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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some supermarkets deliberately con us

131 replies

whitesandstorm · 03/01/2015 09:24

It's happened so many times, the price at the till doesn't tally with the price on the shelf. When you query it you see that the item at the price you thought it was is slightly different to the one that has the price shown. This is done with lots of products. For example yesterday I picked up a hair dye which was priced at £4.99, but at the till was £6.50. On checking, the assistant said "no the £4.99 one was only for a particular shade" (which incidently had sold out), we eventually found the £6.50 label but it was nowhere near the product. Aibu to say that these are deliberate dirty tactics by the supermarkets. There are loads of other instances like this too numerous to mention.

OP posts:
FunkyBoldRibena · 03/01/2015 09:26

ALL supermarkets con us.

ihatethecold · 03/01/2015 09:26

Yep. I completely agree.
I think Tesco are the worst for this.
I don't trust them one bit.

Mrsgrumble · 03/01/2015 09:29

I hate this. Sometimes I don't have my card on me and its embarrassing

One reason I like the self service checkout, at least I can figure out the rip off before I get home and check receipts

Original poster
whitesandstorm · 03/01/2015 09:29

Yes Tesco are really bad for this. Morrisons really bad too.

OP posts:
CalleighDoodle · 03/01/2015 09:29

I went to asda this week for petrol. Petrol was advertised at 107.7 per litre. As a little experiment i put in a litre just to check. 108. Im going to try this at every petrol station now.

Methe · 03/01/2015 09:29

Yabu to have only just realised this.

All the supermarkets con us. Tesco are the worst but people seem to be getting wise to it now which is why their profits are falling.

CaptainJamesTKirk · 03/01/2015 09:29

Yep they do, I'm not sure it deliberate though. I think it's the whole replacing labels quickly enough to keep up with the computers. We notice it most in tesco where we scan our own shopping because it's instant, you are stood next to the product and the shelf as you scan do price mis match is obvious.

Original poster
whitesandstorm · 03/01/2015 09:33

I haven't only just realised it though. It's just the first time I've come on MN to rant because it was fresh in my head from yesterday.

OP posts:
Sirzy · 03/01/2015 09:37

Tesco are awful. I got a piece of beef from them last week marked at £5 a kg reduced to half price. It came through at £5 a kg when I queried it apparently it was initially £10 a kg although this wasn't marked anywhere! I got a refund.

JennyBlueWren · 03/01/2015 09:39

I would question the legality of that; prices should be clearly shown.
I hope you refused to buy it.

gamerchick · 03/01/2015 09:40

The fuel things picking up speed doodle I'm glad.

After all, how many people just put a litre in?

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 03/01/2015 09:43

This is another reason why Aldi and Lidl are a breath of fresh air as they have almost no BOGOFs or half price deals, just consistent pricing. There are certain items that are always in a deal in a major supermarket somewhere, therefore are not actually worth the claimed 'full price', eg any wine reduced from about a tenner to about a fiver, Pringles, a lot of dishwasher tablets, tinned tomatoes at over a quid a can (WTF), etc etc.

lem73 · 03/01/2015 09:43

doodle you should report that to Trading Standards.

CalleighDoodle · 03/01/2015 09:43

I know! I wish id had my phone to take a photo.

Aliennation · 03/01/2015 09:45

This happened to me last week in Tesco with scented candles. Label clearly said 3 for 2, came up full price at till. Apparently the scent I'd chosen wasn't included in the offer, except the label was right in front of them and didn't mention any exclusion.
I stood my ground and got the most expensive one for free in the end.
Also, does anyone actually buy the 'about to go our of date' stuff at the front of the shelf? I find it a bit insulting that they think anyone is that stupid.

Wormatthebottomofthegarden · 03/01/2015 09:49

DH returned something recently to a supermarket as the price he paid was a lot more than the price on the shelf.

When he bought the item back, they looked at the incorrect pricing on the shelf and the man told DH that rather than someone stacking the shelves incorrectly, a customer must have swapped all the items around.

That's right, a customer must have took everything off all the shelves and put it all back wrong. Hmm

They must think we're idiots.

dangerrabbit · 03/01/2015 09:49

If an item is marked at a particular price the shop is legally required to sell it at the marked price.

I have had this happen to me a couple of times at independent shops and have had to remind the retailers of their legal obligations

If they refuse to sell it to me at the marked price I won't buy it out of principle

I'm stubborn like that

Original poster
whitesandstorm · 03/01/2015 09:50

In this instance I wasn't allowed it at £4.99, I refused it completely but often they've had to give it me at the lower price because I do kick up a fuss. It always makes it worse when the assistant is very patronizing and makes out you're being thick.

OP posts:
gamerchick · 03/01/2015 09:53

Next time take a photo doodle out.of curiosity.

I keep badgering the husband to just put a litre in so I can check but he won't in case I go and make a scene if they don't match.

Mind he's probably right Grin

IsChippyMintonExDirectory · 03/01/2015 09:53

Tesco are worst for this. I've noticed they will offer 'multibuy deals' - eg 2 for £3 - on different varieties of one brand. So cherry coke, diet coke and regular coke, and I always mix and match the varieties. In the last month I've been caught short 3 times in Tesco by buying for example 1 cherry coke and 1 diet coke and not got the multibuy deal - only to be told that it only applies on the same variety. I no longer shop there as it just really pissed me off, they know exactly what they're doing when they mark it up on the shelves and it's just a way of conning people in the hope the won't notice.

Theas18 · 03/01/2015 09:54

Dangerrabbit that's a myth. They do not have to sell you anything- at the correct or incorrect price and can just choose to withdraw the item from sale.

"Reminding them of their legal obligations " when you are wrong is just going to make you look a fool!

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3277262

AuntieStella · 03/01/2015 09:55

I've found Sainsbury's to be very good at giving the lower price when there's a mismatch between the aisle price and what the till says.

I abandoned Christmas shopping in John Lewis because next to no items are individually priced and not everything had a shelf label. I don't know if the theory is that 'if you pick something up to ask a member of staff you are more invested in that item and more likely to buy it' but for me it just meant frustration and shopping elsewhere.

Original poster
whitesandstorm · 03/01/2015 09:55

Yes but dangerrabbit they're very crafty and probably are just staying within the law. The tactics they use are that they sell a certain type of, let's say shampoo at a price that is satisfactory to you, on investigation that price is for a slightly different shampoo, the difference being so obscure you don't notice it. The real price is usually situated well away from the product you want.

OP posts:
2015 · 03/01/2015 09:55

I am not sure about trying to 'con' us but I am confident that most of the big supermarkets try to CONFUSE us - which may be legal (just) even though the result is the same.

It should be simple to compare and understand prices in a supermarket and it's not.
Here is a list of things they do to deliberately confuse and trick us into buying more than we want or into paying more;
BOGOFs (buy one get one free) 3 for the price of 2, special offers, multi buys, ever changing prices, fruit and veg charged per item versus fruit and veg priced by weight, ever changing product sizes, ridiculous loyalty schemes and vouchers,regional or area price differences,misleading or 'fake' price reductions. ETC ETC

They should just set a fair price and stick to it. I'm happy for them to make a profit but they should stop with the trickery.

IsChippyMintonExDirectory · 03/01/2015 09:55

If an item is marked at a particular price the shop is legally required to sell it at the marked price.

That's not true as it could mean I could go round with a '1p' pricing gun and insisting they sell it for that. They can be answerable to trading standards though for not complying.