PARENTS have been sharing a “genius” trick to get money off their Christmas shopping, but some think it could land you on Santa’s naughty list.
A savvy shopper revealed how they are using The Entertainer’s Birthday club to get a discount just in time for Christmas each year – despite not having a child born at this time of year.
The retailer offers customers the chance to add up to five children to its Jack’s Birthday Club, in order to get a 20% discount code for their birthdays.
The code applies to orders up to £200, meaning a saving of up to £40. Customers receive it about three weeks before the child’s birthday.
One member of the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group revealed how the offer can be exploited at Christmas.
Posting under the name Shak, they said: “(This is) something I’ve done for a few years now. The Entertainer have a Birthday club and they send you a 20% off voucher three weeks before your kids birthday.
“So I add my two kids’ actual birthdays in but I also add a fake kid that has a November birthday.
“That way I get a 20% voucher every Christmas to use. You must do it at least three weeks prior to the day to receive the voucher but if you put the beginning of December in you should get your voucher in November and do a Christmas shop.”
Others said they do it too, with one mum even admitting she has made up FOUR children to get multiple codes at Christmas.
Another branded it “genius” but some parents questioned whether it could get them into trouble, posting comments such as: “I’m pretty sure that is fraud” and “it is classed as fraud by deception”.
Another said a fairer way to do it would be to register nieces, nephews, grandchildren and other children from your extended family or friends- rather than make up kids.
There is no requirement that the youngsters named are the customer’s sons and daughters.
We asked The Entertainer on its stance. It said that it does not condone and is trusting its customers to be honest.
A spokesman said: “The customer initiative is an all-year-round reward, which The Entertainer would encourage parents to use for their children’s actual birthdays only.
“As with any birthday incentive of this kind, The Entertainer is trusting its customers to be honest and enjoy the Jack’s Birthday Club loyalty discount without taking advantage, and in turn would not condone signing up for Jack’s Birthday club for children that don’t exist or have birthdays throughout the remainder of the year to receive discount over Christmas.
“Registrations to the club are monitored, and the business can see how many children are registered and when they were registered online, but The Entertainer doesn’t currently ask for proof.
The toy store also highlighted that it has a range of deals for bargain hunting mums and dads.
“For parents looking for great deals throughout Christmas, The Entertainer’s Christmas catalogue is jam-packed with budget-busting deals that can be enjoyed without misusing the Jack’s Birthday Club promotion.”
The easiest way to get money off is to simply Google “discount codes” and the name of the retailer you want to buy from.
There are lots of sites sharing codes, like HotUKDeals and Latest Deals, including The Sun’s own vouchercodes.thesun.co.uk page. Plus there are Facebook groups where shoppers can share codes with others.
Or you can download a code finder to your browser to look for discounts for you, like Honey or Pouch.
The Entertainer often has a huge toy sale in the run up to Christmas, though hasn’t said when yet.
Supermarkets have also launched their own annual toy sales at this time of year, and there are big shopping events like Black Friday where discount toys can often be found – we’ve rounded them all up here.
Christmas isn’t the only time you can get big discounts at The Entertainer either.
One mum spotted up to 75% off inits summer sale, and bought everything she needed for Christmas for just £36.
And it’s worth getting ahead as some of the biggest reductions on the high street and online can be found in the Boxing Day sales – and some even start BEFORE Christmas.
One shopper revealed how they saved £700 and already had gifts wrapped in January.
A worker at The Entertainer previously revealed her top tips for bagging the biggest bargains before Christmas too.
That includes signing up for The Entertainer’s newsletter, where you get a heads up about sales and offers and which you can do online, plus making a beeline for the bargain aisles in store.
