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Recently, I asked with an online form for some receipts to get added to my rewards card (because I forgot the card when paying).

However, they accidentally added more than a thousand times the amount that should have been added. As a result, I could eat there for free for about the rest of my life, simply using up those points.

I am not sure what to do now.

  1. Of course, as a 'good' person (or maybe a 'stupid' person), I should call them, (wait 30 minutes in the queue), and then try to explain the issue to the service desk. I actually did that, and the guy thought I am nuts to even call, and told me to 'just use them they are yours now'. I don't feel like calling again and again until I get someone that believes it, just to return them their points.
  2. I could just toss the card and forget about it. However, I had quite some points on it that really belong to me, so that feels like I pay for their fault.
  3. Use them and play stupid. It's not my duty to check their math, right? Probably nobody will ever care (let's keep religious considerations out here). What would be the consequences if they do realize their error some day in the far future? (I understand this borders on a legal question).

Edit: This is not about credit card rewards, but a specific restaurant chain. Each $ you spend there you get a point and for X points you get a free meal. I got points as if I had eaten about 150 k$ of food. This would give me free meals for around 4 k$; depending on what exactly I pick.

Aganju
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    They will probably find it and correct it. At which point you will owe them money for all the points you used that you weren't entitled to. Personally, I would strongly suggest calling this to their attention via a letter (help desk folks are generally clueless once you get off their scripts) and hoping they give you a few bonus points for saving them the work of tracking this down. – keshlam Jun 13 '16 at 21:21
  • If this was a bank and the points were money, option 3 would be fraud. Option 2 might be dubious. This situation is less serious than that, but you just need to decide if the same ethics / law apply. I'd go the safe route, which is 1 (and try the customer service desk in the shop instead). – Tim Malone Jun 13 '16 at 21:33
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    The fate of Susan Madakor under somewhat similar circumstances is relevant... – DJohnM Jun 14 '16 at 03:38
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    Thanks, @DJohnM . I add a link for those who wonder who that is: http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/14/news/mn-50909 – Aganju Jun 14 '16 at 03:42
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    In my opinion (not a lawyer, not legal advise): from a legal standpoint, depending on jurisdiction, once the service rep has been specifically notified of the error and tells you "just use them they are yours now", they are yours. It is no longer an error. The points have specifically been given to you with the full knowledge and consent of the person the company has delegated to provide service to you. As long as the amount is not above the limits placed on verbal contracts, the points are now yours to use as you please. – Makyen Jun 14 '16 at 07:52
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    @TimMalone, Option 3 is not fraud. Fraud requires you to have made a false statement/representation. As long as you are strictly truthful, it is hard to commit fraud. The service rep, having been informed of the error, stating "they [the points] are yours now" makes the points Aganju's unless there was a legal argument that could be made to say that the contract/gift authorized by the representative was invalid. – Makyen Jun 14 '16 at 07:58
  • @Makyen See the news article posted above – Tim Malone Jun 14 '16 at 08:01
  • @DJohnM, While the fate of Susan Madakor is somewhat relevant, her fate appears (having taken a very brief look at the issue) to mostly rest on the fact that she made false statements regarding why she thought the funds were hers. The situation appears significantly different, but is an object lesson that being dishonest about the situation (i.e. claiming that the points are anything other than exactly what they are) is not the way to go. – Makyen Jun 14 '16 at 08:04
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    @TimMalone, It is quite different. In this situation Aganju reported the error and was told "just use them they are yours now" by the representative. That is quite a bit different than just using them, not reporting what you believe to be an error, and then making false statements to try to get the portion you have not already spent. Note: there is no way that we can actually know what the reason for the charges were from a news article. The only way to know that information is to look at the actual case. – Makyen Jun 14 '16 at 08:11
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    Note that there is precedent in the law for somewhat similar situations where the item(s) are certainly yours: See 39 U.S. Code § 3009(b). This is the law that makes merchandise mailed to you which you did not order a gift to you. – Makyen Jun 14 '16 at 08:15
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    A variant on (2) would be to use the card until you've spent your legitimate points (the ones you had before, and roughly what you should have got from adding the receipts) and then chuck the card. – TripeHound Jun 14 '16 at 08:24
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    Is this a rewards card that is a credit card or a rewards card that is a customer loyalty card? In other words, is this a Subway card or a Master Card? – Freiheit Jun 14 '16 at 13:08
