Supermarket complaints: when the price isn’t right
Consumers call out supermarkets for overcharging.
Consumers call out supermarkets for overcharging.
Discounts are great, right? That’s what supermarkets would have us believe. The stores are decked out in “special” signs with bargains to be had in almost every aisle. Stock up and save!
But shoppers are crying foul.
Pak’nSave customer Paul Bensemann was stung by the store three times in one month. The supermarket charged him $6.49 for coffee marked on “special” at $5.99 and $4.50 for tabbouleh on “special” for 99¢. Then there was the bottle of wine: on “special” for $11.79, it scanned at the checkout for $14.79.
Paul was refunded when he complained but is “frustrated” at having to check every price on his Pak’nSave dockets. “It seems a systemic issue. Most people just don’t have the patience to question prices nor the time for the long waits while [the store] sorts it out,” he said.
Over the past few months, we’ve fielded complaints from other consumers who’ve picked up a product on “special” only to find they’ve been charged the so-called usual price at the checkout. Many of these eagle-eyed shoppers only noticed they’d been overcharged after they checked their receipt.
The “special” sign at a Pak’nSave store in Hamilton boasted shoppers could buy six cans of Sealord Tuna for $7. Sharon Dimond stocked up. But when she got to the checkout, she was charged $9.05 for her tuna tins.
While an extra $2.05 might not seem much, Sharon points out there may have been plenty of others attracted by the special who were overcharged. Sharon got a refund when she complained but said it wasn’t the first time she’s been billed more than the advertised price.
Kim Santer thought he was bagging a bargain at Napier Pak’nSave when he added a dozen Farmer Brown eggs to his trolley. According to the shelf price, the eggs were an “extra low $3.69”. However, when Kim checked his receipt at home, he found he’d been charged $4.69.
Kim emailed the supermarket but didn’t get a reply. “This is the bit that causes most annoyance – mistakes do happen but then for a retailer to just ignore the issue would suggest a particularly poor attitude to customer concerns and would heighten our suspicion that the retailer has a lax attitude to ensuring pricing is correct.”
When Kim went to the store the following week, he asked for a refund for his over-priced eggs. “At the service counter, I was behind a gentleman who had been overcharged in excess of $10 for an item and he strongly made the point that ‘it is happening all too often’.” Another customer behind him was also queuing for a refund.
“I was reimbursed but didn’t feel any more confident that the issue won’t arise again,” Kim said.
Pak’nSave Petone offered customers an “extra low” multibuy deal: get two packs of Farrah’s tortillas for $9. However, customer Michael quickly realised this wasn’t such a great deal, given the usual price for one packet was $4.29 – by our calculations, that’s two packs for $8.58. Forget the special, gracias.
The frozen food aisle in New World Halswell had prominent “saver” signs, enticing customers to take advantage of a $6.29 ice cream special. The signs were above a freezer of Tip Top ice cream. Shopper Stephanie Reid picked up a tub, only to be charged $8.49 at the checkout.
As Stephanie found, shoppers had to read the signs closely to find the deal was for a different brand of ice cream altogether – Much Moore Ice Cream – which was nowhere to be seen.
Jo O’Reilly popped into New World to buy a bottle of wine. She saw Selaks Reserve advertised as an “Exclusive club deal”: $11.99 a bottle. But when Jo peeked under the “club deal” sign, she saw the normal price was also $11.99. Not such a great deal after all and a “bit dishonest”, Jo said.
At New World in Stoke, customer Alex saw a prominent “Everyday Value” label for Home St Keto Bread: $10.99 a loaf. But a much smaller label on the shelf gave the price at $10.89. When she pointed out the different labels to staff, they removed the one with the special price and told her it was an old tag, Alex said.
“Ten cents isn’t a big deal but the price tag led me to believe the already expensive bread was on sale, not more expensive than usual!”
