Just saw a poster on coles website for 3 months free plus membership
Get 3 months of free Coles Plus*
Sign up with code PLUSFREE
Get 3 months of free Coles Plus Saver*
Sign up with code SAVERFREE
T&C
https://www.coles.com.au/important-information/terms/members…
Same, but got charged the full $19. Just spent the last 30mins on chat with them and they claim I didn’t add the promo code when I signed up. Sent screenshot of confirmation email showing I have, saying promo code applied and still refused to acknowledge it. Supposedly have issued a refund for $19, but we’ll see.
Me too, keen to see if/how Coles will resolve
Follow up*
I also got charged which the email confirmation says
You'll receive 100% off your next 3 monthly payments~
They said it is like pre-auth so will refund soon. Let's see.
Same. Except I used a disposable card so they couldn't process payment. Wondering if I should update payment details, my account shows next payment will be 30 May.
I called and they said it was an IT glitch so code wasn't applied. I was asked to cancel the membership and sign back up using the same code in 48 hours and it should be no issues.
Same!!!!
Customer service isn't helping. She left me on hold for 15 mins thinking I'll hang up. Not hanging up
35 mins In, she disconnected the call. Too hard basket huh?
Spoke to online chat they said:
"Thank you for waiting. Upon checking, since payment still in submitted status we need to wait for the final invoice to get ready. Please contact us back again after 3 to 5 business days so that we can assist you further"
I don't have high hopes
That is so rude of them to just hang up on you like that.
By the way, there was no invoice in my Coles account. That's just an excuse from them. But I did show them a paypal invoice with the 'order number' — it might just be that they need that number to process the refund.
Maybe try emailing them after the invoice is ready, so that you leave a paper trail. And attach screenprints of the confirmations you got when you first signed up, and screenprints showing your account got charged. Stops them from using the "we can't see anything wrong from our end" excuse.
Don't give up!!!!
Definitely gonna contest. Or I'll do a charge back
Got charged $7. I called the priority number and the customer support person said that Coles are aware of the issue. She took down my details to be processed by IT and for refund
How come my rep over the phone put me on hold for 35 mins "to check" and disconnected the call. Goes to show how shit their internal comms are
Even online chat didn't know.
You'd think an influx of enquiries will send out a customer service comms to inform the reps.
Same here. Spoke to Coles customer care and she said that we will get a notification in 3 to 5 days about an outcome whatever it maybe.
Guys, check your payment accounts. I redeemed the Coles plus offers and it didn't charge me at the checkout. But then a week later my card got charged, even though the Coles plus member page says no charge. It's super super sneaky for Coles to advertise something as free for three months, then go take payment.
Update: after 30 minutes of persistence, I finally got Coles to say that they will issue a refund. It was like pulling hens teeth explaning that yes, I'm elegible. No, I didn't break any of the T&Cs. No, this isn't about a grocery order. I sent screen prints of the Coles confirmation email showing that I would get 100% off the next three monthly payments. I also sent a screen print of my paypal account, showing the charge had been deducted from my account (i.e. NOT just a pre-authorisation).
Yep, I spent 5 days dealing with coles and flybuys support over this deal, because of an IT glitch on their end. (still unresolved and they just stopped replying to me altogether)
They have the worst customer support I have ever dealt with (especially Flybuys - they dont even read you emails)
Hope you all get the issue sorted out, at-least they're aware of an issue and should be resolving it
That indeed sounds terrible.
@OutOfTime: Good luck, I would just wait to see
See above that someone said would automatically refund.
Update 2: TLDR: You may need to check your payment accounts again in June and July. The fact that you got charged this month's membership means that Coles did not apply the 3 months free promotion to your account. They also refused to fix the promotion when I asked, saying "contact us again if your account is charged next month".
Context:
When I signed up to Coles Plus Saver and Coles Plus, I got two separate email confirmations from Coles saying "You redeemed a promotion! You'll receive 100% off your next 3 monthly payments.~". When I checked my Coles online account, only the Coles Plus Saver ($7 monthly) promotion was showing. The Coles Plus ($19 monthly) promotion was NOT showing despite the email confirmation, and it showed that my next charge would be in a month's time. This suggests that I will be charged again in June and July for the "3 months free" promotion that glitched. I saw this in my acount after raising to Coles the issue of an incorrect $19 charge for May. It was an actual charge, with the tax invoice showing in my Coles account (it wasn't showing this morning yet, but I also had the PayPal invoice).
