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Restrictions on number of items that can be purchased

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I've been looking around on the internet but I can't find a definitive answer, so don't know if anyone here can help?

Most supermarkets have introduced restrictions on the number of items that can be purchased by one person (I think Tesco is 3, M&S is 2 etc) however, what does it mean by the same item?  Is that the same type of item e.g. soup, or the same variety of item e.g. tomato soup?

I normally do my shopping for the week ahead and with me now working from home, this includes lunch.  Accordingly, I'm been buying soup for lunch but if I try and buy five different tins of soup from M&S, am I going to be prevented from doing so?  Do I just need to go shopping every two days?  It's not an issue if I do, but just don't want to have an embarrassing situation at the checkout where things get seized from my basket!
Northern Ireland club member No 382 :j
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Comments

  • No idea if the restriction is per brand etc.
    Why not just buy some fresh veg and make a pot of soup for the week?
    Potatoes carrots parsnips onions and a pack of cooking bacon will make a delicious soup (5l) for a week at less than £5.
    Freeze portions and reheat when needed.
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 35,714 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Savvy Shopper!
    edited 22 March 2020 at 9:46AM
    From what I've read it is per item e.g. 3 tins of soup regardless of what flavour.
    No idea if the restriction is per brand etc.
    Why not just buy some fresh veg and make a pot of soup for the week?
    Potatoes carrots parsnips onions and a pack of cooking bacon will make a delicious soup (5l) for a week at less than £5.
    Freeze portions and reheat when needed.
    If you can get hold of fresh veg.

    Let's hope that the stupidity of stockpiling slows down so people can buy what they need when they need it.
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,602 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    I've been looking around on the internet but I can't find a definitive answer, so don't know if anyone here can help?

    Most supermarkets have introduced restrictions on the number of items that can be purchased by one person (I think Tesco is 3, M&S is 2 etc) however, what does it mean by the same item?  Is that the same type of item e.g. soup, or the same variety of item e.g. tomato soup?

    I normally do my shopping for the week ahead and with me now working from home, this includes lunch.  Accordingly, I'm been buying soup for lunch but if I try and buy five different tins of soup from M&S, am I going to be prevented from doing so?  Do I just need to go shopping every two days?  It's not an issue if I do, but just don't want to have an embarrassing situation at the checkout where things get seized from my basket!
    Just a guess, but I would assume type is limited, soup is soup, pasta is pasta, bread is bread, milk is milk, loo rolls are loo rolls. Otherwise it would 15 loaves of various types, same as loo rolls, quilted, scented, etc

    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Danny_G
    Danny_G Posts: 719 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 5 April 2020 at 3:52PM
    When going to Tesco in the superstores/ or large stores,   when purchasing their own brand of chocolate bars (200g bars mainly)
    such as:
    Tesco Dark Chocolate Bar 200G

    Tesco whole nut Chocolate Bar 200G

    Tesco Milk Chocolate Bar 200G

    then if going to the store physically to buy some then is there a limit to how many can be bought? 


    and does the electric self serve checkouts (where you slide the barcode yourself over the scanner, and self load your bag),
     then will this electronic system show/and stop when a maximum amount is reached for these chocolate bars?


    if there is a limit, when likely will they take it off, so it was like it was 2 months ago (limitless),
    (Just for the chocolate by the way)


    If somebody is going to the Tesco bigger stores can you find this out for me please, 



    Thanks
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  • Murphybear
    Murphybear Posts: 7,961 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    We did a big shop yesterday.  As we were buying items for a number of our over 60s community we needed more of some things like milk.  There didn’t seem to be a restriction on anything apart from paracetamol.  Loads of fresh fruit and veg but little flour.  
    (This was in our local Waitrose which is our nearest supermarket.  Tesco, Morrison’s, Lidl etc are 14 miles return)
  • We did a big shop yesterday.  As we were buying items for a number of our over 60s community we needed more of some things like milk.  There didn’t seem to be a restriction on anything apart from paracetamol.  Loads of fresh fruit and veg but little flour.  
    (This was in our local Waitrose which is our nearest supermarket.  Tesco, Morrison’s, Lidl etc are 14 miles return)
    @Murphybear just for curiosity (may be helpful for others) when you are buying for more than one person do you "checkout" as individual shops or do you scan it all as one shop and then distribute as individual bags for people?

    I shop for my parents(in lockdown) and the staff in our local Morrisons know I normally shop with mum and don`t question mulitiples that I buy(never more than4/6 of an item) as I split their shopping from mine before i drop it off.
  • KxMx
    KxMx Posts: 11,085 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I went to Asda Tuesday, they don't have many limits now. 
    I did explain to cashier I was shopping for more than myself, she said lots are doing that. 
  • sarah1972
    sarah1972 Posts: 19,392 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Photogenic
    Pollycat said:
    From what I've read it is per item e.g. 3 tins of soup regardless of what flavour.
    No idea if the restriction is per brand etc.
    Why not just buy some fresh veg and make a pot of soup for the week?
    Potatoes carrots parsnips onions and a pack of cooking bacon will make a delicious soup (5l) for a week at less than £5.
    Freeze portions and reheat when needed.
    If you can get hold of fresh veg.

    Let's hope that the stupidity of stockpiling slows down so people can buy what they need when they need it.
    I haven’t had any problems with fresh veg at all, my local co op, greengrocers and pop up stalls are crammed with fruit and veg. I also had a Tesco delivery last Thursday and all the veg I ordered was there. 
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Competitions Time, Shopping & Freebies boards, Employment, Jobseeking & Training boards If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 34,491 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Asda have lifted in store restrictions on most items apart from baby milk and hand washing, Aldi are lifting all restrictions from tomorrow and extending hours back to 10pm from Tuesday.  Tesco have lifted restrictions on many items but, unlike Asda, the majority of items that were panic bought are still restricted to 3 but my local had a limit of 1 on loo roll.
  • Steve_L
    Steve_L Posts: 338 Forumite
    100 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    There were some ... How can I put this kindly? ... amusing ... discrepancies, especially online, where someone had just programmed in a maximum number regardless of the item.  You could only buy up to 3 individual loose potatoes, but you could only buy up to 3kg of them.
    "Life is much/far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it." Oscar Wilde, in "Vera; or, The Nihilists” (much), then "Lady Windermere's Fan" (far).

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