Misleading Cashback Campaign - Only First Payment Honored
Mastercard Bulgaria ran a promotion: 10% cashback on food and beverage purchases every Tuesday.
Sounds great, right? Here's what actually happened.
THE PROMISE:
Shop for food/drinks on Tuesdays, get 10% back automatically. Simple, clear promotion advertised widely.
THE REALITY:
They honored the cashback for the FIRST Tuesday purchase only. After that? Radio silence.
I made multiple qualifying purchases on subsequent Tuesdays. Zero cashback received.
WHEN I CONTACTED THEM:
This is where it gets worse. Instead of explaining the issue or processing the missing cashback, they started requesting endless documentation:
Transaction details (provided)
Purchase receipts (provided)
Payment summaries (provided)
Additional verification (provided)
Each time I sent what they requested, either no response or another request for more information.
WHAT I NEVER RECEIVED:
Clear explanation of why only first purchase was honored
Breakdown of which transactions qualified and why
Any communication about campaign terms changing
The promised cashback for legitimate qualifying purchases
Professional customer service
This is classic bait-and-switch marketing. Advertise generous cashback to attract customers, honor it once to appear legitimate, then ignore subsequent claims while burying customers in endless verification requests.
If you're going to run a promotion, honor it. If there are specific limitations, communicate them clearly upfront. Don't advertise "every Tuesday" and then silently change the terms after people start using the service.
I've stopped using Mastercard for this type of promotion entirely. Can't trust campaigns that aren't honored as advertised.
Disappointing from a major financial institution. Expected better.