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or were they being total 'jobsworth' meltdown in Ikea

317 replies

Ceci03 · 29/08/2021 13:05

So bit of a long one but... I applied for the ikea finance thingy, it's no interest so seemed good. Got the virtual card - its like a bank card, and on the website it said you had to show it at the till and then they would key in the numbers. So went on Fri eve, took about 3 hours to do all the shopping, mainly a bed, but you know what it's like there. Got to the till, and the guy said I had to have the app. What app? Ikea finance app, he said. So there I was trying to download this app at the till with people queueing behind me. When it finally downwloaded it said I couldnt use it as it needed 14+ update.

So then a 'manager' came over and said I could "do it" online. So she directed me to this website for the finance company. But I couldnt log in as it said I needed a family card number, but I don't have a family card.

She suggested I go over to the doors to get better reception on wifi. I said it wasnt the wifi that was the problem!

I then tried to login in the ikea finance website, but for some reason my phone kept doing the 'circle of doom'. - When I got home I tried it again, and it still did it, only conclusion is that my phone isn't new enough.

So I begged her, to let me use the card. She said no as she "didnt know it was me". So I had to just leave all the stuff and go home.

So back again on Saturday. I tried logging in on my laptop, which is how I applied for the loan and it worked perfectly. So I rang customer service, and said could I show my laptop at the till, no problem.

When I got there to be sure, I found a manager at the till, and explained the problem. I said I didnt want to do all my shopping and then get to the till and the same thing happened, so could I show her beforehand. OK she said. So I pulled out the laptop but couldnt login!!!!!!!!! I think it was the ikea wifi wasnt strong enough. So I went away and was able to connect using my mobile hotspot. Went back and tried to find her but she kept moving away and chatting to her colleagues and ignoring me. In the end after about 15 mins of me standing there trying to get her attention I went up and said 'excuse me' and tried explaining again. I showed her how I had logged in, and she could see the card etc. But... she said the rule was I had to show it at the till when I got there. I said but what if my laptop plays up and I cant get logged in, you've seen it now, cant you say that I can definitely use it? No, she said. I said that it didn't say anything about that on their website, and shouldnt it be a bit clearer. She said no, it was very clear, and nobody else had ever had a problem. It was getting a bit heated now, well I was getting upset. I asked her a few more times but she wouldnt budge. I jsut burst out crying, I was just at the end of my tether. I felt like screaming at the bloody mindedness of the whole thing. Eventually another manager came over, and he took me to a seat, and he phoned another manager, and then another manager, and eventually they said ok, they had seen me login, and "knew it was me", and if I did my shopping I would be able to use the card.

I'm still upset, stupid I know. I'm thinking as well is this just discrimination against people who don't have top of the range phones? I mean my phone works perfect for everything, just not this for some reason. It's a 12 update I think. So it's not ancient or anything. Surely they need to have some flexibility if the technology is not working?

Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. I honestly don't know what I could have done different...?? I've tried to contact the bank they set up, Ikano , but impossible to get a response...

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LazyYogi · 29/08/2021 13:11

Oh bless you. That sounds so stressful. I think I would have cried too. I hate things like that, a sort of confrontation isn't it. If you feel strongly maybe do a complaint but it sounds like the staff were trying to keep themselves right too. They might have faced losing their job if they got something like that wrong.

plodalong12 · 29/08/2021 13:14

It sounds frustrating but I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault. If it was an issue on their end then surely they’d have had other people in there complaining about the same thing?

But this reiterated my thoughts on the other thread about someone who was pondering whether to give up a smart phone and go back to an old style Nokia. The thing is, we’ve come so reliant on technology that I think it’ll be near on impossible to live without one - as you found out with this.

AlfonsoTheMango · 29/08/2021 13:16

I'm still upset, stupid I know. I'm thinking as well is this just discrimination against people who don't have top of the range phones?

What is your protected characteristic that makes it discrimination?

LawnFever · 29/08/2021 13:18

That’s pretty daft that you can’t just use the card, I mean how do they know anyone using a bank/credit card is the right person if they have the pin etc?

What’s the point of the card if you need the app too? How do people who don’t own a smart phone at all apply for IKEA credit?

I feel for you OP this all sounds very annoying!

LawnFever · 29/08/2021 13:22

@AlfonsoTheMango

I'm still upset, stupid I know. I'm thinking as well is this just discrimination against people who don't have top of the range phones?

What is your protected characteristic that makes it discrimination?

If they’re expecting everyone who applies for credit to have access to a particular standard of phone then yeah it is discrimination really, not everyone has a smart phone, it’s not compulsory in life.
LubaLuca · 29/08/2021 13:22

It's bad luck that your phone let you down. What is the 'virtual card' they sent you? Just an image of a card on an email?

fabulousathome · 29/08/2021 13:23

Can you order online in future and have it delivered? It might be worth the delivery cost?

