Just as regards the flower company....there was a similar incident a couple of years ago I think...Fota in cork had given a discount code to members for their Christmas/Santa thing. Think the discount code also allowed them to access the booking earlier than the general public. The discount code was leaked on some FB group, and apparently a huge amount of people booked their Santa visit. This was all done during the night. Once morning came, Fota realised what had been done. They stopped the discount code working and everyone who had booked using the code - who wasn't a member of Fota - had their visit canceled and money refunded. There was outrage. Pretty sure Joe duffy, consumer affairs etc were all brought in. But Fota's decision was upheld legally. As all the bookings had been made with a discount code illegally gotten (and that just means that it was a code not meant for them, not that they 'stole' it), it was obviously an error on the business side and they didn't have to honour it. Loads thought that Fota should honour it, or it would be bad publicity, they'd lose business etc, but they didn't. Didn't honour it, probably didn't suffer because of it.
As to why the Insta Huns should get free flowers... they have huge numbers following them. Gift them flowers, possibly a tax deduction there, get 'free' advertising. I know that you're saying you'd never buy from them again, but had you ever heard of that company before? I hadn't. I know that it's enraging seeing ALL the free tit that the Inst aHuns get, but sure this always gone on, we just never saw it before IG. Radio, tv, film,...anyone in the public eye gets sent free tit. IG just makes it obvious, but it has always gone on.