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    I'm not sure how this question is answerable other than by opinion. – Joe Jun 14 '16 at 14:38
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    I suggest you litigate - they have put you in a shitty situation that is wasting your time and exposing you to dangers. Find an aggressive attorney today. – Fattie Jun 14 '16 at 18:05
  • "I asked with an online form for some receipts to get added to my rewards card (because I forgot the card when paying" Woah! What card do you have!? You didn't use their card, AND you still got the rewards of using the card? That's pretty nice indeed. – SnakeDoc Jun 14 '16 at 20:41
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    How lucky of you but again how nice of you to tell them about it. – NuWin Jun 14 '16 at 23:34
  • @Makyen The company rep may not have had the authority to create a contract be it verbal or otherwise. Without some kind of guarantee the contract was valid, it is probably best to not use them. – emican Jun 15 '16 at 02:20
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    @user14218, It is possible the rep does not have that authority. Different employees are delegated authority to perform different actions, often with $ limits. That is an issue internal to the company. It is not Aganju's responsibility to know that company's internal policies. Aganju has acted in good faith. He contacted them through the method provided to do so. He spoke to the representative the company delegated to handle interactions with customers and made that person specifically aware of the situation. He was told that the points were his. It is reasonable for him to act on that. – Makyen Jun 15 '16 at 03:02
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    If you want a more "creative" solution, ring a local radio phone-in and ask them what you should do. The company gets some of free publicity (and there is no such thing as bad publicity!), and most likely they won't want to finish up looking mean by taking away everything they gave out by mistake. And whatever the outcome, you get your 15 minutes of fame. – alephzero Jun 15 '16 at 04:24
  • @SnakeDoc It's pretty common (in the UK at least) for supermarkets' loyalty card schemes to award points based on your spend. Normally, you hand over the card as you pay and the points are added to the total. If you don't have the card with you, you can register the receipt at a later date (either in store or online). Presumably they track the number on the receipt to stop it being added more than once. – TripeHound Jun 15 '16 at 08:10
  • @TripeHound That is common in the US as well, however store loyalty cards are not what the OP described. It seemed like they have an actual credit card, and it seems unusual (and pretty nice) that a credit card company would reward points for purchases not made on the card itself... since reward points are typically used to encourage charging on the card. – SnakeDoc Jun 15 '16 at 15:32
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    @SnakeDoc The question only says "rewards card" and the only mention of "credit card" is in Freiheit's question (three above your first comment) asking for explicit clarification which doesn't seem to have been provided. The OP says "_added to my rewards card (because I forgot the card when paying)." says loyalty card, not credit card to me. – TripeHound Jun 15 '16 at 15:47
  • @TripeHound That's fair. I still read it as a credit card rewards program. People often refer to these as their "rewards card", "miles card", or "points card". Usually a grocery store isn't giving free products away with points, usually its an instant slight discount on the things you buy at that moment. I could be wrong, but I still think it's a credit card with reward points. – SnakeDoc Jun 15 '16 at 15:50
  • I was offline for the last day, I have edited the question with that info. – Aganju Jun 15 '16 at 15:57
  • @Aganju Woah! They gave you points as-if you bought $150,000 USD of meals? Don't spend those points - it will come back to haunt you. – SnakeDoc Jun 15 '16 at 17:59
  • @Aganju are you able to clarify how much that actually gives you free? In the UK normally with rewards £1 spent gives 1 point and 1 point = 1p to spend. That would give you £1,500 to spend on 150k spend. This may make a difference to peoples answers. A company may not care about giving away £150 but £1,500 or £15,000 may be another matter. – DavidT Jun 16 '16 at 14:16
  • It's roughly 4000 $. It depends a bit on what specifically I would buy. – Aganju Jun 16 '16 at 14:19
  • @Makyen : What if the service rep later denies having said that, while Aganju is sued for fraud to pay back the money? – vsz Jun 16 '16 at 15:27
  • @vsz That is a very real risk, for the OP. Surely at some point, internal teams at the company will be reviewing big spenders via the rewards program (usually one of the reasons they use rewards programs), and they'll notice they suddenly have a customer who spent $150,000 apparently with them all of a sudden. Once they notice this, they'll track down what happened, realize the point error, and recall the points. If OP has spent them, OP may be on the wrong end of violating the rewards programs terms and conditions, and be open for lawsuit to reclaim effectively stolen goods (free food). – SnakeDoc Jun 16 '16 at 15:33

8 Answers8

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I can't give you proper legal advice, but if I called their customer service and used half an hour of my time to wait and explain the situation in detail, and their official response was "just use the points," I would do just that.

