Panorama - on now

[Marcel]

Of course it isn't a scam, but what I think comes close to a scam is the massive price increases followed by a smaller reduction...

An example from Tesco. 'Mussel Meat', was 80p, then increased to £1. Fair enough. Then another increase, to £1.39.
Followed by the price being 'cut' to £1.25.

Ignoring the 25% increase from 80p to £1 (maybe the laws of supply and demand) there was then a further increase of 39%, followed by are reduction that they hail as a price cut when, in reality, it's a 25% increase

I agree with you there.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

The most blatant attempt of theft in my local Tescos, and to me clearly fraud.
Is the Reduced price shelf, which is often full of items nearing their sell by dates or whatever, but when you pay for them, they are not reduced!

"They're not reduced until they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

But you've moved them from the normal position and placed them in a tray labelled reduced items" I say.

"Ah but they're not reduced untill they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

:bang:

To me, If I where to leave the store without noticing, Tescos have effectively just ripped me off and are therefore thieves...which of course happened a few times till I noticed.

 

[Garry Edwards]

I think it's amazing what you can find in Tesco...

 

[Russ77]

The most blatant attempt of theft in my local Tescos, and to me clearly fraud.
Is the Reduced price shelf, which is often full of items nearing their sell by dates or whatever, but when you pay for them, they are not reduced!

"They're not reduced until they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

But you've moved them from the normal position and placed them in a tray labelled reduced items" I say.

"Ah but they're not reduced untill they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

:bang:

To me, If I where to leave the store without noticing, Tescos have effectively just ripped me off and are therefore thieves...which of course happened a few times till I noticed.

I think "fraud" is pushing it a little bit tbh......

Seeing as nothing in supermarkets these days actually has price tags on, I certainly wouldn't assume something was reduced (even if it was in the reduced section) without seeing the price reduction tag and then make the decision to purchase or not based on the reduced price.

And let's not forget, you can always tell them at the counter you no longer wish to purchase said item which in actual fact is still being sold at the correct price........ the only problem is you made the assumption it was reduced based on it's location in the shop

 

[simonw]

The most blatant attempt of theft in my local Tescos, and to me clearly fraud.
Is the Reduced price shelf, which is often full of items nearing their sell by dates or whatever, but when you pay for them, they are not reduced!

"They're not reduced until they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

But you've moved them from the normal position and placed them in a tray labelled reduced items" I say.

"Ah but they're not reduced untill they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

:bang:

To me, If I where to leave the store without noticing, Tescos have effectively just ripped me off and are therefore thieves...which of course happened a few times till I noticed.

Think about it.
How is the checkout person supposed to know its reduced if its not stickered as such?

Someone could have just picked up the item and placed it in the reduced items area.

 

[MartynK]

Think about it.
How is the checkout person supposed to know its reduced if its not stickered as such?

Someone could have just picked up the item and placed it in the reduced items area.

I take your point, but the cashier doesn't really have to know. They reprogramme the system so that the bar code picks up the new price. It's not infallible, I know.

 

[simonw]

I take your point, but the cashier doesn't really have to know. They reprogramme the system so that the bar code picks up the new price. It's not infallible, I know.

But in this case its a selection of a particular product line - those out of date- not the whole stock of the product line. Repricing in the system won't work.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Now, this could have been a genuine mistake, "putting rows of 33 pack" (with the size obscured) Bold above a special offer for the "36 pack", I wonder however, how many people in a hurry would simply grab one and stick it in their basket and not even notice when it went through the till that it was the 33 and a lot more expensive....

 

[Marcel]

if there are items in the reduced area without a reduced sticker / new barcode on it, then it's because a lazy customer has dumped it there, I guarantee it.

 

[Marcel]

Now, this could have been a genuine mistake, "putting rows of 33 pack" (with the size obscured) Bold above a special offer for the "36 pack", I wonder however, how many people in a hurry would simply grab one and stick it in their basket and not even notice when it went through the till that it was the 33 and a lot more expensive....

That's a bit naughty, but I suspect it's not necessarily deliberate, more erroneous.
Either by whoever replen'd it, and theyve put it in the wrong location.
OR, the 36 pack is offsale and theyve just assumed that it's the right one.
OR, the 36 pack is a promotional pack (for example 33 + 3 free), and the 33 pack is cross-referenced (IE sent in by the supplier as the same item as the 36 pack). Or maybe theyve reduced the pack size and done the above.

