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The HfP chat thread – Sunday 22nd August

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General

Comments (343)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Amy says:
    22 Aug22 August 17:38

    URGENT HELP PLESE – I am sitting in the security room of a Morrison store. They are asking me why I was trying to purchase a huge quantity of gift cards (crica £5k).

    Should I come out clean or invent a cock and bull story? They have even warned me that they will call the police if I don’t give them my ID and a valid reason for purchasing gift cards.

    PLEASE HELP ME.

    • Harry T says:
      22 Aug22 August 17:41

      Just tell the truth, there’s nothing illegal about buying gift cards to benefit from an offer.

      • Amy says:
        22 Aug22 August 17:50

        Thanks @Harry. I have shown them the offers. They said I am not allowed to buy gift cards with credit cards. Only accepted form of payment for gift cards is debit cards and apparently there is some internal memo that they are checking, which puts a cap on the maximum gift card a person can purchase. Is anyone aware of such a restriction?

        • Harry T says:
          22 Aug22 August 19:51

          That sounds like baloney to me. But if they won’t accept your perfectly acceptable form of payment, I suggest you take your business elsewhere. It’s their loss!

          • Jonathan says:
            23 Aug23 August 07:35

            It’s their gain really in this circumstance considering it’ll be a loss making transaction!

    • Harrier25 says:
      22 Aug22 August 17:44

      Don’t get suckered into the silly posting, Harry. It’s Sunday. Morrisons shut at 4pm.

      • Phil W says:
        22 Aug22 August 17:47

        Not in Scotland but I do agree, it looks like bait.

      • Amy says:
        22 Aug22 August 17:51

        Thanks Harrier. My local Morrison’s in Broomhill (Sheffield) closes at 6 pm.

        • SteveJ says:
          22 Aug22 August 17:55

          If this is a real posting then nothing to be afraid of. They don’t want to take CC payment fine, walk away.

          • Amy says:
            22 Aug22 August 18:15

            Thanks Steve. They let me go after I told them I don’t want the gift cards anymore. Luckily, the gift cards were still in an inactive state, because I did not pay for them. So they happily took them back.

            But I find it very disappointing to find HfP community casting doubts on each other and specially on old commenters like myself. I miss the old HfP days where everyone was patient and trusting within the community. No wonder so many old commenters have left in the current climate.

          • Babyg says:
            22 Aug22 August 18:22

            So you’re smart enough to to have sufficient fund for £5k worth of gift cards, but not smart enough to know not to try and do it all in one go/or have a decent story as to why, or even understand if you do questions its not a big deal? People like Amy are why we cant have nice things IMHO (and why lots of people thought it was a windup), I’m surprised you didnt ring BENDY to put your through to BRIGHTON… i still think its a wind up…

          • Char Char says:
            22 Aug22 August 23:08

            @BabyG you don’t need to be smart to have £5k 🙂

          • Babyg says:
            22 Aug22 August 23:45

            agreed you don’t need to be smart to have £5k… but to spend £5k to spend on gift cards and have a plan on how requires some planning/smarts as its not risk free holding onto £5k of gift cards (would rather buy dogecoin or something equally risky 🙂 )

        • Danny says:
          23 Aug23 August 00:43

          Yes the opening hours of this store Morrisons is 12-6 on a Sunday.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      22 Aug22 August 17:55

      RUN!

      • Paul says:
        22 Aug22 August 18:07

        Is this real? Odd either way be it on the posters part or the stores actions.

    • BSI1978 says:
      22 Aug22 August 18:20

      Welcome back Shoestring, it’s been a while……

      • Peter K says:
        22 Aug22 August 20:10

        +1
        Sounds like Ol’ Harry to me as well.

        • Ash says:
          22 Aug22 August 20:24

          Does sound like a wind up but i once told i could only buy 6 gift cards in boots and being as it was the manager serving he said it goes for all products 6 only. He was perfectly friendly about it and just said come in everyday for 6 if you want. This was back in the 3v days.

    • ChrisC says:
      22 Aug22 August 18:22

      Well you could call the police yourself and claim false imprisonment.

      It’s very strange that you would post on a travel blog rather than call 999 yourself

      • Lady London says:
        22 Aug22 August 18:51

        Not at all ChrisC. I’d have considered posting myself in that situation in case somebody that could advise was around.

        BabyG does have a point about the 5k.

        IIRC a couple of people reported challenges at Tesco. Generally the drill seemed to be (1) putting aside while there was a promo for Christmas/birthdays plus it seemed a good idea to do extra while promo on as you are a regular customer and (2) the rest is none of your business I refuse to identify myself, no you may not search me if you want to, call the police at which I will say I have falsely imprisoned when you have no evidence of a crime and btw stop inventing rules that don’t apply or customer has not been advised of before purchase.

        • ChrisC says:
          22 Aug22 August 19:01

          But there is no guarentee anyone would see such a post LL and even respond in good time.

          I’m sorry but why on earth wouldn’t you just call the police yourself straight away??

          • BJ says:
            22 Aug22 August 19:11

            If nothing else, at least we learned that @Harry T is the nicest guy on HfP!

