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BeFrugal

3.9

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From the business

BeFrugal.com is a free cash back, coupon and deal website where you can shop at your favorite stores while saving an average of $27 per order and earning an average of 7% cash back. Shoppers can combine coupons, deals and cash back for maximum savings at over 5,000 stores when they shop online. To learn more or to sign up for free and earn a $10 sign-up bonus, visit www.befrugal.com.


befrugal.com
Founded in 2009
Boston, MA, United States
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BeFrugal Reviews Summary

The company has garnered a mixed reputation among its customers. Positive feedback highlights the appealing cash-back offers, ease of use, and the ability to request payouts at any time, contributing to a generally favorable experience for many users. However, significant concerns arise regarding service delays, particularly with pending transactions and payout resolutions, which leave some customers feeling undervalued and frustrated. Overall, while the platform is appreciated for its potential savings and user-friendly interface, the inconsistency in transaction processing and customer support may hinder its ability to fully satisfy all users.

This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews

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Minnesota
3 reviews
1 helpful vote
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I consistently have to follow-up on cashback not received and they rarely pay the advertised amount. Such a scam. I don't have any of those issues with Rakuten. Do not use this company.

Date of experience: August 11, 2023
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Christie W.,
There can be many reasons as to why the Cash Back is not being tracked on the Account. BeFrugal is a Cash Back Portal that connects you to the Cash Back that is coming from the Merchants. Each Merchant has their own way of tracking the cash back that is on the order placed with them. They will Acknowledge and then Approve of the Cash Back. If they do not Acknowledge, you are more than welcome to reach out and we will help! We provide the Missing Cash Back Inquiry as a way for us to reach out to the Merchant and receive their attention on the Missing Cash Back. They will then communicate with us towards your potential Cash Back. Cash Back is based on commissions BeFrugal receives from the store. If BeFrugal does not receive commissions for orders placed directly with the store, we cannot give you cash back.
We understand how frustrating it can be to wait and/or receive a Decline from the Merchant. We want to see all our users win and benefit from the service of connection we are providing.
We understand your choice in preference and that is okay! We hope you give us another chance in the near Future and we wish you the best on your Cash Back Journey!

Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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They will never pay
June 17, 2023

I have made numerous purchases through befrugal. I followed all their instructions to the letter. When I inquired, they "investigated" and said the merchant declined to pay them, so they could not pay me. These guys are 100% bogus. BTW. If you refer your friends, you will never see that $10 bonus; and you'll also have the embarrassment of having subjected your friends to this scam. They claim they don't pay because the merchant never pays them. Well, I shopped at all the same merchants through Rakuten and always was paid. A little weird that every one of them paid Rakuten every time, and they NEVER pay Befrugal. Believe that if you choose. Befrugal will never pay you.

Date of experience: June 17, 2023
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Alex! As I completely understand where you are coming from, I would like to give you some useful information that can help you! BeFrugal is just a cash back portal that connects you to the Cash Back coming from the Merchants. We work solely with the Merchant for Cash Back. Meaning that it comes from them and not us. Once you place an order with a Merchant, it is on them to Acknowledge and then Approve of the cash back. Typically, Merchant's will Acknowledge the pending cash back within the first 7 days. If they do not, we provide the Missing Cash Back Ticket as a Resource for us to reach out to the Merchant and get their attention on the Missing Cash Back.
Each Merchant has their way of tracking the Cash Back. When we send off a dispute, they will respond to our dispute based on their tracking information. There are times where we are able to follow up but it is a case-by-case basis. We are more than happy to help you with your cash back and do what we can to get information it.
As for the bonuses, sign up bonus & Refer-A-Friend, the Terms and Conditions are listed within the AD.
I hope this information helps you understand the process of cash back, as well as, where the Terms and Conditions are listed for both bonuses. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out! We are here to help you!

Washington
1 review
1 helpful vote
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They gave you the $10 that you can not use. Just a joke. It says I have to earn $10 in cash back to be able to use the $10 bonus. Of course, if I earned cash back, I could use it. There is no such bonus sign up they promised and overall no trust. I am removing their extension.