I thought I would be proactive and hopped onto the Coles chat again. I explained that the promo was not showing in my account despite the confirmation email. I explained that I was charged for May and that their colleague had offered to refund. I explained that I did not want the hassle of checking for charges in June/July, because it should be the responsibility of Coles to ensure their IT systems are correctly applying promotions. I requested that they check my account and add a note/whatever, to ensure I would not be incorrectly charged again. They were unable or unwilling to do that. All they could offer was "contact us again if your account is charged next month".
I used a disposable card and received an email today asking me to update my card details as payment was rejected after card verification went through yesterday. I don’t think that I’ll be doing that in a hurry! I couldn’t reply to the email as it is a “not monitored” address.
I always try to use a disposable card or prepaid card with a low balance if I’m not sure that I will continue a trial subscription.
Update: I tried rejoining Coles Plus Saver and there was 3 months free promo auto applied, so rejoined using the disposable card again. Looks like they did something after my email.
Thank you. I just rejoined and the three months free promo was applied automatically for me as well. I used another disposable card. Let’s see if they try to charge me $7.00 again in the next few days.
curious, how do you get disposable cards?
Wise, Revolut, Bankwest offer them off the top of my head.
Is anyone only getting the coles plus saver 2x points for the primary cardholder? My additional cardholder is only getting 2x points on plus and not plus saver.
It only applies to Coles account not flybuys. So one card holder only.
Received a reply from Coles to my email pointing out their stuff up. Appears the online help desk aren’t aware of any glitch on Coles’ part because the reply was: “Upon checking your account, I can see that you subscribe for the Coles Plus on May 28, 2025 12:56 AM. Offer applies for selected customers who sign up to a Coles Plus Saver monthly membership with promo code SAVERFREE between 00:00 (AEST) Wednesday 14 May 2025 to 23:59 (AEST) Tuesday 27 May 2025.”
Even though I attached the confirmation email showing I had signed up ant 5:37pm on the 26 May and the PLUSFREE code was applied (not the Saver offer), didn’t acknowledge it again. Looks like something has happened around midnight where the offer has been removed from my account and then the subscription reactivated again without the promo.
Will be pushing for a full refund of the $19 in the coming weeks if it doesn’t go through as they’ve promised. Dodgy bunch.
Classic tactic for them to try to deny any error on their part. I eventually got them to say that they will refund, but so far I haven't gotten anything back yet.
Oh and make sure they don't charge you again next month. They refused to fix the promo in my account despite showing them an email that confirms I successfully used the code.
Refund finally came through last night. Still showing that I'm going to be charged again this month, I'll keep nagging support.
Does anyone's 10% off (the once per month as part of coles plus saver) not get applied at the final price even though I checked it to be applied at check-out? In the invoice it shows the discount of 10% but my credit card charge is the full amount.
It must be pending authorisation if you have placed it now and when it gets settled in 2 days time, final price with discount will be applied.
It should,
I just used up mine today with a $150 shop, on their screen the -$15 discount showed, and the card machine showed $135 payable. Also my internet banking statement shows the discounted price taken out……
If your card hasn't adjusted I would follow up with them
My account no longer has Coles Plus activated, even though I have the confirmation email. I used paypal and immediately disconnected it from Coles to avoid any shenanigans from them, so I'm guessing they tried to take a payment and then cancelled my Coles Plus when it failed. What a sh*tshow.
…. and now it's working again. Either they fixed something or it's flaky af. I don't have a lot of confidence in Coles after this experience
My trial memberships got cancelled too.
I bet they would have charged me if the payment method was valid.
What a shit show indeed.
Just got charged $7, idiots
Just received this in an email:
Your Coles Plus Saver membership has been cancelled.
From 1 June 2025, you'll no longer have access to Coles Plus Saver benefits.
If you have 60 seconds for our survey, we’d love to know why you’ve cancelled and how we could improve Coles Plus Saver.
I responded to the three question survey negatively and finished with this statement:
Since when does a free trial include a $7.00 credit card charge the next day? reply to : [email protected]
I had used a disposable credit card to sign up. Verification went through but the attempted $7.00 charge the next day failed.
I wasn’t able to write more as there is a 100 character limit in comment area of the survey and the email came from an unmonitored address.
Got charged $7 so my most expensive item I bought was "damaged" and got it refunded. I think that will happen the next two months too if they keep charging
got charged $7… hmm
The $7 went through my card…. Last week chat said to speak to chat again and get it refunded if it's out of pending/authorisation stage. Spoke to chat again and sent screenshot and the rep has the audacity saying it's "pending" and it will automatically disappear. And I debated it's not a pending transaction. The idiot didn't even both responding back……. Why is this enquiry so hard for them to resolve? WHEN IT'S THEIR EFFING STUFF UP?
