To be beyond frustrated that Argos can't un-link old Nectar card?

[Squirtycreamandsprinkles]

I have what I assumed would be a fairly simple issue for Argos to resolve, but I've spent nearly a fortnight being fobbed off at every turn by Argos customer services staff. Not one of them will escalate or put me through to someone who might actually be able to help, it's just endless platitudes mixed with repeated confirmation that they don't understand the issue.

In a nutshell I had a Nectar card, and then Nectar had a data breach and my, and hundreds of other cardholders, points were stolen. Nectar cancelled the card, replaced it with a new card, and credited the stolen points back to me. This was about a year ago. I currently have about £100 in points on the new card.

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to spend my points at Argos. At this point I realised my new card wasn't linked to my Argos account. When I clicked on Nectar on the menu in my Argos account to add my new card, it said 'We can’t show your details right now. Please try again later.'

So I called them, assuming someone would easily be able to sort this out on the phone. Eleven days, multiple calls to both Argos and Nectar, live chat with both, on Messenger, the Nectar app and X, and apparently they can't.

I've established that the issue is likely because the old, cancelled and deactivated card is still linked to my Argos account. For some reason it seems it's impossible for anyone to un-link it.

So as it stands, I can't spend my points at Argos. I also can't collect the nearly 2000 points I earned on my purchase a couple of weeks ago. I'm being fobbed off with 'Contact Nectar' at every turn, who, inevitably, tell me I need to contact Argos. They're part of the same company and I'm beyond frustrated that they consider this to be acceptable customer service.

So, to the point - does anyone have a current email address or phone number for someone at Argos who might actually be able to fix this? I've seen others online saying they're having the same problem - it's clearly a known issue.

could spend this money on groceries, but it also means I can't collect points on any current or future purchase

why not? So it’s a defunct account?

OMG, I have the same problem! I am desperately trying to link my Nectar card to my Argos account! I jave tried on the app and on the website but it just shows the error message "we can't show your details now, try again later".
I keep sending screenshots of the error message and all they keep sending me back is the steps to link my account! I know how to do it, it just won't blooming let me, so infuriating! I don't have as many points to spend as you, but it's not the point, it should be simple to do and I don't understand what the help team doesn't understand!!!! 😬

Maybe try from a computer if you have access to one.

Here’s the help article on linking nectar (the help article about reporting a card lost or stolen directs to this one for re-linking). Check you have the right links.

https://help.argos.co.uk/help/nectar/link-nectar

It is so frustrating when something that shouldn’t be difficult just is!

This isn't hard to understand. You can get multiple cards for the same account - my husband and I use the same Clubcard account for example. Both people have a separate card and both people collect points, which collect in one 'pot'.

My Nectar card is my current, live one. My Argos account is my only, current live one. Unless Argos can sort out their tech issue and link the two, any purchases I make at Argos won't add the points earned to my Nectar account. The Nectar card can and does collect points on money spent in Sainsburys. It's linking it with my Argos account that's apparently beyond their capabilities.

I can't tell if the customer services people are genuinely as dim as they appear or whether they're deliberately trying to wind me up at this point. The amount of times someone - often the same someone - has come back with 'Please contact Nectar who will be able to assist you' despite me telling them until I'm blue in the face that I've already done this multiple times and they can't and won't, is ridiculous.

They won't let me speak to anyone else, won't give me an email address or contact number for anyone who might actually be able to help (or at least understand what I'm asking!), won't confirm that my points will be added on if it takes more than the allowed 14 days for them to fix this issue...they've apparently escalated it to the 'relevant team' now, but there's no indication of when they might update me or, God forbid, fix it.

Thank you, I've tried this, and one of the (many) customer services people I spoke to tried to talk me through doing it this way as well. That page is out of date; she was insisting I should click on 'Ways to Pay' in my Argos account - it doesn't exist as an option any more. They've changed the menu layout but haven't updated the help page. She clearly couldn't see the current menu options and insisted it was there. She even spelled out 'Ways to Pay' letter by letter, presumably thinking I couldn't read it by myself and that's why I'd failed to spot it when I was telling her it wasn't there 🤦🏼‍♀️

Any links to Nectar on the Argos site just give the error message I screenshot above. It's a tech issue on their side, somewhere between Argos and Nectar, and they need to figure it out and fix it.

If you are posting about it in the early hours and “beyond frustrated”…. For the sake of £100 I’d just give up personally!

Good for you 👍🏼

Ok so if it’s really important to you…. Social media I guess

@Squirtycreamandsprinkles yesterday I posted the (publicly available) CEO's name and email yesterday but for some reason my message has been "hidden till MNHQ take a look at it".

Don't know if this post will appear or not, but on the Sainsbury's corporate leadership page it has this bio: "Simon Roberts is Chief Executive Officer of J Sainsbury PLC (Sainsbury’s) which includes Sainsbury’s, Argos, Nectar,..."

And if you google him, you get his email. No idea what's so problematic about that?

Oh thank you @singthing I'll drop him an email this morning! I wonder why MN hid your post 🤔 Very strange!

Good luck OP!

Bad technology gives me the rage

So, just to update - before I'd had a chance to email the Sainsburys CEO this morning, someone on X customer services said that their IT team were currently in the process of unlinking my old card from the account. So I held off emailing, but didn't hear anything else.

This evening I thought I'd check my Argos account again before I wrote an email, and, lo and behold, the error message had gone and I was able to link my new card to the account! 🙏 They hadn't bothered to told me they'd finally sorted it, despite promising all week that they'd update me as soon as there was any progress.

Now the card is linked to the account the Nectar points should be added in the next 30 days. I really hope they are because I can't face ever contacting them again 🤯

So @BrisKirst85 it seems messaging argoshelpers on X is the way to - eventually - get it fixed. Just be ready to tell them no when they encourage you to contact Nectar 5000 times..

So happy for you! It also gives me hope 🤣 will get onto X tomorrow!

OMG X will not be needed! I just went onto Argos to check if I still had the error message and to my surprise there was finally a green 'Link your account' button!!!! I am linked! 🙌

Oh wow! Maybe they've finally fixed it for everyone then 😱 So glad you're sorted too!

It doesn’t matter if you are confused though. The OP isn’t confused about how her mum shops, thats not the issue. Your lack of understanding of every day situations. Why are you derailing a completely ordinary thread?

I think they must have fixed it for all, maybe too many queries over the same thing finally pushed them to sort it! Enjoy spending you points 😊