Joining IPSE+

[tractor]

...

If you want something there and then, it's not going to work for you. If you know that you want something and can wait a couple of days, then it's well worth doing.

For example, I know I'm going out with my family for my birthday in a few weeks, so I've ordered a load of vouchers for the restaurant we'll be going to. When I bought my laptop the other week, I was prepared to wait a couple of days for the 7% discount - I didn't need it immediately, so it would have been daft not to.

And the car hire quotes that I got last week for my summer holiday beat everything I was looking at online as well.

The problem MS had is nothing to do with the gift card issue. Once you sign up to Dell, they email you a couple of discount codes to start you off. The problem is that the discount codes that you are supposed to apply at the checkout simply do not work!

I was lucky, I found a workaround that did not work for MS. I did complain at the time but haven't seen anything done about it.

[mudskipper]

The problem MS had is nothing to do with the gift card issue. Once you sign up to Dell, they email you a couple of discount codes to start you off. The problem is that the discount codes that you are supposed to apply at the checkout simply do not work!

I was lucky, I found a workaround that did not work for MS. I did complain at the time but haven't seen anything done about it.

This. I tried tractor's workaround (several times and ways - wasted the best part of a day on it. I couldn't get the discount to apply to any product - discounted or not). I then clicked the contact us link in the email from Dell, explained my problem and hit send - the mail immediately bounced back undeliverable. So I contacted edenred to tell them that the dell discount and contact email address didn't work, and they responded asking for my payroll number. I replied to explain I was a freelance IT contractor who had joined via IPSE and therefore had no payroll number, and they replied back to tell me that my payroll number would be issued to me by my employer.

I whinged on the ipse forum, and they have assured me they will look into it (the edenred/payroll thing).

Got narked with it all so bought a laptop from HP using Mr ms's employee discount Now just swearing at Windows 8.1...

But yes, I will be looking at the giftcard thing again - I buy lunch in Sainsbury's most days, so might start with that one.

[mudskipper]

... Also, I believe anyone can join the Dell VIP club to get discount codes that don't work - I don't think the privilege is just for ipse members, so whether it could be considered a genuine 'advantage' I'm not sure.

[TheFaQQer]

But yes, I will be looking at the giftcard thing again - I buy lunch in Sainsbury's most days, so might start with that one.

One of the tips from the IPSE forum today was that if you're worried about the card getting lost in the post, and it's one you can top up, then get it for a low amount (that will be covered by Royal Mail if it disappears) and then top it up once you have it.

I should have kept the couple that I've done in the past, but I didn't realise.

[tl97]

They only accept debit cards for buying the gift cards, credit cards incur an additional fee. And they sometimes add a postage fee on top - so a lot of the savings are wiped out. I gave feedback on this on the IPSE forums and got an unfriendly reply from IPSE on it - the insurance probably makes it worth it, but IPSE Advantages is a bit of a con.

[malvolio]

They only accept debit cards for buying the gift cards, credit cards incur an additional fee. And they sometimes add a postage fee on top - so a lot of the savings are wiped out. I gave feedback on this on the IPSE forums and got an unfriendly reply from IPSE on it - the insurance probably makes it worth it, but IPSE Advantages is a bit of a con.

An unfriendly reply along the lines of IPSE can't dictate how their service providers operate, wasn't it? Members have collectively saved something north of £60k to date, so something must work...

[eek]

They only accept debit cards for buying the gift cards, credit cards incur an additional fee. And they sometimes add a postage fee on top - so a lot of the savings are wiped out. I gave feedback on this on the IPSE forums and got an unfriendly reply from IPSE on it - the insurance probably makes it worth it, but IPSE Advantages is a bit of a con.

You mean the fact the supplier doesn't hide the fees they incur is a problem to you and you would prefer a smaller discount with them possibly taking more profit...

HSBC until last year offered a similar scheme and I didn't see anything wrong in them passing on their costs (merchant handling fees and postage) to me when they incurred them...

[TheFaQQer]

They only accept debit cards for buying the gift cards, credit cards incur an additional fee.

So they don't "only" accept debit cards - they accept both debit and credit cards, although credit cards incur a fee.

It's hardly an uncommon business practice, though.

And they sometimes add a postage fee on top - so a lot of the savings are wiped out. I gave feedback on this on the IPSE forums and got an unfriendly reply from IPSE on it - the insurance probably makes it worth it, but IPSE Advantages is a bit of a con.

So don't use Advantages, then. Or do the sums and work out whether it's advantageous to you or not. To be fair, it's hardly the most important thing that IPSE does - may people don't bother, although IIRC one of the board members said that he'd saved £700 on purchases that he would have made anyway.

As mal says (and as per the IPSE forum) - members have received £60k in savings not including discounts which don't appear in the running total, so it clearly works for some people.

[flipFlop]

After reading up on various threads here and on the IPSE website, I'm thinking of taking the plunge today.

What is IPSE+?

[malvolio]

What is IPSE+?

A damned good idea.

HTH...