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Original poster

Fucking cheating bastards Sainsbury’s and their substitute price promise

89 replies

firsttimemama · 05/10/2022 22:28

I have had Sainsbury’s delivery for years. In the last few months I have noticed they have been ripping me off, on this scheme. Anyone else notice? So I order 6 x juice carton at say £3, not in stock, they send 3 instead, cost £2, so no refund, same with dog food. I order 5 kg because it is better value than 2.5kg, they sub me with 1 x 2.5 kg, lower cost, but not cheaper IYSWIM. They used to send 2 x2 5 kg to make the ordered quantity, and give me back the price difference. Not I see this happening so often, it can only be a policy change IMO. Also not price match on alcohol, they keep that very quiet when they sent me a £22 bottle of Baileys instead a £10 one on offer. We are being squeezed all around!

OP posts:
rattlemehearties · 06/10/2022 06:38

Cocokitty · 05/10/2022 22:59

Asda are doing the same and it really fucks me off. I order grated cheese that is 250g. The lower fat version is the same price. But it is 200g. They regularly sub for that item too 😡. I order the quantity I need for my meals as I actually meal plan. Every bloody week without fail I have to go out and buy more of what they have subbed incorrect quantities of. It is always in their favour. Every single time. They also regularly say they didn't have a sub for things that they most definitely did have a sub for. Last time it was bread. They claimed they had no bread whatsoever in store 🤔. I've attached a screenshot of an order from a few weeks ago... yogurts - no sub. Ham - no sub. Really?!
It really drives me mad, I'm paying for a service that is subpar. I can't go grocery shopping with a big trolley as I am unable to push it due to a medical condition. With 5 of us to feed, and I have to work so can not go daily, online is literally a lifeline. But god it fucks me right off.
Oh, and my favourite is when they bring my order and tell me there are no subs, only for me to find when putting it away (or worse, only noticing when I'm mid way through cooking a meal!) that they have sent wrong items! For example in one order I've had Asda white wraps sent instead of Asda wholemeal wraps, mixed leaf lettuce rather than baby leaf, half a cucumber instead of a whole, chicken stock pots instead of veg, different flavour of juice, fresh mint instead of fresh basil. It is like they just randomly pick up whatever is near so I end up with something similar, but not what I ordered. It's happened 4 times now and each time was with a considerable amount of items. They are supposed to scan the items. I have no idea how they are managing to do it, but they are!

Asda are absolutely dreadful for online delivery, always had been. Others are miles better, try them, it'll be a breath of fresh air

Try Morrisons.

MaggieFS · 06/10/2022 06:46

I have had exactly the same problem on baby formula. I can't remember the exact quantities now, but say I ordered 7 x 1 litre bottles, they subbed in 4 packs of (4x200ml) bottles which came to less total cost so no sub voucher, but left me with less formula at a higher cost per ml.

It really pisses me off. If they'd given me the full 7 litres I'd ordered in that example, it would have cost more and I would have got a voucher.

Like you, I'm happy to receive the subs, but now I always check.

tara66 · 06/10/2022 07:17

I felt obliged to stock up on bread in freezer on my last order. I had ordered bread previously but did not get any at all! So had to order another £40 of groceries in order to get bread - by delivery!, Ordered 5 or 6 loaves and they all arrived. I think there will be some food shortages if there aren't any already!

B1pbop · 06/10/2022 07:26

Why don’t you hand back the things you don’t want at the door? Surely that’s why they tell you about all the subs in advance of the delivery so you can say whether you want them or not?

and you’re not tied into anything with a Sainsbury’s delivery pass - if you don’t order, you get a voucher refund for the delivery pass.

MaggieFS · 06/10/2022 07:33

@B1pbop The point is, that until you find out the hard way how they do the subs, you probably look at the sub at face value and think 'that's fine and if it costs more I'll get a voucher'. You don't think to do the maths or to refuse the sub.

However, once bitten, twice shy.

musicandpassion · 06/10/2022 07:34

@Soontobe60 didn't she mean that she'd bought a £38 bottle of scotch, received a £15 bottle, and didn't get a refund? That's how I read it, it would be unreasonable otherwise.

