MSE News: Shopping at Tesco this month? Your bill may be rounded up for charity

carpetbarn

Every time I go to the city centre I get harassed by chuggers and beggars asking for 'change please'. Now Tesco are doing it - ridiculous.

If I was working on their tills I wouldn't 'round up' anyone's bill.

Prinzessilein

I have been to Tesco a couple of times this month.

Some of the cashiers ask if I want to donate, others don't....it is the same store each time, there just doesn't seem to be a consistent policy.

If asked, I refuse...firstly 'for charity' is far too vague, I would prefer being told WHICH charity I am supporting...and secondly, I have a personal policy not to donate to chuggers.

Why not just have a 'change bucket' clearly labelled with the charity, and leave it to the customer whether or not to donate?

Ken68

My local Tesco have a green button system, given by the cashier, and you put the button into a box (showing various charities) on the way out. Have seen a similar system in Waitrose.

Paul_Herring

Prinzessilein wrote: »

Some of the cashiers ask if I want to donate, others don't....it is the same store each time, there just doesn't seem to be a consistent policy.

Apparently the policy is, from the article:

Rounding up your bill is supposed to be entirely voluntary - you will be asked to choose whether or not to donate at self-service machines, and should only have your bill rounded up at staffed check-outs if you explicitly offer to donate.

So, at a manned checkout:

• You shouldn't be asked
• Your bill should only be rounded up if you offer.

It appears that the policy (presuming the quote is accurate,) while consistent, simply isn't being followed.

Pollycat

Ken68 wrote: »

My local Tesco have a green button system, given by the cashier, and you put the button into a box (showing various charities) on the way out. Have seen a similar system in Waitrose.

But that doesn't cost the shopper any money - unlike this new scheme.

Solstice

Not had a specific problem with Tesco, but I used to donate my points on a well-known survey site to a well-known charity and decided to check that the donations were going where I thought they were. The charity in question said they never received donations from the survey site so I am now very leery about donating to a middleman. There is no guarantee that the money is going where you think it is, whether it's 2p or £200.

Hedgehog99

I hate this creeping do-gooder trend.

At a till, I want to pay for what I have bought and leave. That's it. No I don't want the special offer Creme Eggs or the store card with 0% interest if I apply today or a voucher for something I'll never use. These pennies for charity round-ups go in the same category: unsolicited hassle.

I will decide for myself which charities I support, when and how.

alanq

Yorkshire Building Society has a scheme (Small Change Big Difference) whereby one receives only whole pounds of interest per account the pennies going to its charitable foundation. The full amount of interest is taxable not just the amount that the customer receives.

There have been accounts where I don't believe I opted in (or failed to opt out) but the donation has been taken. I only discovered these a year after opening the accounts.

I haven't challenged this as I am not sure that it wasn't my error and the cost to me of rectifying the mistake (if it was a mistake) would be more than the amounts concerned.

I too object to schemes whereby customers are encouraged to pay for pre-selected, or worse unspecified, charities.

Mee

Donated once at self-service (via bill round-up scheme) to Diabetes UK. Won't donate to BHF after ICO ruling.

Pollycat

Mee wrote: »

Donated once at self-service (via bill round-up scheme) to Diabetes UK. Won't donate to BHF after ICO ruling.

Did it give you a choice between the 2 charities?
According to this the money is to be divided between them:

All the extra cash raised will be split between Diabetes UK and British Heart Foundation.