A HUGE change for loyalty scheme members at several major supermarkets has come into effect this month, affecting thousands of shoppers’ money.
The shake-up will impact shoppers who use savings schemes at supermarkets including Iceland, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.
Many Brits use supermarket savings schemes to stash away their money, with retailers offering cash bonuses of up to 6% for hitting certain savings milestones.
Christmas saver schemes are also popular – they allow you to put money aside during the year and reward you with a festive cash bonus.
Anyone who uses these savings schemes will now have their money protected for the first time ever, under new laws that came into force in the new year.
They aim to prevent a repeat of a huge scandal in 2006 that saw hundreds of thousands of families lose their savings after Christmas savings company Farepak crashed.
From January 1, any businesses that run consumer savings schemes must take steps to legally safeguard customers’ money, either by ringfencing it in an independent trust account or by taking out insurance for the cash.
Iceland’s popular Bonus Club, which gives shoppers a £1 bonus for every £20 they save through the scheme, will be covered under the new laws.
Tesco’s Clubcard Christmas Savers, Asda’s Christmas Savings Card, Sainsbury’s Christmas Club Card, and the Co-op’s Christmas Savings Stamps, will also be covered.
If you have money in a smaller Christmas savings club, like Park Christmas Savings, it will also now be protected in case the company goes bust.
The new rules are part of the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Any businesses that fails to protect your savings or mislead customers about how they are protected can be fined up to 10% of their annual turnover by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