Date of experience: May 17, 2023
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Adam! I understand where you are coming from and although we do offer the bonus, there are terms attached to it. Per the terms for the Sign Up bonus, Per the terms of the BeFrugal sign-up bonus offered when you subscribed, if you accumulate $10.00 or more worth of Payable cash back within 365 days of joining, you will qualify to receive that $10.00 reward bonus. This information is stated on the bonus in "Terms and Conditions" and on the FAQs section of your account. If you ever have questions or you are having trouble, feel free to reach out to us and we will help you! We have Live Chat and Support Tickets.

Canada
1 review
0 helpful votes
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It just stays as pending until you ask about it then they tell you that YOU have clicked on the link wrong and it was declined. Don't bother and stick with Rakuten. Customer service was also rude and was quick to dismiss me and HAPPY to cancel my account when I was unhappy rather than address the issue

Date of experience: April 18, 2023
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Shannon! Thank you for leaving us your comment! We value each and every one of our customer feedback, including ones like yours! I would love to take this opportunity and explain to you Who is BeFrugal and What BeFrugal does. BeFrugal is just a cash back portal that provides a service of connection for the Customer to the Retailer. Once you place an order with a Retailer, it is on them to Acknowledge and then Approve of your cash back. That is why each Merchant has their own Terms and Conditions listed underneath the Cash Back percentage.

In most cases, they will acknowledge a pending cash back within the first 7 days of when the purchase was made. We provide the Missing Cash Back ticket, in the case that they do not acknowledge the pending cash back. We do not know the process that the Retailer takes when they are reviewing disputes, we simply wait on them to give us a response. If they decline, the will provide a reason for it, which you are more than welcome to as for. When the Retailer acknowledges a Cash Back, they have given us an estimated time frame of Up to 90 days for cash back to go from Verified to Payable. Cash Back is based on commissions BeFrugal receives from the store. If BeFrugal does not receive commissions for orders placed directly with the store, we cannot give you cash back. We have information on the FAQs section of our page. We are also here to help in anyway that you need! If you ask us to close out your account, we will do what the Customer is requesting us to do. We value each one of our members but at the end of the day, it is your decision if you would like to continue working with us or not. We would be more than happy to keep your account open and active. You can always request for us to bring back your account. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us. We are here to help you!

Texas
3 reviews
4 helpful votes
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Fraudulent company
February 13, 2023

Company advertises cashback that is available from their vendor partners. I purchased from one of their vendor partners, based upon the representation that I would receive cashback in the amount of $48 upon completion of my purchase. I purchased according to their terms but did not receive the promised cashback. Befrugal had proof of the link from their site to the merchant and proof of the purchase, yet no cashback was paid. They continue to advertise that cashback is available from the merchant with no intention of actually paying the cashback, and are continuing to perpetrate a fraud on the public.

Date of experience: February 13, 2023
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Arthur! Thank you for sending us this message about your experience. BeFrugal is just an online cash back portal, that connects you to potential cash back among hundreds of Retailers. Once you make a purchase with a Retailer, it is on them to respond the potential cash back from the purchase you made with them. Most cases, they will acknowledge a pending cash back within 24-48 hours, and other times, it can take longer for them to do so. We advise customers to wait 7 days for the Retailer to respond, before sending in a Missing Cash Back inquiry. In the event that the Retailer does not upload cash back, you would send in a ticket, and we would dispute the potential cash back with the Retailer. We have up to 60 days from the purchase date to send in a dispute.

Earned cash back will remain in a verified state in your member account for between 30 to 90 days based on the return policy of the retailer as well as the store's payment cycle with BeFrugal. We provide you with an “Estimated Payable Date” to let you know approximately when most sales will reach a payable state. Once we hear back from the Retailers, we will automatically notify your account.

If you currently have any missing cash back from purchases and they have yet to reach 60 days, please send in a ticket and we will happily dispute it for you.

