Shocked at hidden fees in my Asda shop

[Lucie984]

I’ve shopped through Asda online for years and with the exception of a few minor issues have generally found the service and produce to be good both online and instore. I’m also aware they have a £40 minimum basket charge ( fair enough) we have an anytime pass so as long as I do a £40 shop I should only be paying for the groceries purchased….
However the cumulative basket total shown in the corner as shopping can show £40 but this does not mean you have actually reached the minimum £40 basket total. Was very upset to look back through the full receipt of many of my recent orders I have been charged £7.50-9 in these hidden fees. Shockingly even when actually adding a few extra items would have still made the overall charge on our credit card nearly 25% cheaper!

You get a recurring Asda slot if you have a delivery pass.

This, 100%. OP clearly can't be bothered to read the checkout page so would have been outraged had the price she paid not matched the price shown in her basket.

This is on you OP. The fees are stated clearly, you chose not to read them.

I know what you mean - Asda did used to do that but I've also noticed that since their latest upgrade of their system, it's not doing it.

I used to have the running total on the top line, the delivery charge was automatically removed because I pay for a pass, then I'd have the minimum basket charge which would disappear when I'd got to the £40 threshold and then the true total at the bottom.

Now I automatically have a delivery charge already in my total plus the basket charge all on the top line, so when I'm adding in from my favourites and press add to basket, it looks like I've "spent" £43.99 (random figure) when in reality, that £43.99 is actually including their delivery fee and a minimum basket charge, whereas originally it would just say £35.00 (again random figure) and at a glance I'd know I've not spent enough.

I find it hard to see as I have issues with my eyesight and have no doubt been caught out quite a lot, but now I've noticed it, I won't be.

It's caught my mum out too.

No because when you click to add regulars it takes you to a list to tick by the regulars you want adding and then you click add to basket at the end, so it then adds it all at once

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

I don't use Asda but this would annoy me intensely. The basket should be just the items you have added. It definitely wouldn't escape me at the checkout point though.

They're not hidden fees though, it clearly states £4 basket charge for under £40 and a delivery fee for under £40. It's standard practice.

I see what OP is saying. In the app if you add your items you see a total and option to check out. If you don’t click on the arrow it doesn’t automatically show the breakdown and fees. Once you click the arrow they display and it’s clear but prior to that it isn’t obvious. That said if the difference is £9, it’s only a £40 shop overall and money is tight I find it kind of odd you never registered the items didn’t add up to the total. Also it seems inherently unreasonable that the full minimum basket charge applies even if you spend £39.99. If I’d read about it I’d assume it would just charge you the difference between what you spent and the minimum so no one would ever just order 2 things. Also seems wild that if they are already charging a minimum basket charge that ultimately takes your spend over the £40 they are still additionally charging for delivery. I get it’s not totally impenetrable and sure once you know it’s there it’s obvious but it’s not as transparent as it could be and I think that is a bit disappointing. I have similar views on the way supermarkets advertise deals, which is often very unclear.

The big problem is they have recently "updated" their website and everything is basically different to what it was previously. My main peeve is that once you having a recurring slot it is now quite tricky to book another extra slot, and don't get me started on trying to order cling film!!
I gave up and sent DH on a mercy mission to Sainsbury's
Their online "helpline" is very polite but useless. I've been a customer for 40 years but I've been so frustrated since they altered the website recently I'm seriously thinking of doing my online shop elsewhere!!+

Like a prior poster I’ve never considered this as not meeting the minimum spend is very much not my issue!

I completely agree that it is a very misleading system. Some of the supermarkets have a message near the basket total, or in the basket, that a fee will be added on if you don’t meet the minimum spend but they don’t actually add it on from the start. I’ve tried most of the supermarkets for delivery but not ASDA. Think I will give them a miss.

I’m really shocked at the delivery prices people seem to be quoting here. I shop with Sainsbury’s because it’s the closest, but I’ve never paid more than £1.50, and most of the time I pay £1 for it to be delivered, or 50p if I fetch it from their van in the car park. All these shops are over £40 though, maybe that’s why?

Ah ok, I have the delivery pass but don’t use the recurring slot!

Personally think they would be more ‘hidden’ if you added £30 of groceries and then got to the check out and they added £8/£9/£10 of fees on.

I was confused about the pizza offers too (literally just yesterday evening!) which is another reason why I’m contemplating switching to a different supermarket and see how it compares.

I really like Morrisons, not sure how it will be budget wise for me, need to have a look.

It depends on the time of day. Midday on a Tuesday will be £1-£2, 6pm Friday / 10am Saturday more like £6/£7. I pay for a delivery pass so makes no difference to me. It’s supply and demand like most things these days.

I can see your full address when I click on the photo! I’ll report

Not if it was my first time using it or I hadn’t used it in a long time then I would tend to read through everything on the checkout page but this was a system used for ages without this issue and kind of trusted they wouldn’t do this

Can you give an example of an “extra” charge they might include?

But surely it would flag up to people more if they saw £30 in their basket then it was suddenly asking for a £38 payment??? This would prompt people to look why??

But when you start shopping, before you add your regulars, surely the empty basket shows £9 or whatever? I have a delivery pass and a slot so the empty basket starts with £1.50. I did a double take when I saw this after the update and had to check it was empty, and then made sure it’s removed after I pass £40.

I don’t understand what the fees hidden in the basket are. You’re not making much sense. What does it say beside them?

I noticed this. It's awful. Like to spend just over minimum but I was having to proceed to checkout each time to work out what I'd spent. Awful system.

Whenever my carer can take me, I go to Morrisons - it is a bit more expensive but to be fair a lot of their products are better and their fresh produce is better too - they also have a much larger range on vegetables and bakery.
I'm seriously thinking of moving over to them - the only thing that stopped me is that all of the local Asda drivers know me now and are all so helpful and friendly that I'd actually miss them because I'm disabled and spend much of my day alone.
Plus Asda is the only one who stocks the wine that I like.

Like the OP, I often have 2 deliveries per week because the bread from Asda does seem to go off a lot quicker - maybe I'll split my online shops to one from Asda and one from Morrisons lol

This is exactly why this problem is entirely your fault. Why would someone not read the check out page before they make a purchase? Do you not check the amount on the card machine when buying in store?

You have been making some expensive mistakes but hopefully you'll find the few seconds to check the amount before you check out going forward!