Applegreen service stations

badinfleunce

Applegreen service stations are fooling their customers into thinking they can stay free at a hotel for 3 nights if you collect 50 stamps and pay 19.99 for a voucher. A stamp is issued when you spend 10euros on fuel - so a total of 500euros would be required in fuel expenditure to fill the loyalty book.

However upon closer inspection it says that you must eat breakfast and dinner in the hotel.

However after filling in the booklet and exchanging it for my voucher I find that the directory of hotels has a stipulation that you must spend a min. of 49-75 euros per person per day on breakfast and dinner excluding drinks.

Its a complete joke to get people to buy fuel in Applegreen garages without any benefit to the customer.

I religiously went out of my way to to purchase petrol with applegreen and am appauled at this applegreen scam of a promotion.They are just fooling their customers into thinking they can get a free break in a hotel when really the deals they are offering are much more expensive than most deals on www.discoverireland.ie


It was talked about on liveline(skip to approx. 17mins in clip) today and its just a disgrace.

I am boycotting Applegreen service stations after this and refuse to use their stations for fueling.

CharlieCroker

eh, i'm gonna spend the money on petrol anyway and the applegreen near me is the cheapest one around so doesn't really worry me.

The Express

Did they specifically use the word 'free' in the promotion???

Bring back the 'auld Esso Tiger tokens. They may have nearly burst open the glovebox but at least you knew that 4000 of them would get you a nylon holdall!!

the_syco

badinfleunce wrote: »

I am boycotting Applegreen service stations after this and refuse to use their stations for fueling.

What exactly do the other petrol stations give out? I like Applegreen station, as they are usually the cheapest nearby. Must look into this booklet thing, as I top up by €20 every so often there...

qz

The Express wrote: »

Did they specifically use the word 'free' in the promotion???

Bring back the 'auld Esso Tiger tokens. They may have nearly burst open the glovebox but at least you knew that 4000 of them would get you a nylon holdall!!

Forgot about them! Still have my sports bag somewhere!!

Dempo1

Listen everyone, this is a long established silly and nonsensical promotion <> run my various third party companies who claim to offer discounted deals in Hotels and restaurants offering anything from free accommodation, meals in restaurants Blaa Blaa Blaa.

It is not apple green who run these promotions although they are foolish to permit them in their outlets. The most infamous one is the super value breaks which have almost bankrupted hotels. Hotels have now caught on that people using these cheap and nasty deals don't purchase alcohol or drink during their stays so the new catch is the discounted accommodation is only on the basis guests Have to have Breakfast and dinner (Not bar food), if they don't they are charged.

Take my advice (I'm in hospitality) book leisure breaks directly with Hotels, there are great deals out there and forget about these BS third party companies. I heard about this on Live line today and its not and certainly won't be the last time its featured, its becoming quite tiresome.

Eoin

I think this is better suited for the consumer issues forum

badinfleunce

Dempo1 wrote: »

It is not apple green who run these promotions although they are foolish to permit them in their outlets.

It is in conjunction with applegreen service stations and stamps are only issued by applegreen so in my book although it may be run by a different company my contact was with applegreen and they took 1000euros in fuel from me by misleading me into believing that I would get a holiday in my case for free as I had collected 100 stamps on the original booklet.

The new booklet charges you 19.99, payable at the garage in return for a directory of hotels with a voucher in the back page - which in my mind is a bigger scam as the garage is now making 19.99 for the priviledge of ripping you off.

There is no benefit to the customer whatsoever and the only ones benefiting from this are applegreen and their business partners Lesuire breaks.

Its a shame to see a new company and a company of this size to engage in this type of rip off.

Personally I will not use their services again as they have broken my trust as a customer. I am a firm believer that if a business doesn't deliver on what is percieved to be quite clear from the outset then I will no longer be loyal to that business and will withdraw from using their services/garages for fuel.

There are planty of other garages that compete on price with Applegreen and I will go that extra mile rather than give Applegreen my business in future.

I am not the only one who has this gripe - liveline yesterday was full of callers livid about this and in some cases one caller was forced to spend 480euros for 3 nights to cover the min. spend requirement per person for meals at the hotel. I suppose I am lucky that I did notice this in advance as I guess I would have been one of those callers yesterday if I hadnt read the small print.

I wont be taking my break with Applegreen and Lesuirebreaks and I will be throwing my voucher in the bin as my wheelie bin charge to dump my voucher will be a much cheaper option than availing of this rip off.