Guess I'll be doing a charge back after 3 months or 3 X charge backs so they get fees per charge back….
This is bloody stupid, they know the error, just fix it.
Has anyone actually gotten refunded in their account yet? I'm still waiting.
Still waiting..
No, still waiting also.
Still waiting after chat said they have escalated it to the refunds team
Refund came through last night.
Like others, I got charged $7.
I signed up to both Coles Plus and Coles Plus Saver, received emails confirming 3 months free for both and then I saw a charge a day or two later for $7.
Checked my Coles account and while Coles Plus listed an "Applied promotion" there was no promo listed for Coles Plus Saver and they've just charged me for the subscription.
I emailed requesting a refund and to have the promo offer applied, today I login and find I've got two "Applied promotions" to my Coles Plus subscription but still no promo on my Coles Plus Saver.
I have no high hopes. Chat said:
"Regarding the charges for the Coles Plus Save subscription, upon review we have raised a refund request to your Coles Plus Subscription charged and our team will process this within 3-5 business days. Depending on your bank processing times, these funds should be visible in your account in the coming days. You will receive a confirmation notification once this has been processed from our end. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding."
I then asked for the copy of the transcript and she said:
"To assist with this enquiry, we need verbal confirmation from you and may need to conduct an ID check. Please call our friendly Coles Customer Care Team on 1800 455 400 and we will be happy to assist you."
You effing kidding me? I had to copy and paste it in word…… effing useless
Emailed Coles again today with screenshot of the charge still showing on my credit card, and got this response - but still no offer to fix/reapply the 3mths free promo even though it worked and was there stuff up!
“We’re sorry to hear that our promo code for the 3 months offer did not work for your account. Upon review, we can see that the code was applied successfully however, a system error prevented the offer from being applied to your account at the end. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this may have caused you.
After review of your account, we can see that the refund request has been forwarded to our team on 29/05/2025. Please be advised that our team will process this within 5 to 7 business days. Depending on your bank processing times, these funds should be visible in your account in the coming days. You will receive a confirmation notification once this has been processed from our end. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.”
Don’t think the chance of the refund going through is high. Will probably have to request a chargeback from my CC company.
Finally received my refund for $19 this morning. Cancelled the subscription the moment they charged me because I didn’t trust that they’d do the same next month. Very disappointed in how Coles handled the whole situation.
I honestly think its done on purpose, they knew. If they were to fix it, they would just refund everyone who signed up between X to Y date even if they didn't use the code.
The thing is, people don't check their card to see if a small charge 7 or 19 came out and Coles know this, so they will just action (and doing a poor job at it) refunding the ones that do dispute it.
It's like cashback offers, had a guy in marketing say only a handful of people claim it
I got told 3-5 business days two weeks ago…still waiting.
Still waiting for their reply that is 3 days overdue. I am just going to cancel so no further charges will be applied.
i signed up coles plus on 27th
and got charged $19 on 28th
We already forward the issue to our relevant team for a review. They will contact our affected customers for the Coles Plus 3 months subscription issue this week. They will process refund for the subscription charge and will communicate with you directly.
I signed up for Coles Plus Saver on the 27th, got charged on the 28th.
Contacted Coles that same day and was assured the refund would be processed.
And since then? Nothing but crickets.
It has been two weeks since I was promised a refund. Got crickets so I followed up. I now have an update from Coles!.
Thank you so much for your patience. We would like to inform you of an issue identified with the Coles Plus and Coles Plus Saver promotion that ran from 14 to 27 May. Due to a technical error, some customers who signed up during this promotional period were incorrectly charged for their subscription, rather than receiving the advertised three-month free period. Please be assured that Coles is aware of the issue and will be contacting all affected customers early next week. A full refund of the subscription fee will be processed automatically. There's no need to take further action on your end. We sincerely apologise for this error and truly appreciate your patience and understanding.
We are terribly sorry to hear that there has been a delay in the processing of your refund. I’ve followed up with the relevant team, and they’ve advised that there is currently a significant backlog, which is unfortunately causing delays in processing refunds. Please rest assured that we’re actively working through them as quickly as possible. I understand this has been frustrating, and I truly appreciate your understanding.
TLDR: They finally admit the technical issue and that they are swamped with a backlog of refunds. Keep an eye out for communication from Coles next week
Thanks for sharing this, it's more than I've received from Coles. I have followed them up 3 times (call, chat and email) and they told me they know about it and had put in a form to give me a refund (which would take up to 5 business days). It has now been 6 business days and I am yet to receive anything.
Based on this "trial" I won't be renewing the subscription.
Figured I had a civic duty to share, given how many people are affected.