Either way it can easily become a trading standards issue if the problem isn't corrected within due time. Either remove (or change) the SEL, or change the product

 

[Flash In The Pan]

The most blatant attempt of theft in my local Tescos, and to me clearly fraud.
Is the Reduced price shelf, which is often full of items nearing their sell by dates or whatever, but when you pay for them, they are not reduced!

"They're not reduced until they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

But you've moved them from the normal position and placed them in a tray labelled reduced items" I say.

"Ah but they're not reduced untill they have the yellow reduced sticker on sir"

:bang:

To me, If I where to leave the store without noticing, Tescos have effectively just ripped me off and are therefore thieves...which of course happened a few times till I noticed.

You're assuming, of course, that someone hadn't come along with a full-priced item, seem the same thing reduced, picked that up and put the full-priced one down in its place........

 

[Flash In The Pan]

That's a bit naughty, but I suspect it's not necessarily deliberate, more erroneous.
Either by whoever replen'd it, and theyve put it in the wrong location.
OR, the 36 pack is offsale and theyve just assumed that it's the right one.
OR, the 36 pack is a promotional pack (for example 33 + 3 free), and the 33 pack is cross-referenced (IE sent in by the supplier as the same item as the 36 pack). Or maybe theyve reduced the pack size and done the above.

Either way it can easily become a trading standards issue if the problem isn't corrected within due time. Either remove (or change) the SEL, or change the product

They did have the 36 packs (they are larger and marked 36, not 33+3) but these were at the back of the shelf, behind the boxes of 33s...

As you say, there's a fair chance it's not deliberate, I've seen quite a few similar "errors" in that particular store though.

 

[MartynK]

But in this case its a selection of a particular product line - those out of date- not the whole stock of the product line. Repricing in the system won't work.

OK, but the cashiers just scan products that are reduced because they're close to the sell buy date at our local Tesco. Is the system programmed to capture the date when the stuff is taken into stock and the sell buy date? I don't know. Never really thought about it.

 

[cyclamens]

That's a bit naughty, but I suspect it's not necessarily deliberate, more erroneous.
Either by whoever replen'd it, and theyve put it in the wrong location.
OR, the 36 pack is offsale and theyve just assumed that it's the right one.
OR, the 36 pack is a promotional pack (for example 33 + 3 free), and the 33 pack is cross-referenced (IE sent in by the supplier as the same item as the 36 pack). Or maybe theyve reduced the pack size and done the above.

Either way it can easily become a trading standards issue if the problem isn't corrected within due time. Either remove (or change) the SEL, or change the product

No, happens frequently in our local thievery.

My current dislike of this lot was caused by beer being 'not as advertised' ie wrong pack sizing on the shelves despite all the yellow shelf special offer pricings.

Also having pos that did not relate to the products on display.

If they did not pay such poor wages and actively discourage 'thinking' by some of the staff, these things would be noticed............and this thread would not have started.

Some of the replies to the original post are very true, however. Shoppers often do take their brains out when they go into some of these places - witness the bunch of 'olds' gassing in the narrowest aisle with their trolleys blocking all escape routes.

Don't even start me on the car park:bang:

 

[Marcel]

Is the system programmed to capture the date when the stuff is taken into stock and the sell buy date? I don't know. Never really thought about it.

No. It's up to the relevant department (eg, Bakery) to rotate stock and reduce short dated stock accordingly.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

I think "fraud" is pushing it a little bit tbh......

Seeing as nothing in supermarkets these days actually has price tags on, I certainly wouldn't assume something was reduced (even if it was in the reduced section) without seeing the price reduction tag and then make the decision to purchase or not based on the reduced price.

And let's not forget, you can always tell them at the counter you no longer wish to purchase said item which in actual fact is still being sold at the correct price........ the only problem is you made the assumption it was reduced based on it's location in the shop

Pushing it no I don't think so, its a fat word but lets say it as it is.