Right below the So Good almond milk, the $2.70 “great price” at Countdown was hard to miss. But as Karin Menon discovered, you almost needed to get your specs out to read this price was for an entirely different brand of milk. The price for the So Good? A not-so great $4.
Karin said it’s not a one-off. She estimates she’s been overcharged as much as four out of every 10 times she goes to the supermarket: “I eventually have learnt to check my receipt every single time I go grocery shopping.”
Countdown shopper Wayne Fox saw a “great price” label for Well Naturally chocolate: a 90g bar for $5.50. But he discovered the “great price” label on the shelf was hiding another sticker that revealed the choc had previously been sold for $5. Turned out the “great price” was only a great price for the store, Wayne quipped.
Next to the 1kg packs of McCain Mint Peas at Countdown, shopper Lyall Duffus saw “special” stickers advertising a price of $4. But you had to look at the label closely to discover the special was for McCain Baby Mint Peas – not the regular ones, which were $4.55.
Supermarkets were keen to reassure us they’re doing their best.
A Countdown spokesperson said the supermarket has “team members in every store dedicated to price integrity but occasionally mistakes do happen”. The store said it had fixed the pricing “mistakes” we raised with it about So Good almond milk, Well Naturally chocolate and McCain peas.
“It's not our intention to mislead customers in any way … It's our policy across all our stores that if we are alerted to an incorrect price charged to a customer, we will refund the price paid and the customer can keep the product free of charge,” the spokesperson said.
Antoinette Laird, head of corporate affairs for Foodstuffs (owner of the New World and Pak’nSave brands), said it takes “pricing integrity very seriously”.
“We are aware of and committed to honouring our legal obligations on savings claims … If a customer ever has a concern about what they have been charged, we advise them to please notify a team member at the store where they made their original purchase so the team can look into it and rectify if needed,” Foodstuffs’ Antoinette Laird said.
Convinced consumers are getting a fair deal? Neither are we.
The Commerce Commission’s draft report on the supermarket industry rightly criticises the stores for their pricing and promotional practices.
It’s recommended mandatory unit pricing be introduced so it’s easier for shoppers to compare products by price.
Prosecutions for some pricing practices may be in the wings. The commission said complaints received during its investigation are being assessed for potential Fair Trading Act breaches.
Think you’re paying more at the checkout than you were a year ago? You’re right.
In the 12 months to June, food prices rose 1.6 percent. There were bigger hikes for some products with fruit and vege up 5.7 percent.
Compared with June 2020, we’re also paying more for:
Over the past three years, food prices have risen 6.5 percent. Statistics NZ data show the biggest increases between May 2018 and May 2021 were:
Add Spotlight to the list of shops where you should check. Some florist wire was only 50 c more at the checkout, but assistant wasn't at all apologetic. Indeed she was very efficient as if this was a routine job. I hope not, but I'll be back to check.
Both countdown and pak and save ask at checkout DO YOU WANT YOUR RECEIPT>They train their staff to do this because they do not accept goods back without a receipt .
Setting us up for checkout theft .
It is a police matter .Consumer put this to smarket executives .Put them before the courts and things will change real quick .!
I alway buy coffee and milk.
Everyone was out of it for some time probably due to being made in Australia.
Came back in.
Brought some from countdown it had gone up from$4.59 to $4.80.
Went to new world,they had new stock in there’s is still $4.59.how can countdown charge so much extra.
Spent $151 on shopping today and got overcharged on 3 packets of chips. I politely informed CS and waited for some time while the assistant checked the shelf. She eventually came back, plucked the receipt from my hand without a word and gave me the $1.20 I'd been overcharged. I asked why she wasn't refunding me the whole amount (which they were doing for a short while a few months ago) and she said full refunds were just for fresh food and meat. At no time did she say sorry, thank you for waiting or even smile. She behaved as if i had somehow done something wrong, rather than the other way round. I rang up later to complain but the store owner wasn't there and the store manager couldnt be found.
