No show for Poundland cinema tickets

Poundland has run into trouble after it offered a year’s worth of free cinema passes worth £180 to 15 competition winners on its Facebook page but failed to deliver them.

Sixteen weeks after the winners were announced on 16 June, the passes still hadn’t been received.

By mid-August, frustration had started to creep in among the winners. “It’s disappointing to continue getting answers that never actually give us a date when we’ll receive them,” said one winner.

On 6 September, threats were made to call in a competition watchdog. But by 29 September Poundland was still apologising.

One winner claimed to have complained to the Institute of Promotional Marketing. Another said she had been sent a message by Poundland informing her she would be sent a cheque instead.

But as The Grocer went to press, the situation still hadn’t been resolved. Poundland responded to an enquiry on its Facebook page this week, saying “We are looking into this, sorry for the delay!”

Meanwhile Poundland has opened two Dealz stores in Ireland ahead of schedule, in Blanchards-town and Portlaoise. The vast majority of items in the store cost 1.49. Poundland has sealed deals with local suppliers to supply food and drink.