Shame!

badinfleunce

sexdwarf wrote: »

This is disappointing. I do a lot of mileage and only have 5 stamps left to get. So for two of us for the three days we'd need to spend a minimum of 300 euro on food alone? That's crazy. I wouldn't spend that much money in a month on food. I'm disappointed now because it seemed to be the only holiday I was likely to afford this year

I feel the exact same and betrayed by Applegreen. Look on the brightside that you havent parted with any money yet except on your fuel.

Oryx

We were collecting these tokens until one of the girls in our local Applegreen quietly showed us the booklet you buy for your 19.99. This is where you finally see the catch of the minimum spend (though the promotional posters do say you must pay for meals, no minimum spend is mentioned).

We priced a three night stay in one of the hotels directly, it was half what it would be on this promo, with no loyalty to Applegreen or 19.99 payment required.

Beware these offers, always check the small print. Though in this case by the time you see it, its too late.

Depuy lady

Hi,

Can I ask every time I pass an apple green station they have two prices up for petrol, how can a customer buy petrol at the cheaper price?

Shifty

If you buy a carwash from Applegreen you can buy your petrol at a cheaper price!

Kensington

Depuy lady wrote: »

Hi,

Can I ask every time I pass an apple green station they have two prices up for petrol, how can a customer buy petrol at the cheaper price?

By buying a carwash at the same time.

keithclancy

Shifty wrote: »

If you buy a carwash from Applegreen you can buy your petrol at a cheaper price!

Or you could just wash your car at home and save even more money by not buying a crappy garage wash.

Kimbot

qz wrote: »

Forgot about them! Still have my sports bag somewhere!!

I will never forget those things..... I used to work in the office that took care of all the orders from the garages and every month I spend 3 days hand counting the vouchers returned from garages.

Dempo1

badinfleunce wrote: »

It is in conjunction with applegreen service stations and stamps are only issued by applegreen so in my book although it may be run by a different company my contact was with applegreen and they took 1000euros in fuel from me by misleading me into believing that I would get a holiday in my case for free as I had collected 100 stamps on the original booklet.

The new booklet charges you 19.99, payable at the garage in return for a directory of hotels with a voucher in the back page - which in my mind is a bigger scam as the garage is now making 19.99 for the priviledge of ripping you off.

There is no benefit to the customer whatsoever and the only ones benefiting from this are applegreen and their business partners Lesuire breaks.

Its a shame to see a new company and a company of this size to engage in this type of rip off.

Personally I will not use their services again as they have broken my trust as a customer. I am a firm believer that if a business doesn't deliver on what is percieved to be quite clear from the outset then I will no longer be loyal to that business and will withdraw from using their services/garages for fuel.

There are planty of other garages that compete on price with Applegreen and I will go that extra mile rather than give Applegreen my business in future.

I am not the only one who has this gripe - liveline yesterday was full of callers livid about this and in some cases one caller was forced to spend 480euros for 3 nights to cover the min. spend requirement per person for meals at the hotel. I suppose I am lucky that I did notice this in advance as I guess I would have been one of those callers yesterday if I hadnt read the small print.

I wont be taking my break with Applegreen and Lesuirebreaks and I will be throwing my voucher in the bin as my wheelie bin charge to dump my voucher will be a much cheaper option than availing of this rip off.

Shame!

Fair point re the Joint promotion and yes apple green should take responsibility. I made the point that this is not a new scam, a number of third party companies have been at this lark for quite a while. Originally Hotels where happy to fill rooms on the assumption punters would spend in the bar and restaurant. The opposite in fact happened so combined with rooms being given away for free practically, punters dined a drank elsewhere mindful of value for money. For the record, a hotel room charged at less than €35 per night is running at a loss. Live line did indeed feature this issue yesterday but again, its not the first time such an issue was raised. finally for anyone using these vouchers, rest assured the menus you are offered at basic with poor if any choice.

91011

The gross profit on fuel is about 10c per litre between distribution & retail (pumps.ie) - so when you take into account all the costs (staff, stations, utilities etc) there's feck all net profit, so no offer from a petrol station will be amazing.

I got one of these cards, read the T&C's quickly and binned it as its not any exceptional offer and there are too many hoops to jump through to save a few quid.

Yawns

People. it is nearly always far far more cheaper to book a hotel in ireland directly rather than go thru a promo.