DumbestBlonde · 29/08/2021 13:25

Ah Technology - you have to love/hate it..... Flowers
It might make you feel beter to get it out of your (pardon the pun) system, but might it be more frustrating to hope for some sort of resolution, and not get one? It does sound like a nightmare, and probably not handled by them in the best way. I think you should do whatever makes you feel better about this, and how you might stop it from nagging away at you.
I would probably be, and have been, the same - including tears, so I sympathise. But I also hate Ikea - and stay away from it, so not much use really.....
(I did love it, and spent a lot of time there drinking coffee in the rstaurant, watching Amazon Prime - on my laptop Grin - and not actually buying very much.... the Wi-fi was good up there but maybe not so great near the tills.... But have not been since the start of Lockdown.)

I hope you do feel better about it soon - and get yourself a Family card (= free coffee - or it did) Smile

melj1213 · 29/08/2021 13:26

Surely they need to have some flexibility if the technology is not working?

If it was a discount code, promotion or something similar then flexibility is an option but for financial services there are strict rules they have to follow and you can't just fudge the system.

I work in a supermarket on customer services - there are a lot of things that I can work around or play the system to help a customer out, but one of thr few things I cannot get around (and would not be risking my job for) are financial regulations and the law.

Binkybix · 29/08/2021 13:27

What is your protected characteristic that makes it discrimination?

Discrimination isn’t just a legal term. It’s a perfectly legitimate use of the word.

That sounds super stressful, OP. Very glad you managed to sort it out.

CorrBlimeyGG · 29/08/2021 13:28

It says on the website:

You will not receive a physical card. You can use your virtual card at the tills in our stores and in our online checkout Just log in to your Finance Services account and use the virtual card details shown.

The information looks clear to me.

Ceci03 · 29/08/2021 13:30

Yes I tried the order online and I would have paid the 40 pound just for the lack of hassle. But it was only to be delivered 6 weeks from the date... And I couldnt wait that long. I tried click n collect as well, but there were no slots at all. It makes no sense that you can use the card online, but in the shop you have to have the app? I said to them could I buy the things online, and then take them home with me. No, not allowed. I mean, I jsut think they should have a backup for someone who doesnt have the technology? Thinking now, could I have logged into a computer in the store? I think I tried my very best to do what they wanted, but the thing that got to me was that even though they had seen me 'login' and had seen the card, and that it "was me", they wouldnt guarantee that I could go off and shop and buy the stuff.

PS it wasnt my phone that let me down

Also, if they said all this on the website I would have known before I went. It really got to me when she said they'd never had a problem before... Am I really the only person who doesnt have a 14+phone? Hard to believe, she made me feel so so stupid and thick.

OP posts:
Ceci03 · 29/08/2021 13:31

what website is that?

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 29/08/2021 13:31

only conclusion is that my phone isn't new enough.

If you look at the reviews of the app, it's more likely that the app is shit.

CorrBlimeyGG · 29/08/2021 13:33

what website is that?

The Ikea one!

TakeYourFinalPosition · 29/08/2021 13:33

It really got to me when she said they'd never had a problem before... Am I really the only person who doesnt have a 14+phone?

No, my in-laws use the IKEA finance app and they’ve got my old iPhone, so its older than yours!

She may not have seen the problem before; and she sounds pretty unhelpful, but I don’t think it’ll be your phone at fault.

I’m sorry it was so stressful.

Bethany7 · 29/08/2021 13:35

Bless you O.P. that's so stressful never mind having to come back the next day too. Sounds like you did everything you could. I'm not surprised you burst into tears, I would have too with the stress of it
And the manager ignoring you too, talk about hugely frustrating. You did absolutely nothing wrong and I hope you can try and forget about it now. Big hug

Ceci03 · 29/08/2021 13:35

What I'm reading is this:

or were they being total 'jobsworth' meltdown in Ikea
OP posts:
CorrBlimeyGG · 29/08/2021 13:35

It's on the Ikano website as well. Not sure how you could have missed it.

AlfonsoTheMango · 29/08/2021 13:36

@Ceci03, for it to be discrimination it needs to be based on a protected characteristic. What is your protected characteristic that makes it discrimination?

CorrBlimeyGG · 29/08/2021 13:36

Your virtual card is on the app!

Bethany7 · 29/08/2021 13:37

Also what do you mean by a 14+phone? My phone is a few years old but they should allow for all of that. Plus sometimes it's hard to download apps, it's not fair that you HAD to have the app

Ceci03 · 29/08/2021 13:41

So I'm thick? @CorrBlimeyGG

I can't login to Ikano bank as I don't have a family card number!

I view the card by going online to ikea finance.

Is there a trick to downloading apps that say "you need 14+ to download this app"?

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 29/08/2021 13:41

I'm not sure I'm understanding everything - when you first went to the till and tried to pay, how did you show the cashier your virtual card if you didn't have the app downloaded? What did you show him?

Bluntness100 · 29/08/2021 13:42

I think it was all too stressful for you which is why you cried. But you kinda lost me at discriminating against people with older phones.

If it helps discrimination is unjust or prejudiced treatment of someone due to their characteristics, race, religion, gender, sexuality etc, it’s something inherent about the individual not what phone they own.