Tesco - damaged goods, do they let you keep them?

[Onequestiononetime]

I've had Tesco deliveries for years. If something is damaged or a short shelf life they have always refunded the price but we still keep the product
With damaged goods, they can't resell them anyway.

I don't take advantage of their generosity and only mention it if something is pretty obviously damaged or eat by the same day etc. More often they point it out to me when we unpack. I've had deliveries for about 15 years most weeks and this has happened fairly frequently.

Anyway, I had a delivery on holiday (in the UK) recently, and some cream meringues had got squished by products being put on top. So obviously squished, caved in meringues, which I pointed out. The driver gave me the refund but then went to take the cakes away.

I queried this and was told that I could keep the item but then I would be charged full price for it, all get a refund and forfeit it, with the squished product presumably being thrown away (or scoffed in the van...). Firstly he said he couldn't for high value items - they were about £1.50 and then that we are only allowed to keep it if It is an essential item such as milk and bread.

I later got it refunded by the Tesco WhatsApp customer service.

Is he right and I've just always had unusually generous drivers? Is he interpreting the rules overly strictly because he's relatively new (he was.very young, I'm thinking 18-19). Or am I just cheeky and should be happy going without desert as long as we have a refund? Am I being cheeky expecting to eat mangled damaged goods and still get a refund? I'd happily pay a reduced price for them btw, but not an option.

I'd have refunded them but he may have recently been told all items need to be brought back if damaged. Some stores are cracking down on this even though item damaged - left with customer is still an option to choose in refunding them.

It depends on the driver, some let you keep the items others don’t, pot luck!

I think you've been lucky and are cheeky to say they are good enough to eat, but not good enough to pay for them.

So he took the goods back and you got a refund? So you didn't eat them? But would have eaten them despite their condition? So why do you need a refund?!

Other than an extra milk that I hadn't ordered so driver couldn't refund and let me keep, any damages or short date items have always been taken back by the driver.

Most of the time they just let the person keep it but I also think it’s reasonable for them to take it back if the customer wants refunded.

Am I being cheeky expecting to eat mangled damaged goods and still get a refund?

Yes unreasonable.

Guessing he fancied having them himself as you didn’t accept them

Unless you hand it back to the driver on delivery they're not going to send someone round to collect a box of broken eggs, or demand you send them back. That wouldn't even really be possible?

So they do let you keep it yeah. If the damaged item exploded or leaked in your fridge or onto your floor/furniture and you tell them they sometimes give you a goodwill voucher. Tesco did give a tenner voucher last time some cans in a box were punctured and leaked in my fridge.

YABVU. If they’re okay to eat then they’re okay to pay for.

He was right to take them back.

I have no idea of the policy - I've been given a refund for substitutes I don't want and been told I can keep them anyway before (I didn't, it'd have gone in the bin). Yet broken eggs were taken away recently when 4 of them would have been fine to use. I was just left with a mess to clean up on the communal landing.

That's what I'm thinking. I wonder if it would have been the same principle if it was a pack of sprouts rather than a back of cream cakes.

I think they've cottoned on to people being CF's looking for a freebie.

I always give dented tins back (I have a weakness for Baxters Soup), the drivers used to try and give me them for free but I always refused. More recently they seem to have stopped offering that and just take it away by default. Guessing dented tins go in the food bank box now.

Why do you give dented tins back?

If the dent happens to be across the seam, it can cause the contents to no longer be air tight.

I'm not sure that's right when they weren't in a saleable condition. I mean, perhaps Tesco's could still sell food in that condition for 30p or something, but they wouldn't as they don't sell badly damaged stock. They couldn't have given them to a good packet or food bank as they were in such poor condition.

I get understand your position that if I would take them, I shouldn't get them for free. But what about the reverse - why should I pay full price for badly damaged goods only otherwise good enough for the bin?

Also, obviously I wanted them for a reason, and why should I be inconvenienced for not having the goods I've ordered? And either go without ingredients or through the inconvenience of another food shop. Yes I'll get a refund in 3-5 days, but I'm still missing food. It's still a massive faff.

Genuinely what does Tesco gain from taking back the goods to then throw them away? It's no loss to them, but shows good customer service.

I'd have happily paid half price, but that wasn't an option.

Maybe I've just been used to this being the approach, because it has been with me for hundreds, if not thousands of deliveries (not that all have damaged goods, but a sizeable proportion do). I've on/off used them then for 25 years for deliveries and it's the first time I've come across this. I'm just a bit surprised!

I bet he scoffed them.

We do click and collect
I have/do refuse short dated stuff
Always get a refund and sometimes they let us keep stuff - depends on the driver

It`s a case of you want the cake and eat it too.

Iv`e only said no to a few items over the years subs, handed them back and got a simple refund, i cant have it both ways.

I think it depends on the driver, I have sometimes been able to keep the item and other times they’ve taken it away.
I’ve been shopping with Tesco since Covid and have to say the last year they’ve definitely gone down hill or it could just be the Tesco that delivers to me. Short dates - not always stated, damaged goods - never used to have any and often badly packed into the totes and things often getting squashed. I’m waiting for my delivery subscription to expire then switching elsewhere but unsure where?! Asda have always been a bit hit and miss so maybe Sainsbury’s?

If they have refunded you and give you the product their book stocks will be inaccurate because until you waste the item as damaged the system still thinks the item is available and will count it. Someone else will then be ordering online or shopping in store and think they’d like a cream meringue and they’ll be unavailable due to the damaged one being given to you along with the refund but until someone does a gap scan and discovers it’s not there it will show as one item on the system. This is why you get substituted when you order online, it’s impossible to keep accurate stock records without recording waste properly.

Unlikely to risk his job for a cheap pack of crushed meringues.

Why do you think they wouldn't go to a food bank? Of course they would. Out of date crisps go to food banks. People will always take them because they have no other choice.

Cream meringues? Crushed? You could have added strawberries and up-sold it as Eton Mess!

...I'll get my coat...

I've never kept refunded goods, usually it's when it's been an unwanted substitute but also for short date meat. I did once have a damaged milk where half had leaked out and I did tip it away for the poor driver so it wasn't sloshing about in his van.

I rarely have cause to complain about items in my Tesco delivery but 9out of 10 drivers let me keep the item. Ones who don't tend to be newish drivers