Tesco Coupon policy Complaint thread

LizzieS_2

Many years ago Asda would take coupons. Long before sites like this came into existence, the scheme was pulled - perhaps due to too many who were using it unreasonably.

I was well aware of Tescos policy. Thing is if I had used the same high percentage coupons to spending that many see as perfectly ok, I would have been presenting over 200 coupons of various denominations at once.

People on here need to get out of the mindset of it being a select few using the scheme - every past/present employee of Tesco will have known, as would many of their friends/family.

Welshwoofs

master_of_puppets wrote: »

i was able to feed my family of 4 on a budget of £40 a week using £15a week in coupons. now i will struggle.

I would just like to highlight this because I wanted to give some advice to people in this situation.

During harder times I have fed a household of 2 on £30 A MONTH. It is actually perfectly possible to feed a family of 4 for under £100 a month and eat well. Sure it takes some planning and it means you cook a lot from scratch...but it can and is done by people.

I was able to feed the 2 of us on £30 a month with advice from the great people over on the Old Style Moneysaving board. Relying on loopholes to put food on the table is not a sustainable way of life but I can guarantee the people on OSM do have sustainable tips.

Welshwoofs

neas wrote: »

A mature individual would swallow hard and accept what they did wrong. But this is just like the icesave fiasco with you spouting 'Save save save' as 'information'.. which lead people to put their savings days and weeks before the icelandic banks collapse. That was a screw up too.

Its ok... sometimes we make mistakes... the thing is... if you dont recognise your mistakes and account for them... you never learn from them..you will keep making them again and again.

You have more front than Selfridges

You talk about what a 'mature individual' would do? You have been the absolute worst offender when it comes to name-calling over this debacle. On many and various postings (many of which, thankfully, now seem to have been deleted) you've called Martin greedy and an 'a--r--$--e', you've implied that he profits from the 'hard work' of people on the forum and you've stated that your feelings towards him were of 'betrayal' and 'hatred'. A 'mature individual' would think themselves lucky that they got to benefit from a loophole for so long, rather than abuse the person who made it possible (as I bet my backside that you found out about the loophole via this very site...)

Really, a few people who were posting on the voucher code issue need to step back and examine their conduct because some reactions were distasteful and when coupled with the fact that they were placed on the site run by the person targetted, it screams of ingratitude and selfishness.

EssexGirl

Why should Martin apologise? It’s his site and he has done nothing wrong.
What he HAS done is make it very, very obvious that there are some individuals who are not ashamed to have very public tantrums because they are no longer getting their own "exclusive" way at the checkouts.
I really truly can't believe how obnoxious people have been. Coupons were a BONUS, to your shopping, not your right.
We should all shop within our means for all purchases. For some of us that means spending more or less than others, but with careful meal choices and forward planning everyone should be able to eat, and eat well.
If people are so hard done by then maybe they ought to quit smoking, drinking, gambling, buying ready made food and other expensive vices. Maybe even get a job, McDonalds is always recruiting and they feed you J
If people have managed to get themselves into debt from overspending and buying those “must haves“ because your life would otherwise be incomplete without them, that’s not ML’s fault. He didn’t thrust the loans or credit cards or too large a mortgage into your lap. ( I don’t include people who are in debt through no fault of their on in that statement) . This whole thread is another sad, sad example of how me, me, me this country has fast become.
Oh and Yes, I’ve twice used coupons in in Tesco for things I’ve not bought, and you know what? I felt guilty for doing so and never did it again.

Let’s hope the voucher complainers are only a tiny part of the wonderful, helpful and supportive community that is MSE and that they find lots of inspiration for living a more frugal life on the other parts of the forum.

Indy_Nial

"I used to be able to shoplift indiscriminately but now they’ve put in security guards, who can I complain to about this?”

That is what a lot of you sound like. Just because big supermarket chains like Tesco are in a position to abuse its position as a big retailer to allow you carry out the fraudulent redemption of coupons, doesn't absolve you from guilt or responsibility of committing fraud any more than buying a DVD off someone in a pub absolves you from committing copyright theft.

Getting the manufacturers to pay for your shopping is not a victimless crime, as it results in higher prices for everyone else.

This site is called Money Saving Expert, not Money Printing Expert.

monkeyspanner

Tesco announce rise in half year profits to £1,420,000,000 that's £1.42billion on sales of £30billion. Anyone still feel sorry for them?

Domthemon

To the above posters, you have missed the points being made. The post re 'me,me,me' - if you actually read what has been posted here it has been made VERY clear nobody wants this to be a secret site.

neas has made the point very clearly as have I, that the info is here, those that want to make the effort find it, but it is not sustainable for millions to do. Going on TV and shouting about it you may as well say 'look at what we have been doing and how much money we save, quite legitimately, but now watch Tesco close it down', and we are amazed Martin doesn't have the sense to realise this.

I feel some of the above are simply trolls as they ignore the arguments made and post complete smokescreens in reply which don't actually address the points made.

At least Martin made a reasoned response but he too missed the point why we are complaining and chose to make up what he thought we were saying.

Just because one person feels guilty for using coupons against items not bought that makes it wrong?! You can't have had too much of a moral case to have done it yourself then! (I shoplifted twice and felt guilty so you who still do it are terrible people - er look in the mirror.....?!) Sorry but Tesco authorised us to use them, IN WRITING. It is them redeeming them with the manufacturers that is fraudulent, not us using them. They could accept them and throw them away, as they do other stores spend and save coupons. It is Tesco committing the fraud. Think about it.

To be frank, if they said I could pay with dog poo or US$ then I would do.

red_arrow_2

A well reasoned case, thanks DomtheMon- couldn`t agree more.

ben501

DomtheMon wrote: »

Sorry but Tesco authorised us to use them, IN WRITING. It is them redeeming them with the manufacturers that is fraudulent, not us using them.


It is Tesco committing the fraud.

It's clear now. All the people using coupons are just 'aiding and abetting':rolleyes:

Last time I looked that was treated almost as bad as the fraud itself.

Just as well this isn't a criminal matter (yet)

jennytablina

monkeyspanner wrote: »

Tesco announce rise in half year profits to £1,420,000,000 that's £1.42billion on sales of £30billion. Anyone still feel sorry for them?

So because Tesco is actually managing well this gives customers carte-blanche to get away with using the coupons? "Well done on making a profit mate, you wont mind if I nick a few bob off you eh?"

Seriously some of the opinions here are terrible. Coupons are a bonus, and knowledge of them had been widespread for a long time. I wager some people who used this policy were not ever members of this site! It was common knowledge among Tesco staff that this policy was in place and we were allowed to inform customers of that particular policy up till it ended. We didn't hide it, just never advertised it because y'know, its not really the proper use for them

I agree with Martin that nobody is overall truly to blame here. It's simply that Manufacturers have started to feel threatened by their own promotional coupons backfiring in a bad way with consumers using them towards other means. If Tesco had kept the policy we might of lost some suppliers in time I imagine and that's bad for business so something had to give.

I mean really if you want to save money you still can! Tescos have items at various price points - they launched a HUGE budget range earlier in the year, the 5p petrol deal, Septembers Beer Promo, Octobers Spirits Promo, Double Clubcard points for the foreseeable future - various instore offers. If you cant find these deals I highly suggest trying shopping at tesco.com as they have a page dedicated to offers and you can make some good savings that way (I have occasionally managed to buy an entire shop just using the offers page)

If this isnt good enough then do feel free to complain! Tesco's really wants feedback and that can only happen if you go to the right channels, this means not just complaining to the poor cashier! Because we cant convey your complaint to the company half as well as you can!