Stop Wasting Our Time, ShopBack NZ!

As per the title, I am seriously losing patience with ShopBack.

Throughout this year, I have had to raise numerous support requests to have incorrect cashback amounts corrected.

What is particularly frustrating is that ShopBack’s own terms and conditions state that cashback on partially refunded orders will be pro-rated. However, this has repeatedly not been my experience. On multiple occasions where I have made a partial return/refund, the cashback has simply been reduced to $0, rather than being adjusted proportionately as the T&Cs indicate.

When I contact ShopBack and provide the relevant receipts, order details and other supporting evidence, the initial response I receive is almost always the same generic response:

“We’re writing to let you know that an order is not eligible for Cashback if the amount shows as 0. This may be due to exclusions outlined in the merchant’s terms and conditions (for example: promo code usage, restricted products, or other ineligible scenarios). We're sorry for the hassle! To help make sure you get Cashback next time, we recommend reviewing the merchant’s Cashback terms and conditions before you shop.”

In my cases, I have already checked the applicable T&Cs and provided evidence showing that I was eligible for cashback. I have then had to repeatedly request escalation before the issue is properly reviewed and the correct cashback amount is eventually credited.

Had I simply accepted the initial response, I would have lost cashback that I believe I was entitled to receive under the advertised terms.

That raises a much bigger question: "How many other customers have experienced the same thing but simply accepted the generic response and walked away?"

If customers have to identify the error themselves, gather evidence, contact support, request escalation multiple times, and persist until the cashback is corrected, there is a legitimate concern about whether other eligible cashback is going unclaimed simply because customers don't realise something has gone wrong.

I am not suggesting that every incorrect cashback outcome is deliberate. Mistakes and technical issues can happen. However, when the same issue appears to occur repeatedly, and the first response does not meaningfully address the specific circumstances, ShopBack needs to take a serious look at how its cashback system and customer-service processes are operating. (or maybe you ARE doing it deliberately? A ComCom investigation can help to reveal this)

Please fix this, ShopBack.

Customers should not have to spend significant time and effort fighting to receive cashback that is advertised under your own terms and conditions.

I have raised these concerns directly with ShopBack many many times, but if this continues, I intend to raise the matter with the New Zealand Commerce Commission and encourage other affected customers to consider doing the same through the appropriate channels. It very well seem like our Cheapies ["MVP"] (https://www.cheapies.nz/node/51649) did not bring a CLASS ACTION Lawsuit to you. But I promise you that if you keep doing this, we the consumers will force ComCom to open an investigation just like how they had to with NZ Muscle.

Hopefully ShopBack will address the underlying issue rather than simply resolving individual cases after customers complain.

The ball is in your court, ShopBack. You decide if you want to be the next NZ Muscle of e-commerce.

@gotyourback
@Syahmi
@raychelle

Related Stores

ShopBack NZ
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Comments

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  • It’s a typical over promising and under delivery. Not reliable at all.

  • CC

    @gotyourback
    @Syahmi
    @raychelle

  • I had a frustrating experience too, but luckily I reached out to gotyourback and got a few problems intervened. Somehow it is getting more and more difficult to get straight answers from human team though, they must be using AI a lot more to just finish off queries/complaints for missing or incorrect cashbacks. :(

    • Yea I'm deeply concerned how many people didn't reach out and just trust that every cashback amount paid is correct.

      I had to go back to many previous Cashbacks and found that they have reduced the cashback paid compared to what was initially tracked.

      Sneaky? Deliberate? Hoping people don't notice? 🤔

      • The pessimist in me wants to say its a deliberate calculation. Those calculations are likely made by most companies when making all sorts of decisions. ie its the norm :( . For example I faught with Air New Zealand about a flight cancellation that they didn't want to reimburse our costs on because they believed it was an insurance claim (which it wasn't, due to it being a commercial decision for their benefit) - I would hazard a guess that hundreds of other people on that flight didn't fight and just accepted AirNZ's decision).

        I only use Shopback when its blatantly easy (I am not going to empty my cart if I have a whole bunch of things in it, etc) and of no consequence to me personally whether it is accepted/tracked or not - if it is, and I can get some money out the other side then all good. The track record with them is just too hit and miss to have any care/skin in the game.

        • I only use Shopback when its blatantly easy (I am not going to empty my cart if I have a whole bunch of things in it, etc) and of no consequence to me personally whether it is accepted/tracked or not - if it is, and I can get some money out the other side then all good. The track record with them is just too hit and miss to have any care/skin in the game.

          I completely agree.