AllyCatTown · 06/10/2022 07:43

I’ve not experienced this but I try to avoid online shopping as I noticed the fruit and veg is always ready to turn and they give you items that are about to go off. I feel for people who have no other options.

FaazoHuyzeoSix · 06/10/2022 07:48

I always check the subs list carefully before delivery and I reject the substitution if it's worse value for money to the point that I wouldn't make the purchase if I was shopping in-store, but if you were shopping in-store and there was a special offer label on the shelf and that shelf was empty, you wouldn't be able to argue that they should give you the same discount on something else would you? That would be bonkers. Neither would you be able to insist in-store that they sell you 2x2.5kg of something for the same price as a 5kg bag if they are out of stock of the 5kg bags. They are not obliged to always have every product in stock or to compensate you if they don't.

What I did get ripped off by a few times was the number of times that I ordered 3-5 packets of something I use a lot, they are out of stock and send me 3-5 packets of something I can't use and I reject it, and the price refund voucher that comes through is only for one item not all of them. This happened a large number of times and I complained each time obviously, and it hasn't happened again recently.

TrufflesForBreakfast · 06/10/2022 07:50

This is exactly why I shop at Waitrose online; I trust their subs! Usually they replace the missing item with a better one too.

Shame they've started to charge for delivery though...

eyeteevee · 06/10/2022 07:54

We are being squeezed all around!

Switch off the subs then? The solution is so easy. You don't have to accept these things.

Redundantmum22 · 06/10/2022 07:54

Yes I'm finding this. Also when I do a shop online, if I go back into edit it and items aren't available- it will ALWAYS swap the item for a bigger branded item that's unaffordable for me.

Even if there are similar lower priced Sainsburys items available.

I'm fed up of it.

I do my online shop and I dare not log back in. If I don't and the item gets substituted then it's more likely to be a Sainsburys branded item.

And lately they've been substituting for much less. I.e a pack of 6 baking potatoes were substituted for 4 baking potatoes. They used to send 8...

If I need 6 then it's a huge pain in the ass!

Redundantmum22 · 06/10/2022 07:57

The main issue for me is doing a week's shop and receiving all the fresh stuff to eat within 2 days of purchase.

Sorry but we can't eat a week's worth of food in 2 days 😕

We used to get long decent dates.

Lesserspotteddogfish · 06/10/2022 08:06

Yes! It’s annoying. I’m sure Tesco’s sends a substitute for the same amount of items, but not Sainsburys who generally send half the amount at a higher individual price, as you say. Apart from last week when I got 8 cokes instead of 4, which was definitely better value for me, but that’s never happened before.

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 06/10/2022 08:14

I posted a few weeks ago when they tried to substitute one cheap bottle of hair dye with 4 bottles of a slightly different colour and then didn’t process my refund for over 3 weeks. I also received this response on Facebook so I’m not sure what went on there!

Fucking cheating bastards Sainsbury’s and their substitute price promise
HollyJollyXmas57 · 06/10/2022 08:16

firsttimemama · 06/10/2022 02:29

But it not the products that are being subbed that is the problem, it’s the quantity they send. They send less than I ordered at a higher unit cost. They could easily send 2 x 2.5 kg to make up the 5kg I wanted. This is what used to happen. Now all too often they send a lesser amount therefore it doesn’t trigger a refund. Really underhand IMO I think it must be deliberate. If I said no subs I would get any dog biscuits, or many things would be missing so that is not a solution, especially now, when I haven’t been able to get UHT milk for three weeks and the l had about 20 items subbed last week. Also I have a delivery pass so I am tied in to Sainsbury’s. I don’t always have the time to go through the receipt in the morning, and often I am not there when the delivery comes. My main point is that this never used to happen. It seems to be a deliberate policy to extort more money from customers. I’m sure they think they are being clever and no one will notice. As if Sainsbury’s doesn’t make enough money already!

It’s a way for them to save money and it makes sense.
If they have no 5kg bags then sending you 2 x 2.5kg bags cost them money as you said the price isn’t half of a 5kg bag.
It makes sense to send you 1x 2.5kg bag and if you are not happy then refuse the food and don’t let it run so low 🤷🏼‍♀️
They are a business, not a charity.

