Tesco out of date offers.

[Bryn]

Damn the BBC investigators! Now Tesco are going to check all their stores for out of date offer labels on their shelves. Some of us more canny shoppers rely on these, along with challenging the price rung up at the till, to keep our household bills down. It's not just Tesco either. Time and again I find short dated items in the local Waitrose supermarket 'reduced' to a price higher than the currently obtaining offer price!

[Bryn]

message from jean, since deleted:

[QUIOTE]I don't understand - so long as you catch the reduced item before its sell-by date, you won't pay any more than if you left it too late.[/QUOTE]

Waitrose, like most other supermarkets, runs short term offers (usually initiated by suppliers rather than the supermarket). When items covered by such offers near their sell by or best before dates staff go round with scanners and hand-held printers to issue labels indicating a reduced price commensurate with the item's limited shelf-life. Often the programming of the scanners does not take into consideration the offer price but bases the 'reduced' price on the standard non-offer price. In such cases the affixed 'reduced price' label often shows a price higher than the currently obtaining offer price.

[jean]

I deleted it because I realised you didn't mean the sort of offer I was thinking of!

Then I thought you were talking about special offers that were past the date they were supposed to run until. That's what the item I've just seen on the TV news seems to mean, but you don't seem to be talking about that either.

[Bryn]

The first thing I was addressing was indeed that dealt with in the news item. The failure by Tesco staff to remove out of date offer tickets from shelves is something the canny shopper has been able to exploit.

[pastoralguy]

That's interesting since, years ago, I challenged an out of date special offer price tag in Tesco and was told that since the date was clearly displayed, albeit in tiny writing, that it was my hard luck!

[Conchis]

I don't get this, either: I always challenge at the counter if an out of date item doesn't have its reduction applied.

But I suppose some people live high pressure lives and don't have the time to quibble.

[Bryn]

That's interesting since, years ago, I challenged an out of date special offer price tag in Tesco and was told that since the date was clearly displayed, albeit in tiny writing, that it was my hard luck!

I think the point there is the "years ago". I think there is probably case law since then based on challenges re. the clarity of the labelling. A price in large type with an end date in tiny print may be seen as rendering the end date invalid. They can, I think, refuse to sell the item as the lower price, but if the transaction is completed, a challenge re. the shelf price is likely to succeed, and a refund made.

[Bryn]

I don't get this, either: I always challenge at the counter if an out of date item doesn't have its reduction applied.

But I suppose some people live high pressure lives and don't have the time to quibble.

I will offer and example of what the BBC investigation is dealing with and which can sometimes be exploited by the canny. Currently Tesco is offering Lavazza prontissimo! INTENSO 100% Arabica (90% freeze dried instant, 10% fine ground) coffee at half price, i.e £2.35 for 95g instead of £4.70. That offer is scheduled to end tomorrow. If the staff fail to remove the price label from the shelf holding the product and you take some to the check-out. If the receipt shows £4.70 each you could then successfully challenge that and get a refund. In some cases the BBC investigators found reduced prices on shelves which were months out of date, even after staff were alerted to the error. Refunds were still made.

[Richard Tarleton]

They can, I think, refuse to sell the item as the lower price, but if the transaction is completed, a challenge re. the shelf price is likely to succeed, and a refund made.

A few years ago I was looking for a mini hi-fi system for my wife to use in her studio, and saw a £200 Philips one marked on the shelf as reduced to £100 in my nearest Currys. I took it to the pay point - and the young man, who turned out to be the branch manager, said the price was an error, the offer was finished and it was back to £200. I said he had to sell it to me at the marked price, he said he didn't have to sell it to me at all. Rather than argue with him I stepped out of the store and phoned Currys HQ. They said they'd phone the branch, and to leave it a few minutes, and try again. The young man, looking chastened, surly and generally furious, completed the transaction, under the gaze of two female members of staff (who had witnessed his earlier display). So full marks to Currys - I've bought more big-ticket items from this store, but I noticed the young man no longer works there.

[Bryn]

A few years ago I was looking for a mini hi-fi system for my wife to use in her studio, and saw a £200 Philips one marked on the shelf as reduced to £100 in my nearest Currys. I took it to the pay point - and the young man, who turned out to be the branch manager, said the price was an error, the offer was finished and it was back to £200. I said he had to sell it to me at the marked price, he said he didn't have to sell it to me at all. Rather than argue with him I stepped out of the store and phoned Currys HQ. They said they'd phone the branch, and to leave it a few minutes, and try again. The young man, looking chastened, surly and generally furious, completed the transaction, under the gaze of two female members of staff (who had witnessed his earlier display). So full marks to Currys - I've bought more big-ticket items from this store, but I noticed the young man no longer works there.

My understanding is that the young man was right in law but not up to date with company policy in such matters. Until the transaction is competed the vendor has the right to withdraw the offer of sale.

[Zucchini]

My understanding is that the young man was right in law but not up to date with company policy in such matters. Until the transaction is competed the vendor has the right to withdraw the offer of sale.

Quite right, Bryn. The displayed price is not a commitment to sell at that price. For example, there is no obligation whatsoever for a motor dealer to sell a brand new Chelsea Tractor for £ 2,999 if a sticky numeral falls off the windscreen.

The Curry's man was right & Head Office were unnecessarily generous.

[LeMartinPecheur]

My understanding is that the young man was right in law but not up to date with company policy in such matters. Until the transaction is competed the vendor has the right to withdraw the offer of sale.

Very nearly right, Bryn! Until a customer goes to the till there is no contractual offer at all. The customer may think that the price on the shelf is contractually an "offer for sale", which he can accept by tendering that sum so as to create a binding contract. No. It's more that the customer presents the item at the till and the cashier only then announces the price the shop is willing to sell at. If it's what the customer was expecting he then agrees that 'offer to sell', and a binding contract is formed. The position is clearest with a ridiculously low price-ticket on an expensive item, say a telly for £2.50. The customer cannot force the shop to sell it at the price because no contract has yet been formed. Some shops, particularly on less gross errors, will honour the displayed price. That's where Bryn makes his savings, especially if it's 'Double yer money'.

The position is different in trading standards law. A misleading price indication is a prima facie criminal offence, a misleading trade practice, though the shop may be able to establish a diligence defence if they have done their reasonable best to prevent such errors. That is where Tesco has so singularly fallen down, all over the country it seems.

Forum members with powerful French, or with memories of previous consumer-law issues on this forum, may spot where I'm coming from in relation to the Tesco story

[pastoralguy]

I do remember buying two sets of CDs from the much missed HMV in Princes Street and finding the second was mistakenly priced. The assistant asked the shop manager what he should do and I was delighted when the manager said that, normally, they would retract it from sale but, since I was such a good customer (!), they would honour it on this occasion. The first set was the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition and the mis-priced set was Frank Sinatra- The Capitol Years. £120 reduced to £60!

[Bryn]

I do remember buying two sets of CDs from the much missed HMV in Princes Street and finding the second was mistakenly priced. The assistant asked the shop manager what he should do and I was delighted when the manager said that, normally, they would retract it from sale but, since I was such a good customer (!), they would honour it on this occasion. The first set was the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition and the mis-priced set was Frank Sinatra- The Capitol Years. £120 reduced to £60!

But nothing quite beats the Real Chopin deal a good few of us got a few years ago.



Around £11 if I recall correctly.

[Richard Tarleton]

My understanding is that the young man was right in law but not up to date with company policy in such matters.

I'll know for next time! His error lay in being cocky and rude. Whenever I've discovered mistakes in my local Tesco, I've always found staff training in dealing with problems impeccable.