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Unexpectedly – I received a new IHG Creation card in the post this morning. Old one was due to expire in August, and this new one is dated from June. IHG branding intact. Shall I see if it works?
It will work but you shouldn’t get ihg points.It says in the comms from Creation your ihg card will work as normal during the transition period. A replacement card with Creation branding will be sent out by end September.
Expensive lesson for the MD Mr Hunt.
Always a dangerous surname to have.
Expensive lesson for the MD Mr Hunt.
Always a dangerous surname to have.
Nah Khunt is a dangerous surname to have in the U.K.
I wonder when we will get our free nights and pro rata refunds? Next statement hopefully.
How long is it taking for Free Night Vouchers to drop into people’s accounts?
I claimed directly through Creation, and they wrote back on 23 May saying they will provide me with a voucher which will be awarded to my IHG account “within 6 weeks”. That was 6 weeks ago, and surprise surprise no voucher.
Anyone else in the same boat?They’re taking a very long time to decide whether they are even going to award my 2nd voucher. It’s making me wonder if there’s some sort of technical issue with posting them to the IHG accounts after awarding so many of the initial free night certificates en masse a couple of months ago.
Well, what do you know – just checked my IHG account and the second free night has appeared! So between the two of us we’ve been awarded 3 free nights and around 75k points which equates to 4 nights at the Kimpton Seafire. 21 months to get this resolved, so glad it’s finally done with 😁. I imagine the FOS is as well!
How long is it taking for Free Night Vouchers to drop into people’s accounts?
I claimed directly through Creation, and they wrote back on 23 May saying they will provide me with a voucher which will be awarded to my IHG account “within 6 weeks”. That was 6 weeks ago, and surprise surprise no voucher.
Anyone else in the same boat?Yes identical dates I think. Got a small pro rata cash refund promptly but points and free night voucher still to transfer. Sent them a nudge yesterday.
The IHG branding has just disappeared from the Creation app. The pro-rata refund should arrive by end of July (see below), but unclear when the free night voucher will land. Also unclear what the expiry will be on it. It only says “You’ll have the full period to redeem your Anniversary Night based on the expiration date listed when the Anniversary Night is awarded” – hopefully that’s a year from when it lands, rather than a year from account closure on 27 June.
Text of the email I received on 14 June:
Annual Fee
– You may still be charged your annual fee up to and including 27 June 2023. A pro-rata refund against your annual fee** will be completed. The monies will be repaid off your balance by the end of July 2023 (**The pro-rata refund will only be honoured if the account remains in good working order and isn’t over limit, in legal dispute, or in arrears)Anniversary Night Qualification and Redemption
– Spend £10,000 or more between your Anniversary date and 27 June 2023 to qualify for and receive an Anniversary Night.
– Anniversary Night* can be redeemed using your IHG One Rewards account in the usual manner. You’ll have the full period to redeem your Anniversary Night based on the expiration date listed when the Anniversary Night is awarded. (*The Anniversary Night can only be earned if your account remains in good working order and isn’t over limit, in legal dispute, in arrears, or have other account limitations.)
– If you choose to close your account before moving to Creation, you can still claim your Anniversary Night as long as you’ve spent £10,000 since your last Anniversary date.How long is it taking for Free Night Vouchers to drop into people’s accounts?
I claimed directly through Creation, and they wrote back on 23 May saying they will provide me with a voucher which will be awarded to my IHG account “within 6 weeks”. That was 6 weeks ago, and surprise surprise no voucher.
Anyone else in the same boat?Same day they sent the letter upholding the complaint. Pro-rata refund for my OH’s account took around a week after submitting the account details for where to send it.
How long is it taking for Free Night Vouchers to drop into people’s accounts?
I claimed directly through Creation, and they wrote back on 23 May saying they will provide me with a voucher which will be awarded to my IHG account “within 6 weeks”. That was 6 weeks ago, and surprise surprise no voucher.
Anyone else in the same boat?Reply from creation “I am sorry to hear that your benefits are not reflecting on your rewards account. The benefits will be awarded to your IHG rewards account within 6 weeks.
I have had notification that your free night voucher and points earnt have been sent directly to IHG already. This benefit will be added by IHG to your Rewards Account accordantly.”
No idea if 6 wks from 23rd of March or today. Doubt much point in discussing with IHG as surely they’ll state any hold-up is at Creation’s end.
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
Creation should have learnt by now to resolve these matters rather than have them escalate especially for the low amount involved
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
I accepted the proposal; Creation did not, so it was their decision to escalate. Thanks for your sanctimonious reply, which contributes nothing of value to the discussion.
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
You often write about doing the right thing, rather than the letter of the law. Don’t you think doing the right thing applies to Creation too. If the Ombudsman is troubled by the trivial value of this, he’ll need to look at Creation’s role in what’s gone on too. It’s easy to argue they’re the root problem here.
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
Maybe Creation should have behaved properly and not wasted FOS (and clients) time for the past 20 months.
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
You often write about doing the right thing, rather than the letter of the law. Don’t you think doing the right thing applies to Creation too. If the Ombudsman is troubled by the trivial value of this, he’ll need to look at Creation’s role in what’s gone on too. It’s easy to argue they’re the root problem here.
multiply each small misbehaviour by Creation by tens of thousands of customers and Creation is basically stealing very significant sums from customers’ wallets.