Of course you would have stronger legal standing if you had recorded their answer, or had it in writing from them. But I don't think spending these points will come crashing down on you. And morally I see absolutely no problem with spending these points; it is not as if you are stealing from someone else. These points can usually be given away in any kind of crazy manner. Sometimes there are lotteries or events where they give away 100,000 points for new customers who open up an account on a specific weekend. Sometimes they give points to customers who want to terminate their contracts as an attempt to coax them into staying.

They have given you a lot of points and don't really care. As a result you are probably staying their customer forever – and will most likely tell this story to many friends. This is free advertising for them. Heck, maybe they would even make a news story out of this some day, it could be good publicity.

Everyone is essentially getting these points "for free" but in fact the company has a business case by improving their image and customer retention with these points. So you can spend these points with a sound mind morally.

Legally you would have to contact a lawyer, but I think chances for legal repercussions are small if you have done your duty, informed them and their customer service basically said it's ok.

pydsigner
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Falco
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    The Downvote is mine. Obviously OP did not steal the points, but he now has something of value which is not his. The fact that he asked the question implies that he knows there's something wrong about this. "not like you are stealing from someone else" is not quite right. When he uses these points that are not earned, that's stealing, morally. Someone pays for this on the other side, whether it's a soda you steal from the corner store or the flat screen from Best Buy, when he cashes them, there's a person/company, etc that is at a loss. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Jun 14 '16 at 09:48
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    @JoeTaxpayer But Points are not something hard earned. They are more akin to a stand giving out free samples of a new Soda. If you got a whole box of free sample-sodas by accident and ask at the stand what to do - and they tell you "it's free soda, just keep it" and you go home give it to your family and friends - all of you like it maybe you become future customers. The free soda was meant to be a giveaway anyways. Just as points are a bonus given away for various reasons, but essentially a free bonus! – Falco Jun 14 '16 at 10:40
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    @JoeTaxpayer There's a difference between spending the points that you know were added in error, and calling up the company and being told by them that you can go ahead and spend the points. The minute the customer rep said that, the company transferred ownership of the points to the card holder. That probably removes any legal obstacle, and certainly removes the moral one. There's no room for ambiguity here - the customer service rep's words were "'just use them they are yours now". – JBentley Jun 14 '16 at 12:56
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    @JoeTaxpayer: why do you say they are not his? Do you mean that the customer service rep didn't have the authority to confirm that they were a gift from the company to its customer? This does seem possible, since probably the rep has a limit of discretion. Hypothetical, but what if it was the CEO or the CFO that confirmed they were a gift? Then would they still be "not earned" and therefore (you say) morally stealing? In short, who does the questioner need to contact in order to find someone with the authority to resolve this, if not customer services? – Steve Jessop Jun 14 '16 at 13:37
  • Guys - no call was made. See the original question. Of course if a rep said use them it would be ok. But this answer doesn't parse it out that way. The answer suggests calling, but then goes on to say that just using them isn't stealing. As if it were ok regardless of the attempt to contact the company. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Jun 14 '16 at 15:33
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    ? English / comprehension was not my best subject in school . I stand corrected. My sentiment is withdrawn, and I'll reverse my vote. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Jun 14 '16 at 15:37
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    @Falco - I edited. A tiny nothing, which is what the system required to let me reverse the DV. In theory, that's so if you edit the answer, and it's suddenly good, a DV can be undone. There's no option for "good answer, I made a mistake, and misread/messed up, etc." – JTP - Apologise to Monica Jun 14 '16 at 17:09
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    "The minute the customer rep said that, the company transferred ownership of the points to the card holder" Only if you have proof. And that's doubtful given the circumstances. So, the OP uses the points, and 3 months later gets a large bill from the CC company. Now the OP is on the hook for payment, and has nothing other than "well some rep said at some point that I could use them". That's flimsy at best. – SnakeDoc Jun 14 '16 at 20:44
  • I doubt that anyone accepting the call center response would do so if the situation was different and they instead removed all points from the card. In this case we would not stop calling until they lost our business or we got the "correct" response. Just a thought. – Dave Jun 15 '16 at 16:57
  • @SnakeDoc No, the proof is a separate matter. Legally the ownership transferred when the rep said that. Whether or not the rep DID say that, is where the proof comes in. In courts points of law are separate from points of fact. I take your point that in practice the OP may not want to rely on something where he has weak proof, which is why I suggested elsewhere that he try to obtain a recording first. And also why I said "probably" for the legal aspect and "certainly" for the moral aspect. – JBentley Jun 16 '16 at 15:23
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    @JBentley The OP can try to claim a Rep said that, but OP's word is worthless in all practicality. The bottom line is, we're dealing with over $150,000 USD worth of points (according to the OP's update), so there is no sane lawyer which would argue the OP should try spending the points without a formal letter from the company stating clearly they are the OP's points to use. It's a gigantic risk for the OP to spend those points, and surely the usage agreement covers the business' end when/if this scenario happens, and they must recall the points once they realize the error. – SnakeDoc Jun 16 '16 at 15:29
  • @SnakeDoc I don't disagree with most of what you're saying, but bear in mind my comment was in response to one which said that it would be immoral to spend the points. Morality and legality are separate issues, and whether or not you'd be able to prove the statement in a court room is also a separate matter, and as I've said (twice now) the OP would be best served by trying to obtain a recording of the call in order to make the legal aspect more concrete. – JBentley Jun 16 '16 at 15:32
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    Yes, I absolutely would argue that the customer service rep likely didn't have the authority to say what he said. Likely didn't even have any idea what he was talking about, and just wanted to sound like he did. I wouldn't trust anything a first-level tech said - I would try to contact someone significantly higher up the chain. – neminem Jun 16 '16 at 15:33
  • @JBentley You make good points. In the US (at least in California) verbal agreement are legally enforceable, but rarely are enforced due to the difficult in proving any agreement was actually ever made. This is the same between a company and an individual. It's one person's word (who stands to gain a lot) against a company's word, which has formally written policy and terms of usage to fallback on. – SnakeDoc Jun 16 '16 at 15:49
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    All that can be proven at this point is that OP did indeed call a support line for the company, and perhaps the duration of the call. Can't prove what was said. If OP tries to record, they'll have to inform the rep (due to single party recording laws in most of the US), and the rep is likely to decline being recorded (as they are usually trained to do). OP's best bet is to send a formal letter to the company explaining the issue, and wait for the company to respond in writing. OP can then act on the information provided by the letter, and can lean on it if it becomes an issue later on. – SnakeDoc Jun 16 '16 at 15:50
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    @SnakeDoc Yeah, that's where I was uncertain, as I'm in the UK. Here, individuals can record with a lot of freedom, and businesses can record as long as they state somewhere that they're doing so (commonly at the start of the call, but it can even just be on their website). Because of that, nearly every large business routinely record their calls. And due to a separate law, you have a legal right to a copy of the recording (and any other data they hold). So it's usually fairly simply to get hold of proof of a phone call with a large company. – JBentley Jun 16 '16 at 20:42
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    @SnakeDoc - It's a value of about $4000, as OP has since stated. It's the amount he'd earn had he spent $150K. So their reward is just under 3% or so. I maintain honesty is best, but a business isn't going to burn too many $350 lawyer-hours going after $4000. – JTP - Apologise to Monica Jun 18 '16 at 16:01
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I would behave exactly as I would expect it from others. If you were the one giving away too many points by accident you would be thankful if somebody notifies you about this error. You can write a letter or call them. I would not use the points (of course only not use the points which are added in error).

