ASDA Price match confusion!

sara2323

I am really confused with the ASDA price match I really thought it was a great policy just like the tesco refund and replace is.

Though majority of the times the checkouts / customer service desks either refuse or change the policy i.e. only match other supermarkets.

I just visited the store in Sport City Manchester and they refused to match Argos sale product saying it is an Argos company sale and not an offer????

Rang ASDA head office and they agree Argos sale is not an offer??? and again refuse to price match.

I spent 20 minutes explaining to them THEIR policy : Any offer, Any retailer, Offer: Sale, Retailer: Argos !!

What do others think am I right or are they?

daxu

It depends on how they explain "offer" really.
I think they are winning this time.

StephenB_2

I thought ASDA's offer was an 'ad match'; if you take in a flyer or newspaper advert, they will match the price(s) in it. But, AIUI, you need a printed version, you can't just tell them what's in Argos's window or TV advert.

How did you convey Argos's price to ASDA?

SJB

sara2323

Sorry if it was'nt clear I did it according to their policy i.e took the latest Argos sale booklet and asked to price match on a kids toy and they refused after insisting the Customer Services Advisor rang the Manager who again refused.
She then rang Head Office and I was told that it was an Argos Sale booklet and they do not match Argos Company Sale items.

If a sale is excluded it is no where mentioned in the 'small print' and I genuinely think a sale is an offer.

Confused :-(

StephenB_2

I'm with you Sara. They should either honour their offers or not make them in the first place.

SJB

Dormouse

Eh? I think you're right as well, sara2323. That just doesn't make much sense to me. How is a sale not an offer?

IvanOpinion

Scenario ... I open a shop and offer everything on sale at £1, TVs etc. etc. ... but I control it by only allowing my mates to buy from me (and only if they return the goods ... but nobody needs to know that bit). However I allow everyone to pick up one of my Sales brochures and take it to Asda (or whoever) for a price match. Seems pretty silly ???????

It is an understandable policy? Many shops will not price match with internet companies or with 'sale' items simply because they can't. When I worked in customer service and people brought me in price matches against sale items I just explained that we could not do it and suggested that they buy it from the store in question (hush, hush, as if I was trying to help them but was actually doing what I was trained to do) ... it was amazing how many came back with the old answer 'but they are out of stock' ... well the simple answer is that we would have price matched if we had have been out of stock as well.

Having said that the Asda 'any offer, any retailer' does have small print attached ... has anybody read it? I haven't, but most of the time they do specifically rule out sale items, out of stock items etc. etc.

Ivan

StephenB_2

Here is part of letter from ASDA to me dated September 2000.

What is AD Match:
AD Match means that we will match the price of any item that we sell if it is advertised in press or leaflets by our competitors at a lower price.

AD Match can be done on all products in store except petrol, ASDA calltime, and ASDA Travel Insurance.

In order to get a product AD Matched we need to have a leaflet or advert, in order for the price to be matched.

The only restriction are those on the competitors leaflet. For eg. The dates of the offer. We would restrict the same.

On the face of it, this seems to cover Sara's case. The policy may have changed since then. I wrote to ASDA because no-one in the stores could tell me exactly what Ad-match was, and a number of assistants thought it was just a slogan.

And no, Ivan, there is nothing in the letter about Sales, stock, or location. So, yes, you and your friends really could defraud ASDA by the route you describe.

SJB

SAHARA

I've admatched Argos stuff before, sounds like someone doesn't know what they're talking about

Kenny4315

Most stores who have price match do not match price on sale items. For instance, GAME do not price match if someone is having a sale. It is a very dubious area and certainly open for a good deal of 'interpretation', I have price matched in ASDA before without bother on some razors, Disney DVD's (BOGOF offer national except ASDA), and a few other bits. Does not sound cut and dry either way to me without reading the full content of the policy statement, and even then it might be open for debate. I guess its the luck of the draw.

How about buying an item from Argos and then price matching via the receipt, rather than the sales leaflet ??

shaymenRup

All adverts are covered under legislation controlled by trading standards.

If ASDA is misleading customers with an unclear advert then trading standards should be informed.

I suggest a letter to both, with a copy of the letter to trading standards included in the letter to ASDA. In any case it should mean any ambiguity is cleared up.