What’s really bad about these little sums and refusals right at the tail end of this by Creation, is it’s clear Creation hasn’t learnt any lesson from this, they have learned nothing from all the FOS decisions against them and restitution told to them by the FOS they must pay, and Creation is still trying to get out of paying every last penny and voucher that’s due.
Can someone please report on MCOL results. Even if you settled you can still indicate, even if confidentiality means you couldn’t share details.
They’ve given us all our points and free night certificates. I thought that they might dig their heels in over my second free night but it appeared 4 weeks after I rejected the initial settlement. I do think, as @JDB often points out, that presenting a very clear case that can’t be argued with is paramount in cases like this. Creation only mentioned the fee refund once, immediately after the card closure; I made it clear that I wasn’t going to accept it in lieu of a free night (which is obviously worth an awful lot more to me!)
This reminded me – did @ColinMcKinnon also get his missing 2nd free night cert, I may have missed a few posts?
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
You often write about doing the right thing, rather than the letter of the law. Don’t you think doing the right thing applies to Creation too. If the Ombudsman is troubled by the trivial value of this, he’ll need to look at Creation’s role in what’s gone on too. It’s easy to argue they’re the root problem here.
Yes, doing the right thing obviously applies to Creation as well, but complaints handling is outwith the scope of the FOS as it is rather oddly not itself a regulated activated. The FOS has no mandate to make general comments about an organisation, it just looks at the circumstances of each individual complaint so it won’t be looking into any broader aspect “Creation’s role in what’s gone on”.
@Lady London – I hope you are asking for people to report MCOL so that you will be able finally to congratulate the FOS for playing a blinder. While it has been slow, the FOS has persuaded (not instructed) Creation to settle in full. It provided a simple free service.
There have been various reports here of MCOL outcomes where cases were settled. I believe also that a at least a couple were also lost. Those people had to pay fees up front, go through a much more complex process, including many procedural plays by Creation. They had to do a lot of admin and prepare lots of documents for the court and to attend lengthy hearings (never much fun). The various judges urged settlement at the beginning and the end; that is unusual. The court listened to extensive arguments from both sides but still did not make an ex tempore judgment. The exhortation to settle before a written judgment at the end of the various cases indicates in standard code that the outcome was probably going to displease both parties. The claimant cardholders clearly got that drift. As a result, they sensibly settled but the outcome is unlikely to have been as good as the FOS; the parties each need to concede something to reach settlement. The court can’t order ‘inconvenience’ payments and while the FOS can, it seems only to have done so for a few cases and for tiny sums.
I rejected the Creation offer made back in March (accrued points, accrued free night and pro rata refund), seeking in addition ‘distress and inconvenience’ compensation. FOS investigator has now upheld the complaint and proposes £100 compensation for: (a) ‘loss of opportunity to use the card during the notice period’ (when I phoned after the first statement they told me I wouldn’t earn points during the notice period, so I stopped using it at that point); and (b) being unable to use the free night in 2022 (I provided evidence of a paid stay where I could/would have used the free night had it been credited at the correct time).
For the benefit of those who are keeping track with FOS and MCOL outcomes, Creation has rejected the Investigator’s recommendation and we are now going to see what an Ombudsman thinks about it. It will be interesting to see whether that stage takes more or less time than the 18 months it has taken to reach this point (the Investigator’s indication of “a few months” seems a little optimistic!).
Some may question whether this is good use of an Ombudsman’s time, but it was Creation who rejected the Investigator’s recommendation, not me. The Ombudsman’s decision will be binding on Creation and will also be published, so this is a potentially risky course for Creation to take.
<<reply lost here
Creation is still insisting that the pro-rata refund is due from the end of the two-month notice period, even though the FOS case handler agreed with me that the card lost its value from the moment they stopped giving out points. Creation is still clinging to the IHG Rewards Club T&Cs as giving them the right to withdraw benefits at any time. The case handler suggested a £50 goodwill payment (on top of the fee refund as calculated by Creation), but they rejected this. So now we finally go to an Ombudsman.
I’m sure the Ombudsman will be thrilled you have decided to use their seniority to adjudicate over £16.50 (2 months of the annual fee).
You often write about doing the right thing, rather than the letter of the law. Don’t you think doing the right thing applies to Creation too. If the Ombudsman is troubled by the trivial value of this, he’ll need to look at Creation’s role in what’s gone on too. It’s easy to argue they’re the root problem here.
The FOS has no mandate to make general comments about an organisation, it just looks at the circumstances of each individual complaint so it won’t be looking into any broader aspect “Creation’s role in what’s gone on”.
JDB this is not the full story. I’m quite certain I read in the professional financial press that the FOS does have a feedback to the FCA about things that need to be changed based on the cases they are seeing, and that there was n intention to strengthen this. Can’t come too soon. Leaving aside the question of when will the FOS themselves get their own act together given ridiculous delays and a lack of sufficient competent resources and apparent poor communication with many claimants reporting here.
On MCOL let’s see what people say, shall we? If it were up to you, no one would ever question the establishment 🙂
@Lady London – you are correct that the FOS can report matters to its FCA masters. These are usually issues that give rise to potential ongoing regulatory concern and/or might affect many clients, notably more vulnerable ones. The Creation saga doesn’t get even remotely near the threshold; it is seriously piffling in the greater scheme of things; perhaps read a few cases.
As for the MCOL cases, I have read those reported, but I appreciate they don’t suit your narrative.
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