Hi David,

Auto cashback is a relatively new phenomenon, and one that I wholly
applaud. At the moment, Phonebox Direct & Cool New Mobile seem to be the
most active here although others are thinking of joining the fray in the
next few months.

One thing to bear in mind is that the amount of cashback on offer is
currently quite low compared with the manual claim route (averaging at
around 30% of the manual claim equivalent - finger in the air estimate)
- I firmly believe that while this is to be expected, there is also an
element of lack of competition at play here. Once a few more players are
actively offering an auto cashback route we might see the amounts on
offer increase to something closer to 50% of the manual claim amount.

I don't yet deal with these offers, not because I don't want to but more
because it's a physical impossibility without a certain level of
automation on my site (I'm currently run ragged with the current
database size - including the best value auto cashback equivalents could
easily increase the database size by up to 50% again). I do hope to look
at this in the New Year, once I've had a chance to create some time for
additional admin by reducing the current manual burden of the site.

As for manual claim deals that you could administer from abroad, you
could do a lot worse than E2Save as they clearly state that they accept
online printouts for your bills. Simply address the necessary number of
envelopes (and special delivery slips), pre-fill in all the voucher
slips sent to you by E2Save and leave it all with a trusted
friend/family member. When the relevant month's bill is available, if
you happen to be abroad simply email a copy to your UK-based contact as
a reminder to send your claim in for you. Your trusted lieutenant can
then print it off, put it in the envelope with your other necessary
paperwork and post it via special delivery for you, using the
pre-filled-in special delivery slip at their nearest post office for
convenience.

I reckon this method could work quite well and it doesn't depend on
ensuring that your contact manages to intercept your bill in the post.

All you need to do is ensure that whichever network you join offers an
online billing option for you to switch to.

I wouldn't recommend trying the above method with any other retailer
unless they both (a) allow online printouts of your bills and (b)
provide a minimum of 28 days window of opportunity to submit your claims.

HtH
Reestit Mutton