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Are You Being Misled About Supermarket Discounts?

Are You Being Misled About Supermarket Discounts?

by Mr. Moneysaver · May 31, 2012

Supermarkets may be misleading you about their multi-buy offers and discounts – at least according to consumer watchdog, Which?.

The consumer group has hit out at traders after analysing 700,000 prices and suggesting that discounts often run much longer than the original price.

Misleading information?

According to the Department for Business, it is a criminal offence for retailers to provide misleading information with regards to price indications. However, the Which? research suggested that there were numerous examples from a number of top supermarket chains.

For example, it highlighted that Asda has been doubling the price of a single Muller yoghurt from 30p to 61p – it originally offered 10 for £4 but then put it back to 30p. Tesco, meanwhile, has been selling Beck’s beer for 190 days on “discount”; and just 70 days at the higher price. Ocado was also under the spotlight for stating its price for strawberries “was £4.38 now £2.19/£2.29/£2.25” across a period of 112 days.

According to consumer rules, the non-discount price should be the amount that a product was sold for, for 28 days prior to the offer being introduced: and it should never be on offer longer than it was available at the higher price. With shoppers on the lookout for bargains during times when food bills have been rising, there are concerns that they may be fooled into thinking they are getting a good deal when this is not always the case.

For their part, Asda, Tesco and Ocado all responded to the report. Asda stated that it would act quickly to rectify any mistakes; Tesco also apologised for any mistakes; while Ocado believes the incident was regrettable but “isolated”, and has put measures in place to ensure this does not happen again.

Discounts you can rely on

If you’re really eager to save money on your food and drink shopping, then look no further than the food and drink voucher codes section of Moneysaver.ie.

It is well known that most supermarkets and other food and drink retailers offer their best deals to online shoppers – they can offer reduced prices in this format because of the savings they make on overheads. However, prices can be cut further by capitalising on exclusive online discount codes. For example, you can get five per cent off until June 22 with this Funky Hampers voucher code; enjoy 12 per cent off at Chocolate Now until June 5; or get five per cent off all products at the website, courtesy of Virginia Hayward.

Photo by Daria Volkova on Unsplash

Filed Under: Deals and Shopping

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