CashbackAPP Review: Legit Way To Save, Or Scam?

In my Cashback App review, I will be checking out whether this is a legit way to save some money… Or just a scam app.

Having recently looked at Dosh App, (currently only available in the US) I was interested to see what cashback Apps in the UK work in the same way.

That is, generating cashback by connecting a debit card and linking it to various retailers, rather than needing to scan receipts or anything like that, (that being said, you STILL need to scan receipts in some cases with this App).

As it happens, this App found me! 

I was approached in the street by someone promoting this app a while ago.  He wanted me to sign up in the street.

He said I would have to pay £3 to set it up, but that I’d get £5 back into my account as cashback.

Take note...if you don’t sign up with someone promoting it on the street and go directly to the website, you do not have to pay this fee.  

Well, I didn’t know what the deal with the fee was at first.

Now I realise it must be their commission. 

I refused to pay then anyway and signed up myself up at a later date.

Nevertheless, this fee and ongoing fees that people are mistakenly signed up for, has led to a bunch of bad reviews.

Some of these reviews are quite unfair towards the App itself however …  and I will explain why a bit further down!

If you want to sign up with this App, I suggest you do it yourself and not through a street promoter.

Not only will it temporarily cost you more, but some seem to have signed people up to an additional service.

For this £3 that you pay to the street promoter, you get £5 back. 

However, you have to reach your £50 withdrawal fee to get it back.

Without signing up with them, you get a £2 bonus anyway.   So, there is zero benefit to signing up with them, at the time of writing.

Signing Up With CashbackAPP:

Signing up was pretty easy.  I signed up online via their site. You could also download the App on your phone and do that.

To sign up, you just add your mobile phone number, DOB, email and create a password, then you’re on the site.

You’re then immediately prompted to sign up with a debit card, which is free to do. 

Once this is verified, you get £2 added to your Cashback App account.

I was asked my location in order to find what retailers were available to me nearby where I could use this App. 

These included some of the following….

• Cafe Nero: 5% cashback, (in here as I write this actually!).
  
• New Look: 6% cashback.
• Burger King 2%
• Costa Coffee 5%
• Fat Face 8%
• Subway 2% 
• Pizza Express 7%
• O’Neils 10%
• Harvester 10%

Plus plenty more.

How Does CashbackApp Work?

Depending on where you’re located, the rules can vary and how you use the app varies…

Which can make it a bit confusing at first.  This App is making improvements as they develop.

At the moment, in some locations you just link your account up with specific retailers and use your connected card in the store.

Every week the retailer will send over info to Cashback App regarding how much you’ve spent with them and the App will register the cashback owed.

However, in some locations this isn’t yet possible.

In this case, you have to ask the retailer for a code when you pay. 

You enter the amount you’ve spent on the app and enter the code provided by the retailer.

The retailer will then will be able to scan the app… Your cashback can then be tracked.

To be honest, this seems even more of a hassle than just scanning a receipt!

Because, in this case, you actually have to ask for a code – and I’m guessing (from experience) that some retailers won’t have a clue what you’re talking about.

This is all additional time.  Whereas, some cashback apps, where you just scan receipts are actually pretty quick to do.

I think once the APP has updated this everywhere, it will be so much easier.

There are also some cases where you will still need to scan receipts as well.

You can also get cashback via some online purchases. 

In this case, you check out the offers available via the App and then, click the link to the website you want.

By clicking on their link, this tracks your activity and should register your purchase – just make sure you make a purchase as soon as possible and don’t leave it for hours.

How Much Do You Have To Make To Withdraw?

At the time of writing, Cashack App say you need to have made £50 to withdraw any money to your bank account.

£50 is a very high payout threshold, when you compare it to other cashback apps. 

Particularly considering, that a large majority of the cashback available is between 1-5%  per transaction, (that I saw personally).

So, Unless you’re using this APP extremely regularly and are a big shopper, you’re going to really struggle to reach that threshold.

What is even worse, (and I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing……) Cashback App claim they withold £20 from your initial £50 withdrawal each year!?!!

£20 each year from the initial £50 you actually make.

So, one of the few places on their list that I go regularly – is Cafe Nero. 

I probably only go once or twice a week and spend less than £10 in total.

But let’s say I spend £20 per week, (which is definitely on the high side of what I would do)…..

5% of £20 is £1.  So, that’s roughly £4 a MONTH I would be making from this App by going to Nero, (or £48 a year).

