Box Tops for Education‪™‬ 4+

This app has been good. I like being able to designate a class for earnings to go to for school competitions- not sure if my school knows how to look at this though. Also nice to be able to change schools from receipt to receipt to divide earnings for more than one school. Receipts are easy to scan, and instant feedback is nice. However, in the last several months it seems like I get less and less box tops. I’ve had several receipts that I had to report missing earnings on, and it’s difficult to track if they ever actually go in. Also, Sam’s Club paper receipts have to be emailed in like digital receipts. If you try to scan, it always says date missing even when it’s not. I think there are a lot of people who may not download and use the app that would clip box tops, but also people who will scan receipts in the app and like not having to keep up with clipping and saving. Thanks for the money for our schools, but I was happier with the app when I first got it in summer 2019 than I am now in spring 2020.

I get most of my items with the Box Tops in 1 monthly purchase from a retailer that seeks things in bulk sizes. The packaging says they are eligible items, they’ve always had multiple of the printed Box Tops in the past. The retailer is supposed to be a recognized one. There was even a bonus for them not to long ago. However, when I scanned the receipts the last few months, none of the items with these supposed digital Box Tops in the app showed up and there are no longer printed Box Tops in the packaging to send to the school. Only the advertising for using the app to get the Box Tops is on the packaging now, but it doesn’t work. I tried contacting customer service through the app each time, but never received a response. So the school gets no credit for what should have been 30-40 Box Tops.

Then let’s top this all off with I have lots of family & friends that used to save Box Tops & give them to my child. Many of these people elderly and don’t use apps like this. Now because it’s all digital the schools get nothing from them because I don’t see them often enough to scan receipts before the time limit is up. This app seems to be a way to just stop giving the schools as much money because fewer people like the elderly will use it and because many receipts won’t be accepted or will be lost or unreadable. This hasn’t simplified the process, it’s complicated it.

If there is a long receipt, the items won’t scan due to the fact that the date must be shown. In addition, I saved a receipt, went on vacation, and when I scanned it the receipt expired (must scan within 14 days). That’s if I even remember where I put the receipt and if I made a mental note at the store that I had an item to scan. Kids do not get the physical satisfaction of clipping a box top to earn points for school. Scanning and writing in dates on paper to submit are not allowing the kids the proper credit. This is more work on parents and takes the joy and work off kids for their contributions towards class parties or other incentives.

In my opinion this is a scapegoat for box tops to not give as much money to the school as parents will lose receipts, unable to scan long receipts in one picture, or forget to even scan. My parents and friends would help me by saving physical box tops. This is no longer the case as I refuse to convince others to ‘simply get the app’ or ‘save receipts’.

Finally, this system leaves a paper trail and breach of my privacy by scanning my purchases into a centralized database (we can be told this info is protected, but is it really with the hackers and system breaches?). My personal info (location, time, credit card, other items purchased) are now being recorded to an external source.