Some hotels on the super-value breaks require u spend so much aswell, then some hotels don't. The ones that don't require a minimum spend usually only provide a seperate menu for you with less choices and all lower priced items anyway.

If you can haggle on the phone you will get a cheaper price. Hotels are screaming for business these days

richieb

petrol station in ticknock cobh co. cork is running the same promotion if you could call it that

here.from.day.1

Quite disappointed with this, got all the stamps and planned to buy the voucher today.. was looking forward to a little break.

Oryx

To all who arent getting a holiday after all... there are a lot of breaks on offer that are madly reasonable compared to normal times. My parents just came back from Gleneagle, Killarney, 4 nights B&B + 3 dinners €120 pps. Commodore in Cobh was doing B&B for 26 quid a few weeks ago too.

If theres a place you like ask to be put on a mailing list for offers. Hotels are crying out for business right now.

billybigunz

I will never buy fuel from Applegreen again after this clearly deceitful campaign.


The Supervalu promotion is excellent. If hotels don't like the scheme then why would they join it?

sdanseo

Has ANYONE on this thread who has an issue with this emailed or otherwise contacted applegreen, by any chance? Just a thought.

Personally I always use them because other than Tesco they're the only station anywhere near me with cheap prices; they give a better price (2c cheaper per L) if you fill up after 11pm, and 5c a litre off when you buy a carwash - and when I get in the door they give me 2 500ml bottles of Coke for €2 which is cheaper than a supermarket.

Honesty is important allright (not that I think this campaign is any more dishonest than many others are), but the money coming out of my wallet has a higher influence on me tbh. They'll definitely be keeping my business.

Dempo1

Curious about tesco petrol being the cheapest in your area, come to Tullamore, they are riding us. Off the wall prices. Someone else asked why do hotels use the super value promotions. Quite simple really, this scheme started at a time when occupancy rates where low, the focus was initially aimed at attracting customers mid week only, the naive hope was that punters would make up for discounted rooms by spending in the bars and restaurants. This back fired as punters sought better value and in some cases better standards elsewhere, local pubs etc. Now the Hotels are hitting back, insisting punters dine in house and if not, they will charge anyway for what would be basic menu choices and options. It is very, very difficult to get a super value break at weekends or peak times, although i suspect this has changed now the hotel business is in the toilet.

SueWho

I can't understand the problem you people have.

-Collect 50 stamps (free since you've to buy petrol anyway)
-Pay €20 for voucher
-Use voucher code to book up to 3 nights in a hotel, all you pay for is breakfast and dinner
-Hotels have minimum spends of €40-60 per person per day on breakfast and dinner (combined)

So for a 2 night stay a couple would pay (including €20 voucher cost) €180-260 including breakfast and dinner on both days. What is wrong with this?

€260 wouldn't even cover the cost of paying for one member of staff the minimum wage for 48 hour

And why the rage over the minimum spend? Were you going to try to get away with buying a cup of tea for "breakfast" and a starter for "dinner"? Or were you going to pack sandwiches and your own alcohol? i.e. you really expected to get a hotel room for 3 nights for the voucher cost of €20 and then spend next to NOTHING in the actual hotel.

I know there's a recession but people need to get real. As this offer already stands the hotels seems to be selling below cost. How can they go any lower? It's no wonder hotels are closing down and letting people go- the lot of ye on this forum seem to want to s*crew them over and not pay a fair price at all.

billybigunz

It works out much cheaper to book a hotel and just eat where you want.

sexdwarf

SueWho wrote: »

I can't understand the problem you people have.

My only problem is that you have to pay out money before you get the brochure where this 'minimum spend' is revealed. If you then discover that you can't afford the minimum spend, there's twenty euro down the toilet for nothing. 20 euro might not be much to some people, but for many at the moment - especially those likely to be looking for a very cheap holiday - it's a week's worth of grocery shopping!

Also you need to pay for three days, not two, which racks the cost up to €300 MINIMUM for two of you. There is no deal here, I could go out and book the same if not much cheaper for myself for a hotel if I shopped around. Why advertise it as a €20 euro deal when it's nothing of the sort. It's not even the cost that irritates me, it's the sneaky way of doing the business.

tallaghtoutlaws

SueWho wrote: »

I can't understand the problem you people have.

