How can I make sure my cashback gets tracked?

The tracking of your cashback is dependent upon several factors:
- You carrying out the transaction in accordance with the terms of the offer
- The configuration of your PC
- Accurate tracking and reporting by the merchant plus one or more third party agents

Because of this, a small percentage of transactions will not be recorded and so cashback can never be guaranteed. Whenever we get paid for your actions with imutual partners, we ALWAYS award you the cashback.

Here is a list of things you should do to maximise the chance of your cashback being awarded, in descending order of importance:

1. Always login to imutual and use the correct imutual link to visit a merchant immediately before every transaction. Don't use links on other sites to visit the retailer (e.g. Google, price comparison sites)

2. Make sure you meet the terms of the offer and complete the transaction wholly online.

3. Don't use any special codes (e.g. discounts / referrals), unless we have specifically stated that you can use them in conjunction with our cashback offers

4. Ensure that your PC / browser is configured to allow cookies, and is free of spyware, adware and ad-blocking software. See our Top tip about using a separate browser for earning cashback

It's rare that you don't get cashback for taking part in our offers but it does sometimes happen, for various reasons. This is why we emphasise that cashback can never be guaranteed and you shouldn't take part in an offer just for any potential cashback you might get.

For further explanation, read on....

If cashback has failed to appear on your statement, or you've had a claim for cashback rejected, you might be wondering why. Here's a list of reasons you might not receive your cashback, and some suggestions on how to avoid this in the future:

- You didn't fulfil all the conditions of the particular offer / site

- You didn't use the correct imutual link whilst logged in

- You also used someone else's link to visit the site in question

- The partner site has recorded your transaction but refused to pay commission

- Your PC does not allow accurate tracking of your activity

- You used a promotion code (not provided by imutual) when placing your order

- Some other reason, such as third party tracking errors

More information on each of these can be found below:


You have not fulfilled all the conditions of the particular offer / site

Check the description of each offer carefully, and allow 14 days from when you complete all the qualifying actions for the cashback to appear as 'pending' on your statement.

In the case of purchases, some sites will not report your cashback until the goods are actually dispatched. Other will wait until the return period is over.

Where free cashback is on offer, make sure you complete all screens on the partner site and provide accurate information (especially your email address).


You didn't use the correct imutual link whilst logged in

Make sure you always click on the official imutual link when visiting our partner sites AND that you are logged in* when doing so (when you're logged in, you'll see "Logout" in the top right of the screen). We recommend that you use the check the 'auto-login' box when logging into imutual (unless you use a shared computer) so that you don't need to provide your username and password each time you visit.

The official imutual links can be found:
- In the emails we send to you
- On various pages on this site

When you click on an official link, you will first see a merchant information screen giving details of any cashback or shares offer. You then click on the button entitled "Visit Retailer Now"


You also used someone else's link to visit the site in question

If, after clicking on the imutual link to a site, you then use someone else's link before making your purchase (or whatever the activity is) we will not receive commission and will be unable to award cashback. Also, if you have already visited the site and carried out part of the qualifying action before using the imutual link you might not receive cashback.

TOP TIP: Consider using a different browser just for clicking on imutual links e.g. if you normally use Internet Explorer for web browsing, install Firefox and use it whenever you want to click through to an imutual partner site.

If that's not practical for you, then before using an imutual link, clear any cookies you may have from a previous visit to that merchant's site (but never clear cookies inbetween using the imutual link and completing your transaction).


Another possibility is that you have some software installed on your PC (perhaps without your knowledge) which automatically redirects you to sites via someone else's links. Software like this is often referred to as adware or spyware; to ensure you have no such software on your computer, download and install the free software at this site. Or for a faster (but less comprehensive) check, just click here

Those who use Kazaa file sharing should install this free software to clear any unwanted spyware


The partner site has recorded your transaction but refused to pay commission

Sometimes our partners will not pay commission, and this can be for a number of reasons. It may be that you returned goods, did not provide accurate information or failed to fulfil a transaction in some other way. In such cases, the cashback on your statement may change to a status of "Rejected"

When a transaction has been marked as "Rejected", imutual is simply reporting what the retailer is telling us i.e. that they do not consider the transaction to be valid and hence will not be paying commission. There can be many reasons for this, including:

- You did not complete the transaction or meet all the requirements of the offer
- In the case of purchases, the goods / services have been cancelled or returned
- You have not provided accurate registration details
- You used a special offer code not provided by imutual
- In the case of registrations, you have already signed up with this company on a previous occasion
- There were problems with your payment / credit check
- The transaction was not completed wholly online e.g. you needed to telephone the company
- The company suspects offer abuse e.g. registering without a genuine interest in their products


In some cases where 'free rewards' are on offer, our partner may consider that the promotion is being abused i.e. you are taking part simply to get the cashback and/or to benefit from any introductory offer without any intention of becoming a long term customer. In particular, those taking part in betting and casino promotions should look at these guidance notes.