Everything has a price on it in mine, I watch the price of my favorite sandwich rise and fall over just a few weeks sometimes, I also observe the daily close to date sandwiches go into the HEAVILY labelled bright yellow reduced price shelf without being re-stickered with a reduced price label.
Yes Its an assumption of trust from me, that if items have been purposely put on a shelf advertising a reduced price, that the items are actually reduced in price.
The action of my Tescos then, following this daily routine is in effect praying on our trust of them, to be honest with us.

.. yet their they sit for half a day until most have sold at their normal price, because like me, people assumed to trust that the digital system and the HEAVY labelling shelf where actually honest in its principle, mistakes happen, but doing the same dodge daily is clearly a scam

Eventually, hours later, next day, dunno, then they go round and actually reduce the price with a new label.... hmph! big deal, thanks

I know why they do , we all know why they do it. But they couldn't really give a poo if we see it or not because they have a monopoly on us all now anyway.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

if there are items in the reduced area without a reduced sticker / new barcode on it, then it's because a lazy customer has dumped it there, I guarantee it.

sorry no.

 

[MartynK]

No. It's up to the relevant department (eg, Bakery) to rotate stock and reduce short dated stock accordingly.

So, do they relabel it? As I said, we've bought some of the marked down stuff - about to go over the sell by date - and the cashiers just scan it. They don't key the price in manually, and it comes up correctly on the receipt.

 

[Marcel]

Well I can only comment on the system I do know for one supermarket. I'd rather not say who in the context of this thread (and rather it not mentioned directly ), but it's no secret who I work for.

There are a few systems for markdowns that I'm aware of.
One is when they mark down shortdated goods. This involves the manual selection of said goods and scan/print marked down barcodes. (Yellow stickers with reduced price on). This is obviously so they can still sell indate items of the same product at normal price on the original barcode.

Another is when they are marked down on the system. IE, no change of barcode, no new label, and the core item code is reduced in price. This would apply to all stock of said item, regardless of date.

With fresh goods, they use method one.
With end of line stock, they use the second method to clear all that item.

Adam, I understand what you're saying now. They're just dumping the sandwiches in the reduced section without them being processed and reduced. I'm guessing that's actually a breakdown in the processes in place to reduce shortdated goods.
They should probably be going to a marshalling area to be reduced and put there, but someone's just dumping them instead. Again it comes down to individual laziness rather than corporate process IMO.

Can catch an unsavvy shopper out, but just be savvy If there's no new barcode on it....it's not been reduced

 

[tiler65]

I agree Marcel and would like to add that if I do buy a 'bargain' I will always do my maths about the product in-store if there are comparable products around. I never buy stuff stacked at the front of the store until I have gone to the section it is normally in so I can compare the price to what it was with other products of the same ilk.

Then at the check out I always ask if said item was at the reduced rate and if the 5 for 4 items are indeed that. It can all be done while packing.

I like local shops and markets and being close to Bury, which has an extensive produce section but I do see the point of a supermarket for certain type of shopper. And the biggest breaker for this is usually FREE parking which you generally cannot do on the high street anymore so shoppers with cars are as much to blame and town planners who put double yellow lines throughout towns so we can't nip into a shop for a piece of beef or a kilo of carrots or a cod loin or packet of fags or sweeties for my kids.

As for supermarket red meat............what is wrong with brownish meat? Too many soppy shoppers in this country.

 

[Oggy]

I do not think this has been mentioned so far, forgive me if it has, but has anyone noticed that a number of products are shrinking but remaining at a similar price?

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

...

Adam, I understand what you're saying now. They're just dumping the sandwiches in the reduced section without them being processed and reduced. I'm guessing that's actually a breakdown in the processes in place to reduce shortdated goods.
They should probably be going to a marshalling area to be reduced and put there, but someone's just dumping them instead. Again it comes down to individual laziness rather than corporate process IMO.

Can catch an unsavvy shopper out, but just be savvy If there's no new barcode on it....it's not been reduced

Savvy I use to run my business with all its complexities... bloody shame ive got to work so hard when I go shopping though.

Your guess is correct as ive asked, unfortunately its also clear that that excuse is being used as the cover for the action continuing everyday in the event that thay get accused of anything :bang: ...which I've done a fw times now (last time backing another shopper up who was complaining about the same thing at the till stage)

BTW its the Express version, not the main, one of the smaller ones in an area where some of the poorest people in the country have to survive. (profit margins are very tight I reckon so they're resorting to fraud. lol.)