-Collect 50 stamps (free since you've to buy petrol anyway)
-Pay €20 for voucher
-Use voucher code to book up to 3 nights in a hotel, all you pay for is breakfast and dinner
-Hotels have minimum spends of €40-60 per person per day on breakfast and dinner (combined)

So for a 2 night stay a couple would pay (including €20 voucher cost) €180-260 including breakfast and dinner on both days. What is wrong with this?

€260 wouldn't even cover the cost of paying for one member of staff the minimum wage for 48 hour

And why the rage over the minimum spend? Were you going to try to get away with buying a cup of tea for "breakfast" and a starter for "dinner"? Or were you going to pack sandwiches and your own alcohol? i.e. you really expected to get a hotel room for 3 nights for the voucher cost of €20 and then spend next to NOTHING in the actual hotel.

I know there's a recession but people need to get real. As this offer already stands the hotels seems to be selling below cost. How can they go any lower? It's no wonder hotels are closing down and letting people go- the lot of ye on this forum seem to want to s*crew them over and not pay a fair price at all.

No Offense but this is utter nonsense. €260 is expensive these days for a hotel especially when you could probably get the room a lot Cheaper by going through the hotel directly without being bound to eat there.

What has the over heads of the hotel got to do with anything? I stayed in a travelodge recently for €29 for a night. €29 barely scratches the surface of the overheads the Hotel has.

The simple fact as others have mentioned the tourism industry is suffering badly right now and Hotels are doing deals all over the place. You can even negotiate with Hotels these days.

Back on topic that the OP mentioned. I would hardly call this a scam. I'm sure you will find the Terms and Conditions state the the "Actual" cost. I don't understand why so many fail to read terms and conditions and know what the deal is before jumping in head first. So many people get bought in by the word "FREE" far too often. Nothing in life is free.

sexdwarf

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

I'm sure you will find the Terms and Conditions state the the "Actual" cost. I don't understand why so many fail to read terms and conditions and know what the deal is before jumping in head first. So many people get bought in by the word "FREE" far too often. Nothing in life is free.

Ahh but you're missing the point, the minimum spend is NOT in the terms and conditions of the loyalty card. It's not until you part with your 20euro to get the details that this sum is revealed in the hotels brochure you're handed...that's the problem

sexdwarf

sdonn wrote: »

Has ANYONE on this thread who has an issue with this emailed or otherwise contacted applegreen, by any chance? Just a thought.

Yes of course!

Oryx

I priced an actual three night stay directly with one of the hotels with meals and it was cheaper than the 'offer' from Applegreen. Also, the loyalty card ann posters just specify that you must buy meals, I saw no mention of minimum spend, until youve paid for the voucher (or in our case were given a sneaky peek).

So that is my problem with this special offer, its not special, its paying over the odds, while making you feel youve got deal. The actual facts of the deal are hidden till youve paid your money, when it is too late. Its not a fantastic deal, and they are misleading people into paying over money without being fully informed of the t&cs before they pay. They may have covered themselves legally with the small print they DO have on the card, but its still underhanded.

neilthefunkeone

sexdwarf wrote: »

20 euro it's a week's worth of grocery shopping!

Please come and do my shopping for me.. Where can you get a full weeks breakfast, lunch and dinner for 1 person for 20 euro?? That is a useless statement...

Anyway as stated in another post here it was advertised clearly on the posters that you had to purchase meals in the hotel of your choice..

Yes no minimum amount was mentioned here but ffs if you have ever been in a hotel(a decent one) you will know a dinner is anywhere from 20-30 per head and breakfast on average about 10.... Please dont respond with individual prices im saying on average here......

But hey if you want to spent 2-4 c more on your petrol in future then go ahead.. less que for me at the pumps...

sexdwarf

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Please come and do my shopping for me.. Where can you get a full weeks breakfast, lunch and dinner for 1 person for 20 euro?? That is a useless statement...

As off-topic as my grocery bill is, it's the reality for many people during this recession, I'm only speaking from my own perspective and I don't think that's useless.

Davidth88

sexdwarf wrote: »

Ahh but you're missing the point, the minimum spend is NOT in the terms and conditions of the loyalty card. It's not until you part with your 20euro to get the details that this sum is revealed in the hotels brochure you're handed...that's the problem

Arhhhh now theres the rub.

If that's true , that's very naughty I feel.

This sort of ' promotion ' has been around for years , often the minimum spend is more than a room would be if you booked it , and of course you lose the flexibility of eating elsewhere.