Your PC does not allow accurate tracking of your activity

Cashback tracking works on 99.9% of PCs, but sometimes the way your computer is configured may cause tracking problems. In particular, you should ensure that your web browser allows 'cookies' to be stored (almost all do as a default). Do not block cookies from third party sites; otherwise you will not be able to earn any cashback :nono:

Another common problem is when you have Ad Blocking Software installed on your machine or network. Products such as firewalls and anti-virus programs can prevent you using imutual links and / or earning cashback. Also, software can get installed on your machine without your knowledge (Spyware) and some of these programs steal advertising commission by changing imutual links after you click on them. You should check the following to ensure this doesn't affect you:

If you have Antivirus, AntiSpam or Firewall software installed e.g.
- Norton Internet Security, Personal Firewall and Antivirus
- Zone Alarm Pro

You should ensure you disable any "ad blocking" or "cookie blocking" features. Specifically, you should ensure that links to (and cookies for) the following domains do not get blocked:

advertising.com
affiliatefuture.co.uk
anrdoezrs.net
awin1.com
dgm2.com
dpbolvw.net
jdoqocy.com
kqzyfj.com
mediaplex.com
omguk.com
paidonresults.net
qksrv.net
tkqlhce.com
tradedoubler.com
All .at domains

You may need to consult the help files on "adblocking" for these applications to locate where to update the settings.

If you use Internet Explorer you should also ensure that the above domains are not in your list of "Restricted Sites" - use Tools, Internet Options, Security and click on the Restricted Sites tab

Note that the above list of domains is not exhaustive, and you should disable all ad-blocking / cookie-blocking features to ensure you receive maximum cashback.

You should also search your computer for a file called "hosts". Open this file with notepad and make sure there are no entries for the above domains. If there are please delete these entries and save the file.

Typical locations of the "hosts" file:

- Windows 95/98/Me
c:windowshosts

- Windows NT/2000/XP Pro
c:winntsystem32driversetchosts

- Windows XP Home
c:windowssystem32driversetchosts




You used a promotion code (not provided by imutual) when placing your order

Sites will often advertise promotion (or voucher) codes, which you can enter on their site when placing your order for some kind of discount or other benefit.

Most of the time, this doesn't affect your entitlement to cashback. Some of these codes may relate to campaigns that the retailer has agreed with another company (e.g. in conjunction with a national newspaper). Recently, some partner sites have been refusing to pay commission when these kind of codes are used. Specific examples are Lovefilm and Crucial Technology

Or you might see a code that has been posted to a discussion board (including our forums); if you don't know the source of the code, it might be of the type described above or may even be someone's personal code that was not intended to be transferred.

The safe option is only to use codes officially promoted by imutual (in our newsletters or announcements). If you do use other codes, you must accept there is a risk your cashback won't be awarded; please don't submit claims when you know you have used a non-imutual promotion code, thanks.


Your actions have not been tracked for some unknown reason, such as third party errors

Sometimes, you'll miss out on cashback through no fault of yours or ours :( Maybe some error by the partner site or its agents in recording and reporting your transaction. It doesn't happen often and we work hard to ensure the reliability of our cashback offers, but just occasionally you're going to miss out.

Sometimes we can't be sure why a particular transaction did not result in cashback being awarded, and we cannot demand that our partners pay commission. Under no circumstances should any member contact our partners directly regarding missing cashback. This will result in the immediate termination of your membership and the loss of any cashback earned.

I'm afraid we can't award cashback under these circumstances because that would open ourselves up to bogus claims - which would be unfair on genuine members like you. This slight 'error rate' is the price to pay when we offer something for nothing, but remember there will always be plenty of other opportunities to earn that cashback! :thumb:

Back to How to qualify for cashback