Florida
1 review
2 helpful votes
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STAY AWAY FROM THEM!
January 24, 2023

TO AVOID AT ALL COST! I am still waiting for my cash back, they promised 7% on purchases on John Hardy shop, i made 2 orders, i can see only 1 in my profile, no trace of the other one!
Not reliable company, if you buy though them, you will lose money!

Date of experience: January 23, 2023
Tennessee
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
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IF I COULD GIVE THEM 0 STARS I WOULD CERTAINLY DO SO! Please read all the fine print before expecting to EVER actually be able to use your cash back! I have had them added to my Chrome for over a YEAR and A HALF, and have spent THOUSANDS! I wish I could include a Screenshot of my dashboard, which shows 75% of my purchases with $0 payout, even though it said 5%+, then the ones that do have payouts are PENNIES, for example, a purchase of $745 advertised to pay 7% ($52.15) cashback, your entry says $0.19 (19 CENTS), that is NOT payable for AT LEAST 90 days they say, but after a year and a half and THOUSANDS spent, my account shows $34.66 cash back, and OF THAT $0.93 (93 CENTS!) is PAYABLE. Hahaha Oh, and it gets better, $10 of the $34.66 I did manage to earn is the "BONUS" they offer for signing up, which was OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, and it's not payable until I have OVER $10 that actually becomes "PAYABLE" so I'm guessing, sometime in 2024, AFTER which time they have obviously kept well over 75% of my "CASH BACK" for themselves. AND DON"T EVEN CONSIDER REFERRING Friends and FAMILY, YOU WILL NOT GET PAID AS ADVERTISED. Their whole game is based on the fact that we simply forget about it and never actually CHECK INTO the details of what's actually going on with each purchase! This company IS NOT REPUTABLE and their advertising meant to entice new users to sign up, is MISLEADING AT BEST, and utterly FALSE, take it from me! Don't Give these people access to your online shopping and / or browser, they are trying to RUN GAME on you! #BeFrugalSucks

Date of experience: December 20, 2022
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hey Sharon! I understand where you are coming from, and I can see how frustrating it is to deal with that. BeFrugal is just a cash back portal that connects you to potential cash back with hundreds of Retailers. Once you make a purchase with a Retailer, it is on them to respond to the cash back on your account. In most cases, Retailers will upload the pending cash back for a purchase within 24- 48 hours, while others can take a little longer. We advise customers to give it up to 7 days for a Retailer to acknowledge the pending cash back onto your account. If they have not done so, after the 7 days you can submit a Missing Cash Back inquiry and we would happily reach out and dispute your potential cash back with Retailers. Retailers give us up to 60 days to report the Missing Cash Back, if there are some that you are missing, we will gladly help you out if you reach out via Support Ticket. Once the Retailer has responded, your cash back will be under Verified. Verified means that the Retailer acknowledged your potential cash back. Most Retailers go by their Return/Exchange policy, once that period is over, that is when they will respond, accept and/or payout your cash back. Retailers give us up to 90 days for Verified to become Payable. Once they reach out, we automatically notify you and your account.
As for the Cash Back coming in at $0, there can be many reasons as to why a Retailer either declines or changes the cash back to a different percentage. I always tell customers that it is best to always check the Terms and Conditions on a Retailer's cash back within our site, just in case. Some of the bigger Retailers will put categories on their cash back, so depending on the item, it could have not qualified. It really is hard to tell, but you can always reach out to us if you have any questions. We try the best that we can to find information out from Retailers. Sometimes they do not give us detailed responses on declined messages, but there are cases where we are able to reach out to the Retailer.
When you first sign up with us, we give customers up to 365 days to accumulate $10 or more of payable cash back balance. If your sign-up bonus is expired, there are different ways where you can still benefit from other bonuses that we offer. Refer-a-friend is a popular one, where you refer a friend, and they are also given the same terms as the sign-up bonus. The difference is that once they unlock their sign-up bonus of $10, it will unlock the refer-a-friend bonus for you. The more people you refer, the more they shop and earn, the more you will be receiving with benefits. We also send our customers bonuses that they can benefit on, and we sometimes advertise bonuses on our site.
Overall, I apologize for your frustration, but I appreciate your feedback. Every feedback is good, and it helps us uncover opportunities where we can improve on. If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. You can always reach out on Support Tickets or speak directly to a live agent on Live Chat.

