Sainsbury Valentine meal deal problem

Bazzaboy17

Last week while doing my online shopping with Sainsburys I noticed they were doing a promotion connected to Valentines day.

The deal looked good selecting 5 items which came to nearly £30 for a special price of £15

However when my shopping arrived and I was unpacking I noticed that the potato side dish was unavailable hence only 4 items. Thinking that they would deduct the cost of the side dish from £15 and charge me the balance.

Sadly No.......................They charged me full price for the 4 items so instead of 5 items for £15 I got 4 items for £28.

Why am I penalised when the shortage of stock is not my fault?


After contacting Sainsburys they told me that I am entited to return any items to the driver but sadly after signing for the shopping in good faith and before unpacking the driver was long gone.

They then went on to say I could return it to the driver on his next visit two weeks later and get a refund, why would I want to let good food go to waste?

Has anyone else suffered this problem and did they get any joy from the supermarket concerned

Snugglebunny8

That is really bad I feel. Surely they should have given you an alternative dish, something similar? and if they are out of stock it isnt your fault, so as you said, why should you be out of pocket! and they must realise people can't make the drive wait while they unpack everything to check!

If its an all in offer, then charging you for individual items because they don't have one in stock is out of order.

I'd persue it further and insist on a refund if it was me, let me know how you go, good luck x

chesky369

Write to the chief executive by proper letter. You'll get an immediate response, a refund and probably a gift voucher too.

julietiff

Same as above. You need to push for a refund.

robyn700

When you ordered your shopping, did you choose the do not substitute box? If this is the case then they would not have put a different item in.

If you did not choose that option, then whoever picked your shopping that day should of realised there was a meal deal on and also should have substituted the out of stock item for a different one in the deal.

I would write to the store and head office, as online shoppers are constantly made aware of offers such as meal deals so that these problems do not arise.

Middy

I work for Sainsburys and we had problems with the puddings on the VD meal deal - first not enough delivered and second two of the puddings were not part of the meal deal. They were similar. At the end of Saturday, we were telling customers to buy any pudding they want (excluding the TTD £8 ones)

What we did is to void off the pudding and inputted one of barcode numbers of the puddings which was part of the meal deal. It then made the meal deal to £15. Average saving was £8-12.50, depending on which things you bought.

If you phone Sainsburys online shopping team and explained what happened on the store level. Just mention a friend works for Sainsburys and this what they did. They would probably credit you the difference and apply it to your next bill.

Bazzaboy17

Thanks for taking the time to reply It's nice to be reassued that I wasn't the only one who felt this didn't seem fair. I will try agiain with a higher level but after exchanging about 10 emails with the same customer service manager I feel a little pessimistic. In reply to one of the replies, no I did not state "no substitute"

Once again many thanks

Snugglebunny8

good luck with it, I really feel you are in the right and agree with what others have said, Middy's advice sounds spot on, so feel hopeful you will get it sorted, keep us posted x

Bazzaboy17

Just by chance I happened to be chatting to someone at work about my bad experience. She said that the same thing had happened to her with Tesco's. However when she contacted them they authorised a refund. She was good enough the forward the E Mail which is reproduced below.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the amount of disappointment this matter has undoubtedly caused. I understand that you placed your online order in good faith however we've failed to fulfil your expectations on this occasion.

Furthermore, I fully appreciate the inconvenience caused when an one component from our Meal Deal is unavailable. I understand why this would discourage you from purchasing such offers in future as I too would feel equally unimpressed.

Having located your account on our database, I've now refunded the difference in price. You’ll receive a separate email confirming the amount processed, please kindly allow up to five working days for the funds to show in your account.

Guess where I'll be internet shopping from now on?

Snugglebunny8

Thats exactly how it should have been dealt with by Sainsburys, Im suprised they didnt react the same way at Tesco really, my dealings with Sainsburys have always been really good so I really hope you get it sorted and get your money back x

Snugglebunny8

btw have you forwarded that to the Sainsburys manager you are dealing with?? also might be worth pointing out that you will be switching to Tesco for your online shopping in light of your dissatisfaction with Sainsburys, hopefully if they see what Tesco have sent they will sort it, although Im very unimpressed Sainsburys havent sorted this immediately for you, it seems clear to me it is their error, unless Im missing something! x