Reward offers and missing credit

A missing tick or reward is a reason to check the offer and transaction records, then ask the promoter to explain its decision.

An app may offer credit after a number of orders, a retailer may promise a voucher after a minimum spend, or a loyalty scheme may show that you are one purchase away from a reward. These offers can affect where and how much you spend.

The amount you pay, the amount that qualifies and the date the reward becomes available may be different. Save the offer and compare its conditions with your purchases before deciding what has gone wrong.

Key points

Keep the offer, applicable terms, receipts and tracker screenshots.
Check eligibility, activation, qualifying spend and deadlines.
Distinguish missing progress from a reward that is not yet due.
Ask the promoter to identify any excluded purchase and the condition relied on.
Choose an escalation route that matches the outcome you want.

Read the offer and its conditions

Checking the terms helps you understand what you need to do and prove what was promised. Look at both the headline offer and the conditions that applied when you took part.

Under the CAP Code, significant promotional conditions must be communicated where leaving them out is likely to mislead. Other conditions should be accessible. A link to full terms does not automatically cure the omission of an important restriction from the initial advertising.

Ask two questions: did your purchases meet the applicable conditions, and were those conditions presented clearly before you decided to spend?

Check what counts

Confirm who is eligible, whether you had to activate the offer, which purchases count and how the qualifying amount is calculated. Check the qualifying period separately from the date on which the reward is issued and the deadline for using it.

If an important condition is missing or contradictory, ask for written clarification before relying on the offer. Keep the answer with the terms.

If progress or credit is missing

Capture the offer, tracker and order status before taking troubleshooting steps that might change what is visible. Compare the display with your receipts and the conditions.

Ask the promoter which purchases it counted, which it excluded, the condition and calculation used, and when any earned reward should become available. If you believe you have already completed the requirements, request a manual review before spending more.

In practice

Separate eligible goods from fees, discounts and payment methods.
Record when each order was placed, paid for and completed.
Check whether the reward is overdue or the progress record is wrong.
Ask for a specific correction and keep the response.

What to do

A practical next-step plan

Save the offer, the applicable terms and any activation confirmation.
List the purchases you believe qualify, including dates and qualifying amounts.
Capture the tracker and identify the specific missing progress or credit.
Complain to the named promoter and ask for a manual review.
Keep the complaint reference and use a suitable escalation route if the issue remains unresolved.

Common traps

Things that often confuse the issue

Do not assume the total paid is the qualifying spend; fees, excluded goods and discounts may be treated differently.
Do not confuse the qualifying deadline with the date the reward is issued.
Do not assume a tracker reset proves that earlier purchases no longer qualify.
Do not place another order solely to fix the tracker without first asking for a review.
Do not assume a missing promotional reward automatically entitles you to a full refund for goods received.

Evidence worth keeping

Offer and eligibility notice

Applicable terms and activation confirmation

Receipts and qualifying-spend calculations

Order numbers and completion dates

Tracker screenshots and error messages

Support conversations and complaint responses

Check the mechanics before relying on the offer

Check	What to establish
Eligibility	Is the offer for your account, new customers, selected members or a particular subscription tier?
Activation	Must you opt in, add the offer or enter a code before purchasing?
Qualifying purchases	Which retailers, products, order types and locations count?
Minimum spend	Is the threshold based on eligible goods before or after discounts? Are fees excluded?
Payment	Do vouchers, account credit, gift cards or mixed payments affect eligibility?
Timing	When does the qualifying period start and end? Must purchases be placed, paid for and delivered within it?
Reward issue	Is the reward added immediately, after a processing period or on a specified date?
Reward use	When does it expire, where can you use it, and will you need to spend more?

Separate the purchase value from the payment

The qualifying amount may be the eligible goods subtotal rather than the total on your receipt. Excluded products, fees, refunds or substitutions can also affect the calculation, depending on the conditions.

Discounts and credits need a separate check. A money-off discount can reduce the basket price, while account credit may operate as a payment method. An offer may treat them differently, so ask the business to identify the relevant condition and show its calculation.

Qualifying and receiving the reward are different stages

An offer might require four qualifying orders within a fixed period, with credit released after that period ends. Completing the fourth order does not necessarily mean the credit is immediately overdue. Equally, a future credit date does not explain why an apparently qualifying order has disappeared from the progress record.

Keep the start and end of the qualifying period.
Record any deadline for payment, delivery or completion.
Record the date or processing period for issuing the reward.
Keep the deadline for using it.

Check whether the period starts when you receive the offer, activate it or make your first purchase. If the app gives a specific deadline alongside wording such as “within 60 days”, save both. A final-day order may not qualify if the terms require delivery before the deadline.

Check what the reward is worth to you

A £20 reward does not necessarily mean £20 returned to your bank account. Check whether it is account credit, a single-use voucher or a discount. Look for a further minimum spend, excluded fees, participating retailers, expiry and any rule that forfeits an unused balance.