We are here to help!

Oregon
2 reviews
20 helpful votes
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All the little ones seem to add up just fine but when I finally was supposed to get nearly $40 back from buying tires online I only got excuses why I didn't get cash back. I only used the sites own internal discounts, no external promo codes, and jumped through the same hoops I had used for years to successfully get small cash back offers, to make sure my shopping trip was activated. Then, when I contacted support, they initially gave me credit, then a few hours later removed/denied only to be a given a generic laundry list of reasons they were denying me. You just can't trust this one.

Date of experience: December 19, 2022
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello Daniel! BeFrugal is just a cash back portal that connects you to hundreds of Retailers. Once you make a purchase with a Retailer, it is on them to approve of your cash back. We advise customers to always read into the Terms and Conditions before purchasing, just to ensure that your transaction qualifies. If you ever have any questions, feel free to message of on live chat or send us a ticket. We are here to help!

Tennessee
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Cash-back Problem
December 7, 2022

I have been shopping through BeFrugal for almost a year and I show funds verified, but not payable or no verification on several shopping trips, therefore nothing at all! I don't know what perks this service is receiving from merchants, but something is not right! So, I am going back to using Rakuten and get Big Fat Check. Rakuten pays less, but they have been efficient over the past few years. Sorry, BeFrugal your service is not playing fair.

Date of experience: December 6, 2022
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hello! BeFrugal is just an online cash back portal that connects customers to cash back among hundreds of Retailers. Once you make a purchase with a Retailer, it is on them to respond to the Cash Back. We understand where the frustration comes, especially when we are not given an exact time frame, from Retailers on potential approvals and payouts of transactions. Verified means that a Retailer has acknowledged the potential cash back, but they still have yet to approve or make them payable to you. When it becomes Payable, it means that the Retailer has approved and paid out your cash back. That is when you will see it under the Payable state and request a payout. I hope this information helps in some way!

Pakistan
1 review
1 helpful vote
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My account is deactivate am very disappointed
October 14, 2022

Hello BeFrugal
Am waiting many but we did not receive your reply please respond to my situation. My account does not work requested the amount via PayPal we received your email wait one business day but did not receive the amount am very disappointed please help me am a very old user BeFrugal
We are waiting for your response

Date of experience: October 14, 2022
France
1 review
0 helpful votes
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They are stealing your money - avoid!

I invite you all to boycott this site, beyond a certain amount they will not answer you without any reason to keep your money. I try to contact them every day and I get no answer.

Run away

Date of experience: September 20, 2022
New York
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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Stay away and use a different cash back website, because this website will not credit you the cash back for purchases that you make, and will tell you it's your fault. They will tell you that the problem is caused by you not following a list of their rules or that it was caused by your computer. The truth is that the problem is them! I regularly shop at one online store, and tested out other cash back websites to see if there was a problem getting the cash back at that store. As it turned out, I had NO problem with the other cash back websites. I now know with 100% certainty that the problem is with Befrugal.com. What is also ridiculous is that their customer service consists of a single "person" named Todd with no last name, who always takes the attitude that the customer is wrong and stupid. It is not a pleasant experience to deal with "Todd." My impression of this company is that it is a shady, unprofessional, dishonest and greedy company. There are much more reliable cash back sites with better customer service. I will no longer use BeFrugal, even if they offer better percentages. I would rather use a cash back site that offers less but pays!

Date of experience: July 19, 2022
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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STAY AWAY from using this cashback site!
July 14, 2022

STAY AWAY from using this cashback…
STAY AWAY from using this cashback site. IT IS A SCAM! THEY surely get paid from the online retailer when you use them for a retailer but then they say, oh no, you didn't make a purchase using their correct links when in fact you did!
And then their "File missing cash back" is a joke because they WILL NOT give you the cash back they promised. Or they say you didn't make a purchase in the right category when in fact you did.
The cash back worked good for the first year but now they won't pay anything!

