No Sainsburys nectar points on spirits/liqueurs

A question about : No Sainsburys nectar points on spirits/liqueurs

I was surprised to see at the Sainsburys check- out a sign specifying nectar points ban on spirits. The till girl said it was nothing to do with them but the Government who d ordered that rule. An assistant manager was summoned and he repeated the same excuse. They d been ordered to by the Government . It seemed weird why they just picked on a bottle of Bells whiskey while things like Special Brew, White Lightning etc, did nt get the same treatment. Do Sainsburys disaprove of spirits in some way ?
I m diabetic, my doctor said if I m going to have alcohol then spirits are a better bet than the more sugary wine/beers if used with diet mixers. a bit of research on the subject revealed that the Government stopped promotions by points/coupons on ALL discounted alcohol if sold below the duty/vat rate. eg a bottle of Vodka at Ј9.35 etc. My whisky was at full price Ј15 a bottle so what are Sainsburys playing at and why tell the staff to fob us off with plain lies . Does anyone know a good way of getting Sainsburys to explain why they ve singled out Spirits/liqueurs only

Best answers:

• Been like this for a few months now and also excludes the total spend coupons you sometimes get.
  Funny how Tesco can offer Clubcard points on spirits. I think Sainsburys are reading more into the minimum unit price than T's and what with the other cuts on Nectar points I wouldn't be surprised if it finishes soon as getting less worth it, for me anyway.
• I ve emailed Sainsburys asking for clarification on why their staff are saying " its nothing to do with us, blame the government " Its obviously a management decision to market spirits a bit dearer and I would like Sainsburys to admit that and not hide behind a law which was nt meant to outlaw all spirits from promotions.
• I think it's probably laziness in that they can't be bothered to check that when they have money off spirits, when they add Nectar points AND if a customer has an extra points coupon (min spend etc) THEN It doesn't take the price per litre below the government threshold????
  Maybe Tesco argue that points aren't reducing the cost of the spirits because you don't get them off at the time, but later??? But then again, that would mean you couldn't spend clubcard points when you buy spirits could that could then be deemed as getting spirits very cheap or free?????????.
  Looking forward to hearing why S's think they can't give points when T's do!
• Hi Deely, got a reply from Sainsburys, I quote "we`ve had to review and amend the promotions and rewards customers receive when they buy alcohol to ensure we are compliant with the new legislation.Making spirits/liqueurs excluded items means we have gone above and beyond what is required by law.
  Its also a clear and consistent way to implement the new legislation in a way that the customer will understand "
  Well this customer doe snt understand it and whats consistent about excluding a civilised single malt bottle of Glenfiddich and allowing the "alco`s best freind..Special Brew etc. At least I got the admission that they went over and above what the law required, so its just Sainsburys law ! so its Tescos for me and their clubcard points on my Scotch.
  I agree its prob just laziness in some way, but they would have the same prob with beers and wines to a greater degree as they attract much more price reductions than spirits. Its not too common to see heavily discounted spirits
• Thanks for sharing the reply.
  I think I also will go above and beyond - by doing more shopping with their rivals
• I'm pretty lucky in that Sains shares a building with Aldi so I can get all my basics from Aldi so only need to nip next door for any things I can only get at S's and also have a Lidl, ALDI, T's, Asda and M's much closer to home so don't go that often and even less with the reduction in points.
• had another email from Sainsburys saying they may review the exclusion and would like more feedback from others. Gave me 1000 nectar points on my card so maybe worth others having a moan at the anomoly. Use Sainsburys "contact us " section from their website. Also apologised that the staff gave me conflicting information.
• I was hugely disappointed to receive money off vouchers from sainsburys to find they excluded alcohol (Ј9 off spend of Ј60 or more). We always add a couple of bottles of wine in with the weekly shop so it's a shame these don't add to our points. Will be waiting to hear whether they do actually review the exclusion...
• I find this whole no points on spirits very annoying as the amount of expensive spirits I'm buying for family and friends this year is quite substantial.
  When I called customer service about it they said that whole government excuse to me, I asked them why is tescos still giving points then, she then went on to say well they shouldn't be because it would be against the law (what law , sainsbury's? ).
  I tell you, some of these customer service people are so full of it.
  You can still receive brand match vouchers though. Just a few days ago I bought some glenfidditch aged whisky for my uncles birthday costing me Ј35 plus some other groceries and received a Ј9.00 brand match voucher back and it certainly didn't come from the different types of veg I bought.
  Silver lining I guess.
  You could also be cheeky and just buy wine for the same price collect your nectar points and exchange it at customer services for spirits.
  Bit long though
• Sainsburys have decided that because there is potential for inadvertent breaking of the law they will stay well within it.
  They have also stopped staff discounts on these products and although you can get a brand match voucher you can' then use that voucher to buy another one of the products as it cannot be used against strong spirits and liqueurs.
  It is like the challenge 25 it is over what is required but means there is less likelihood they will break the rules without meaning to.
  Tesco have never been concerned about being caught breaking the rules. Sainsburys will have it that they are different by values and they would class this as that.
  It is the law as if there was no law they would be doing nothing about it.
  They also stopped the buy 6 save 5% offer on wine for the same reason.
• Please complain to Sainsburys and get the 1000 nectar points, like I did, to placate me somewhat. I was merely baffled why spirits/liqueurs were excluded as if I imbibe in a form of alcohol which is nt really approved of. In my case I was advised, by my doctor, as a recent diabetic, to switch to spirits as they spike the blood sugar level less than beers/wines (if used with diet mixers. ) I m still baffled why Sainsburys pick on Spirits and can `t drag an answer out of them which makes sense. Best I could get was "in the interests of consistancy "