BBC Watchdog: Summer supermarket ploys

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
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3
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Bolton
We may have been off air over the summer but Watchdog never sleeps - and neither do our viewers! You've been alerting us to some supermarket ploys designed to make us spend more.

We found a good old fashioned mulitbuy on two bottles of squash from Tesco for just £2. Looks great ... until you see that, individually, the bottles are priced at 99p! But bizarrely when they're run through the till they come to one pound ninety-eight. Could it be a nice way of getting us to buy two?




(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Summer supermarket ploys' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).

Tesco told Watchdog: "In terms of the multibuy promotion, the bottles had been reduced to 99p as we're committed to offering our customers the most competitive prices. But our tills are programmed so that the customer pays whatever the lowest price is, so they don't lose out if a promotional item gets reduced. For example, a customer buying 2 things at 99p would be charged £1.98 rather than £2.00".

Next we looked at Sainsbury's bigger pack, better value range - A 4kg packet of rice, marked as 'Bigger Pack, Better Value', was on sale for £6.35, equating to £1.59 a kilogram. However, a 1kg bag of the same rice was on sale next to the bigger pack in the store for £1.47 - almost 12p less per kilogram than the 'Bigger Pack, Better Value' offer pack. We found the same thing with a 2Kg 'Bigger Pack, Better Value' pack of spaghetti, which cost £2.45, yet the 1 kilo pack was £1.09. That makes their better value pack 27p more expensive than buying two smaller ones.

Sainsbury's told us: "Our policy is always to offer customers 'bigger pack, better value'. We are sorry that human error has led to this not happening on the items you have highlighted and we are amending the prices immediately".

We heard from Caroline Ellams from Shropshire, who as a busy mum of twins finds it quicker and easier to do her weekly shop online. She had been shocked to discover that when her shopping was delivered, the price she had been charged for several items was considerably more than the price she had seen them at online. One of the items was Haagen Dazs Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream, Caroline told us: 'These were on their website and also on the confirmation email at £2.00 each and when I checked on the receipt they'd gone up to £3.50. I was quite surprised that I'd inadvertently spent £7.00 on ice cream, had I have known they were going to be that price I would have gone for something else instead'. On contacting ASDA, Caroline was told that their prices can change between ordering and delivery, as stated in their online Terms and Conditions.
Asda told us"We're sorry that Ms Ellams found our website a little confusing. We try to ensure our low prices are always clear and straightforward. The Asda Price Guarantee also means our customers can compare the cost of their shopping each time they shop vs our major competitors to ensure we are always offering the best value".

But it's not just online problems that have got Watchdog viewers going. We've been receiving complaints about old-fashioned overcharging in store. One viewer bought a meal deal from Tescos finest range: a main, side, desert and bottle of wine for a fixed price of £9.00, but when she checked her receipts at home she found she'd been charged £17.49, the combined price of the individual items. When Tesco refunded her they said 'it appears we hadn't programmed the offer into our till system', they also said in their email that they 'would do their best to prevent the same thing from happening again'. But three months later she had the same problem!

Tesco told Watchdog: "Millions of customers take advantage of our meal deal and multibuy promotions. It's extremely rare for there to be errors in the system and, if they do occur, they are corrected immediately".

But surely we can take some offers at face value? Yes we can....and one of our favourites comes from Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket... Morrisons. They were offering Toni and Guy hair tongs. Reduced to clear. Now 17.98. Reduced from £17.99. A 1p saving?!

A Morrisons spokesperson told us: "The product was originally £24.99 and it was reduced to clear to £17.98. A clearance label had been applied incorrectly and we apologise for this mistake. The actual clearance price is a saving of 28% from the original price, not 1p. The non food products that appear in our 'reduced to clear' sections are normally reduced by at least 20% off their original prices to ensure that our customers receive the best value for money".


Watchdog viewers' repsonses


Just got back from Sainsburys where a bag of Basics Curley Parsley was just under 68p and a bag of organic curley parsley was just under £1.40 - but the basics was almost £20 / kilo compared to just over £16 / kilo for the organic.

Yet another (among many) Sainsbury rip offs !!!

Bob


On many occasions I've got to the checkout at asda and checked my reciept after to find the deal items I'd brought didn't go through as deals the deal didn't come of, it has happened at least 8 times it is so misleading and they should update there systems.

Anonymous Watchdog Viewer


I have been overcharged on 2 occasions with the Tesco meal deals. However the good news is that IF YOU notice and take the receipt in they will REFUND DOUBLE the amount that you have been overcharged - so keep checking every receipt and hopefully you will be overcharged due to numerous human errors!!

Mrs Newsome, Ipswich


Just watched your programme on supermarket shopping and special deals. I shop in Sainsbury's regularly and have got into the habit of checking the till receipt as approximately 8 times out of 10 I have been charged too much for items on special offer as they have obviously not been programmed into their till system. I always go to their customer services desk and claim my money back.

Your programme is very informative and interesting - keep up the good work!

Marion Cooper


I recently had a multibuy problem at Tesco. During the summer they had a 'buy 1 get any free' on certain fruit and veg. I got new potatos and celery but when I got through the tills and checked my receipt I had paid for both. My mum was behind me with the same items and was told they could correct it for her puchase as it hadn't yet gone through the tills but I had to go to customer services. I did and got a refund for the celery but my mum was then told at the till they would not give her the offer as it was not valid - yet both items had the same 'buy 1 get any free' sticker on! Tesco's clearly can't decide when to actually apply their offers and when they can't!! Is it only certain customers or do they just receive no training?

Jo, Cambridge


I love Asda but I also figure out weights and cost before buying. Bad side is if you order food online you get the nearest useby date available on packets but go to store and the dates are longer.

Also they won't let you buy a single can/bottle of beer it has to be in a pack, i.e. 4 packs so they don't really help in lowering alcohol consumption. But in spite of it all I love Asda and wouldn't change my supplier.

Stephen, Dunfermline


Back in June Tesco Cirencester had one of their wine offers 3 for 10 or 6 for 19. I bought 12 bottles and expected to pay 38. When I got home and worked out the maths I'd been charged £ 41.24 In their written reply Tesco admitted their tills were not set up for the offer. How many others were over charged but didn't notice - I needed a calculator to work it out - how many people bother.

Alan Lucas


The £9 meal deal "error". We have had to point out three times recently at two separate Tesco's that they have charged us the full amount. Whilst complaining, another customer was doing the same, and conversation between two customer service staff went along the lines of "it's the meal deal problem again"

On one occasion there was only one type of wine available in the "£9 deal" display cabinet. At the checkout we were told that this was not one of the wines included in the £9 offer!

This is a regular sharp practice at two local Tesco stores.

Alan Donovan, Caerphilly


I have used Asda a few times online shopping and most times the take double from the bank. ie 2 weeks ago my bill was 89.00 they took 178 from my account leaving me over drawn. This has happened a few times to me so I wrote to Asda. Their reply is: we do that sometimes, sorry for inconvinience.... So now I shop at Tesco

Anonymous Watchdog Viewer



Summer supermarket ploys