Compare the overall cost with what you would otherwise have spent. Extra purchases made only to unlock a reward can outweigh its benefit.

Ask the business to reconcile its records

A tracker is evidence of what the business displayed. Check it against the terms, receipts and order history. A reset does not by itself establish that previous purchases stopped qualifying; an unchanged tracker does not conclusively prove that an order qualified either.

Which purchases have been counted?
Which have been excluded, and under which condition?
What qualifying subtotal was used for each disputed purchase?
Why did the tracker change?
When should any earned reward become available?

If a stated processing period has not expired, allow for it when assessing whether the reward is late. Report an apparent counting error promptly, particularly if the qualifying deadline is approaching.

Build a concise evidence pack

Keep the full terms as well as the headline. Offers can disappear from an account, and a current website may show different wording later.

Put disputed purchases in a simple table. Separate the goods subtotal from the total paid, identify any calculation you cannot verify and add the purchase, payment and delivery dates. Refer to screenshots and receipts by name or date.

Keep originals privately. Redact addresses, payment information and other people’s details before sharing evidence publicly.

Complain about the specific failure

Start with the business responsible for the promotion. For an app-run reward, that may be the platform rather than the shop or restaurant that supplied the order. Check the named promoter.

Explain what was promised, what you did, what the record shows and what outcome you want. Distinguish an order not being counted from a reward not being issued or an issued reward being unusable.

Ask for a correction of the qualifying record and the promised reward when due. If the business’s delay has reduced the time available to use it, ask for the full promised validity period. Whether a particular remedy can be legally enforced depends on the offer and circumstances.

Useful wording

“I am complaining about the [name of offer] promotion displayed in my account on [date]. It promised [reward] if I completed [requirements] by [deadline]. I believe I met those requirements through the purchases listed in the attached record.

“The problem is [missing purchase, tracker reset, overdue reward or redemption failure]. Please review the qualifying record manually and explain any purchase you exclude, identifying the specific condition and calculation relied on.

“Please correct the record and provide the promised reward on the applicable issue date, or promptly if that date has passed. If your delay affects its validity, please provide the full promised period for using it. Please provide a complaint reference and a substantive response by [reasonable date].”

A requested response date is not automatically a statutory deadline. Explain any urgency, such as an approaching qualifying deadline or reward expiry.

Questions to ask about the response

Business response	What to ask
“The system says you are not eligible.”	Which eligibility requirement was not met, and which records support that conclusion?
“You used credit.”	Do the terms distinguish account credit from vouchers or discounts? Ask for the exact exclusion and qualifying-spend calculation.
“Terms and conditions apply.”	Ask for the version that applied when you participated, the relevant clause and where a material restriction was disclosed before purchase.
“The credit is issued later.”	Check the issue date. If the dispute concerns missing progress, explain that you are asking for the qualifying record to be corrected now.
“Please make another purchase.”	Ask why another purchase is required under the offer if you believe the original requirements are complete.

What consumer law adds

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair commercial practices. Misleading information, a misleading overall presentation or omitted material information can engage those rules where the relevant legal tests are met. A tracker error alone does not prove an unlawful practice.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 also requires written consumer terms and notices to be transparent. Unfair terms are not binding on consumers. Where a term or notice can have different meanings, the meaning most favourable to the consumer generally prevails under section 69.

These protections do not make every disappointing condition invalid or every missing reward an automatic full refund. Identify the promise, the failure and the remedy supported by the facts.

Route examples

Your aim	Relevant route
Correct missing progress or obtain the promised reward	Use the promoter’s complaint process, followed by any applicable alternative dispute resolution or court route. Check eligibility, likely value and costs before escalating.
Challenge misleading wording or hidden significant conditions	Consider the ASA where the advertising falls within its remit. It does not ordinarily recover your reward or award compensation.
Get advice or report potentially unfair trading	Contact Citizens Advice consumer service in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland, or Consumerline in Northern Ireland. Trading Standards reporting serves an enforcement purpose, not an individual refund service.
Explore a payment remedy	Ask your payment provider whether the specific dispute is covered. A missing reward does not automatically justify reversing payment for goods received.

Keep your personal complaint moving while any advertising report is considered. An ASA complaint does not preserve payment or court deadlines, and an advertising ruling does not automatically decide your private claim.

Before relying on the next offer

Save the promise. Check what counts. Separate the qualifying deadline from the reward date. Keep the calculation and completion record.

If the business refuses the reward, ask it to explain the decision against those records and the terms that applied. “The app did not count it” identifies the problem; the terms and transaction records help establish whether the decision was correct.

Official sources

Check the rules behind this guide

These are official or primary sources for this topic. Rules, contact details and scheme arrangements can change, so check the live source before relying on a formal deadline or procedure.