Date of experience: July 14, 2022
Maryland
1 review
1 helpful vote
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I DO NOT RECOMMEND!
June 23, 2022

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat as many others. It took forever to accumulate $20 in cash back then took forever for it all to become payable. I requested my $20 via Paypal and I got a pop up that said that the funds are usually sent next business day. Two days later I contacted BeFrugal and they said that it was a delay on PayPal payments and they couldn't tell me when it would be sent. I'm not to confident that I'll get it. Not to mention, I didn't receive cash back for all of the stores that I clicked on. Any way I'd suggest that anyone that reads this review to stick to Rakuten, CouponCabin, and Retailmenot. These companies are legit and pays out. I've gotten thousands of dollars back over the years between these 3 companies. Do yourself a favor and stay away from BeFrugal. It's a waist of your time and efforts and won't pay. Stick to legit sites. If they do send my payment, I will update.

Update: Today is June 25,2022 and Befrugal did send my payment via PayPal which I do appreciate. However, I still don't recommend because of how long it takes to earn cash back and getting your payment. I earn a lot faster with the other sites I've mentioned before. Mainly CouponCabin and Rakiten. Hope this helps.

Date of experience: June 23, 2022
Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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You have to fight with these people about every ticket! RetailMeNot automatically tracks & does what they are supposed to do without having to fight with them for weeks for your money! The app is supposed to be tracking purchases but if you don't push for it they won't give you anything!

Date of experience: May 22, 2022
California
1 review
1 helpful vote
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It seems funny that when it comes to higher cash back, The purchase is not recorded. I complained to befrugal and it will take MONTHS and eventually denied with the same generic reasons being answer to everyone on this site. I would rather use Rakuten and GUARANTEED cash back.

Date of experience: March 9, 2022
Colorado
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Always an excuse
March 1, 2022

I don't understand their payout and what's available when, but you do have to reach $20. Here's the thing: there's often a reason that you don't get your % of the purchase. There are much better cash back programs out there. Don't waste your time.

Date of experience: February 28, 2022
Fernanda M. BeFrugal Rep
over a year old

Hi L. G. sorry to hear you are not satisfied with your BeFrugal experience. Please contact our support team if you have any issues with tracking or getting paid: https://www.befrugal.com/contactus/ Also, we have no minimum for payout for PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and direct deposit. For gift cards, depending on the card, minimum for payout is either $5 or $10. For check payment, the minimum is $20. Thanks!

District of Columbia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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Unlike Rakuten, BeFrugal will not give you a rebate unless their vendor, in this case Bloomingdales, gives them the money that they were supposed to get. Only when Bloomingdales (any vendor) pays BeFrugal will you get your cashback. With Rakuten, you get your money no matter what happens between Rakuten and the vendor. I could have gone through Rakuten and received a cashback on my $200 purchase and instead received zero. Totally unprofessional and did nothing to honor their commitment to be to provide a rebate. If they have a problem with a vendor they need to take it up with the vendor, not refuse to give the promised cashback to the BeFrugal customer. Will never use them again for a cashback.

Date of experience: January 30, 2022
Turkiye
1 review
3 helpful votes
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I have earned 9 bucks with my order and this bonus was "payable" and they took it back 6 months later without any reason and they did not help in anyway.

Date of experience: January 7, 2022
District of Columbia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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Cashback doesn't work
December 22, 2021

This site is 95% a scam. Almost all of my purchases do not credited appropriately for the cashback bonus they purportedly offer. I tried filing an investigation and I can't even select the date of purchase. I KNOW I selected the appropriate link. I make typically 2 online purchases a day and it's happened way too frequently for the 3 or more months I've been a member. I'll go back to RetailMeNot - their bonus level is lower typically but they reliably credit my account.

Date of experience: December 22, 2021