Substitution promise

rubyroo88

I ordered sainsburys dry cider 4 x 2.75 = £11.00 and was substituted
Thatcher's Cider 3 x 4.75= £14.25, they issued me a voucher for £3.25.
However, my argument is I was substituted 3, so therefore, the price of the 
original would be 3  x 2.75 as well making it 8.25 instead of £11.00, so my
voucher should have been £6.00. I have pulled them up about this but they
just keep fobbing me off . Has anyway had the same experience?

Jordan72

Yes, I've had a similar experience with Sainsbury - and it keeps happening for silly amounts that they under-refund. On 2 occasions, I've ordered 2 packs (of 5) bagels at 85p each. Sainsbury supply just 1 pack (of 5 bagels) at £1.90. Why on earth they can only substitute one pack of bagels is a mystery - there are 17 different types on their website. Anyway the refund should be £1.05 but they only issue 20p!! When I use the Messenger channel to query it - their employee tells me I'm wrong!?! She also tells me that the quantity doesn't matter!!!! Unbelievable. On the second occasion their employee left me hanging for 20 minutes and then just abandoned the conversation. I have now had to make asn official complaint. An utterly ridiculous situation - it's very unprofessional.

pumpkin89

Sainsbury's substitution policy is here - it doesn't mention anything about matching quantities.

If you think about it with the bagels example - if they had substituted 2 packs at £1.90 then the total would have been £3.80, so your refund would have been £2.10.  But you only spent £1.70 in the first place - so effectively you're asking them to give you 10 free bagels plus an additional 40p refund.  That's not a realistic expectation of a business that is trying to make money in a very low margin industry.

Mnoee

I've had it both ways - sometimes my big pack of peppers is subbed for a small pack for the same price and sometimes they sub two bottles of deodorant in different scents when the scent I'd randomly picked was unavailable. Where I buy value stuff more often than not I'm getting an upgrade. It all evens out in my opinion, the receipts are clear enough as to what you're getting at what price and you have the option to return things to the driver. The deliverys are cheap and convenient for most people, but as a disabled person, they're a real lifesaver. I'll take mild annoyance over silly subs over struggling round a supermarket any day of the week.

I've used Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda deliveries and they all have very similar procedures. People rave about Ocado, so try them if they're available in your area - they're not in mine or I'd have tried them too! 

rubyroo88

Jordan72 said:

Yes, I've had a similar experience with Sainsbury - and it keeps happening for silly amounts that they under-refund. On 2 occasions, I've ordered 2 packs (of 5) bagels at 85p each. Sainsbury supply just 1 pack (of 5 bagels) at £1.90. Why on earth they can only substitute one pack of bagels is a mystery - there are 17 different types on their website. Anyway the refund should be £1.05 but they only issue 20p!! When I use the Messenger channel to query it - their employee tells me I'm wrong!?! She also tells me that the quantity doesn't matter!!!! Unbelievable. On the second occasion their employee left me hanging for 20 minutes and then just abandoned the conversation. I have now had to make asn official complaint. An utterly ridiculous situation - it's very unprofessional.

I know its now happening to me on a regular basis. Some weeks I receive the correct amount and other times I don't. I pointed this out to them only to be told the same as yourself. They are not adhering to their own price substitution promise and I will be taking it further myself.