Kelloggs swim vouchers

[pdc.withy]

Last April Kelloggs launched a swim voucher on the back of their cereal packets. Swimming is really expensive at our local pool. I checked their online pool finder and yes our pool was there. We then set off on a Kelloggs frenzy, no more own brand or Lidl's cereal for us. We started using them around June time and swam as a family at least once a week. The website and voucher state expiary of 30/04/2009.

 

I now have 84 vouchers, enough to see us through to spring 2009. On the 19th September our local pool stopped taking the vouchers. If I took 84 adult swims it would cost the equivalent of £403.20. I don't do this as we swim as a family which is £12 a go, so equivalent to £252. Serious money to me.

 

I feel like I've been robbed. I bought the cereal, the fruitwinders etc. We ate them and in the process spent much more than we usually do.

 

I purely bought the goods because our local pool was included in the promotion. According to the Kelloggs website they are still taking part. My daughter (6) is now swimming a few metres thanks to this promotion but now I am not taking her. Can't afford £12 for 40 minutes in a swimming pool. We live by the sea, on an Estuary, swimming is an important lifeskill.

 

Who do I go after to put this right? The swiming pool or Kelloggs? Anyone else in the same boat?

[gyzmo]

There is usually a term stating taht the offer can be withdrawn from by the participant. You would need, I suspect, to write to/ phone the swimming pool - it may be down to someone getting ideas above their station. If that fails then ask Kellogs

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Actually, promotions like this are normally paid up front.

 

So, Kelloggs probably paid all these swimming pools a sum of money, say £10,000 each but then the swimming pool would hope that only about £5,000 worth of vouchers would be redeemed during the offer period, thus making £5,000.

 

However,

 

The list of participating swimming pools remains subject to change. Please contact your chosen venue to confirm continual availability of the offer.

Participating swimming pools are all contracted to participate in the free swim offer. The promoter, its agents and distributors accept no responsibility, financial or otherwise, for the misuse of the voucher and are not liable for any personal loss or injury at the participating swimming pools. Further, they cannot be held responsible for any disagreement concerning quality / availability of participating swimming pools.

 

 

Obviously there is a contract between Kelloggs and the pools but subject to change.

 

Looks like you may have to find a different pool.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Weird Al Yankovic

[MrShed]

Agree with Al on this. Think it's crap personally, but not sure what you can do - there will be(and is, as demonstrated by Al) a "get out" clause to change this.

[davethorp]

May be worth writing to Kellogs anyway. At the very worst you may get some money off coupons

[gyzmo]

After eating all those packets I think another one would be the last thing I would want!

[davethorp]

True

[robin9342]

Seems to me that once the pools have made their money, they pull out of the offer. My local pool withdrew months ago. (Though I wasn't using the vouchers anyway)

[pdc.withy]

Phoned the manager today. Seems the bottom line was that didn't like people swimming for free, apparently people were 'abusing' the scheme and swimming a lot. Up to 200 in a day, which I find hard to believe as I found an article from the local paper which claimed nearly 3,000 people had used vouchers, but this would have been since April.

 

Exmouth Journal

 

A lump of his worries was that people were making money out of the scheme by selling vouchers on ebay. Neither here nor there really, we bought and ate the cereals, as did our parents and they wriggle out of our free swim. Worst case for them is that they showed their naivety/incompetence in signing up for the scheme in the first place. Doubt that worries them though.

 

Interestingly all or their employees swim for free. I wonder how much that is costing?