Multi packs

crazymum24

HI can someone tell me, is it illegal for our local corner shop to sell cans of coke that have written on the side of them "not to be sold separately multipack can?

Any help would be grateful. thank you

peewhyeff

Not sure of the legal technicalities of this, but it does happen. Might be worth contacting 'trading standards' who might have a word with the store, or the manufacturers....they won't be best pleased either,but will they take it any further? Good luck.

geordie_joe

I know english and scottish laws often differ, but not always.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/276/consumer_advice/1478/consumer_advice-recent_edinburgh_issues/5

I can't see why this would not apply to england and wales.

After all, it's just the manufacturer who puts "not to be sold separately" on them, an I guess they sell 8 packs, or however many, cheaper than the do 8 individual items.

I think the law may be broken if the items in the multi packs were smaller than the individual ones. Cans of coke are all the same size, but if, say, individual cans were 330ml and multi pack cans were 300ml then a retailer could get into trouble for selling multi pack cans as individual ones.

cardiff2007

What is the law on splitting multipacks?

We regularly receive complaints from members of the public that a shop is illegally splitting a multipack and selling the items separately.

It is not illegal to split multipacks but the product must be labelled and priced correctly.

Let us consider a simple example:

John the corner shop owner buys a 10 pack of cola for £5.

The multipack already has a price on it saying £6 for all 10 cans and each can already has a price 60p of printed onto it. Each can also has ‘multipack – not for individual sales’ printed on it.

John wants to split the multipack and sell each can for £1.

The main points are:

1) Once John has bought the 10 can multi pack it is his product and he can split and sell the product however he likes. If the manufacturer doesn’t like it then they may choose not to sell their product to him in the future.

2) The individual cans can be sold at any price and do not have to be at the 60p already printed on the can. It is up to the business and customer to agree on a price. So John can sell each can for 80p as long as he prices the product clearly. I would therefore expect a sticker of 80p over the 60p on the can or a clear sign to next to the cans to say they cost 80p and not the 60p printed on the can.

3) Some products – particularly food – have to have certain information on the label – such as the name of the product, ingredients and a use by or best before date. Often manufacturers will put all of this information on the outside packaging of a multipack so that if you split the multipack the information is not on each individual item. Technically the items without proper labelling on the actual packaging that the customer takes away should not be sold on their own. That said, if it is a well known product which has a long shelf life (i.e. not past a use by day) and everyone knows what they are getting then it is not something Trading Standards (in my experience anyway) would get too excited about – there are more important things we could be focussing on. The only major issue might be the lack of allergy information, which means that the food product could cause someone to become ill – but as I say it depends on what the product is. For example, most people know what is in cola – so I doubt it constitutes much of an allergy risk

As a consumer you might feel the shop is ripping you off if they are selling for a higher price that what is already on the product – but from a legal point of that is irrelevant. You as the consumer can make the decision on whether to buy the product or not as long as the price is clearly drawn to your attention before you buy.

geordie_joe

cardiff2007 wrote: »

For example, most people know what is in cola

I thought that was the point of cola, we don't know what is in it

missusjen

We're not sure what's in it, but it'll clean your sink/drains/car engine...and your teeth, right through to the inside

bigjoe

cardiff2007 wrote: »

What is the law on splitting multipacks?

We regularly receive complaints . . .

By "we", who are you talking about? Who do you represent? Or have you just copied and pasted this from somewhere?

Teahfc

bigjoe wrote: »

By "we", who are you talking about? Who do you represent? Or have you just copied and pasted this from somewhere?

Copy and paste from

http://www.tradingstandardsblog.com/splitting-multipacks-and-selling-items-separately/

Nada666

Why does it matter to you? If a corner shop can buy retail bars or cans for 25p from multipacks and then sell a single one to me for 50p (instead of the 65p a supermarket charges) why do I care?

It is only the corner shop who is losing a bit because he can not then claim back the VAT. The revenue still get their VAT (I think they end up with two lots?), the product manufacturer gets their payment, the customer pays a cheaper price for a single can and the corner shop-keeper makes as much or a touch more profit (compared to the price of wholesale bars/cans.)

stephen77

cardiff2007 wrote: »

3) Some products – particularly food – have to have certain information on the label – such as the name of the product, ingredients and a use by or best before date. Often manufacturers will put all of this information on the outside packaging of a multipack so that if you split the multipack the information is not on each individual item. Technically the items without proper labelling on the actual packaging that the customer takes away should not be sold on their own. That said, if it is a well known product which has a long shelf life (i.e. not past a use by day) and everyone knows what they are getting then it is not something Trading Standards (in my experience anyway) would get too excited about – there are more important things we could be focussing on. The only major issue might be the lack of allergy information, which means that the food product could cause someone to become ill – but as I say it depends on what the product is. For example, most people know what is in cola – so I doubt it constitutes much of an allergy risk

.

This part can make it illegal if lacking the correct info.
If its not got a Best before / use by date. It does not matter if its a sachet of sugar that last ages. You need that info on it.

allergy info needs to be present. Not sure if there few exemptions on this.
While cola might not be much of a issue. Other products will be much hard to know what is present in them. E.g. flavoured yoghurts.

LadyDee

Why is it a problem? You choose whether or not to buy.

If it is illegal then surely TS have far more important real scams and ripoffs to deal with.