          • Mike says:
            22 Aug22 August 19:43

            Perhaps we need a special urgent comms channel for HFPs “in need of assistance “

          • Super Secret Stuff says:
            22 Aug22 August 20:31

            Unfortunately we don’t have access to the SAS but we have an SSS!

    • Harry T says:
      22 Aug22 August 19:58

      @BJ I try to be friendly and helpful, but I appreciate I’m sometimes a bit sarcastic!

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      22 Aug22 August 20:30

      I disappear for a day and we end up with either a troll or someone being imprisoned by a supermarket, not sure if the two are linked but wow 🤣

    • Tw33ty says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:04

      Lol, this is even funnier than I think it was Ali, who was whinging that he got bank account closed due to rapid opening then switching, and also moaning that he didn’t get cc points from manufactured spend so phoned the cc up.

      You can teach points and travel tips, but you really can’t teach common sense

      • Anna says:
        22 Aug22 August 21:24

        Just seen this but yes no requirement whatsoever to go to the security room under these circs. They can either sell you the gift cards or not. Shops are actually supposed to treat people buying large amounts of gift cards as potential victims, not as criminals! Older and vulnerable people are targeted by organised criminals who persuade them to buy things like iTunes vouchers, tell them the numbers over the phone and then of course apply them to their own accounts and are never heard from again.

        • Ghosty says:
          22 Aug22 August 21:56

          I bought an Amazon gift card in Tesco last week and the young cashier asked me if I had been asked to buy it from someone else.

    • Gary says:
      22 Aug22 August 22:01

      Not experienced security room, but all other scenarios encountered from various Tesco stores when purchasing multiple high value amazon gift cards during Amex/Tesco extra avios points offer around summer 2020. Either no questions asked, two allowed each visit, pay by multiples of 2 cards to evade Tesco’s own till system restriction, no credit cards/only debits, escalate the manager, or just show your passport and can buy whole store’s stock of amazon cards (which was the best and happily obliged!). Nothing was illegal, clearly no policy as such, and store either sells or not.

    • Jonathan says:
      22 Aug22 August 22:26

      What would the police do once you’ve given them your story ? Admittedly they’ll be rather surprised to say the least that someone needs £5K in gift cards, but you haven’t done anything wrong, and aren’t intending too do so either

    • Char Char says:
      22 Aug22 August 23:12

      Simple answer is that you got a promotion on your credit card, if they want to claim things like debit cards etc then tell them you want to speak to the manger of the store or head office as the staff are clearly not trained well.

      You can legitimately buy a discounted Morrisons gift card to buy a branded gift card from them, however I advise against using the self service machines and the Morrisons gift card to pay as they have a tendency to freeze up due to some fault on their side and can be a huge pain to get them to reset the machines.

      • Jonathan says:
        23 Aug23 August 07:41

        “f they want to claim things like debit cards etc then tell them you want to speak to the manger of the store or head office”

        Definitely don’t do this as you’ll kill one of the better golden geese of the past 18 months. This opportunity only works as the small print isn’t enforced, drawing attention to it via OTT behaviour or escalating to management will only end one way.

    • ChrisBCN says:
      23 Aug23 August 00:21

      Amy/Shoestring, I really enjoyed this post, I hope you have had your freedom returned to you!

      • Jonathan says:
        23 Aug23 August 07:34

        I think the post could well be legitimate as I’ve had some borderline intrusive questioning buying high value gift cards at Morri’s (though never more than £1k at once).

        I also know the Morrison’s in Broomhill as it’s my closest one & is indeed open later on a Sunday as it’s below the size threshold for Sunday trading restrictions. The GC selection in there is tiny & rubbish though so not sure how you got to £5k unless going wild on One4All which is a mistake as they’re a PITA to use!

      • Rob says:
        23 Aug23 August 07:38

        It’s not Harry, I know the email on Amy’s post.

        • Jimmy says:
          23 Aug23 August 09:28

          This reminds me of the old Tesco/3V days.

          Problem is their tills would always freeze – highlighting the purchase even more!

  • YC says:
    22 Aug22 August 18:57

    France declaration form – is this just a hard copy printed version required? Does it need to be uploaded anywhere? TIA

    • Lyn says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:04

      I can’t find anything on the French web-site that says it needs to be uploaded, in either the French or English version. So as far as I know printed would be OK.

    • YC says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:58

      Thanks both – just wanted to check that was the case. Odd in the digital age nothing to upload but not complaining

  • AnotherUser says:
    22 Aug22 August 19:31

    Another BCN question… Any recent experiences with time to get through security etc there? Flying with Ryanair to UK (so T2, I guess)

    • Harry T says:
      22 Aug22 August 19:52

      Didn’t take us very long at all in July. It’s actually a pretty good airport. We were flying Ryanair from T2 too. We passed through BCN security to go to Seville yesterday and that was also a smooth and rapid process (granted that was T1 but still).

      • AnotherUser says:
        22 Aug22 August 22:22

        Thanks Harry! Talking 20mins or so for security? My experiences there (apart from food) have also been good, but that was pre-plague.

        Enjoy Seville!