 Which wouldn’t be enough to reach the £50 threshold.

The good news is, the amount of retailers that they’re signing up with is increasing.

One day, maybe you’ll be able to use them in pretty much any shop or restaurant on the high street. 

Maybe once they get bigger, they would reduce that payout threshold too.

If they don’t, I can already see competition snapping at their heels.

Another App will come in with zero fees and a low payout threshold, so watch out Cashback App… that’s all I can say!

Since this is fairly new, I imagine the conditions will change frequently, so check it out for yourself.

If you’re going to coffee shops and clothes shops every day, then this app could still be worth it though.

But remember, the first £20 you’re making won’t even count.

Ensuring Your Cashback Is Tracked: 

Cashback App give some pointers on their website which you should carefully follow to ensure your cashback is tracked.

• Ensure your browser allows cookies and Java.
• Clear cookie each time you make a transaction, to avoid conflicting with cookies from other websites.
• If you antivirus software installed, ensure Cashbackapp.com is recognised as a “safe,” website.  There should be an option for this in your software settings.
• Disable pop up lockers. Some pop-ups on online stores are necessary in order for the transaction to be tracked.

What If You Want To Close Your Account?

At this time, you have to email them in order to cancel your account.  I really hate it when websites do this!

There should be a button right there on your account for you to CANCEL, without contacting anyone!

Also, they state that they could take 3 days to respond. 

I recommend looking them up on Facebook and sending them a message on there, where response time is quick.

Lastly, they say it could take up to 10 days to process the cancellation of your account. Again, really unsure why this should be so long.

What Do Other People Think Of Cashback App?

At the moment, there is some negative feedback online about Cashback App, but most of it seems to be down to the people who have promoted it on the street.

In some cases, people have unknowingly signed up to an upgrade, (likely this was pitched to them on the street and they were not aware what they were signing up to).

By doing this upgrade, they signed up to an additional service that cost £3.99 per month.

Clearly, some people did not feel this was explained to them properly.

However, this is the fault of some of their sales team and how they’re pitching.

My guess is that these people are working on commission only and trying to get as many sales as they can.

The other issue, is that CashbackApp will be taking money from your account if you sign up via these sales people.

If you sign up yourself online, there is no fee taken from your account and you still get a £2 sign up bonus.

So, right now the App only has 1.5 stars on app store. 

But, as I said, largely this is down to the sales team promoting this on the streets and not the App itself.

It’s no better on Google Play either, the reviews are only just over 2 starts at the moment.

Again, a large amount of the negative reviews here are about the promoters out on the street who were pushing this product.

This is a real shame, as it seems some sales people have deceived people into signing up for an additional service without them realising.

It’s really important that additional charges are explained an laid out transparently and this does not appear to have happened, at least in some cases.

Something else I’ve noticed is that they’re slow to responding to negative feedback.

There are so many one-star reviews here, they should have someone dedicated to explaining the error and offering some compensation for this.

It’s their sales team that have clearly misled some of these people to “GO PLUS…” 

*Go Plus,* is a monthly subscription that provides you with additional deals.  Such as up to 50% off restaurants.

Perhaps this is worth it if you eat out a lot, (I don’t know all the details about this)……

However, I personally get tonnes of voucher deals for free – from somewhere like vouchercodes!

PROS VS CONS

PROS

• A Cashback app in the UK that will hopefully remove the need for scanning receipts…(well, eventually).
• A fairly large and growing number of retailers on offer.
• Some restaurants/fast food places are also on the list.

CONS

• If you join via a street promoter/sales person, you have to make an inital deposit of £3 from your card, (with £5 given back to you as cashback).
• Some people have been unknowingly signed up to an additional service that costs £3.99 a month, (this has happened to some people who have signed up on the street).
• Very large payout threshold of £50.
• You have to pay them back £20 of your initial £50 withdrawal each year.  So, it will cost £20 a year to join.
• Cashback typically ranges from 1%-5%… rarely reaching higher from my experience.  So, unless you’re using this App a lot, you won’t be making much in a hurry.
• Unless you’re big on shopping and love drinking overpriced coffee in Costa, Nero, Or Starbucks… then, this may not be worth your time.
• The variation on how you actually use the App, depending on location, is pretty confusing.  But in time, you should just be able to link up to a retailer and use your debit card, without the need for entering codes.