And bud, if you wanna whip all the Tesc words out of my posts thats fine .. I couldn't care less about this one, just yapping and Id rather back you than them so clean up if you want.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

I do not think this has been mentioned so far, forgive me if it has, but has anyone noticed that a number of products are shrinking but remaining at a similar price?

Yep, bread rolls ... 2/3 the original size at the same price, 31pence each down here.

 

[wack61]

I was surprised to find branded breakfast cereals are made up to whatever size the supermarket requires

I only noticed because I bought a box of frosted flakes and when I got them home and put them next to the almost empty box I could see it was about 10% smaller

You wouldn't notice that as you threw it in the trolley


And while we're on the subject, in sainsburys a while back they had king prawns £5.99 buy one get one free

The week after they were £2.99 1/2 price

They were never £6 to start with

 

[Marcel]

Savvy I use to run my business with all its complexities... bloody shame ive got to work so hard when I go shopping though.

Your guess is correct as ive asked, unfortunately its also clear that that excuse is being used as the cover for the action continuing everyday in the event that thay get accused of anything :bang: ...which I've done a fw times now (last time backing another shopper up who was complaining about the same thing at the till stage)

BTW its the Express version, not the main, one of the smaller ones in an area where some of the poorest people in the country have to survive. (profit margins are very tight I reckon so they're resorting to fraud. lol.)

And bud, if you wanna whip all the Tesc words out of my posts thats fine .. I couldn't care less about this one, just yapping and Id rather back you than them so clean up if you want.

I agree, it's more of an excuse to cover incompetence tbh. Doesn't help shoppers much though

I've not been whipping any words out of posts? The word Tesco is automatically linked by the server
It links to them, but we get the chance of a 'kickback' if it ends up in a purchase.

 

[Marcel]

The problem with supermarkets now, is that they're too big to cope with the little things like the problem above. Sure, they have processes and procedures in place.
Absolutely everything that goes on where I work, has a document to cover how it is / should be done. Everything. So there's no excuse really.

However, the greater the size, the more that can slip through the net.
I suppose I'm lucky in that I'm savvy enough to notice these things, and check accordingly when I'm shopping.

Mind you, they have me over a barrel with their phsycology. I go in for a loaf of bread and bang...I come out with a trolley...

 

[simonw]

And while we're on the subject, in sainsburys a while back they had king prawns £5.99 buy one get one free

The week after they were £2.99 1/2 price

They were never £6 to start with

What does it matter -did you only buy them because you thought you were getting a bargain? if so IMHO you need to think before you shop.

 

[Dale_tem]

People aren't happy no matter what happens.

How ever cheap they make the prices people aren't happy.

Always pay attention to price per ml/kg etc. IT IS ON EVERY LABEL.

If you don't choose to read that, that is your fault.

People like shiney things and everyone knows this. All shops are the same.

My friend was beaming with pride as he showed me his new graphics card, he got it as they had just slashed 50% off. He paid £60 odd quid, upon inspection it was the same graphics card I paid £50 online 2 months earlier.

I spend my money in Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose or Amazon (apple juice and cat food, saves carrying it/pushing it home). I don't have a problem with any of them. Ignore their shiny offers and buy what is the best value.

Tesco is there to make money like all companies, if you fail to notice something is better value in a different size, that is your fault and not theirs. It often makes sense to buy things in bulk. My mum buys 4kg of Nescafe at a time when she sees it on offer, she isn't affected when the prices go back up.

 

[Marcel]

A fool and his money are easily parted.

I have no money left

 

[Donnie]

heh heh, personally I have my foodstuffs all listed in "my basket" on mysupermarket.com and you can then simply compare between waitrose, sainsburys, tesco, ocado and asda.

Due to where I live I only check sainsbury and tesco as the others are 14 and 20 miles away, lately I've been saving a fortune on my regular items, e.g. bread flour is £1.02 at sainsbury but only 62p at tescos for the same 1.5kg and as I make my own bread I've managed to get the price of a loaf to less than 30p and it's better than hovis or any of the premium brands.

That's just one example, I also have a lidl nearby and certain things (pasta sauce for example) is even cheaper than any of the Big 4.