Other options are possible but I would advise against them. It's just about fair play and the points are clearly not yours.

Freddy
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    Who knows, they may even give you some bonus points for letting them now, as a sign of good faith and to encourage others to do so in the event it happens again. – SGR Jun 14 '16 at 07:34
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    I thought he said he did call and was told the points are his to use. If I was the executive of the company and this happened I would expect the customer to use the points, because one of my representatives told him that he can use his points. Unless you're saying you would override your representative's decision, I'm not sure how this would not be behaving as you would expect from others. – user541686 Jun 14 '16 at 08:47
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    Unless he has it in writing, I'd be very hesitant to base any actions off of a call center representative's words. In the worst scenario, it would be very difficult to legally prove that verbal permission had been given to use the points. – AHiggins Jun 14 '16 at 12:01
  • @AHiggins or get the recording of the call. Or just call again and record it. – Mindwin Remember Monica Jun 14 '16 at 12:48
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    @Mindwin: "Or just call again and record it." -- subject to your jurisdiction's laws on single party consent. – Steve Jessop Jun 14 '16 at 13:43
  • Up vote from me too. Use the points that are rightfully yours. Then don't use them. – Pete B. Jun 14 '16 at 18:47
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    Eh, again, as stated like 4 times, if a rep says they're now yours *they're yours*. The 'right thing' is to use them and move on with your life! The story would be different otherwise. – Insane Jun 14 '16 at 19:04
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    OP Updated the question. They were given enough points as-if they bought $150,000 USD of meals from the restaurant. They'll certainly discover this sooner or later, and OP may be on the hook. It's risky to spend those points (probably more than a year's worth of free meals), so it's more advisable to just "sit" on them until it works itself out. – SnakeDoc Jun 15 '16 at 18:14
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If you want to maximize your expected benefits, at minimal risk of financial repercussions or sleepless nights, I would suggest the following.

