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Cashback boom on the Net(The Express On Sunday Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Holly Thomas weighs up leading deals offered by online shopping clubs SHOPPERS with Internet access are reaping the benefits of the emergence of online shopping clubs that offer cashback on goods bought through their websites. Once you sign up, the clubs negotiate additional cashback for their delighted customers - such as Bryn Williams and his family - on all online purchases. Bryn has already made more than GBP80 in cashback after signing up to an online club just three weeks ago. How do I get started? Each club requires you to register to set up an account into which your cash is paid. Some charge membership fees, while others pay you to join. Once logged on, you click on the links to retailers and start shopping. Each offers a different cashback percentage for assorted items. For example, shopping club Mrs Cashback pays 2 per cent on goods from Tesco and 3 per cent on anything bought at Marks & Spencer. Some allow you to cash in when renewing your car or home insurance, or when a credit card application is accepted. Obtaining a quote on medical insurance with Bupa can earn you GBP3. What are the costs involved? Mrs Cashback (www. mrscashback. com) charges GBP29.95 for annual membership, and if you sign up now you can claim double cashback for the whole year. Wellknown brand names, such as Dixons, Marks & Spencer, Thomson holidays, Boots, Tesco, John Lewis and even Harrods, have signed up with Mrs Cashback. You need to have more than GBP30 in your account before you can withdraw your cash. Another club, Greasy Palm (www. greasypalm. co. uk), pays you GBP2.50 to sign up. It also has deals with leading names, such as Currys and Littlewoods. You can even get cashback for opening a current account with certain banks. Obtaining a First Direct account earns you GBP22.50 in your Greasy Palm account on top of the GBP50 the bank already offers new customers. The club issues cashback payments monthly, 30 days in arrears, once accounts have accrued GBP25 - sums less than this amount are carried forward to the next period. Cashbacktoyou. co. uk also pays a GBP2.50 signing on fee, but has a slightly different focus. It places more emphasis on other money-making schemes, such as giving cash for completing market research surveys. However, it also has deals with retailers, such as online fashion shop Asos and John Lewis. The site pays GBP12 if you take out an American Express Platinum card, and awards cash for assorted contracts with insurance companies and mobile phone stores. It even offers GBP10 when you sign up for a personal loan with Cahoot. Cashbacktoyou also provides a round-up of offers available outside the site, such as discounts at Currys, and it offers a list of "free stuff" - addresses to contact for samples of anything from tea to cat food. What are the pitfalls? Watch out for hidden fees. To claim your money from Mrs Cashback you must pay an administration fee of GBP3 for cheque processing, so it is probably best to let the money accumulate before you request a withdrawal. The phrase "up to" is used frequently on sites, so check it will be worth your while going through the club to make your purchase. It is important not to to get carried away by buying things you don't really need just for the sake of getting cash back on what you buy. Beware of claims that you will not find an item cheaper anywhere else. While some deals will be genuine, it is in the club's interest to keep you shopping through its site. Be sure that you continue to shop around for the best deal. Choosing an insurance policy or a credit card on the basis that you will receive a financial incentive could actually cost you dear in the long run. Receiving up to the advertised GBP65 cashback on a Zurich motor insurance policy, for example, may line your pockets for a weekend, but the policy may be far less competitive than one from a rival insurer. Make sure the figures add up before you decide to buy. MIKE NAYLOR at consumer group Which? warns: "When using these clubs be careful they do not exert influence over your insurance and financial needs. "Some of the deals look attractive. A car insurance offer from easymoney, which comes with GBP50 cashback with Mrs Cashback, is cheap but it is also a very basic policy. For example, there is no courtesy car option - one reason why Which? doesn't feature it in its 'best buy' lists." Naylor says the most important point is to check you are not paying over the odds simply to get the cashback deal. "Make sure you pay the right price for goods, " he adds. Bryn Williams, a telecoms systems sales executive, is pleased with the Mrs Cashback service, although he had reservations before he joined the site. "I am always very cynical about Internet clubs and this one does have a hefty membership fee of almost GBP30, " he says. "But I have already made this back and I am earning money on everything I buy online through the site." Bryn, who lives in Essex with wife Karla, 41, and sons Nathan, 14, and Rory, 11, booked a family holiday to Barbados through Mrs Cashback and made GBP80 straight away. "I've also bought a games console for the kids, and other bits and pieces through the site, " adds Bryn, 40. "I like shopping on the Net because there is less hassle. We want to keep the cash we build up until Christmas, then spend it on gifts for the children. "We will, of course, be buying them on the site to earn more cashback." |