MSE News: Sainsbury's shopper arrested for coupon fraud

esmerelda98

DelBoyPhil wrote: »

It has not and thats incorrect. Taken a caution does not. It has to goto a crown court.



Totally Agree,

If breaking the terms and condition is breaking the law then why do tesco take sainsburys and boots discount vouchers they both say they are only to be used in a boots store?

You misunderstand. Accepting a competitor's coupon is very different from accepting a manufacturer's coupon. When Tesco 'accept' a Sainsbury's coupon they are simply matching Sainsbury's offer. They dispose of the Sainsbury's coupon for you, if only to stop you popping into Sainsbury's to use it on your way home. They won't ask Sainsbury's to give them the value of the coupon, which is what effectively happens with a manufacturer's coupon. Since they aren't going to ask Sainsbury's for the money, there is no reason for Sainsbury's to get upset.

madmuppet5

Up until October 2009 it was possible to use coupons in Tesco against your shopping. As long as they stocked the product you would receive the discount against your shopping even if you hadn't bought the item. Tesco would then redeem the coupon as if it had been used towards the cost of the item. Now that's what I would term as coupon abuse and fraud.

DelBoyPhil

esmerelda98 wrote: »

You misunderstand. Accepting a competitor's coupon is very different from accepting a manufacturer's coupon. When Tesco 'accept' a Sainsbury's coupon they are simply matching Sainsbury's offer. They dispose of the Sainsbury's coupon for you, if only to stop you popping into Sainsbury's to use it on your way home. They won't ask Sainsbury's to give them the value of the coupon, which is what effectively happens with a manufacturer's coupon. Since they aren't going to ask Sainsbury's for the money, there is no reason for Sainsbury's to get upset.

Yes didnt get my point. On the T&C it says only valid in Sainsburys and boot is says Can only be used in Boots.

Are they allowing you to break the law? Is the person using that competitor's coupon breaking the law?

If terms and conditions are law then I reckon you are? Im just asking the questions.

DelBoyPhil

madmuppet5 wrote: »

Up until October 2009 it was possible to use coupons in Tesco against your shopping. As long as they stocked the product you would receive the discount against your shopping even if you hadn't bought the item. Tesco would then redeem the coupon as if it had been used towards the cost of the item. Now that's what I would term as coupon abuse and fraud.

Yes, My local asda would allow you to USE ANY COUPON on ANY PRODUCT! that is CLEARLY Malredeption and I know this because may SV would allow it and upto a MAX of 30% then after a year to 10%.

Wondering if I should goto my local police station and report it. Guess what... Nothing would happen because the police pick on people and not companies, and if a company was to pusure tesco or asda they would not stock there products so it was "allowed"...

VT82

For me, the crux of the argument is whether or not the woman arrested actually bought what the coupon was supposed to be used for.

If there was a coupon to get £10 off when you buy two of something that costs £2.50 (making £5 profit), and she did this 30 times and bought 60 of the item, then the blame lies with the store for pricing something below the coupon price. They should bear the brunt of it. The woman should just get barred by the supermarket for taking advantage, and disallowed from using any more coupons from the coupon company (well, they could try).

If however the woman had a £5 off something voucher, but realised it worked even when you didn't buy the item specified, and she used 30 of these, then that's a different story. That's just like going up to a bank's paying in machine that you have discovered accepts photocopied money, and paying in a load of fake money. She should get charged big time.

I still don't think you can tell from the article which is the case, although all signs point to the latter, in which case I'm glad someone is finally getting charged for this. And I don't understand why MSE ever advocated trying this ruse (albeit upfront with a cashier) in the first place.

unhappy_shopper

madmuppet5 wrote: »

Up until October 2009 it was possible to use coupons in Tesco against your shopping. As long as they stocked the product you would receive the discount against your shopping even if you hadn't bought the item. Tesco would then redeem the coupon as if it had been used towards the cost of the item. Now that's what I would term as coupon abuse and fraud.

Well said, MM. :beer:

Why did the authorities and coupon issuing companies not proceed against Tesco for such blatant misredemption?
Are they above the law?
IMHO, firms that openly carry out misredemption of coupons should be prosecuted.

DelBoyPhil

unhappy_shopper wrote: »

Well said, MM. :beer:

Why did the authorities and coupon issuing companies not proceed against Tesco for such blatant misredemption?
Are they above the law?
IMHO, firms that openly carry out misredemption of coupons should be prosecuted.

misredemption is not illegal.
malredemption is

Tesco was not misredemption they was malredemption

http://www.valassis.co.uk/Page/43/Malredemption

While misredemption is not currently illegal, malredemption is because it is fraud, pure and simple. A retailer usually perpetrates malredemption. For example, they may cut out a large volume of high value coupons from unsold newspapers and to claim the face value and trade-handling allowance.

unhappy_shopper

DelBoyPhil wrote: »

misredemption is not illegal.
malredeption is

http://www.valassis.co.uk/Page/43/Malredemption

While misredemption is not currently illegal, malredemption is because it is fraud, pure and simple. A retailer usually perpetrates malredemption. For example, they may cut out a large volume of high value coupons from unsold newspapers and to claim the face value and trade-handling allowance.

Thanks for pointing out the difference between misredemption and malredemption. :-)

esmerelda98

DelBoyPhil wrote: »

Yes didnt get my point. On the T&C it says only valid in Sainsburys and boot is says Can only be used in Boots.

Are they allowing you to break the law? Is the person using that competitor's coupon breaking the law?

If terms and conditions are law then I reckon you are? Im just asking the questions. It's not that terms and conditions constitute law, it's more that the provider of the coupon says "We will give you £X off this product under these conditions. The contract only comes into force if you agree to these conditions." If they can show that you deliberately flouted those conditions, then there is no contract and you owe £X. Laws may also have been broken, one has already been suggested. That manufacturers and/or retailers do not usually take action does not mean no offence has been committed or there are no grounds for civil action. It is just not usually worth the bother.[/QUOTE]

I totally got your point, but you didn't get mine. Tesco isn't really accepting the coupon, they are just saying, "Well if you shop here instead of going to Sainsbury's we will match their offer". It's no different from saying to John Lewis, "That Radley bag is £20 less in House of Fraser. I'll buy it here if you match that price." The coupon is just proof of what Sainsbury's is offering the customer. The price-match could also be done without the coupon. When they take the coupon from you, they are just helping you dispose of it. 'Only valid in Sainsbury's' means you can't walk into any other shop and expect them to take it but you can always ask another store to match the offer.

DelBoyPhil

esmerelda98 wrote: »

DelBoyPhil wrote: »

Yes didnt get my point. On the T&C it says only valid in Sainsburys and boot is says Can only be used in Boots.

Are they allowing you to break the law? Is the person using that competitor's coupon breaking the law?

If terms and conditions are law then I reckon you are? Im just asking the questions. It's not that terms and conditions constitute law, it's more that the provider of the coupon says "We will give you £X off this product under these conditions. [/QUOTE]

I totally got your point, but you didn't get mine. Tesco isn't really accepting the coupon, they are just saying, "Well if you shop here instead of going to Sainsbury's we will match their offer". It's no different from saying to John Lewis, "That Radley bag is £20 less in House of Fraser. I'll buy it here if you match that price." The coupon is just proof of what Sainsbury's is offering the customer. The price-match could also be done without the coupon. When they take the coupon from you, they are just helping you dispose of it. 'Only valid in Sainsbury's' means you can't walk into any other shop and expect them to take it but you can always ask another store to match the offer.

Yes, But the t&c does say that you can only use it in tesco or boots etc. that was my point. I maybe wrong but thats how I see it.