Send an email explaining the situation, and announce that you plan to use the points if they do not advise otherwise.

Here is an example message:

Dear sir/madam,

I recently contacted your helpdesk to mention that I believe my points balance is higher than it should be, and I was told that I could consider the extra points a gift. I assume that settles it, but in case I am mistaken please contact me within 4 weeks. My customer number is xxxx.

Kind regards,

Note that it is no problem if they don't reply, but you may want to push for a (possibly automated) confirmation of receiving your message.

I would not be surprised if they still reduce your balance sometime in the future, but you should be reasonably covered if they try to reclaim any points that you already spent.

Dennis
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Of course, as a 'good' person (or maybe a 'stupid' person), I should call them, (wait 30 minutes in the queue), and then try to explain the issue to the service desk. I actually did that, and the guy thought I am nuts to even call, and told me to 'just use them they are yours now'. I don't feel like calling again and again until I get someone that believes it, just to return them their points.

Calling generally does not solve this problem. You would need to write a letter using certified mail and send some reminders. Hopefully they should notice it, if not you at least have evidence that you have communicated.

I could just toss the card and forget about it. However, I had quite some points on it that really belong to me, so that feels like I pay for their fault.

There is no need. You can continue to use the card as usual.

Use them and play stupid.

This is not a good idea. They are clearly not yours. Somewhere in Terms and Conditions you will find some fine print about notifying Bank/Financial Institution about the errors.

Best course, after intimating informing them via letters, keep using your card as normal and use your points as normal. You would roughly know your points balance.

Dheer
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An ideal option for you would be to use as many or as few as you choose, but have all of them available to you. The service desk guy told you you can do exactly that.

Problem, though: you have no proof that a representative of the company told you that. Get proof. Recording, written statement, whatever. If writing a letter, make it clear you expect a response.

The time you spend "being a good guy" is not free, you should get something for it. No idea how to go about that - mentioning the service desk guy in a letter might give him trouble. Maybe suggest that you could allow your image to be used in a short advertising campaign, as thanks. But whatever you do get, enjoy it.

Consequences? Any number of things can happen, from lifetime free meals to court cases, negative points and being banned, regardless of who is right, legally or morally. Someone in Management there might still choose to burden you with responsibility even if their own CEO declared you a saint and lifetime customer of honor.
But you might never get to that bridge. For now, get proof, and use what points you know are yours anyway.

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    I would add that the best course of action would be to request a copy of the call recording (if it exists, and if the jurisdiction is one that makes such requests legally enforceable). Requesting a new response runs the risk of that response being different. – JBentley Jun 14 '16 at 12:59
  • "Maybe suggest that you could allow your image to be used in a short advertising campaign, as thanks." Most companies pay you to use your image in their campaigns, I don't think giving them free modeling assets is a very good remuneration for your hard work, – DasBeasto Jun 14 '16 at 16:36
  • Negotiable. You want to keep the bargeload of points; agreeing to say you won them seems O.K. – kaay Jun 15 '16 at 05:47
0

First IANAL!

This is going to depend on the kind of points. If it's an internal point system that the business is doing on their own, then they may very well, give you that many "extra" points. They may really not care. Specially if the cost of the points is low enough. Remember that steak dinner that you paid $60 for only really cost them $2 and that they use $60 worth of points on it.

If the point system is tied to a bank or credit card, then it's far more likely that the "just use them" is not the proper answer. The company doing the reimbursing is giving the location $60 and using your points. The points have a much higher value.

With that said, your responsibility is to notify, and follow their rules. So notify them in writing, and use the rewards card as you normally would. If your being honest, then the worst that happens is that your point balance is a little negative (because you spent 100 points but really only had 98 after adjustment). Most likely, if your being honest, they will just eat the few points over that you went on accident.

If you get an answer in writing to just keep the points, then I guess you know where your daughter's wedding reception will be. Let's hope it's a classy place.

Of course, as a 'good' person (or maybe a 'stupid' person), I should call them, (wait 30 minutes in the queue), and then try to explain the issue to the service desk. I actually did that, and the guy thought I am nuts to even call, and told me to 'just use them they are yours now'. I don't feel like calling again and again until I get someone that believes it, just to return them their points.