BTW, 2 x 24 weetabix is currently over 50p cheaper than one box of 48 for the tesco lovers

 

[Splog]

About this time last year Sainsbury were selling beer on special offer and quoting price per litre and price per pint on the same label, the problem though was that one price was in a large bold font and the other was fairly small text and the 'per pint' or 'per litre' bit was tiny. What I didn't like was the way they switched the litre price and the pint price between brands..... If that's not trying to deceive then I don't what is?

 

[Dale_tem]

Is it the brand or the supermarket?

I drink lots of Pepsi max. A few years ago it disappeared for a few weeks. Then coke zero arrived. This was in every supermarket near me. After another week or 2 and Pepsi max returned. Was this the shops helping with the launch, coke somehow blocking Pepsi shipments or coke bribing stores to not stock Pepsi max to help the launch of coke zero.

We don't know the pressure brands put on stores to make their products more appealing or the power stores have over brands (prominent product placing etc.)

 

[Splog]

Is it the brand or the supermarket?

I drink lots of Pepsi max. A few years ago it disappeared for a few weeks. Then coke zero arrived. This was in every supermarket near me. After another week or 2 and Pepsi max returned. Was this the shops helping with the launch, coke somehow blocking Pepsi shipments or coke bribing stores to not stock Pepsi max to help the launch of coke zero.

We don't know the pressure brands put on stores to make their products more appealing or the power stores have over brands (prominent product placing etc.)

In 'most' cases it's the stores dictating terms to the supplier. Having said that it can work in the suppliers favour. I know of several food producers that will give the supermarkets special deals such as a 'bogof' offers in order to keep their production going as shutting down ovens and having people without work to do is very expensive for the company.

 

[cyclamens]

Is it the brand or the supermarket?

I drink lots of Pepsi max. A few years ago it disappeared for a few weeks. Then coke zero arrived. This was in every supermarket near me. After another week or 2 and Pepsi max returned. Was this the shops helping with the launch, coke somehow blocking Pepsi shipments or coke bribing stores to not stock Pepsi max to help the launch of coke zero.

We don't know the pressure brands put on stores to make their products more appealing or the power stores have over brands (prominent product placing etc.)

In 'most' cases it's the stores dictating terms to the supplier. Having said that it can work in the suppliers favour. I know of several food producers that will give the supermarkets special deals such as a 'bogof' offers in order to keep their production going as shutting down ovens and having people without work to do is very expensive for the company.

Many years ago - when the person upstairs was still in short trousers, I worked for a soft drink manufacturer who supplied 'own label' brands to Sainsbury's.

The price was forced down to the level that we were only making 1/2p per litre. However, this enabled us to keep the factories running at full steam during the winter - a traditionally difficult time for the product.

It also helped keep the overall production costs lower.

When the customer demanded we reduce the cost to them further - the powers that be decided against the offer.

Not a direct result, but the company I worked for no longer exist.

 

[photon]

Now, this could have been a genuine mistake, "putting rows of 33 pack" (with the size obscured) Bold above a special offer for the "36 pack", I wonder however, how many people in a hurry would simply grab one and stick it in their basket and not even notice when it went through the till that it was the 33 and a lot more expensive....

Local Morrisons today, an end-of-aisle offer on 300g packs of Kraft Philadelphia cheese. One section of the display had the card tray with 300g printed on it, but filled with 200g packs. :shrug:

Reported to staff, will try and check on Thursday.

 

[panther_87k]

Always pay attention to price per ml/kg etc. IT IS ON EVERY LABEL.

If you don't choose to read that, that is your fault.

Not so easy if that label is on the bottom shelf, i.e right down on the floor, and you suffer from joint pain or similar. As I said before, i've had to kneel down on the shop floor before in order to read some of these labels

 

[Splog]

What about the added water scam?

Paying for water at the price of meat..... Oh dear! :nono:

Total scam!

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

The added beef and any old left overs added water scam you mean ... heck knows what we're eating.

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

Mind you, they have me over a barrel with their phsycology. I go in for a loaf of bread and bang...I come out with a trolley...

lol

How about the Jaffa cake smaller and smaller orange disc scam .... surely that really is going to far even if your savvy!?!