'I had 14,000 of Nectar Card points stolen after I used Sainsbury's petrol station'

Last month, Caroline Enderby realized she had the points stolen from her Nectar Account and discovered they had been used - without her knowledge - at a Sainsbury's petrol station in July

One Sainsbury's customer has shared how she had 14,000 Nectar Card points stolen from her account.

Last month, Caroline Enderby realized she had the points stolen from her Nectar Account and discovered they had been used - without her knowledge - at a Sainsbury's petrol station in July. Caroline was an occasional visitor at the petrol station as it was local to her, and was able to confirm she was not at the station when the points were stolen.

Nectar - which is owned by the supermarket chain - confirmed to Caroline that she would have her points reissued after she alerted them to the fraud. However, before she got them Sainsbury's told her that she needed to visit the petrol station where the points were spent.

Caroline told The is Money that the store manager was "bemused" as to why she had been asked to do this as they couldn't "instigate a return of that number of points". She added: "On reporting back to Nectar, I was informed that my points would be refunded and a new card issued."

Have your Nectar Card points been stolen? Let us know by emailing: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

However, even after doing this, the saga continued for Caroline as when her new card arrived she discovered she had not being reissued the points. Again she approached Sainsbury's and was told that as she only occasionally used the fuel station, she would not get the points back. Instead, she was advised to notify the police of the theft.

This is Money approached the supermarket chain to find out whether this was a new policy in regard to Nectar card fraud. Sainsbury's did not answer the questions put forward and issued a statement, with a spokesperson saying: "We have contacted Ms Enderby to apologise for her experience and arranged for her Nectar points to be refunded to her new account. We have also added 2,000 extra points to her account for the inconvenience."

A Sainsbury's representative reached out to Caroline and confirmed this was not the supermarket's policy on this. The representative said: "I have reviewed your contacts and can see you that you were advised to visit the petrol station your points were redeemed at. I'm sorry to hear that this has happened and can assure you this is not the correct process. This has now been fed back to the colleague you received this advice from to ensure this does not happen in future."

Nectar Card fraud is not a new issue, and these types of reports have appeared since the loyalty scheme was launched in 2002. Shoppers get one Nectar point for every £1 spent in Sainsbury's stores and online, or for every litre of fuel purchased.

Shoppers can also earn points when shopping at Argos, Caffe Nero, and VUE Cinemas. Unlike a bank card, a Nectar card does not have a chip and does not have secondary authentication, which means it can be easier for criminals to use. This is Money claims that more than a million reward points have been stolen so far this year. Sainsbury's says it will refund shoppers in these instances but says the issue is not as widespread as This is Money claim and only affects a "small proportion" of its 18million Nectar Card members.