          ShopBack has lost its appeal (I guess you could say the brand has been significantly depreciated), and promotions don't work on me at all now.

          Bit of a shame, as they probably had something that was worth a bit previously, and would have sold (if they wanted) at a good multiple. Now their EBIT might be slightly higher, but the multiple will be much lower, losing value overall. Not unusual that this happens, but a unfortunate for them, and I (at least) don't know what position they were in - perhaps they had no choice but to reduce losses / outgoings in order to survive.

          I'm just opportunistic now - if I'm buying something anyway, and if I get something back, that's great, but I don't expect it, and certainly wouldn't make a purchase based on the advertised cashback at this point.

  • Kia ora! Thanks for tagging us and sharing this feedback @KiwiHunts4CheapDeals

    Totally get where you’re coming from, and sorry for the frustration this has caused when reaching out to support.

    To clear up how partial returns work, it actually varies depending on the store. While some merchants do allow pro-rated Cashback on partial refunds, many merchant systems automatically reject or void Cashback entirely whenever any item in an order is returned or exchanged.

    That said, receiving a generic template response when this happens definitely isn't a good experience, especially when you're trying to get a straight answer. We're flagging this directly with our support team so we can improve how these return queries are communicated.

    If you'd like us to review your specific orders and double check the exact merchant terms applied, please shoot us a DM here with your registered email and we'll take a closer look for you!

    • Thank you for taking the time to respond.

      I would like to reiterate that I do read and check the relevant merchant’s Terms and Conditions before submitting a cashback dispute. In particular, I specifically check whether partial returns are eligible for pro-rated cashback. I also clearly set this out in the disputes I submitted to assist your customer service team in reviewing the matter efficiently.

      I am not attempting to waste your team’s time by raising these disputes. However, the repeated need to contact ShopBack to have cashback corrected has resulted in a significant amount of unnecessary time and effort on my part.

      In the particular cases I have raised, the applicable Terms and Conditions are clear. I therefore find it particularly concerning to be told that I was not eligible for cashback and to "read the T&Cs next time", when I had already done exactly that.

      Furthermore, ShopBack should be reviewing its own Terms and Conditions before providing a generic response suggesting that a $0 cashback outcome necessarily means the customer has done something incorrectly. I have attached a screenshot of these Merchant's T&Cs for your reference, please get your team to read it before denying us cashbacks blatantly:
      https://files.cheapies.nz/upload/17693/6182/screenshot_20260…

      I am not a new ShopBack user. I have been using ShopBack since its early days in Singapore, and I have used ShopBack across multiple countries. I have not previously experienced this level of recurring difficulty in having legitimate cashback corrected.

      There is also a broader issue that I would like ShopBack to investigate: I have noticed repeated discrepancies in cashback amounts. In some cases, the difference may only be a few cents; in others, it has been around $0.50 or more. I have generally not pursued these smaller discrepancies because the amount involved was not worth the additional time required to dispute them.

      However, repeated discrepancies raise a legitimate concern about the accuracy of ShopBack's cashback calculation system. Cashback calculations, including the treatment of GST where applicable, should be accurate and consistent with the advertised cashback rate and the relevant Terms and Conditions. This is basic arithmetic and should be capable of being calculated correctly by the system.

      I would therefore appreciate confirmation that these discrepancies are the result of genuine system or calculation errors and are not the result of a systematic practice that causes customers to receive less cashback than they are entitled to.

      For example, even a $0.50 underpayment across 1,000 transactions would amount to $500 that customers collectively did not receive. If such discrepancies were systematic rather than isolated errors, this could potentially raise concerns under New Zealand's Fair Trading Act regarding the accuracy of representations made to consumers and whether customers are receiving the cashback advertised to them.

      I am raising this matter publicly and putting ShopBack on notice of this concern. I would strongly encourage ShopBack to investigate not only my individual transactions, but also whether there is a wider systemic issue affecting cashback calculations and partial-return adjustments.

      I will DM you my email address so that you can investigate my specific transactions further. However, I expect the resolution to extend beyond simply correcting my individual cashback. Given that similar issues appear to have been raised by other ShopBack users on this platform, I ask that ShopBack review its relevant systems, calculation processes and customer-service procedures to determine whether other customers may have been affected.

      If these discrepancies continue to occur despite being brought to ShopBack's attention, I will retain the relevant records and screenshots of this post and consider submitting the matter to the New Zealand Commerce Commission for an independent nvestigation.

      I hope ShopBack will treat this matter seriously and use it as an opportunity to identify and rectify any underlying systemic issues, rather than addressing each case in isolation.