I finally got my refund though - probably because I bothered to keep following up. Fingers crossed the refund will come through for you soon!
Thanks, I have the refund now too. But it still says that the next payment is due in a couple of weeks, so we'll wait and see what happens.
I’ve finally got refunds rolling through after complaining on my wife and i’s account, via the live chat around a week ago
Cancelled 3 days ago and got a refund today. Wife had not cancelled hers yet and got a refund. At least I got 1 free month.
I'm keeping mine open for the three months and will demand a refund each month they fail to honour it.
Latest comms from Coles support endorses this strategy
I am sorry to hear about the issue. You can still access the promo for 3 month however, if you are charged for the next billing please contact us back for further assistance.
Keep harassing them. Send an online enquiry because me speaking to chat three times didn't solve the issue.
I sent an online enquiry twice and they replied back within 48 hours saying they will escalate it.
It's been about maybe 2 weeks or more and I just got this email today.
Good luck guys.
"You recently signed up to our Coles Plus Saver membership with a 3 free months offer. Unfortunately, due to a technical issue you were incorrectly charged the first monthly fee of $7.
We have refunded this $7 fee and your ‘3 free months’ offer has now been applied correctly. Depending on your financial institution, the refund should appear in your bank account in the coming days.
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
The Coles Team"
"
Yep got the same email. Logged into Coles account to check and it's still saying it will deduct $7 on 27 June. Hope it changes but not holding my breath.
I just logged in too…. same thing, promotion not applied. Bruh
I got the same email and can see that the $7 refund has come through BUT when I check my Coles account there's still no promo applied to my Coles Plus Saver and it says the next payment is coming out later this month.
So they haven't actually applied the '3 free months'.
same same, i just logged in…. bruh….
Same, except I'm on the dearer plan for home delivery.
"You’re a monthly member. Your next payment of $19.00 will be deducted on 26 June 2025."
I have a feeling that I'm going to have to go through the whole ringamole again….
reunfded friday
You recently signed up to our Coles Plus membership with a 3 free months offer. Unfortunately, due to a technical issue you were incorrectly charged the first monthly fee of $19.
We have refunded this $19 fee and your ‘3 free months’ offer has now been applied correctly. Depending on your financial institution, the refund should appear in your bank account in the coming days.
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
The Coles Team
So sounds like those of us who either cancelled in fear of being charged again next month or contacted them as soon as the incident happened won’t be getting the 3mths free promotion reapplied. None of the comms I’ve received from Coles has offered to reapply the promotion and my account still just shows “subscription cancelled”. Not even sure if it’s worth the hassle trying to get in contact again about it.
Some of us, including me, got the email but the promotion still wasn't correctly applied. I'm still showing up as a monthly member.
The saga continues. Approximately a week ago Coles emailed me to say that they had refunded me the $19 and that the promotion had been applied to my account.
So I checked. Ok, so I got the refund. But my account still showed me as a monthly member. Thought I'd give it a few more days.
Fast forward to today (a week later), I contacted Coles, asking them to correctly apply the promotion to my account. It's an hour of my life wasted being told "please wait, I'll check this for you". Asking basic questions like, "is it the Coles Plus or Coles Plus Saver membership" and etc, after i already provided the information. Anything to keep me on hold while they "check again".
They basically ignored my original enquiry. I didn't wait on hold for an hour to be told "we'll process a refund", for a refund I already received. And to "contact us again if you're charged", when I asked for the promotion to be applied as promised in their email to me.
The incompetence is astounding. They've shown that they can't even do the bare minimum of getting the promotion fixed, even after weeks. At this point "thankyou for your patience" feels like an insult. They clearly don't value their customers
Oh and if anyone applied a code for the "Coles Fest" online shopping discount, there's an error with that as well. I'm not affected as a didn't participate, but I saw a banner on their website saying something like "we're aware of the issue and we're working to resolve it".
Dear <Redacted>,
Thank you for contacting Coles Online.
Please be advised that we already cancelled your coles plus and coles plus saver.
We have sent a refund request for $7.00 and our team will process the refund within 3-5 business days. Depending on your bank processing times, these funds should be visible in your account in the coming days. You will receive a confirmation notification once this has been processed from our end. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
Unfortunately, for annual subscription plans, you will be billed at the time of subscribing and will not be eligible to receive a refund for any unused portion of your subscription.
First month free offer is also available for the yearly membership, therefore the billing date for customers who take out this free trial will be at the end of the one-month free trial period.
We hope this information has been helpful and look forward to delivering your groceries soon.
Kind regards,
<Redacted>
Customer Service Agent | Coles Online
same here.