Tesco customers overcharged by out-of-date offers

worldtraveller

Tesco customers are being short-changed by promotions which have expired but are still advertised on the shelves, a BBC investigation has found.

It revealed shoppers were overcharged at two-thirds of stores visited by an undercover reporter.

In 33 of 50 stores visited, multi-buy promotions were marked on the shelf, but the time-limited discounts were not applied at tills.

Tesco said it would double-check the accuracy of pricing at all its stores.

BBC News

Pollycat

What happened to checking your receipt to make sure it was accurate?

I may be in a minority but I know what multi-buy & BOGOF offers I've bought and check to make sure they've been applied.
Same for other offers.

Our local Tesco Extra was dreadul when they first opened, I spent ages at Customer Services getting double the difference for items they'd over-charged me for.

Better now but I still check - and do the same in every shop.

Still, it's sloppy practice by Tesco.

eddddy

As Pollycat says, always check receipts (not just for multibuys, but special offers and prices in general).

Over the years I've had examples of this at every supermarket chain I've shopped in - Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Asda, Co-op and Lidl.

Strangely, Waitrose staff seem to handle this worse than others. They seem to take offence, if I point out a pricing error - and they behave as though I'm trying to rip them off. But maybe it's just the branches I shop in.

In Lidl, on one occasion before I had even left the shop, they looked up the employee who was responsible for price labels in that section, called him over, and started giving him a b*llocking.

abacab

Does Tesco double the difference still apply.
Back in the days of avid clubcard point collecting I used to activly seek mislabelled price items to get DTD back.
Sometimes you would get customer service staff who tried to give back just the difference until the big sign behind them was pointed out.
They used to spit the money at me.
Great times!!!

Pollycat

abacab wrote: »

Does Tesco double the difference still apply.
Back in the days of avid clubcard point collecting I used to activly seek mislabelled price items to get DTD back.
Sometimes you would get customer service staff who tried to give back just the difference until the big sign behind them was pointed out.
They used to spit the money at me.
Great times!!!

DTD came up on a fairly recent thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/71985629#Comment_71985629

Relevant post:

CGG wrote: »

You are wrong.
Tesco stores still operate the overcharge policy, and this is quoted here, "In the unlikely event that we charge you more than what is advertised on the shelf edge or on the product, please visit our Customer Service Desk with your receipt for a double the difference refund".
Granted CS staff occasionally need 'reminding', but you were entitled to the DTD wether in an Extra, Metro or Express.

System

I think what happens is the tickets on the parent shelf - the place where the product is always there, doesn't get updated on new promo start day..

On a visit to Italy last year, I visited a supermarket (Pam) where the tickets were LCD. So both the price and price per 100g etc was on this. Not sure how they are updated. Probably in a way if product was dual located l, both change.

Pollycat

ScarletMarble wrote: »

I think what happens is the tickets on the parent shelf - the place where the product is always there, doesn't get updated on new promo start day..

I don't have a retail background but I know you do.

I can't see that it matters how it happens or doesn't happen.
The fact is that if any retailer is putting products on special offer they should have the processes and procedures in place to ensure that staff change shelf labels at the appropriate time to avoid misleading (and potentially ripping off) customers and to ensure that share holders' profits are not put at risk by giving customers DTD money back (Tesco) or losing customers to other retailers.

VfM4meplse

I don't think Tesco does this on purpose, but it is poor management across numerous stores.

I'd like to see them get a fine.

Pollycat

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I don't think Tesco does this on purpose, but it is poor management across numerous stores.

I'd like to see them get a fine.

I agree, it's pretty sloppy.

smokey_dave

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I don't think Tesco does this on purpose, but it is poor management across numerous stores.

I'd like to see them get a fine.

So you don't think Tesco do it on purpose when it was going on in 33 of the 50 shops checked.

aleph_0

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I don't think Tesco does this on purpose, but it is poor management across numerous stores.

I'd like to see them get a fine.

I agree there's no direct malice in their policy, but the problem is a result of deliberate decisions by central management.

Tesco clearly aren't putting enough emphasis on checking that prices are updated (since it's clearly not a metric they're checking/mystery shopping/calling out store management on). That's a deliberate decision (or incompetence if they're unaware of this long-running problem). On here, we're aware stores care a lot about avoiding refunds/double the difference, which suggests they're looking at that metric, with counterproductive results.

The firm's general pricing strategy is also a deliberate decision that causes this. There's an emphasis on a large number of offers, often engineered in an almost rolling format, because the original price isn't realistic (for example, chickens used to be almost always either 3 for £10, or on a half price offer). Technically within the rules that allow them to call it an 'offer', morally less so.