Sainsbury's customers sent wrong 'double-up' vouchers

The Sainsbury's 'double-up' promotion, which lets customers double the value of their Nectar points, is always highly anticipated.

For this year's promotion, collectors could exchange their points for a double-up voucher online from 29 October to 4 November, or from 5 November in store, to spend between 12 and 18 November. 

Yet with only three days until the start of the promotion, a number of customers who redeemed their points online have been sent vouchers worth only half or even a fifth of the amount they'd ordered, and some have received nothing at all. 

Sainsbury's is yet to confirm how many customers have been affected by these issues, but says that everyone should receive correct vouchers on or before 12 November – meaning they will have the full week to spend them. 

See our guide for more tips. 

'I ordered £150 of Sainsbury's vouchers and got £30'

Sainsbury's customers have taken to social media to report issues: 

What is the double-up promotion? 

Nectar is the loyalty scheme used by Sainsbury's and other brands including Argos, Asos and eBay.

Shoppers currently earn one Nectar point per £1 spent at Sainsbury's. When redeemed in store at Sainsbury's, each Nectar point is usually worth 0.5p – so 1,000 points equates to £5 (although you can often get more for your points by exchanging them via the Nectar website to spend on days out, entertainment and restaurants).

As part of the double-up promotion, you can exchange up to 20,000 points in denominations of 1,000, 2,000 or 5,000 Nectar points. While the period for exchanging your points online has now ended, you can still redeem points for vouchers in store until 18 November. 

Each 1,000 points exchanged for a double-up voucher is worth £10, twice the usual £5.

You can spend your double-up vouchers in store between 12 and 18 November. See our Nectar 'double-up' MSE News story for more details.

What can I do if I'm affected? 

Sainsbury's says it's emailed all affected customers to apologise and reassure them that their vouchers are on their way.

Frustratingly, according to Sainsbury's Twitter account, it looks like you won't simply be able to have the points refunded and exchange them in store instead – you'll need to wait for the new vouchers to be delivered. We've asked Sainsbury's for official confirmation and will update this story when we hear back.

But Sainsbury's has said all customers should have received their correct vouchers by Monday, when the window for spending them begins.

If you don't receive your vouchers in time, you can contact the Nectar helpline on 0344 811 0811.