You will want to do this in writing. Email will work, but you really want a paper trail, either way.

I could just toss the card and forget about it. However, I had quite some points on it that really belong to me, so that feels like I pay for their fault.

There is no need to do this. It's like a bank error. Talk to them and they will give you an answer. In the mean time, do your best to only use the points you actually have.

Use them and play stupid. It's not my duty to check their math, right? Probably nobody will ever care (let's keep religious considerations out here). What would be the consequences if they do realize their error some day in the far future? (I understand this borders on a legal question).

Nope, don't do this. If you play dumb and spend 5000 points when you know you only have around 100, best case scenario you end up with -4900 points (effectively canceling the benefit of the card). You may also be banned form the program, the location, the network, etc. Worst case scenario they want the monetary value of the points and sue you for it, and the legal fees. It may even be considered fraud.

TL;DR Use your card, but be honest, and handle the mistake in writing.

coteyr
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0

Most likely scenario (A):

You spend tons of time and effort talking to them, with the end result that they take away the extra points. You feel screwed having to do their job for them - they've given you no benefit for looking out for them, and you're left with the points you've earned but maybe less desire to go back and use them.

Most likely scenario (B):

You just use the points, they eventually figure out the problem and fix it. They send you a nasty letter, demanding some sort of compensation that they have no legal obligation to (because points are not money, you will have rendered existing points for service, and they have, per your existing phone call which can be substantiated in existence though not content through phone records, confirmed that they are yours) - they may go so far as to bar you from their premises. If you don't use enough points to go "negative" before they fix it, you may avoid this.

If they can deal with this competently from a customer service/PR standpoint, then in scenario (A) they may understand you quickly, and they may leave you with some extra points for your trouble. In scenario (B), pretty much the same thing - they'll let you have the points you used and even leave you a little extra.

I suggest in either case you only engage in written communication with them or, if your jurisdiction allows it, record voice conversations. You need a record of what you've been told.

Jason
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What would be the consequences if they do realize their error some day in the far future?

You've informed them of the error and they've informed you that nevertheless the points are yours and you should use them. So you have a couple of issues: have you made what your jurisdiction considers a reasonable effort to correct the mistake, and did the customer service rep actually have the authority to make such a large goodwill gesture as letting you keep all the points?

The first is your legal responsibility (otherwise you're stealing), and you need to know specifically for your jurisdiction whether a phone call is sufficient. I can't tell you that. Maybe you should send them a letter, maybe you should wait until you've had written confirmation from them, maybe you're OK as you are. You might be able to get free advice from some body that helps with consumer issues (here in the UK you could ask Citizen's Advice).

The second is beyond your ability to know for sure but it's not dishonest to work on the basis that what the company's proper representative tells you, is true.

With the usual caveats that I'm not qualified to give legal advice: once told you've been clearly told that it's an intentional gift, I don't see any way you could be held to have done anything fraudulent if you then go about enjoying it. The worst case "far future" problem, I would expect, is that someone decides the gift was never legitimately made in the first place. In other words the company made two separate errors, first crediting the card and then telling you the erroneous points stand. In that case you might have to pay them back whatever you've spent on the card (beyond the points you're entitled to). To avoid this you'd need to establish what constitutes a binding gift in your jurisdiction, so that you can say "no, the point balance was not erroneous and here's the legal reason why", and pay them nothing.

You might also need to consider any tax implications in receiving such a large gift, and of course before paying tax on it (if that's necessary) you'd probably want to bug them for confirmation in writing that it really is yours. If that written confirmation isn't forthcoming then so be it, they've rescinded the gift and I doubt you're inclined to take them to court demanding that they stand by the words of their rep.

Use them and play stupid. It's not my duty to check their math, right?

That's potentially fraud or theft if you lie. You did notice, and even worse they have proof you noticed since you made the call. So never say you didn't notice.

If you hadn't called them (yet), then you've been given something in error, and your jurisdiction will have an opinion on what your responsibilities are. So if you hadn't already called them, I would strongly suggest that you should call them or write to them about it to give them the opportunity to correct the error, or at least seek assurance that in your jurisdiction all errors in the customer's favour are final. Otherwise you're in the position of them accidentally handing you their wallet without realising, and you deciding to keep it without telling them. My guess is, that's unlikely to be a legally binding gift, and might legally be theft or fraud on your part.

Steve Jessop
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