MSE News: Tesco outlaws 'wrong item' vouchers

chocolady

I think we should thank Martin for setting up a site which has saved us all a lot of money, although I do think it was a bit foolhardy openly advertising the voucher situation as it has forced Tesco into a corner. Personally, although I doubt it, I hope that other supermarkets take up where Tesco has left off as plenty of people buy the goods without using vouchers which they can then offset against people that do and so its no skin off the manufacturer's noses. Also Tesco are quite willing to advertise that they take Sainsburys, Morrisons and any other Supermarkets money off vouchers against their shopping so it is a bit rich when they take the moral high ground especially after posting massive profits today. I for one only used to use a couple at a time if that and do think some peoples greed on both sides has contributed to this situation. Shame for everyone really. Maybe it will crystalise the situation and make people look at another way around it, heres hoping.

LizzieS_2

There are many excellent moneysaving ideas for cutting bills and creating recipes here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

negg

Imagine the following. Tesco buy and sell 10,000 of an item but then try to claim 50,000 vouchers. The manufacturer is now having to pay for (maybe) a competitors product purchase!

If a supermarket can guarantee that they will only be used against their products, we might see more vouchers for a start.

P.S. Just in case some people don't know, offers like buy one get one free are not always offered by the supermarket, but by the supplier. I have a friend whose job it is to go into various supermarkets to check that they are offering these bargains to customers and if they are not and refuse to put the offer back on within 5 minutes, they put the wholesale price back up to the supermarket's normal price.

LizzieS_2

negg wrote: »

Imagine the following. Tesco buy and sell 10,000 of an item but then try to claim 50,000 vouchers.

I tried pointing that out on another thread before the scheme closed.

I agree with you on the offers. Another interesting one picked up from TV research (covered all supermarkets) - many of the offers are entirely at the manufacturers expense. Supermarkets were putting pressure on small farmers to reduce prices to the point some could not afford to keep going - we all like bargains, but surely no-one would like to see a small business suffer as a result.

jennytablina

Replying here as a Tesco Employee who works on the checkouts

Tesco have been umming and ahhing a while on coupon policy: last year we had a few confusing memos about internet coupons being unacceptable and restricting use of the same coupon to 2 times if the customer hadn't brought it. The amount of use stuck but the internet coupon ban was dropped thankfully!

Though honestly: I feel for people who where using the coupons just to occasionally balance prices, it does suck if you were pretty innocent about it. But I think the policy was changed due to people who used those coupons over and over. They are the minority in my area thankfully, most customers use the coupons responsibly (and it's appreciated! : ) )

I mean as well as the manufacturers getting hit, so do the checkout times, nothing slows down the checkout process more than someone whipping out a mass amount of vouchers and expecting the checkout assistant to scan every single one. From an additional standpoint, if other customers are held up by someone running riot with the rules. Then its a bit of a kick in the bum to the other consumers.

In the company's defence Tesco has offered a lot of decent offers in the past few weeks and currently is doing double Clubcard points. Which I guess was their way of softening the blow of this upcoming announcement.

dnomyar

I did my shopping last Friday, took all my vouchers that I had printed off "NOT photocopied" (luckily in fast draft black and white) and was told by the assistant that the policy had changed. This will therefore be the last time I shop at Tescos. We are on a very tight budget and the fact that Tescos policy was that they accepted these vouchers this enabled me to shop at Tescos. And if they accepted them once I gave them the vouchers telling the assistant that I had not brought the product is in effect a contract between me and Tescos and to those people who say this was fraudulant "show me the relevent law". To those who say that due to the new policy change we will all see product prices coming down then I say you are deluded. Big supermarkets like Tescos have a choice of what products they put on there shelves and therefore can tell a majority of manufacturers what price they must sell there product to them. They can also a force manufacturers to sell products at promotional prices enabling the store to do special offers ie BOGOF, this is also why manufacturers spot check supermarkets to make sure that if they have been forced to sell to the supermarket at promo price then it will be in some kind of contract that the supermarket will have to sell the product at the promo price. To the person who stated that the vouchers are responsible for farmers being on a worse deal, I can't ever remember a voucher that gave money off fresh meat or fresh milk or fresh veg and fruit - it is supermarkets like Tesco who force farmers to sell produce to them at very low prices so they inturn can charge what they like in profit; supermarkets who were heavily fined for price fixing in regard to the cost of milk and forcing dairy farmers to lower prices of milk but not passing this on to the customer. It is supermarkets who are keeping the price of bread high even though the cost of wheat is halve what it was when bread started to drastically rise and the supermarkets said it was all down to the rise in wheat prices a year or so ago.

Sorry for the rant and rave and going on its just that because some people had used the vouchers if not buying the product doesn't give other people the right to judge them. We didn't judge you for not using the vouchers!

elcoline

I agree with Dnomyar. There are some very pompous comments on here.

Don't judge someone unless you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Tesco's only accepted these vouchers previously as it was in their commercial interest to do (reduce hassle at checkout, increase customer footfall etc). Clearly now it is not.

We are the customers and we can choose whether to continue shopping with them or not. Some will go, some will stay.

Alternatively you can always"pretend" that you can't remember whether you have bought the items or not and let them check through the receipt.

If enough people do this (especially on a Friday night), they will soon review the policy.

jennytablina

elcoline wrote: »

I agree with Dnomyar. There are some very pompous comments on here.

Don't judge someone unless you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Tesco's only accepted these vouchers previously as it was in their commercial interest to do (reduce hassle at checkout, increase customer footfall etc). Clearly now it is not.

We are the customers and we can choose whether to continue shopping with them or not. Some will go, some will stay.

Alternatively you can always"pretend" that you can't remember whether you have bought the items or not and let them check through the receipt.

If enough people do this (especially on a Friday night), they will soon review the policy.

Thats not fair at all! It's not the cashiers fault that Head Office has decreed that this policy is nixed nor is it other customers problem. So doing such a thing would be purely out of spite, all you'll manage is to annoy or fluster the poor cashier who had NOTHING to do with this decision and take up other customers time and such a thing WONT change the store policy.

Seriously if you want Tesco to change anything, add deals anywhere, improve service or anything else give them feedback! As its head office you guys want to be dealing with and thats the best way to get to them, you will achieve nothing terrorising your local store employees as they have little contact with the main crux of the company.

Just don't expect this policy to change anytime soon as it's NOT an option. Besides there are plenty ways to save money grocery shopping, be savvy about deals, keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to try some of the cheaper brands if it comes to it!

R4pture_2

freakyogre wrote: »

Not really, i'm another one who wouldn't dream of using a voucher for something I hadn't purchased, it just doesn't seem right.

If someone is relying on vouchers to reduce their shopping bills then I suppose they need to look at what they're buying? I'm sure the supermarkets haven't always accepted these vouchers for anything.

Im sorry but i really diagree with that statement.
It hard being on benefits and struggling against debt payments, having an electric meter that eats your money not affording heating now its the winter.
I relied on coupons so I could eat. I never bought branded food I survive on the cheapest food there is including reduced price food.
Tescos policy was a life saver and thanks to greed, I now must suffer.

harz99

jenniewb wrote: »

You right;
I don't think its so much the odd £1 or £2 spent here or there per week off a shopping bill, but more like the greedy people who spend much more...and walk off without paying a penny! I've read it on here, read it on other forums, still can't believe people actually have the audacity! And now they have ruined it for some of those that do use their vouchers responsibly and not overtime!

Quite so; by all means do this sort of thing, but don't post on open forums crowing about it as this is what happens - the goose no longer lays the golden egg for anyone!