HollyJollyXmas57 · 06/10/2022 08:17

Idratherbepaddleboarding · 06/10/2022 08:14

I posted a few weeks ago when they tried to substitute one cheap bottle of hair dye with 4 bottles of a slightly different colour and then didn’t process my refund for over 3 weeks. I also received this response on Facebook so I’m not sure what went on there!

Are you sure that’s even sainsburys and not a made up sainsburys page.
People do it to troll customers 😂

eyeteevee · 06/10/2022 08:24

@Idratherbepaddleboarding

That's not Sainsbury's you messaged. The legit page has a blue tick.

Fucking cheating bastards Sainsbury’s and their substitute price promise
Redundantmum22 · 06/10/2022 08:25

Sorry that made me laugh 😂

"Nope"

Anon778833 · 06/10/2022 08:29

I always remove the option for substitutions.

HyggeLykke · 06/10/2022 08:34

@firsttimemama I had the Baileys offer, i ordered 3 x £10 bottles but they were also substituted with the £22 bottles. I didn't get the substitution difference on my refund. I rang them and they did it straight away.
Did you ring 0800 328 1700.? I've had to do it a few times lately (ring them about missing refunds) but they always correct it.

namechangeagain123456 · 06/10/2022 08:36

firsttimemama · 06/10/2022 02:29

But it not the products that are being subbed that is the problem, it’s the quantity they send. They send less than I ordered at a higher unit cost. They could easily send 2 x 2.5 kg to make up the 5kg I wanted. This is what used to happen. Now all too often they send a lesser amount therefore it doesn’t trigger a refund. Really underhand IMO I think it must be deliberate. If I said no subs I would get any dog biscuits, or many things would be missing so that is not a solution, especially now, when I haven’t been able to get UHT milk for three weeks and the l had about 20 items subbed last week. Also I have a delivery pass so I am tied in to Sainsbury’s. I don’t always have the time to go through the receipt in the morning, and often I am not there when the delivery comes. My main point is that this never used to happen. It seems to be a deliberate policy to extort more money from customers. I’m sure they think they are being clever and no one will notice. As if Sainsbury’s doesn’t make enough money already!

If you check your bill, you will see that the amount is amended.

You won't get a refund, because the amount is not taken until the order has been picked, so you are charged for what you get.

For example, if your shop came to £70, but a £2 item was subbed for a £1 item, only £69 will actually be charged, so you won't ever see a refund come to your bank, because it isn't charged for in the first place.

LindseyHoyleSpeaks · 06/10/2022 08:39

Gave up on Sainsbury’s delivery earlier in the year. Got so sick of short dates and damaged fruit and veg! The final straw was a load of croissants ordered for a birthday brunch, which was Sunday morning. Delivery was Friday night so not unreasonable to expect them to last 36 hours. No! All packs dated the same day as they were delivered. When I called to ask for a refund, I did question how anyone in their right mind would think it feasible that someone would eat 20+ croissants after 10pm on a Friday night before they went out of date…
Tesco were just as bad. Tried to deliver our whole shop covered in milk that had leaked from a tray above. Grim as, it had soaked into things like bags of flour and cardboard packaging.
The only one I have not had issues with is Ocado, but they’re so expensive that I don’t bother.

HyggeLykke · 06/10/2022 08:40

Sorry OP my thread hadn't fully loaded so I didn't see the bit where you said you'd called them.
@namechangeagain123456 That's not what happens with my shopping from Sainsburys. Wonder if they all have their own rules 🤔

namechangeagain123456 · 06/10/2022 08:44

HyggeLykke · 06/10/2022 08:40

Sorry OP my thread hadn't fully loaded so I didn't see the bit where you said you'd called them.
@namechangeagain123456 That's not what happens with my shopping from Sainsburys. Wonder if they all have their own rules 🤔

Oh! Maybe they do then! Mines always a different price from my final order to what I actually get. Who knows what they do 🤣

PAFMO · 06/10/2022 08:46

They issue vouchers for less expensive subs as well.
I got a voucher for the 20p difference on a sub yesterday which tickled me.