      I look forward to your response and to confirmation of what steps ShopBack will take to investigate this matter.

      • Thanks for taking the time to write back with all that detail and for sharing the screenshot.

        We hear you loud and clear. Having Cashback track initially and then drop to $0 right when it's due is incredibly frustrating, and that's definitely not the experience we want for you.

        When an order drops to $0 at the payable date, it typically means the merchant sent through a final backend validation update at the end of the return window. However, if the store terms explicitly state partial returns are eligible, or if everything matches the terms you shared, it absolutely shouldn't be rejected out of hand or met with a generic template.

        On the calculation discrepancies, we take that feedback very seriously. We're passing this directly to our product and tech teams to review how rate calculations and GST rounding are being handled across merchant feeds.

        We'll jump straight into your DM, manually audit each of those transactions against the merchant terms, and get back to you directly there.

        Appreciate you bringing this to our attention and taking the time to spell it all out 👊

      • Looks like T&C's have been updated.

        • Which part? Can you please screenshot and share it here

          • @KiwiHunts4CheapDeals: Under "Other terms and conditions" section:
            Any cancellation of an item—whether partial or full—will result in the entire order being ineligible for Cashback.

            But yeah, the prorated bit is still there under the "Refunds, cancellations and no-shows" section.

            • @tehyitz: I believe this is merchant specific. The Merchant's t&cs I'm looking at has not changed at all.

            • @tehyitz: @tehyitz:

              Under "Other terms and conditions" section:
              Any cancellation of an item—whether partial or full—will result in the entire order being ineligible for Cashback.

              But yeah, the prorated bit is still there under the "Refunds, cancellations and no-shows" section.

              Please can you link to that - I am wondering if it applies to ShopBack as a whole, or just a subset of retailers.

        • Oh I assumed OP was talking about Temu. I'm looking in the ShopBack iOS app under See all rates and conditions when you click into Temu merchant.

          • @tehyitz:

            Oh I assumed OP was talking about Temu. I'm looking in the ShopBack iOS app under See all rates and conditions when you click into Temu merchant.

            Okay - thanks.

            I did wonder if it was specific to only one particular merchant, especially after @KiwiHunts4CheapDeals's post above

    • Kia ora! Thanks for tagging us and sharing this feedback @KiwiHunts4CheapDeals

      Totally get where you’re coming from, and sorry for the frustration this has caused when reaching out to support.

      To clear up how partial returns work, it actually varies depending on the store. While some merchants do allow pro-rated Cashback on partial refunds, many merchant systems automatically reject or void Cashback entirely whenever any item in an order is returned or exchanged.

      That said, receiving a generic template response when this happens definitely isn't a good experience, especially when you're trying to get a straight answer. We're flagging this directly with our support team so we can improve how these return queries are communicated.

      Good reply :-)

      I guess that makes sense now you've said it, and if you are able to get the template responses updated to make that clear, it would likely re-assure people quite a bit that whilst their cashback might show zero (after a partial return), it will be sorted out given time.

      • In my cases, the cashback had already passed the expected cashback date. This is not a situation where the transaction was initially tracking at $0 and was subsequently corrected.

        Rather, the transactions were initially tracking correctly — for example, showing an expected cashback of around $50 — and remained that way throughout the tracking period. However, after approximately three months, when the expected cashback date was reached, the cashback suddenly changed to $0.

        This is precisely why I am disputing these transactions. The issue is not simply a delay in tracking or processing; the cashback amount was already being tracked and displayed, only to be reduced to $0 at the point when it was expected to become payable.

        • @gotyourback your response to this please and for your action.

  • They stopped wasting my time by moving to Topcashback

    • If they have more NZ merchants I will definitely switch over.

  • It’s a bit frustrating that the cashback is missing about 8 out of 10 times. I usually send them one email listing 6–8 missing cashbacks at once, rather than contacting them for each individual claim. So far they’ve always fixed them.
    Their cashback rates are higher than most other sites most of the time. The trade-off is that you often have to spend extra time chasing and fighting for the cashback you’re owed.

    • Appreciate the feedback and really glad to hear our support team has been getting those sorted for you. We're continuously working with our merchant partners to make tracking smoother behind the scenes so you don't have to spend time chasing them up 👊

  • I had really good experience until I booked something expensive (hotels) via accor. Support for that has been dragging things for months. Still haven't resolved.
    I'm not using Shopback anymore.

    • Really gutted about this because I choose accor via shopback counting on the cashbacks because I had other options as well.

  • Did a booking on shopback for accor as well and it didnt track and still been dragging on with support. Sounds like accor cashback has an issue.

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