, with some accumulating more than 40,000 points - or $300 in vouchers to be spent in-store or online.

The Herald understands a group of 50 friends shared their 1000 points back to one Everyday Rewards account and used the $375 in vouchers to buy alcohol for a party.

Another man who created dozens of accounts claimed to have 200,000 points sitting in one ready to redeem - with a voucher value of $1500.

Woolworths has since shut the loophole by disabling the ability to share points between cards.

Accounts with an unusually high number of points will also be flagged to be investigated further.

Mark Wolfenden, director of loyalty at Woolworths, said the IT team had moved quickly to close the loophole.

“We have noticed some of that behaviour and we will be locking down those accounts,” he said.

“This should not be being used for fraudulent purposes and we do have some measures in place to stop this.”

Wolfenden said Woolworths still wanted families to be able to share points between households.

“We have made the decision to temporarily suspend the points gifting feature but we will be reinstating it with additional safeguards very soon.”

Apart from a few “teething issues”, the switch to Everyday Rewards from its predecessor Onecard had been very smooth, Wolfenden said.

Other issues included customers who were without access to a smartphone or the internet being shut out of specials until their card arrived in the post, and others losing points in the transfer from Onecard to Everyday Rewards.

One customer contacted the Herald to say he had lost all of the points on his Onecard during the switch and requests to the customer service centre had so far “been fruitless”.

Customers with the ability to download the app are able to cash in on more rewards than those using the plastic card.

But Wolfenden said no members should have lost points or vouchers as result of a glitch in the first few days of Everyday Rewards.

“The glitch simply meant that points weren’t showing up on-screen, they weren’t lost,” Wolfenden said.

“In the changeover, all points and vouchers were held for our existing Onecard members who now have a new Everyday Rewards number. These are simply waiting for them to login to the website or app using their previous Onecard or Countdown online details.”

Another customer said she had tried to help her elderly neighbour sign up but the neighbour had resorted to using the store card to get member’s discounts.

“Anyone without a smartphone or regular access to the internet is shut out of a lot of the deals,” the woman said.

“A lot of people missed out on getting the plastic card in-store and there is a big wait for them to be posted.”

Wolfenden said physical cards were available in-store in January and more than one million were handed out. Customers now had to request one in-store through customer service and would receive it in the post a week to 10 days later.

Woolworths said it had rostered on extra workers to help customers sign up to Everyday Rewards.

Specials for cardholders include $6 half-price dumplings, heavily discounted dishwasher tablets and 33 per cent off cans of Coke.

Those using the app were also able to access “boosts”, which are sent via the app each week.

Boosts included 200 points for buying a particular brand of product such as teabags or eggs, and 600 bonus points for spending a certain amount in-store.

One woman said she had accumulated $45 in vouchers just by signing up, linking her card with the BPMe app and earning a “boost” of 450 points for buying $45 of meat.

Kirsty Wynn is an Auckland-based journalist with more than 20 years experience in New Zealand newsrooms. She has covered everything from crime and social issues to the property market and has a current focus on consumer affairs.