Ill be honest I stay in hotels a lot for work ( abroad typically ) and I have a hard rule that I don't eat in the hotel unless there is no where else at all.

here.from.day.1

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Please come and do my shopping for me.. Where can you get a full weeks breakfast, lunch and dinner for 1 person for 20 euro?? That is a useless statement...

20 pot noodles?? You would be surprised how student like some people do\can\have to live.

Whoever mentioned the 2c cheaper per/l after 11pm.. is that true? I have never seen or heard about that before and I use applegreen religiously!

sdanseo

here.from.day.1 wrote: »

Whoever mentioned the 2c cheaper per/l after 11pm.. is that true? I have never seen or heard about that before and I use applegreen religiously!

That was me, yeah that's the way it is at my local one anyway. Used to be a Top until recently but they brought it in when it changed. That's the one on the Malahide Road north of Clarehall.

whiterebel

Depuy lady wrote: »

Hi,

Can I ask every time I pass an apple green station they have two prices up for petrol, how can a customer buy petrol at the cheaper price?

2nd prices is marked as a discount price, which I took to apply to heavy users like coach companies, trucking companies etc. Its usually a good bit less than the car wash price.

eth0_

whiterebel wrote: »

2nd prices is marked as a discount price, which I took to apply to heavy users like coach companies, trucking companies etc. Its usually a good bit less than the car wash price.

The cheaper price on their display is available only to customers who purchase a carwash with their fuel. This is clearly displayed on their signage.

whiterebel

eth0_ wrote: »

The cheaper price on their display is available only to customers who purchase a carwash with their fuel. This is clearly displayed on their signage.

I thought there was usually a lot bigger difference than 5c a litre any time I saw it, but maybe you're right. I must have a proper look next time.

Fad

(From the outset, I work in an Applegreen)

Only people who get irate about any promotion we do are the people who didnt bother their arse reading the small print.

Dont whinge out counter staff about it, they can do nothing, dont ask them for money back, they cant give it to you.

I think it's a scam, an out right scam, but it's not my fault or any one who works in a service stations fault that it is. We are paid to hand out the loyalty cards and stamp them and sell you the vouchers.

I happily explain the deal to anyone who asks, I even mention the minimum spend (more than the T&Cs on the loyalty card....).

Basically, dont blame the staff in the stations themselves!

Also boycotting Applegreen? Sounds like a genius plan, because I know the one I work in has the cheapest petrol around (Or matches a nearby tesco)

Telcon PM

I got caught out by the line "just eat in the hotel of your choice-after all, you have to eat somewhere, right?" - but like everyone else, I didn't realise I'd be forced into eating 120quids worth of food for every night we stayed!
Anyways, the long and the short of it, is that I went back to Applegreen, handed my voucher back, and asked for a refund.
And I got one, no quibbles.
Fair play to Applegreen I say!

Kashkai

This scam has been doing the rounds for years. My wife joined a gym where the offer was a free flight to New York. I queried "what was the catch?" but the gym said there was none so she signed up for membership. When she received her voucher, it stated in the very small print that shed have to book 3 nights hotel accommodation at 750 euros in a hotel of their choice. As she planned on staying with a relative, she didn't need a hotel but no hotel meant no free flight.

mru

Fad wrote: »

Also boycotting Applegreen? Sounds like a genius plan, because I know the one I work in has the cheapest petrol around (Or matches a nearby tesco)

We have a fully stamped "voucher" book - and thank god we found this thread before we used it. Tbh I didn't read the small print, but I'd never rant at a teller in the applegreen shops either - it's not their fault.

What I do agree with is the boycotting suggestion someone posted previously, especially if my local tesco matches the fuel price. I view it as brand loyalty - I feel cheated / the offer was not fully disclosed to me properly. If I had no choice I would shop in applegreen, because I do have a choice I choose to not shop there.

Just out of interest, where is the small print / finer detail of the offer. Is it displayed on the voucher book?

mru

Actually, I've just read the book - there's no mention of a min spend. Was there some other sort of media in shop which disclosed this to the customers (poster, leaflets etc)?

Edit: also, the reason why we have not used the voucher is because we still haven't received it as yet. Despite 5 visits to applegreen and 3 weeks later. Which doesn't marry to the inital point on pulling the wool over the customers eyes I know, but I thought it was worth mentioning.