What to do when nectar price isn't applied?

ernie-money

I went to Sainsburys on Friday and saw a product that usually costs £7.75, but with a nectar price of £7. It's a bit of a favourite in our house, so I bought 10 of them, which should have given a discount of £7.50, but when I checked the receipt, I had been charged full price on all of them. Previously when I've had an issue with "my nectar prices" Sainsburys have told me that there's nothing they can do about it, and I should contact Nectar. I've just got in touch with Nectar about this though and they said I need to contact Sainsburys. I also rang the Sainsburys helpline, but the lady on the phone just said she would log a complaint and I'd have to wait to hear back from them. I don't particularly want to drive back to the store, as it's about 5 miles away, but what is the answer in a situation like this..? I guess I should've checked the receipt whilst still there, but you half expect the store to charge you the correct amount, or that there should be a solution when they mess up..?

Would appreciate some advice from anyone else who's had this happen to them!

Ayr_Rage

Go back to the store and get it sorted there.

New_in_the_fens

I use the Smart Shop app when I’m in sainsburys. Had a couple of times when it happened during the shop. 

When I got to the checkout, I asked one of the staff to resolve for me and they put it through there and then, so the shop will definitely fix it for you. 

Alternatively, let customer services handle it for you as you’ve already escalated to them. 

flaneurs_lobster

Happened to me a couple of times in-store at Sainsburys, shelf edge price with Nectar discount not applied at till.

Always sorted straight away by staff doing a manual adjustment.

You do, of course, have to spot this at time of purchase. Don't think there's any easier fix other than returning to the store with your receipt - assume this shows that you used Nectar at the time?

LindsayT

What was the item?

Is it possible the Nectar price had expired and not removed from shelf?

Had this once in Sainsburys.

andygb

LindsayT said:

What was the item?

Is it possible the Nectar price had expired and not removed from shelf?

Had this once in Sainsburys.

LindsayT said:

What was the item?

Is it possible the Nectar price had expired and not removed from shelf?

Had this once in Sainsburys.

If that happened, then it would be down to Sainsburys to refund the customer, because it could be construed as false pricing. Section 20 consumer protection act.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/43/section/20/enacted

flaneurs_lobster

LindsayT said:

What was the item?

Is it possible the Nectar price had expired and not removed from shelf?

Had this once in Sainsburys.

This is almost certainly what has happened.

Makes no difference what the item was.

The price on the shelf must be honoured at the till (unless it is a grotesque mistake that is obviously wrong like a £1.99 TV)

ernie-money

flaneurs_lobster said:

LindsayT said:

What was the item?

Is it possible the Nectar price had expired and not removed from shelf?

Had this once in Sainsburys.

This is almost certainly what has happened.

Makes no difference what the item was.

The price on the shelf must be honoured at the till (unless it is a grotesque mistake that is obviously wrong like a £1.99 TV)

No, this is not what happened - the offer is still live on the website. I guess I'll have to go back to the store again...

Confusedlad

I invariably find (in ALL supermarkets) that on shelf offers are often not honoured at the till, so now I check my receipts carefully before leaving the store.  50% of the time queuing at Customer Services produces an instant refund and the excuse that it was an out of date "shelf-talker" but some CS staff are more reluctant to issue a refund, which is when I ask to speak to the manager.

It may be difficult with so many offers changing weekly to ensure every single label is updated correctly, but what really p****s me off is when no one is tasked with making the change and the problem is still there a few days (or weeks) later.

I think you have to simply accept that the systems are not perfect and the onus is on the customer to be vigilant and check their receipt before leaving the store.

OutdoorQueen

andygb said:

If that happened, then it would be down to Sainsburys to refund the customer, because it could be construed as false pricing. Section 20 consumer protection act.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/43/section/20/enacted

For info -  this section of the Consumer Protection Act had been revoked by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regs 2008, which in turn has just been replaced (April 2025) by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.  

More info here: https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/pricing-and-payment/providing-price-information