Coupons - did i do wrong?

cagneyfan

Hi everyone.

Advice please. I got some vouchers for a shop for a particular item. When I went through the till I used the voucher despite not having the particular item in my trolley - and it was accepted.

My extremely smug friend said that I was guilty of fraud and when pressed, she said that she'd never do that (forgetting that she 'liberated' stationery and stamps from previous employer).

I realise that using the strict letter of the law I was wrong as I didn't have the said item in my trolley. However, and this may just be me trying to justify my wrongdoing, I believe that if the shop was that concerned they'd make the tills only accept the voucher if the item it was for registered as bought.

Also, I was watching Watchdog the other night and amazed to find that the shops are just as 'guilty' of 'misleading' and 'defrauding' the customer i.e. Rollback - yet the items previously were cheaper! Also, 400g coffer for £4.79 but a 200g jar was £2 - meaning it'd be cheaper to buy two small jars and save 79p.

Do you think I did wrong? If it's good for the goose, is it not good for the gander?

newMS

its up to the woman/bloke on the till as far as im concerned, if they take and you save a few pence then ok, you havent lost anything is they refuse it have you

Buddingblonde

The discount was to be off the price of an item you didnt buy - how you justify it or not is up to you.

cagneyfan

Buddingblonde wrote: »

The discount was to be off the price of an item you didnt buy - how you justify it or not is up to you.

Ooooh, I'm feeling really bad now

Torry_Quine

Buddingblonde wrote: »

The discount was to be off the price of an item you didnt buy - how you justify it or not is up to you.

Yes it's between you and your conscience. Personally I only use coupons if I have bought the product.

Raine_E_Day

I usually ask first, i.e "I've some coupons but haven't bought the products, are you allowed to take them?" Often affirmative response, depending on store and company policy.

I have no qualms about doing this if it saves a few pence here and there!

SallyForth_2

I don't know if it is still so, but Tesco used to do this. Their policy was as long as they stocked the item, they would accept the coupon, regardless whether you purchased one or not.

CouponWoman

SallyForth wrote: »

I don't know if it is still so, but Tesco used to do this. Their policy was as long as they stocked the item, they would accept the coupon, regardless whether you purchased one or not.

18 months ago Tesco changed the policy, you must purchase the item to use a coupon. Saying that it isn't the end of the world if you use a coupon without buying the product. Just be aware you could have the coupon rejected when you pay for your shopping. No real harm done.

rosieben

some shops do still accept vouchers as long as they stock the item; the shop isn't losing anything anyway as they just reclaim the voucher value, so don't worry about it; I've seen far far worse things advocated on these boards

I hope you reminded your extremely smug friend about the stationery and stamps - that is definitely theft!

meritaten

hun - you didnt go shoplifting and the shop isnt going to be out of pocket! I have worked in store, which accepted vouchers in this way and in others where you HAD to purchase the item - in those stores the till read the code on the voucher and if item wasnt purchased the till wouldnt accept the voucher!
dont worry about it!

Bitsy_Beans

I wouldn't do it to a small independant trader but given that the likes of Tesco do their very best to wheedle as much cash out of the public as possible I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.