Morrisons plastic bags scam

PollyPainter

As an online shopping customer, I've recently experienced a scam by Morrisons supermarket, regarding a charge for plastic carrier bags that the customer hasn't requested, and hasn't received. Last week I placed an order for groceries to the value of £41.70.

Unlike some other supermarkets, Morrisons don't include a paper bill when the goods are delivered - the bill is sent via email, and ordinarily I wouldn't have bothered to scroll through and inspect the details as I would have been previously aware of how much I was going to be charged via their earlier "order confirmation" email.

However, I read the bill on this ocassion, and was surprised to see an additional charge of 45p had been added for "carrier bags" - which I hadn't requested, and hadn't received. Apparently these plastic bags are priced at 5p each, so Morrisons are claiming that I received 9 of them. A glance at the the few items I purchased reveals that most of them wouldn't have required additional wrapping in bags anyway - items such as 5kg of  wild bird seed and 50 suet balls, each of which are contained in rigid plastic buckets with handles; and 3 x 2kg bags of dry dog food which again can be handled more easily without any additional wrapping. The other, smaller, items would all have fitted into one carrier bag (had I requested one), but in fact I took the items directly from the container brought by the delivery driver, and transferred them to my own shopping bag on the doorstep.

I realise 45p seems like a low value - but if Morrisons are surreptitiously adding this amount to the bills of hundreds of customers, it will be a profitable scam for them!

Aylesbury_Duck

Have you contacted Morrisons to complain and have the charge removed?

Sandtree

PollyPainter said:

I realise 45p seems like a low value - but if Morrisons are surreptitiously adding this amount to the bills of hundreds of customers, it will be a profitable scam for them!

Wont be a profitable scam at all as they state all carrier bag charges are donated to good causes/charities 
https://www.morrisons.com/help/online-shopping/carrier-bag-charges/#what-happens-to-the-money-i-pay-for-carrier-bags

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sandtree said:

PollyPainter said:

I realise 45p seems like a low value - but if Morrisons are surreptitiously adding this amount to the bills of hundreds of customers, it will be a profitable scam for them!

Wont be a profitable scam at all as they state all carrier bag charges are donated to good causes/charities 
https://www.morrisons.com/help/online-shopping/carrier-bag-charges/#what-happens-to-the-money-i-pay-for-carrier-bags

That's not exactly what it says, it says proceeds raised from the in store charge will be donated to good causes via their own charity. 

For online orders they invest the money in recycling and furthering paper bag use. 

They won't profit from carrier bags but they won't lose out either. 

Supermarkets making errors with receipts is nothing new and in MSE spirit it's always wise to check the receipt is correct, OP they'll likely refund you if you email them. 

Sandtree

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:
That's not exactly what it says, it says proceeds raised from the in store charge will be donated to good causes via their own charity. 

For online orders they invest the money in recycling and furthering paper bag use. 

They won't profit from carrier bags but they won't lose out either. 

And recycling and cutting down plastic isnt a good cause?

Who said anything about them losing out but if they charged for 9 bags that the OP says they didnt supply then cost is £0 and fee was £0.45 so profit is £0.45 which goes to the good cause of recycling.  Ok the good causes and potentially charities are possibly more tighlty focused for online sale than in store but doesnt invalidate that the fee will have gone to good causes and isnt a scam to make profits.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

I was merely highlighting that it isn't all carrier bag charges that go to good causes as stated, it's what is left after certain costs. 

Even in the OP's case the amount going to a "good cause" will be 45p minus VAT. 

Sandtree

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Even in the OP's case the amount going to a "good cause" will be 45p minus VAT. 

You mean that HMRC isnt a good cause for the 0.83p per bag? Surely the NHS for example is a good cause? :P   

Eydon

Ocado do the same, but they also refund you 5p per bag that you return. Morrisons bought their system from Ocado so do they not do the same?

Sandtree

Eydon said:

Ocado do the same, but they also refund you 5p per bag that you return. Morrisons bought their system from Ocado so do they not do the same?

But how do you return bags you never received?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sandtree said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Even in the OP's case the amount going to a "good cause" will be 45p minus VAT. 

You mean that HMRC isnt a good cause for the 0.83p per bag? Surely the NHS for example is a good cause? :P   

That's a debate for another day! 

It's not that I wish to be pedantic over what was said, just wouldn't want to see supermarkets to get any more credit than they deserve for fixing a problem which they was a great contributor to creating in the first place. 

There's a few costs they are allowed to deduct and in the case of Morrisons they'll be funding their paper bags which will be sold for 30p and these bags won't fall under the single use plastic bags tax, although to be fair I don't know if Morrisons will be treating funds from the sale of paper bags in the same way as they currently do with plastic bags. 

If the supermarkets really cared they'd leave lots of boxes out for customers but why give away something for free which you can sell (for recycling) and instead charge the customer for something else. Since the tax the bags for life have become more predominately displayed from what I've seen as they don't come under the plastic bag tax, one way or the other they want to sell you bags. 

Sandtree

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:
If the supermarkets really cared they'd leave lots of boxes out for customers but why give away something for free which you can sell (for recycling) and instead charge the customer for something else. Since the tax the bags for life have become more predominately displayed from what I've seen as they don't come under the plastic bag tax, one way or the other they want to sell you bags. 

Co-op seem to be somewhat leading the charge here though, their bags are 5p but are biodegradable and so can be used in the food waste bin and at 5p they are much cheaper than the rolls of bags being sold. Having not realised that the Mrs left one in the bottom of our old food bin for a few weeks I can certainly confirm they do rot down quickly, unlike the smell in the carpet left behind when I tried to pick it up out the bin.