Ocado - Hacks, Tips, and Smart Pass Rip-offs Thread 9

[GaryUnicorn]

Carrying on from the old thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4104964-Ocado-tips-tricks-subs-M-S-shortbread-giveaways-and-defectors

Give a vague area of where you live, or first part of postcode, and how much you pay for your smart pass. They seem to charge how much they think we will pay.

London, SE23 : £9.99 for an anytime pass. Customer for 10+ years.

Cardiff paying £2.99 for anytime pass, increased from £1.99 in January. Customer for 6/7 years but no app, no freebies and very limited booking. I think they hate me too

I emailed and actually asked for a reduction, they basically said tough, They can have all the bags back I have over 2 weeks then can stuff it.

Home counties. I don't have a pass but have been a regular customer for 10+ years. I tend to go for the 1030pm slots which are usually free.

They've had loads of slots available over this winter lockdown so have been a godsend. Normally have slots available within 3 days or less unlike Tesco which is STILL fully booked for the next month with no slots ever.

Hertfordshire. I was paying £5.99 a month but weirdly haven't been charged since last summer but can still get slots for free.

SW London, customer for 17+ years. Now paying 9.99 for anytime pass, last year was free, year before that was 2.99 I think.

Borders of Herts and London smartpass for 16 years i think £7.99 , renewed in january for same price

I’m paying the most! How frustrating. Bastards. I said they hated me.

@GaryUnicorn

Somebody has put this thread on the Ocado Facebook page!

What a load of guff about some people being on deals. Yes that might be true for some people but I’m willing to bet that many of us with different prices have been smart pass customers for a number of years, so not on a offer rate.

Sussex. £9.99/m any time. Customer for 10yrs, used to be £6.99/m. Increasingly disappointed in their customer service which used to be exceptional. I don't think we'll be customers this time next year.

Hertfordshire, smart pass £1.99 a month. Customer for a few years on and off. More regular recently.

Once Lockdown is over I’ll be leaving. Only hanging on so my Mum has a delivery. I Use a combination of other deliveries now. So sad they are not the company they used to be. I used to recommend them to anybody.

I don't understand how they are letting their customers get so pissed off with them, or are M&S just so arrogant that they think we will all just meakly accept the fall in service, the pushing of M&S products and the loss of choice of different brands!
Oh, and the crap short life of fresh goods.
When the country opens up from covid I think they will get a big shock.

Another late night and another Waitrose slot for me. Got to say the level of satisfaction at hitting the cancel order button on Ocado grows each time.

SW London & 2.99 smartpass anytime - customer over past 18 years.
I broadly get what I need, decent app & delivery slots available, but hugely missing European products that I had grown to treasure.
Probably a mix of covid & Brexit, but I think a lot have gone for good.
And the massive range increase of M&S lines, to warm our hearts as waitrose was ditched? 1 in 5 items are a delight, 2in 5 pretty average, 2 in 5 are a disgrace.

Waitrose have been very helpful by removing delivery charges completely if you spend £40, & send me vouchers & freebies too.

I don't think Ocado really want to be grocers...

Think we are still 4.99/month, anytime. I'm not impressed with the M&S move, so will be cancelling as and when things calm down a little: very unimpressed with the M&S options.

I paid £2.99 for ages, then it went up to 4:99, and just a couple of months ago it went up again to £7.99. They are jokers, especially considering the app only starting working for me today, after a whole year. I miss Waitrose products, and I think the smart pass discrepancy is a bit of a joke. When I enquired they just fobbed me off with a message that made me feel I should be grateful to have one!

Midweek pass £2.99 had it a few years, less than 5.

Been very happy over the last year. We are both CEV and been shielding since first lock down, advised Ocado at the start and they have ensured we have had a choice of at least 2 days worth of slots every week bar Xmas week. Bookable 3 weeks ahead of time.

Re M&S, still waiting on a decent organic wholemeal loaf, but Tesco now do a great long life, par baked set of organic wholemeal rolls so no biggie. More disappointed that the organic frozen whole leaf spinach has disappeared off the website. Hopefully pro tem.

Ocado does have a good range of unique items and brands, frozen wild blueberries, organic frozen fruit and veg to name a few. If pass price ever became unaffordable could always switch to a bulk buy once a month or so.

I said on the previous thread that i had made loads of product requests but nothing happened. Yesterday in new items 3 of them appeared

@Downtown36

I think on the back of this thread I will be cancelling too...

Can anyone without a pass confirm, are at least some slots currently available for booking?

This is what I want to know as well! Don't want to cancel if I'll lose all ability to book slots but ridiculously am struggling to get to min order value some weeks at the moment whereas I used to spend £120+ per week with no problems.

I’ve realised something this morning.

Back in December 2019 Ocado drove their van over my front lawn. Much pissing about ensued with insurers and eventually wanting me to do the leg work and get quotes for repairs.
At the time I was on a mid week smart pass for about £3. As a ‘gesture’ they gave me 6 months anytime pass.
My garden never was fixed by Ocado, I gave up and did it myself at my own cost, but then when their gesture ended they put me on a £9.99 anytime pass I’ve neither asked for or needed as my groceries arrive mid week.

I shall reply to their refusal again and point out the above.

The change may be due to lockdown but it seems from reading comments that Ocado is turning into a subscription service.

It used to be the case that Smart Pass was an economic option for people who wanted many free deliveries a week. You could opt in and out of Smart Pass and still shop and pay for a delivery. Midweek was free if you spent over £70 iirc. If you did Ocado would tempt you back with offers. That was in the days when they were friendly and accommodating.

Despite the recent effort to jolly up their e-mails (new comms team?) they don't seem interested in customers anymore. Much more keen on process and automation.

South West. Midweek pass £6.99. Been a pass holder for over 15 years. I used to pay about £50 for a year's Anytime (when I lived near M25), but I couldn't justify paying the current price.

It is quite rural here and it is usually at least 30mins drive between customers, so whilst I don't like it, I can understand why it is more expensive here than in a city.

@hedgehoglurker

South West. Midweek pass £6.99. Been a pass holder for over 15 years. I used to pay about £50 for a year's Anytime (when I lived near M25), but I couldn't justify paying the current price.

It is quite rural here and it is usually at least 30mins drive between customers, so whilst I don't like it, I can understand why it is more expensive here than in a city.

Don’t think it’s a geographical thing always. Someone on here had a £2.99 pass in Suffolk. And they are delivered from the Hatfield, Herts, which is a huge distance.

Can you imagine if the local supermarket sold eggs at £1 to people who live in Elm Avenue, but if you live in Beech Close they are £2, and for people in Ivy Street they are £5?

They are really taking the proverbial...

Cancelled.
Was initially told I was in it until September. I told them I wasn't paying it. They saw it my way and it ends at the end of the month.

Great freebie that Ocado. 6 months free then £9.99 a month for something I didn't need or want.

Don’t think it’s a geographical thing always. Someone on here had a £2.99 pass in Suffolk. And they are delivered from the Hatfield, Herts, which is a huge distance.

I live about 15 miles from Hatfield , dh works over the road from the Ocado site and we pay £7,99