Just rang Costco (01923 830477) and was told that I couldn't join as I wasn't eligible even though they'd sent me a 60-Day free membership offer and that it must have been sent in error based on a previous job. Thought this info might be useful though :disappointed:

QUALIFYING EMPLOYMENT GROUPS

Current or Retired Employee of:

Banking / Finance
Local Government
Fire / Rescue Service
Post Office
Airlines
Education
Police Force
Civil Service / Armed Forces
Medical / Health Service
Insurance
OR

Qualified as:

Qualified / Certified / Chartered Accountant
Chartered Architect

Doctors (MD) / Dentist / Optician / Pharmacist
Chartered Surveyor

Solicitor / Barrister / Magistrate / Advocate
Chartered Engineer / Civil etc

OR

Current or Retired employees of a UK or USA Gold Company.
You may qualify as a current or retired employee of one of the many UK or USA Gold Companies. Please contact either Central Membership on 01923 830477 or your local warehouse to confirm whether the company you currently work for or have retired from is a registered Gold Card Company.

Bit annoyed, went all the way in to Cardiff with 60 day free trial offer and was told I needed wage slip and utility bill to qualify. Would have been good to have this information printed on flyer , could have saved myself a wasted journey.

How do you cancel after the 60 day trial ? Thanks.

anyone with a leaflet going spare? :-)

I received a 60 day free trial for costco .I went to the store to register and was refused as I work in retail. I have had a look at terms and could see anything saying that I am not entitled to join.I am very disappointed in way I was treated When I was on holiday visiting my sister we shop all the time in this store and I enjoyed what we bought there look forward to hearing g from you

Should also mention that you can upgrade to executive at any time, just pay the difference based on number of months left on your normal membership, ours cost £15 to upgrade. At the end of our (executive) membership in Feb 2016 if we haven't saved the £15 in cashback Costco will make our savings up to the £15 we spent. Should add that with the purchase of new glasses we've now exceeded our £15 in savings anyway. I'd recommend joining Costco, however with the build-up to Christmas I'd warn you from shopping on weekends - it's hell!

Costco opticians are very competitive, backed by state of the art testing machinery. My hubby bought RayBan frames for £70 less than our local optician quoted and his (complex) prescription worked out at £50 less than his optician quoted, so he saved £120, got the frames and lenses he wanted, has 2% cashback (we have executive membership) to boot.
I should also add the takeaway food is great value, giant hot dog and soda (refillable) is £1.50, as are large baked potatoes with choice of one or two fillings. 18" pizza is £7.95, etc etc. Store often has great deals, like Lurpack spreadable 1kg currently £3.99

Please note that you have to ALSO be eligible for membership to make use of this voucher. You would need to have a limited company or be a member of certain societies. NOT everybody will be eligible to join

Costco also have a few members only petrol stations selling fuel thet is usually cheaper than other garage forecourts in the area.
I use the one in Liverpool and the fuel is apparently the premium type according to people on here who occasionally post the petrol & diesel prices.

Quick round-up of Costco from me:

Non-food:
Technology - Competitive prices on most TV sets, backed by 5 year warranty. Limited selection of other tech - Apple usually ends up cheaper than other stores.

Clothes - Good value and good quality but there is no logical ordering of sizes, so you'll probably spend 5 minutes each item looking for the size you want

General household - non-electrical are covered by a lifetime warranty I think, although I might be wrong. You'll find some good deals though. You won't be able to compare prices on some of the items as many are imported from USA

Bakery - pretty darned good, but the size of everything means that it's not cheap either unless you have a family of 10 or freeze everything. As already said you can get the dozen assorted Krispy Kreme for around 8.80

Fresh food - People rave about the quality of the meat, but it's expensive. Prefer Makro myself. Some good deals can be had in the other fresh sections though.

Groceries - again, some things are just cheaper in Makro, but there are some good deals to find. They generally have a 'staple' of items which you can buy week in, week out, but it can be annoying if they just decide to stop stocking one of your routine items which they have done a lot of for me recently :disappointed:

Customer Service:
It's good - probably too good as you'll see a huge line out the door of people holding items they've used for years thinking of random excuses to take it back and get a refund. (I've seen someone carry in a big ol' dirty used mattress)

You will get your memberships worth, but you'll have to be selective if you want the best value

Anyone else find that Costco deals aren't that great in comparison with the offers available online and deals on the high street, and very poor in comparison with the discounters?

We got one too. Went to Costco at Trafford to sign up today. Queue was out the door with people holding these leaflets waiting to sign up. Turned around and came home! Better things to do than queue for 2 plus hours at Costco, plus it's in my hubby's name but he wouldn't qualify so was taking a risk trying to join in my name. Anyone else done this and succeeded?

I'm none of those listed above. Maybe that's actually just their ' official' line?

im here for the chicken.

Surely £10 off would be £18 total though as £15 + vat

This was included on the leaflet that people received. It specifies that there was currently £10 off a basic membership, or £20 off the executive membership.

What no-one seems to have mentioned is that in addition to the free chicken, Coke, hot dog etc is that there is also currently £10 off membership fees. So if you wish to join rather than take the free 60 days trial, a years membership is normally £25 + VAT taking it to £30, but with the current offer it brings it down to £20 for an individual member.

I got one of these in the post yesterday too, but I assumed it was because I'd previously ordered from their online website (bought a tower cooler fan last year) and paid 5% on top of their usual price for being a non-member.

Will be taking advantage of this free trial though as we do qualify for the membership and this way we get to try it first to see if it's worthwhile shelling out for the membership.

