I am furious at retailer hiding plastic bags

[fari2014]

I am not sure if I can name the discount retailer. I have always found it odd that many branches of this retailer I shop in always have no plastic bags for sale. They always pushing their £1 bags. This happened in all 4 of their branches I shop in. Now I have discovered stores hide the plastic bags and tell customers plastic bags sold out to push £1 bags as all stores have a target of £1 bags they have to sell.

I have brought £1 bags myself sometimes as I have forgotten my bags. I am furious, it's bad enough they put the price of plastic bags up to 30p recently but to hide them in the cost of living and punish shoppers who may have forgotten their bags is disgusting. I threatened to complain to head office and the sales assistant told me head office staff encourage it. Apparently head office said they have to hit the target by any means necessary. Has anyone else experienced this? Can I name the retailer here?

FURIOUS! I say! FURIOUS!!!

It’s ruined my day my zen and my life.

What on earth do you mean, 'hide'? Presumably the staff are perfectly entitled to put the plastic bags away if they need to reach a target with the £1 bags before they can be used. You're acting as if you're somehow entitled to tell them how to run their store, or entitled to a plastic bag.

Why don't you just take your own bags? Plastic bags are no longer a thing here (NZ) and haven't been for a few years, so we either take our own or buy a paper bag at the time (supermarkets) or some shops still supply free paper bags.

You are being ridiculous.

You threatened to get in touch with head office? What did you think threatening would achieve? That such a horrible thing to do.

The Range do this too.

I assumed it's because if they're charging the plastic bag charge it goes to whatever fund was set up when the charge was introduced, whereas they can make profit on their own bags for life.

buy a load of foldy bags and keep one in your handbag. It should be a habit by now.

Well I presume they don't have to sell you a plastic bag if they don't want to. Sounds annoying if they're trying to push a more expensive one on to you though.

Yeah mine get used over and over again. Obviously have to pay for them now though

I’m surprised that you still have the option of single use plastic bags, the state I live in has completely banned any single use plastic items. It’s the way forward if we want to keep them out of landfill.

It's easy to get into the habit of always folding a bag or two into a handbag or throwing lots into the car boot. You just need to get into the habit. A really good idea is buying the little ebay ones that fold into their own corner like a little strawberry bag charm. The £1 bags do last forever. Unlike the cheaper ones. Get folding I think.

Some countries have successfully banned single use plastic bags (Rwanda) and others are phasing them out, so in the near future we will all need to do without them. It takes a tiny bit of planning to remember to take a bag with you.

How did you find out they hide them?

If it really was staff being sneaky/cheeky, that's bad. But if it's a store stocking decision to sell less plastic bags – there are lots of other things they've stashed away in the stockroom too, and not put on display – that's within their rights.

Yeah, see, comments like this just make me want to continually buy the rolls of plastic bags off Amazon 😂

They should just stop with the plastic bags altogether

I had to buy a couple of plastic bags today for litterpicking. I do think some shops keep the light plastic bags tucked away.

Plastic bags are really bag for the environment. Just bring your own.
And you can always keep one of those reusable bags that fold up small in your handbag in case you forget your big bags.

I do hope you didn't have a go at the sales assistant who was just doing their job.

Bad for the environment **

there's enough plastic out there, I do end up putting items in my handbag stuffing it full and carrying the rest. Or you could ask for a cardboard box to carry your shopping in.

Id never carry a Poundland carrier

Get a reusable bag. Keep it in your handbg

Do you know what? Poundland have some at the mo

Sweet lord. here in Ireland we haven't had free plastic bags for like over 10 years. I detest when i see people using a roll of bin bags to pack their shopping. just bring your bloody own. or buy one when you do what I do sometimes go into tje shop for one thing then ended buying a full basket 😂

I was going to guess poundland, the one near me has a whole wall of the bigger reusable bags next to the till they really do try and push them. Its not often I forget the bags out my boot now, I get too annoyed at myself for having to buy yet another bag!

Vote with your feet & shop elsewhere?
Sorry OP, this thread made me laugh. I new depth of pettiness achieved.

I bring my own bags, but I agree with you about Poundland often being more expensive than a supermarket. I’ve noticed they often sell small packets / jars of things e.g washing powder / marmite that work out far more expensive than if you buy a regular size.