Is it just me or is charging 50p for a paper bag at M&S food outrageous?

[sequin2000]

I know I should have brought a bag and I usually do. If the option was a plastic bag I would have struggled with the shopping in my arms to the car, but I thought as it was paper it wasn't so bad. What I didn't expect was to be charged 50p. M&S say the bag can be used 100 times. Is there anyone out there who has reused an M&S paper bag? AIBU in thinking most people don't realise they cost 50p, that the assistants should make this clear and that M&S are profiting from this government policy?

YANBU - it is profiteering

I think we'll have to agree to disagree! It's not helped that many of the retailers have removed truly long-lasting bags (at a slightly higher price) from their shelves.

They started charging very recently, I think they’re 15p but I find Primark bags are pretty useless. It’s a rarity that I get home and it’ll all be intact, and they’re hopeless on a rainy day.

Does anyone else remember back in the 70s and 80s where, instead of charging for bags, supermarkets gave you money if you brought your own? I definitely remember this as a child. There was also a choice of plastic bags with handles or paper “sacks”.

Primark bags are awful. I think they're 20p now. Only for it to disintegrate the minute it starts raining

But 99+% of people can likely remember to take keys, phone and means of payment when they go out so they just need to take a bag or two too. Or deal with the consequences.

For me it’s not paying for a bag so much as paying for a crap bag that I object to.

And the change was never meant to be for paper bags (and yes, I know they have a carbon footprint too).

Profiteering refers to the act of making unfair or excessive profits, often by exploiting situations, particularly during emergencies. It often involves taking advantage of consumers or society for financial gain.

Therefore I’d argue that it IS profiteering. Especially 50-60p for a paper bag. The charges were brought in for plastic bags to dissuade customers from using those as they are not as good for the environment as paper.

You mean deal with the consequences of companies profiteering off of the forgetfulness of consumers. OK hun.

Also, I do have bag for lifes but usually store them at home. Very often forget to put them in my car, as does my partner.

In Scotland the bag charge gas covered paper from the start. Only exceptions are paper bags for things like bread or for medication. We even pay for a bag for a McDonald’s takeaway.

It did but it used to be much much cheaper than it used to be now.

Does it surprise you that shops exist to make profit?

I’m happy for them to profiteer if it makes people think twice about just paying for a bag at the till and incentivises them to remember their own next time. It’s really not hard. Put the charges up even more, I say!

Sounds like you and your partner need to be less forgetful then. Keep a load in your car boot, one in your coat pocket and one in your bag. You manage to remember keys and phone when you leave the house, I’m sure.

🙄🙄🙄

What a great response 👍. Truth hurts?

Wouldnt bother me as it would be my fault I didn’t take a bag.

next time you know

YANBU. Only plastic bags should be charged for.

No. Her eyes were rolling because your response was rude and patronising. Thought you needed an explanation as you don’t seem to have understood.

How does it feel when someone is rude and patronising to you?

Why? Perhaps only left shoes should be charged for too?

Can I ask why you think this? The shop has to pay to have them made and shipped to the shop, why should someone get them for free?

The reduce/reuse message is really wasted on some people.

The charge isn’t coming from retailers (except for paper bags) - it’s coming from the government. Prior to this retailers have paid for bags for decades. These bags we pay for aren’t plain - they’re advertising the brand - we the customer are advertising their product.

So are you saying that the retailer has to pay the government 50p for every bag they sell? Or are you saying the government makes the retailer charge for the bag but the retailer gets to keep whatever they make? Either way, the bag costs to make so someone has to pay for it. In the "old" days, yes the cheap bags were given away for free, but I suspect, regardless of any government mandate, retailers would be charging for bags now anyway. Their profit margins are so small they need to claw it back somewhere. And with every product a consumer buys, it's up to that consumer if it's worth the price. They aren't being forced to buy it.

Of course they’re not forced to. Not sure why you would think they are. But retailers were fine with giving bags away for free - they are hardly in the market of pissing off their customers, are they? And like I said, they get advertising for it. They could just get plain bags which would be cheaper the produce - but that’s not what they want.

I don’t have an issue with bags being charged for as long as they’re fit for purpose. M&S ones aren’t. They are proof that re-usable plastic can be better than the alternatives.