Some things are cheaper much cheaper but that's not the only reason to shop at Costco it's the quality as well

Can anybody buy the Costco membership?
Is it £30 for a years membership then you have to pay again each year after?

Comment

Ha, was beginning to think it was only sent to me! I'd guess this'd be avail at the store, on request. After all, it's not as if I've ever been a customer of theirs, valued or otherwise. Looks like they're just wanting to bump up their membership numbers ?[/quote. I got one through post yesterday]

Costco rep told me I can't get the membership card unless someone put me as their second card holder as my job is not in their eligible list. :disappointed:

Had the leaflet but unfortunately can't use as I am already a member.

Could get membership to Costco through a scheme through work if i pay £25 P/A but personally cannot see me pulling that £25 back in savings compared to the supermarket deals/deals on here a year.

To give you an idea of their latest offers heres their coupon leaflet:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1a45c0e9#/1a45c0e9/1

Not much better than supermarket deals to me.

Would anyone be willing to pass their leaflet onto me. Apparently you need the leaflet to take advantage of the offer

They are often at mainline stations, you can sign up for £20, you don't need the proof etc, very nearly signed up at Victoria the other day.

Coventry are doing it but you can only join if it is addressed to you I've just rang and they are postal cards

Just rang Gateshead and they know nothing about it!

Rang the Birmingham Costco, said you must have the leaflet to take advantage of the 60 day free membership & it's only been sent out to targeted people in specific postal areas. No good for me then, shame.

I received this on the post as well, in my wife's name but would be ideal for me as I work close to one. I'll ask if I can use the offer instead. We were members a few years ago and there were good offers around Xmas in a special booklet of vouchers that they posted to us, hope they still do this.

none of the london stores know about this offer

The whole of the Narcos cast will be heading to CostCO at the first mutterings of free coke. Hold tight.

They have reps going shop to shop and can sign up they have promo offers with them as well. Considering Costco expanding rapidly in the uk they may change their customer criteria to maximise their income

Well I just went to Costco and joined up. I didn't have to pay anything, but when I got to the till it added 5% surcharge. This will be deducted from membership fee if I join. The free hotdog and Pepsi Max cost more than the surcharge. Don't think I'll join. Just don't have the space for the bulk buys.

I've got a Costco card and work in greggs lol it's good to know someone who works there I suppose

Jimmy Carr's scouse accent - I want some chicken and a can of coke

Thanks OH got one yesterday and I just threw it in the recycle bin. Looks like a great offer :smiley:

Ha, yes, I'm afraid. Popping in for a free chicken would be good :smiley: so, they're offering the free 60 day membership, then the free stuff if you do sign up. I've never been, but will go have a gander now they're giving me this free membership :smiley:

You would need your ID badge and a home utility bill or bank statement... Individual Membership - Valid to certain employment groups - details listed below. You will need to bring in your latest payslip or professional qualification plus a current home utility bill or bank statement. The annual cost is £25 plus VAT inc. free Spouse Card. An additional card can be purchased at a cost of £12 plus VAT, but it must be someone aged over 18 residing at the same address, of which you must provide proof. This can be done either in writing or in person at the warehouse. A photograph can be done on the Additional Cardholder's first visit to the warehouse. If you think you may be an employee of a UK or US Gold Card Company, you can call Central Membership to check on 01923 830477. This number is operated 8.15am til 5.15pm Monday to Friday. Individual Membership is available to the following:- Current or Retired Employee of:- Banking/Finance/Insurance Civil Service/Armed Forces Education Fire/Rescue Local Government Medical/Health Service Police Force Post Office Airlines Qualified as:- Chartered Architect Chartered/Civil Engineer Chartered Surveyor Dentist Optician Pharmacist Qualified/Certified/Chartered Accountant Solicitor Barrister Magistrate Advocate Current or Retired Employee of USA or UK Gold Card Company - Please contact either Central Membership or your local warehouse to confirm whether the company you work for is a registered Gold Card Company. Retired employees must provide a current pension statement and home utility bill as proof of eligibility. The membership card can only be used by the individual person named on the card. All additional cardholders will expire at the same time as the Primary cardholder.

I just rang Coventry costco membership services. They said I can take the 60 trial, just need to bring work ID and a utility bill with my address on it.

Thanks OP!

I got the offer by post yesterday. Looks good to try for 60 days free, but seems you must join online. Apparently non-members can shop online for 5% extra.

How do you get the leaflet? Or how are people getting hold of theses leaflets?

I also got one yesterday. Do you have to give any bank details to get your 60 day trial? Ie need to cancel to avoid automatic annual fee....?

at first they were open for traders only, then they invited workers from the public sector and now it sounds like it's for anyone willing to hand over £30

i was thinking of joining and always put off by the cost, if anyone has a spare leaflet they can send me would be grateful so i can give it a try , thanks

hah .. voted cold and it jumped from -3 degrees to 71 degrees :smiley:

You can have a look at the website to see if you will qualify for an individual membership. If you working for a company they accept you can. My hubby works for British airways and we have one.

not everyone can get a costco membership ..

Is this nationwide or are those people who have had leaflets in similar location?

Do you need a code or physically take the leaflet in with you?

What does the leaflet say about how to join this offer? Is there some code hence not everyone can join? Please advise

i got one too but threw it straight in the bin...think i might go fish it out now; thankgod for recycle bins now

I got one yesterday too

Unable to find any information about this

Anyone found out any more about this? any idea where to get the leaflet from?

Nothing on their website about this

How do you get the free chicken Coke water etc?

Heat from me,Costco is great + freebies.

Never seen this before

I used to work for them and never seen this offer before so I'd definitely take advantage! Definitely worth it for Christmas

your link doesn`t work