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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think surely this is illegal?

48 replies

Pinkyyy · 28/08/2018 10:13

At Hamley's toy shop in London over the weekend. The lady charged me £5 for a 'fancy carrier bag' without asking me. Soon realised before I'd even left the till and returned it and got a 5p bag. AIBU to think it's illegal to sell someone something without their consent? I don't blame her as she was probably doing what she's been told to do but she was a bit shady about it and tried to stuff the receipt in the bottom of the bag despite me asking for it in my hand.

Also it was a generic bag that said London on with phone boxes etc on it and was being sold on the stalls all over Oxford Street for less than £1 and didn't even say Hamley's on it.

OP posts:
Thymeout · 29/08/2018 08:13

Perhaps there's an in-store promotion on the bags and she gets commission on every one she sells?

WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue · 29/08/2018 08:21

think places like McDonald's whose food comes in paper bags are cheeky fuckers for charging for a bag.

RebootYourEngine I’m a manager at McDonalds. We do not charge for our paper bags.

Canyerjustfixthis · 29/08/2018 08:23

McDonalds charge for bags in Scotland as the 5p bag charge applies to paper and plastic

DameDaffodil · 29/08/2018 08:24

The McDonald's paper bag charge is in Scotland.

DameDaffodil · 29/08/2018 08:24

Cross post, sorry!

WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue · 29/08/2018 08:25

Ahh yes, but the Scotland charge is a legal requirement, not cheeky fuckery on behalf of the company.

SouthwarkSkaters · 29/08/2018 08:28

Are the PPs complaining about McDonald’s charging for paper bags in Wales? AFAIK, all single use carrier bags are 5p in Wales no matter what they’re made of. So McD charges for their paper bags here.

InfiniteVariety · 29/08/2018 08:29

It's outrageously sneaky but I think it happens because a lot of overseas tourists shop there who like to have the branded bag so they think they can get away with it.

Celticrose · 29/08/2018 08:32

In NI we do not pay for bags at hot food outlets or at the pharmacy which are usually paper. In Southern Ireland all shops issue you with paper bags which are free. (I have only seen plastic bags in supermarkets so far) This is better as you can then put them in your recycling.

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 29/08/2018 08:34

@Sugarhunnyicedtea is it ice tea?

Celticrose · 29/08/2018 08:34

Do not understand paying for paperbags which are eco friendly in my opion and can be recycled

Loonoon · 29/08/2018 08:39

I spend several months a year in Southern Ireland and hate the bloody paper bags. They are bulky, disintegrate in the rain (no small consideration given the climate) and I have to pay to recycle them. I always carry a couple of reusable shoppers in my handbag and in the car to try and avoid them but DH seems to attract them the way a magnet attracts iron filings.

Canyerjustfixthis · 29/08/2018 08:40

Charging for paper bags also seems counterproductive, given the choice of a free paper bag or a 5p plastic bag I know what I’d choose

Occamsrazorblade · 29/08/2018 08:43

Yes, as SquirmOfEels said, all young. I would have said under 20! It’s quite weird not having a variety of ages, I didn’t know workplaces were allowed to specify an age for retail staff, thus my Hmm

DerelictWreck · 29/08/2018 08:44

Do not understand paying for paperbags which are eco friendly in my opion and can be recycled

There was a piece of news coverage this week that argued that paper bags are actually worse for the environment due to the energy that goes into making them.

Prettysureitsnotok · 29/08/2018 08:56

I expect the cashiers have a target to hit for selling the £5 bags. I’d be highly surprised if they get commission. The staff are probably young because they are probably on zero hour contracts.

If you complain it might be best to ask them to remind their staff that this isn’t ok behaviour, but if you name the cashier (who was probably just worried about losing their job due to unrealistic targets) they could well lose their job.

Waterlemon · 29/08/2018 09:06

I think they rely on the fact that the majority of customers are overseas tourists so wouldn’t notice the extra charge as easily as someone from the U.K. that is familiar with the currency and language.

However, am I the only one that “tots up” the rough amount of my shopping whilst in the queue? I’d expect to be a couple of pounds out depending on my rounding up, but I would have noticed if it was a whole fiver difference!

ElegantS · 29/08/2018 09:08

Probably she is just doing whatever her employer told her...This is the world we are living in.

MinisterforCheekyFuckery · 29/08/2018 09:15

Maybe she just made a mistake Hmm

scarlettoftheseas · 29/08/2018 17:23

OP this happened to me too!!!!! It was in Marchish time and I was a bit put out at the time, but stupidly just assumed they didn't do 5p bags anymore and it was my fault for asking for a bag, plus ds was being a bit of a pain so I wasn't overly focused on it
As we headed out the store, I noticed that there were plenty of 5p bags with other people Hmm
I guess the staff must have to meet targets!

LittlePaintBox · 29/08/2018 20:27

That's shocking! I don't know about the legal aspect, Fair Trading Standards are the people to contact. On the face of it, it sounds like a system for ripping off tourists.

Winebottle · 29/08/2018 20:40

I doubt it is illegal because you agreed to the price when you paid it but it is sneaky.

I was annoyed at Sports Direct when this happened:
"Do you want a bag?"
"Yes please"
"Is a big one alright?"
"Yeah"
Then she walked off, grabbed a huge plastic bag for life, and scanned it in for a £1.

Yours is a different level though.

Neshoma · 29/08/2018 21:12

...and are s l o w resulting in huge queues

Yes, so it looks likes there are hundreds of people buying tat, rather than empty tills where it appears no one is buying tat

It was the same with M and M world. Thousands of people buying multi coloured smarties.

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