Meal deal frustration!

[ShirkingFromHome95]

So, this is totally a first world problem, but it really gets my goat how often I buy a meal deal to then find out at the till that it's not actually a meal deal.

Usually, it's because non-meal-deal items have encroached upon the space intended for meal deals. However, I was in Co-Op today and it was clearly labelled 'main', 'snack', and 'drink'.

I chose a halloumi wrap (defo a main), a brookie bar (defo a snack), and when I went to get the drink I saw there was a new flavour of Purdeys which actually looked quite nice. I remember thinking it wasn't usually in the meal deal but it was clearly well within the row labelled 'drink'.

Meal deal should've been £4 and I also grabbed some reduced bananas for my protein shake (45p) and some reduced wraps to chuck in freezer (60p).

So, I get to till, bag everything up, and cashier then goes on intercom and asks for another member of staff to come and man the next till which sort of disrupted the flow. Then turns back and says "eight pounds please". I knew it wasn't right but on the spot I wondered if I'd made a mistake and so just paid, thinking it must've been around £6 anyway so not gonna hold up the large queue to traipse right back across the shop and get another drink for the sake of a couple of quid (last time I queried it I was actually wrong as had forgotten about a can of deodorant I'd bought).

However, this time it was defo wrong and should've been just over £5. Not a biggie but I've basically paid an extra £3 just to have a Purdeys when I'd happily have chosen something else. Can't help but wonder how much extra they make from this kind of thing.

I've been in other shops where it's been less busy and upon changing the drink or sandwich have had to stand there holding up items and repeatedly saying "how about this one?" I know retail workers work hard for little money so not bashing them, but this one thing irks me. I mean, how frickin hard can it be to have a 'main', 'snack, and' drink' row that actually comprises of what it says?

That is precisely why I have not attempted to buy a meal deal (or one of those dine in for £x) in a number of years.
It's such a faff, you never know if you picked up the correct items, things don't add up to what was expected it's just all a right mess that is not worth the time.
Added to whichI hate having to notice the mistakes and challenge it. So I stopped trying. Meal deals are pants!
I want all supermarkets to disappear with all their stupid pricing policies. I always feel cheated. Expectation vs reality, huge gap.

Maybe I need to go and buy the same selection again tomorrow and ask them go check this time. 😂 And keep repeating lol.

It's not an acceptable term either for the restaurant or an individual. It's the equivalent of the N word or P word for Chinese people.

I’m sure that Coops pricing is going to be the next national scandal (or one of). The deals advertised on the shelf never go through at our local coop, and there’s always an excuse from the staff. Meal deals never accurate, and the lower Coop member price is never charged. When I’ve questioned it, they say it’s a coop member deal from a different area than ours falls under. When I ask why they’re advertising the price in that case, there’s never an answer. I just don’t go there anymore.

Nope. It's simply (in law) an offer to treat and there is no obligation to sell at the advertised price (whether correct or wrong). Most big supermarkets will honour but they are not obliged to.

I had this in tesco. Read the shelf label... mango chunks were in the meal deal. Got to the till, and the meal deal never came up, so I called over a member of staff. Turns out someone had put the larger pot of mango there, which wasn't included in the meal deal.

I also hate it when meal deal items aren't all together. So you have to search for the snack part (such as crisps or chocolate) which is often in another aisle!

No they dont, a common misconception of amatuer lawyers. No shop has to sell anything to anyone. Doesn't mean for good customer relations they won't do it but they don't have to.

Happened to me kn Sainsbury's. Some one had put a mixed fruit drink in with the orange juices. It looked the same so I didn't notice. I got the items refunded and got an orange juice so had my meal deal.

I work in a supermarket and this is definitely not true.

Not in my experience. It has happened many times in rang an item and the wrong price shows up; I challenge it, they check and it’s because was put in the wrong place so they honour the lower price I decided to buy it at. It has happened in UK, Spain and USA.

It’s annoying for staff members working on tills as well! It’s normally an issue with the way bar codes are entered into the system, so we bear the brunt of it, but have no control over it. However, I’ll always put it right if a customer queries it, or if I spot myself that it hasn’t gone through correctly. So please, do say something (just please don’t assume it’s our fault!)

You can query it after you've paid, separately with a store manager. It's not a done deal just because you went through checkout.

Brookie bars though...so bad yet so good!

I have had similar issue in the co op where I was buying a meal deal with price incorrect at check out, apparently the snack wasn't part of the meal deal even tho it was clearly in the snack section. I simply said thanks but no thanks and left , was it rude probably but I'm not going to railroaded into paying the extra.

This is incorrect and I see it said so often. There is no legally binding contract when a customer picks the item off the shelf. The shop may choose to honour the price as a goodwill gesture

Your experience isn't the same thing as the law, I've also had prices honoured but that doesn't alter the legal position

I can't speak to the laws in Spain and the US but can for the UK - look it up if you don't believe all the posters telling you

Which is a small shop.

Can I ask where you got that from? Stores may choose to honour something but I don't think they have to.

that was done as the shop offered customer service. they don't have to by law. its called invitation to that as part of consumer law. if the product scans at a difference price than on the shelf and it has not been paid for you as a consumer have a choice to pay or not pay at the correct price. the shop doesn't have to sell at the wrong price. the shop did thos for you at their own goodwill

Wow. What kind of world do we live in where grown people are incapable of choosing a meal deal combination 😂😂😂
Embarrassing

I had this in the co op too! A chocolate protein pudding that looked as if it was a side was a in fact a main

I have been caught out buying a 27p banana alongside a meal deal in the Co-op. It always chooses the cheapest items in the category. Banana is in the meal deal.

I often get distracted when Meal Deal shopping because things not in the deal are next to or in amongst the deal items. I frequently end up with crisps for my snack choice because I can't find the other snacks that most people get. Meal Deals can be very demoralising.

im sure they do it on purpose you get to to the till an most people cant be arse to go bak and change it

im not cynical