Have you ever purchased a product then realized the price has dropped a week later? I think we’ve all been there. Whether it’s due to timing, or you didn’t put enough research into the purchase, it can be frustrating. The good news is that there’s a service that can help you recoup your costs. It’s called Paribus Capital One, and it’s free.
Paribus works with a number of large retailers to give you money back if the price drops on a product you’ve recently purchased. They also compensate you on late deliveries and track the return policies on items you’ve purchased to effectively communicate when you’re getting close to a return deadline.
Before we go into this review, it’s worth mentioning that one risk with using Paribus (along with most apps and services) is security. In this review we dive deep into this issue to provide as much information as well can so you can make an educated decision if you should use Paribus or not.
Is Paribus Owned by Capital One?
Yes. Paribus.co was acquired by Capital One on October 6, 2016. If you would like to read about what Capital One has to say about this service, please read the following article from Capital One themselves:
Is Paribus Capital One Free?
Yes, it’s free to use. You also do not need to be using Capital One services to use Paribus. You do however, need to be 18 years or older and live in the US or Puerto Rico.
How Does Paribus Make Money?
Paribus provides you with 100% of your refund, they don’t take any fees. So how do they make money?
They mainly earn revenue through marketing. When you sign up for Paribus, you will receive offers in your inbox/ through the app. If you click on or sign up for one of these offers, Paribus will make commission (at no charge to you). They also make advertising revenue.
Many businesses and apps earn affiliate/advertising income. This type of income structure is not a scam nor is it unethical.
Additionally, contrary to popular belief, Paribus does not make money from selling your data. It’s states clearly on their website that:
Paribus has not and will not sell your data (see here).
How Paribus Works
Email Access
First, you need to sign up for the service (sign up here). When you sign up, you will need to grant Paribus access to your emails (read, send and delete access – read more on this below). Reason being, they use an algorithm to scan your email for shipping and order confirmations within the last 30 days. Paribus then uses these orders to track price drops, return policies and late deliveries.
Scanning your email
When Paribus flags an opportunity in your inbox (the price of the item must have dropped by $3 or more), they will contact the retailer on your behalf and negotiate the price adjustment. Or, they will provide easy instructions so you can claim the refund yourself (some stores require the purchaser to complete the process themselves). Also some stores only offer store credit.
Price adjustments
When a retailer grants a price adjustment it will be applied directly to your original payment method. This is done by the retailer themselves not Paribus. According to Paribus, it typically takes 3-7 business days to receive your refund. This process may also vary due to the internal policies of the retailer. Remember, think of Paribus as the middle man. All they are doing is requesting a price adjustment for you, the actual process must be completed by the retailer.
Delivery Delay Assistance
Let’s get real, deliveries don’t always come in time. Paribus tracks your deliveries to ensure that they’re on schedule. If they arrive late, Paribus will email you instructions on what you can claim. Currently this service is only available for Amazon Prime Subscriptions and paid guaranteed shipping with Amazon.
Return Assistance
Return policies vary from retailer to retailer which can be confusing. Paribus tracks the return policies on their accepted retailers. If you want to return something you’ve purchased, they’ll start the process for you if you’re within the accepted return timeframe.
Signing Up For Paribus
Where can I sign up for Paribus?
You can sign up on your desktop or through their mobile app. If using desktop, I recommend signing up through google chrome, they don’t currently support Internet Explorer.
They also has an app which is available for IOS, IOS tablet and Android.
Supported Email Providers
Paribus currently supports: Gmail, Yahoo! and Outlook.
Why? It comes down to security. Plain and simple, these email service providers allow Paribus to access your emails. If your email service provider is not listed, I recommend creating a new email account with one of the providers listed above and use it for your online purchases.
Email Security
When you sign up, and grant Paribus access to your email you will receive a prompt along the lines of:
Paribus Receipt Fetcher wants to: “Read, Send, delete and manage your email”
I know that sounds scary (it’s actually a generic message you will receive when grant access to any company). But here’s what Paribus promises to do and not to do with your email:
- Paribus’s algorithm captures your email’s subject line and sender information to determine if the email is a purchase or delivery receipt. If they determine it is, they will only open those emails – your personal emails will not be opened.
- Paribus only receives a token from your email service provider (they DO NOT receive your username and password) to access your account. That way, Paribus can only scan your email for reasons you agreed to
- Paribus stores your email information in encrypted form
- While you give Paribus permission to delete emails THEY DO NOT DELETE YOUR EMAILS. This is a promise made by them.
