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!

£8.50 for delivery?!?!? faints

I have an anytime pass so I usually wouldn’t pay for any slot that’s available

Challenge them on it. Good through customer services and state that is different to all the other supermarket websites, and is in theory very sneaky. Ask them for either a refund or a money off voucher.

That’s not really the point.

You check how much you’re paying, and what for, before you click ‘buy’.

Or, you don’t, but you don’t really get to complain if you didn’t do that basic step.

That’s the point, it used to be and still the case with any other supermarket that the basket total = only the items added to the basket so I would notice any discrepancy but the amount I’m being asked to pay is the same as the basket total, as the basket total with Asda now has the hidden minimum basket charge and an additional delivery charge (even though I have a pass for deliveries over £40)

Warburton's orange thick sliced toastie bread lasts a week plus for us (if not used it in that time), especially now weather is cooling down, maybe 5 days in summer. Doesn't really go stale, we just keep it in a cool, dark cupboard. We use Morrisons delivery and find their use by dates are really good

I wonder if it was a glitch? I did my online Asda shop the other day - added one item of £1 or £2 and saw the basket total was nearly £10. Wondered why so checked, and saw it included the minimum order fee and/or delivery (I can’t remember now).
I also pay for an Anytime Pass so was a bit confused. My order was over £40 so it removed itself anyway.
I did another shop today and it didn’t happen this time!

I wouldn’t consider this to be hidden fees. The fees are plainly visible if you do your due diligence and check your basket.

It doesn’t matter, it takes seconds to check. Personally I always double check my grocery baskets before checkout to make sure I have everything/haven’t ordered things I don’t fancy, but especially so if I’m strapped for cash.

Anyway you’re aware of the fees now so I’m sure you’ll get into the habit of checking in the future.

They are hidden within the basket total, I only expect the items I have added to the basket to be charged for. I have not been the only one caught out by this and yet only with the system asda in particular seems to have. I actually can’t think of any other online retailer I shop with that doesn’t just add the delivery and any other supplemental charges on at the end plus makes it a lot clearer they are adding on the charge. Indeed you usually even have to tick to add ‘delivery’ etc on

What you're saying is that Asda hasn't made it easy enough for a busy woman such as yourself to see all pertinent information laid out on their website in such a way as to give you the information they've gleaned that you need at the exact moment and in the exact place that you expect to see it, based on your shopping experiences with other supermarkets.

Gotcha 👌

But if had you checked, the information would have been in plain sight. Even after the order as Asda email you receipts and give you the opportunity to amend or cancel orders, so you had the option to rectify it. Unless you’re saying they didn’t disclose it on the email confirmation either, if so complain to their customer services

Of course now I am aware they are hidden away and I cannot rely on the basket total which states the spend as being over £40. There will always be anal individuals who pride themselves as such and will irrelevantly bleat on about how it wouldn’t happen to them … nothing would ever happen to them supposedly 🥱( of course most of us would say a person anal within the context in their job as a pilot or pharmacist we can agree to be an excellent quality, not so important with an online grocery shop 🤦🏼‍♀️)
I was not asking if I was right or wrong, else I would have put this in the AIBU, I feel there should not be system issue like this, that others have stated they have already reported to Asda. You clearly think differently but the main point of my post was to highlight this to anyone else who may be caught out by it

The cost of delivery is in the basket. So I’d imagine it was the filler and cost of delivery coming to £9.50

Yes it’s a bit like, I went to buy 2 pizzas in the coop the other day but the lovely checkout assistant knowing it would be cheaper if I added an ice cream ( due to their bundle offer) told me so, even though she knew she’s not obliged to tell me but that’s the difference between good customer service and not so good 👌The staff in the local Asda store seem to give excellent customer service. This issue has been reported by other posters already to the online department of Asda, good customer service would be to fix it

I havent read the full thread but I know what you mean OP and this is a recent change on their app.

This week I was so confused why my basket was showing about £10 total when I only had one £2 odd item in the basket. They used to show the basket total as the amount your actual shopping was (eg. £20) and then when you went to pay your total might be £27 because they've added their minimum basket charge and delivery. So you knew you needed to make your basket total up to £40 to not have the charges, whereas now your basket goes up to about £49 before you hit that £40 minimum spend and then the total drops back down.

I gave up on Asda online shopping its gone appalling over the last few years which is a shame

Surely you think - gosh I am not getting much for my money, when a quarter of your small total has gone on delivery fees etc.

She is saying that is is misleading that Asda is presenting the basket price with delivery charge added, which is not what all other retailers (or 99%) are doing.

now I am aware they are hidden away

But they’re not hidden away.

If you showed us a screenshot of your receipt/email then we could highlight it for you.

I know you’re not going to, because I’ve asked before, but it does make for an incredibly frustrating thread.

There's literally no helping some people.
Yes yes, asda are the devil.
Shop elsewhere.
Personally, as a busy mum who also works full time, it's really not complicated to figure it out.
BUT, you're ssooooo much busier than anyone else, you need everything spoon fed to you, so 🌻🫣

Has the definition of hidden changed and no one has told me?

These charges are added right at the start, which is the complete opposite of hidden.

If you don’t like Asda’s system, shop somewhere else, but don’t blame them for your inability to read the receipt before paying. No one is that busy they can’t read ONE line on a receipt no matter how many kids they have. It doesn’t take a fine tooth comb, Just a pair of eyes.

Thank you for highlighting this, @Lucie984. It is quite discriminatory against those with less money who are watching more closely what they are spending and are just around the minimum spend. Those with less money are already penalised by their inability to purchase larger packs which are generally more cost effective.

Is there anything on the Money saving expert website about this? If not it might be worth reporting it to them so that others in a similar situation don’t fall prey to this cheeky tactic.

Could you change your ordering days to every 4-5 days to ensure you are easily over the minimum spend? Another other way around this is to add extra items which you then remove once you are over the minimum spend threshold (have done this with other online shops eg Morrisons & Ocado) 💐

If you order regularly you can save on delivery charges by paying the monthly delivery charge instead.

Unfortunately not, I’ve just done a test order and the basket shows as £0 if you haven’t booked your slot yet, I added items until the basket value read £40 then went to checkout and the figure shown most clearly is the ‘order total’ of £40 then I usually scroll through to payment. Even if click on the basket page it just shows you the items of shopping added and the £40 ‘order total’ no mention at all that the items have come to significantly less or the minimum basket and delivery charge. Obviously the anal types read through the non highlighted small print on the check out page also, even if they have been doing online shops for 20 years with Asda without this issue. I tried it with booking a slot first and the basket showed £3.75 but not the £4.00 minimum basket charge, which appears to be then only added on to the basket total after the first item has been added (but no mention of this anywhere except tag the bottom of the checkout page) I took the basket up to £46.48 and found the extra charges amounted to £8.75 with only £38.73 of shopping. I added another £1.67 of items and then my basket total dropped to £40.40 and the itemised bill on the checkout page showed no additional charges (I have a delivery pass) , crazy!!