Misleading pricing in supermarket

trumpeter_2

Tesco offer: "ANY 2 for £1"

Seemed pretty clear to me. But, after the checkout tried to charge me full price for each of two different items, the supervisor explained that it really means "any 2 of one particular item".

My concern is not for myself here. I worked it out and got the supervisor to agree to change the display.

But what about people who don't work it out, or who take it on good faith, or who don't like to make a fuss, or who are vulnerable? This happens a lot, and Tesco is not the only culprit.

What are your views? What, if anything, can be done about this practice? Here's a link to a photo of the display:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWfLX7nuaG/

bris

Sometimes it's common sense, if I see a sign saying Pizza £1.50 buy any 2 for £1 then I know what it means.


But your right some may need it explained better. Adding each to the price will easily sort it.


The link doesn't work.

trumpeter_2

bris wrote: »

Sometimes it's common sense, if I see a sign saying Pizza £1.50 buy any 2 for £1 then I know what it means.


But your right for those without common sense they may need it explained better. Adding each to the price will easily sort it.


The link doesn't work.

Thanks for your reply. You're right: I obviously don't have enough common sense, then. In fact, I'm so dull I went back to photograph it and then took the photograph with me in the full belief that the sign meant exactly what it said. Silly me! But, to be fair, you hadn't seen the picture when you made that comment :-)

Adding 'each' to the price wouldn't sort it at all. The items would be 50p each if one were to buy 2 for a £1. Or am I being dull again?

I've edited the photo link. You might think that clicking on "Insert Image" would insert an image in a post, but it doesn't do that in my browser. I needed to copy the link manually. I think it's working now.

stragglebod

What does it say on the yellow labels by each product?

unholyangel

bris wrote: »

Sometimes it's common sense, if I see a sign saying Pizza £1.50 buy any 2 for £1 then I know what it means.


But your right some may need it explained better. Adding each to the price will easily sort it.


The link doesn't work.

Im not sure you do. I know what OP refers to because I've been caught out by it.

If you picked up 2 pizzas that were the exact same except for toppings (even if both are labelled "any 2 for £1") then you would be charged £3. You would have to take 2 pizzas of the exact same. So imo its not "any 2 for £1". It should be "2 for £1".

To me the addition of "any" means it should be any item on offer on the same terms.

Needless to say, I don't shop at tesco anymore.

trumpeter_2

stragglebod wrote: »

What does it say on the yellow labels by each product?

Thanks for your interest, stragglebod.

The smaller "Any 2 for £1" you can just make out. The rest I'm afraid I can't remember exactly. I believe it just said "Buy any two items for £1" - it didn't say or infer that it had to be the same item twice. But in this particular case, in your place, I would want to know exactly what it said before commenting further. Sorry about that.

My general point stands: this kind of special offer pricing is often misleading at best, more often disingenuous bordering on fraudulent in my opinion!

JJ_Egan

Fraud no misleading often but not done on purpose .
Often its just a member of staff who has made a mistake .

unholyangel

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Fraud no misleading often but not done on purpose .
Often its just a member of staff who has made a mistake .

I don't think people are understanding what the OP is querying.

A staff member hasn't mistakenly labelled a product as part of the offer when it isn't. Their sign doesn't mean any 2 for £1 each or 1 for £1.50.

Its that if there are rolls/bread on sale on a "any 2 for £1" basis, it needs to be 2 of the same item. You cannot (for example) take 1 pack of well fired rolls and 1 pack of soft baps (even if both are being offered on a "any 2 for £1" basis).

Cornucopia

The issue is partly about the language (i.e. what does "any" actually mean), and partly about the convention that "Any X for £Y" means any X products across the labelled stock, interchangeably (unless otherwise stated).

"any" - whichever of a specified class might be chosen

I haven't shopped in Tesco for a long while, but when I did I usually had one query per shop. Of those queries, the vast majority were special offers not being honoured.

trumpeter_2

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Fraud no misleading often but not done on purpose .
Often its just a member of staff who has made a mistake .

I believe I said "bordering on fraud" rather than "fraud". And this happens FAR too often particularly in Tesco and Asda, but I've also seen it in Sainsbury's and Waitrose, for it to be "just... a mistake"

I believe it's wilful, calculated, knowing misdirection and I'd like to see something done about it. The nice, quiet, undemanding people are losing out

Tom99

If its not any two why is the word 'any' used? The word 'any' must mean there is more than one type to choose from.