Accepted Retailers on Paribus
Paribus currently has 28 accepted retailers, which are the following (please note Amazon is only available for late delivery compensation – they do not offer price adjustments):
*Note this list will likely change occasionally. To have an up to date list, visit their website.*
Amazon
Delivery Delays
Amazon no longer grants price adjustments. This decision is no way associated with Paribus. They do however, offer compensation on late deliveries. First you need to grant Paribus access to your Amazon account. Paribus will then notify you when you have a late delivery and provide instuctions on how to file a claim.
COVID-19
Please note that due to the COVID-19 emergency Amazon will likely not grant refunds and price compensations for late deliveries. Please stay up to date on Amazon’s policies during this uncertain time.
Your Privacy
Paribus’s Privacy Policy
Before you download any app or service you should read the company’s Privacy Policy. This will tell you exactly how your personal data will be collected and shared.
We have read through the company’s policy extensively and nothing jumps out. It’s extremely similar to policy’s used by most apps and services however one line to note is the following statement under the “How we use Information”:
“to share with trusted third parties who are contractually obligated to keep such information confidential and to use it only to provide the services we have asked them to perform. Capital One Shopping does NOT share or sell your information with third parties for the third party’s own purposes such as marketing as described in the Capital One Shopping Privacy Opt Out Notice“
This means that they can share (not sell) your information with their trusted third parties. They are likely doing this in connection with their income model described above. Paribus makes money by giving you offers. If you click on or opt in, they make money . The offers come from their third party partners. These offers will be tailored to your needs based on the data collected on you.
How to control what’s shared
As stated in their Privacy Policy, you voluntary share your information with Paribus. To control what is shared and to opt out visit the Capital One Shopping Opt Out Notice for more information.
Make your own decision
No company is 100% secure. Data breaches unfortunately happen all the time. Therefore, it’s up to you to decide if you trust the security measures put in place by Capital One and Paribus.
Is Paribus legit or a scam?
Paribus is 100% legit. They are owned by Capital One which is a trusted financial institution. A better question to ask is “Does Paribus Work?”
User Reviews
User reviews are one of the best ways to see if an service works or not. There are a bunch of places you can check for reviews like:
1) Better Business Bureau or the BBB
Currently the BBB ranks Paribus at an A+ (meaning they rank between 96.99 – 100 on their 100 point scale). However with that said, Paribus is not an accredited BBB Business. They also have 2 complaints related to lack of purchase eligibility and the security around their access to your emails.
2) Social Media
We all know people like to be brutally honest on social media so this is the place to go to find reviews. I personally like to check facebook. Overall they’re rated a 3.2/5 on their Facebook page. After reading through recent reviews, many of them are positive. A lot of them relate to getting cash back on late deliveries. With that said their are some negative reviews that mainly relate to:
- Not being eligible for price drops
- Customer service being unresponsive
- Email access
The company also hasn’t posted on Facebook since 2017. This doesn’t mean they’re a scam, however they clearly don’t have a strong social presence.
3) App Store
The app currently has a rating of 3.9/5 in the app store. The negative reviews appear to be similar to the ones on their facebook page.
Common Issues and Complaints
1) It’s not working
A common reason for this occurring is because your receipts aren’t in your main inbox. Paribus does not scan your trash, spam or junk folders. Also the price matching time frame varies based on the retailer (most are within 30 days, some within 2 weeks) therefore when you first sign up some older purchases may not be eligible. In addition, based on the retailers price matching policy, some purchases won’t be eligible at all, this will vary depending on the retailer.
2) Customer Service
A lot of the information in this article comes from the FAQ Page on their website. This is a great place to start if you have questions related to the service.
They also have a help centre where you can email your questions into. They don’t have a chatbot or any live support.
One of the larger complaints with Paribus is that their customer support is slow to respond or doesn’t respond at all. This is unfortunately something I cannot comment on but it’s worth noting.
3) Email Security
Please refer to this topic above.
Pros & Cons
The Pros
- You receive 100% of your price adjustment, Paribus doesn’t take a dime
- Paribus does all the heavy lifting for you to recognize when your packages are late or if items you’ve purchased have declined in price
- They are owned by Capital One which is a well known financial Institution
- You get money back!
The Cons
- Customer support appears to be weak
- Privacy – you are granting Paribus access to your personal information which some might find too invasive
Should you try Paribus Capital One?
Given all the information we have collected during this review, I give Paribus a 4/5. Paribus is an app you should try out.
Your spending however, will directly impact the success you have with this service. Therefore the more purchases you make at accepted retailers, the greater the chance of a price drop.
After reviewing their privacy policy, nothing jumps out compared to other companies policies. However, please read it for yourself. You need to decide if you are comfortable with the way they may share your information.
Overall I think Paribus Capital One is worth giving a try. If you’re not impressed, you can opt out at any time. Who knows maybe you’ll get some money back this year!
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