Mystery of the missing Nectar points: Cardholder discovers his points were spent 100 miles away

Brian Brown, 58, is a keen collector of Nectar points, which he earns every time he shops at Sainsbury’s or on eBay.

Over the past 14 years, he has managed to collect more than 96,000 euros by spotting promotions that earned him as much as 500 euros in one go.

The official uses the points to fill up his car every time he visits family who live more than 200 miles away in South Wales.

Thanks to Nectar points, he saves £100 on his fuel bill if he makes this trip two to three times a year.

But a few weeks ago, on June 24, he logged into his account to find that 92,000 points – worth £460 – had disappeared.

Activity history on his account showed that Brian had spent his hard-earned points at a Sainsbury’s store in Wolverhampton, a city he had never visited and which was over 100 miles from his address in Wakefield.

Brian immediately changed his password and reported the missing points to Nectar the next morning. Nectar cancelled his account and said it would transfer all 96,000 points to a new card.

Brian, who asked to have his name changed, said: ‘I was in shock. How did someone get the card number? What other information did they get from my account?’

He believes that security measures should be put in place so that customers can redeem a large number of points.

“If I were to spend that amount with my credit card, my phone would ask me to confirm the purchase,” he says.

Several readers have written to Money Mail over the past two months with similar stories of missing Nectar points to Brian’s.

A reader told Money Mail that £50 worth of points had disappeared from her account between February and April.

Another lost £100 worth of points because she redeemed them in a country other than where she lived.

A quick search on social media reveals that dozens of others have seen their points disappear over the past month.

Around 18 million people have a Nectar account, which allows you to earn points when you shop at stores such as Argos, eBay and Sainsbury’s. These points can then be used to buy items at these and other selected retailers.

At Sainsbury’s, customers with a Nectar card also get access to Nectar Prices, discounts on popular groceries.

Customers typically earn one point for every £1 spent, with some exceptions. Each point is worth 0.5p, so customers typically need to spend £200 to get £1 in Nectar points.

It’s unclear how the points disappear from buyers’ accounts: were they spent by thieves or is something else going on?

Technology expert David McClelland has previously said that Nectar cards can be copied by fraudsters who forge a copy of a customer’s card.

However, customers do not need a physical card to earn and redeem Nectar points. They can also use the app in-store or an online account when shopping on a website.

This means that if fraudsters know your login details for your online account or app, they don’t need the physical card to access the points.

Nectar’s response does not shed light on why these points are disappearing or how they are being used. A spokesperson said he could not go into detail about the fraud or share more specific details.

Nectar’s ‘collector rules’, which can be found on Nectar’s website, state that Nectar cannot be held liable for unauthorized use of points.

A Nectar spokesperson said that if a customer suspects they have been a victim of fraud, the company will conduct a “thorough investigation” and points may be refunded.

Four weeks ago, freelance sports TV director Richard Coventry was celebrating his eldest daughter’s 16th birthday at home in Sheffield when 18,000 Nectar points disappeared from his account.

The 47-year-old father of two logged into his Sainsbury’s Nectar account two days later to find the points, worth £90, had been redeemed in Oldbury, a market town 80 miles away.

“I contacted Nectar and they said the activity looked suspicious and that they would suspend my account and send out a new card, but that could take up to 10 days,” he said.

Adam French, an expert at the personal finance website NerdWallet, says that if points have disappeared from your account, you should gather proof of your previous balance and present it to Nectar’s customer service for assistance.

If you suspect your points have disappeared due to fraudulent activity, check your account to determine when and how your points were used.

“If you discover any unauthorized purchases, please contact Nectar and request a refund for those transactions.”

Retired police officer Graham Adlem was called into action four weeks ago when he discovered that 18,000 Nectar points, worth £90, had been redeemed in Morecambe, Lancashire, about 230 miles from his home in Fareham, Hampshire.

The 76-year-old logged into his account to check if any points had been uploaded from an Argos store, but was met with a message saying ‘thanks for spending your points’.

He called Nectar and they said they would look into his case right away, get his points back and send out a new card.

Graham received his new card last week and was awarded 18,000 Goodwill points, three weeks after his points originally disappeared.

The grandfather of four says, “The guy on the phone tried to imply it was a system glitch. I want to know what happened. What’s wrong with their system?”

Richard Coventry also asks himself this question.

“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” he says.

“I want my card to work again.”

Richard has since received his new card and the 18,000 points were restored last week. However, he is still missing the points that were on his account when it was closed.

A Nectar spokesperson said: ‘The security of our customer accounts is of paramount importance and we have a number of measures in place to detect and in many cases prevent fraud.

Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are using all kinds of tactics.

Although fraud cases only affect a small proportion of our 18 million cardholders, we encourage customers to contact the Nectar Helpline team if they suspect they have been a victim, who will investigate the matter thoroughly.

‘We initially review the account to identify any unusual activity, such as redemptions of items that fall outside of normal shopping behavior.

“If we find this, we will refund the points. If it is less clear, we will investigate it further.”

• If your Nectar points have disappeared, please let us know. Contact l.evans@dailymail.co.uk