    • Blair says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:40

      T1 security had a nightmarish queue this evening that was back nearly to the fromt door. Vueling check in had a mammoth queue too but many desks so moved as quickly as the so called ‘premium’ Vueling queue I was in.

      • AnotherUser says:
        22 Aug22 August 22:23

        Thanks Blair! That’s less encouraging 🙁 Wonder if morning is better than evening…

    • ChrisBCN says:
      23 Aug23 August 00:18

      For T2 20 minutes is ample, you don’t need to buy priority, you’ll be fine. It’s a really easy fast terminal.

  • Backpacker says:
    22 Aug22 August 19:39

    Expert medicals PCR test – I used them previously without issues. Second time, they took my money 2 weeks ago, but failed to send PCR test at all – no emails about courier/expected delivery etc as per the first time. They are ignoring emails…
    Back in UK now – do I need to try to find another PCR provider for dy 2?
    Anyone had this issue with expert medicals before?

  • mr_jetlag says:
    22 Aug22 August 20:18

    Tempted to put another 40k into evouchers tonight… god it’s been so long since a good points hack, someone convince me otherwise!

    • JSemity says:
      22 Aug22 August 20:40

      do it. I’ve been sitting on a stash for a while, we won’t get this opportunity again.

    • YC says:
      22 Aug22 August 20:46

      It’s good! As long as u can see urself using up the vouchers by 09/2023 and u have sufficient leftover avios for ur 2f1s. Doesn’t beat the 50% off reward seats last year that u could combine with 2f1s though!

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Aug22 August 21:01

        Can evouchers be used over the phone for taxes on an Avios booking?

        • BJ says:
          22 Aug22 August 22:08

          @TGL, no they cannot be used versus avios or OB bookings. You can use tgem over the phone but not online against BAH. You can use tgem to make a cash booking that you subsequently UUA.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:01

      I’ve done 20k so far. I might got for another 20k.

      • mr_jetlag says:
        22 Aug22 August 21:11

        @Jsemity Oh go on then!

        @YC I took part in that as well, and was lucky that my HND J flights with 2x 241s got moved multiple times without refunds (I hope we actually get to fly them next year!)

        @BJ the refund to evouchers using cheap routings means you can cash in at 2p / avios. Am sitting on 300k so happy to do some conversions.

        @TGLoyalty I don’t think so, although I was able (contrary to t&cs) to apply them to a BA Holidays booking balance over phone.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          22 Aug22 August 22:26

          Yeah I have heard of applying to BAH via email too.

          I thought you couldn’t use for Avios bookings but YC’s comment suggested otherwise. As always YMMV 🙂

          • BJ says:
            22 Aug22 August 22:41

            Rules as they stand mean that they cannot but I’ve always believed anything is worth a try when it comes to CSA, especially these days.

          • YC says:
            23 Aug23 August 06:51

            Was suggesting not to burn all his avios now if he had 2f1s to use. Agree with others can’t be used for taxes

  • Bigmaggot says:
    22 Aug22 August 20:40

    Was just about to order 4x Chronomics test to return kits for £22.40 (and have previously used them fine). But have just found Excalibur have them on offer for £15.50 each, then £4 for the whole order delivered by DPD. Anyone used them?

  • YC says:
    22 Aug22 August 20:50

    DP – Amex avios transfer took 24hrs. So potentially time to lock in more 2p lock ins

  • Paula says:
    22 Aug22 August 20:53

    Thinking of getting my first credit card specifically to try and earn Avios points, don’t spend a huge amount monthly just food and petrol and entertainment, can you recommend one please maybe without an annual fee? Is the BA Amex one accepted widely in shops? Thanks

    • mr_jetlag says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:13

      BA Gold is the best option – free for the first year but need to downgrade to Rewards card (clear) or transfer out.

    • Alex says:
      22 Aug22 August 21:14

      Amex gold card (free in first year). Cancel after 11 months and get it again to keep your MR points alive. Gives you more flexibility be it wanting BA avios, virgin miles etc etc. Free BA Amex is good but poor amount given really and it’s locked into BA.

      • Paula says:
        22 Aug22 August 21:49

        Thanks both, don’t mind being tied to BA for now. Does Amex Gold have better earning power then? Is it widely accepted? Do BA charge a fee if used to buy flights with it?

        • mr_jetlag says:
          22 Aug22 August 21:55

          better earning power – yes, you earn membership rewards which are transferable to dozens of partner airlines and hotels. Do BA charge a fee – not for any personal Amex. Both are equally widely accepted (Amex used to be a problem but not so much online and not with any chains or brands).

        • Tom says:
          22 Aug22 August 21:57

          Amex Gold gives you the opportunity to transfer to other partners other than BA so adds more flexibility. You earn 1 MR point per £ which transfers to avios at 1:1 which is the same rate as the Blue BA card. Make sure whichever card you go for you use a referral link to get an enhanced sign up bonus (if you think you might hit it).

    • Memesweeper says:
      22 Aug22 August 22:10

      I’d go with Amex Nectar + Sainsbury’s Bank Nectar first. When you’ve hit the targets with them move on to Amex Gold + whatever the new best Visa/MC is then.

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