I've given up pointing out the countless mislabelled/wrongly priced items in the store as it eventually became clear that no one was remotely interested in correcting them. Your article quotes the Countdown spokesperson as saying there are team members in every store dedicated to price integrity. Really? There's no sign of them at Browns Bay.
Interestingly, Paknsave Albany is very good in this regard and i think ive only once been knowingly overcharged.
The same thing happened to me - saw an item on special (eco produce bags) for $1 but was charged $3 after checking the receipt when I got home. Had to go back into the store later on and get refunded. I'm sure it happens a lot more than we realize. Always pays to check your receipt.
New World used to show special price ticket in red. These were place over the top of the normal price so that you could see what savings you were getting. Recently New World has introduced special price tickets with a red line them where the normal price is shown in a font size of maybe 6 or so. Much too small for many people to read, especially in the open freezer section where the prices are approx. 1.5m away or down on the bottom line.
Countdown is quoted in your article:
“It's not our intention to mislead customers in any way … It's our policy across all our stores that if we are alerted to an incorrect price charged to a customer, we will refund the price paid and the customer can keep the product free of charge,” the spokesperson said.
However on Tuesday in Countdown Kapiti I was charged wrongly (2 of the same at different prices), and the amount charged was more than the '2 for $4.50' special offer.
When I mentioned that according to Countdown info provided to NZConsumer, that Countdown refunds the price paid and I can keep the items if charged wrongly, they looked at me as if I was mad and snapped "of course not!" They took the extra amount off my bill, with lots of muttering about lots of this happening all morning, end of.
What is the actual policy at Countdown supermarkets?
Confused of Kapiti
I checked Countdown's Policies and found:
Price Issues
If any product is charged at a higher price than stated on the current shelf ticket/label and the transaction has been completed the following will apply:
- Single product: Countdown will refund the price paid and the customer may keep the product free of charge.
- Multiple of the same product: Countdown will refund the first product and the customer may keep this first product free of charge. A refund will also be given for the difference between the current shelf price and the charged price for the balance of the products.
This info is from: www.countdown.co.nz/about-us/our-policies/refund-policy
Purchased some apples. Carefully checked the price by the apples. at the checkout the price was higher. When I questioned the price the supervisor went and checked the price by the apples. I was correct and they refunded me the money and I was able keep the apples. Same thing happened on Three different occasions. The Second time they refunded me the money and I kept the apples.
BUT the Third time I questioned them about the wrong price that they charged me and the store Refused to refund me the money and made it quite clear I was a nuisance customer and was not welcome in their store. Made me feel like I was a Criminal which I am Not, as all I had done was point out to them that they had Two different prices one advertising a special price on the apples and a higher price at the checkout. I never went back.
Pak n Save often advertise something on special higher than the regular price from the week before. i notice this particularly with instant coffee at Moorhouse Ave. It is not a mistake as it happens regularly.
i have had this issue about highlighted specials not being charged correctly for some time going back over a year. Coundown in Mount Eden on Dominion road, regulalrly has this problem and oyu do definitely have to keep an eye out for this. Both the original price being charged instead of the discounted "yellow sticker" price, and also the special price not applying to the brand where the sticker is. I believe the supermarkets are happy with these errors, and reluctant to put in the resources to correct it
I'm having to be a lot more rigorous in checking Countdown on-line shopping these days. They don't supply a printed packing slip anymore and it's in the form of an attachment to the confirmation email. I will be printing this out every time from now on, after numerous 'mistakes' in the last year.
For example: I've had two cases so far of underweight veges, and by big amounts, 200grams instead of 300 ordered. Next time I'll take them up on it and remind them that the Commerce Commission takes a very dim view of this, with big fines applied. Countdown have been stung before on this but don't seem to learn.
-Items not supplied at all, due to the deliverer getting bags mixed up, having to be (re)- delivered under clause 4.9 of the T's and C's.,
-Wrong items delivered, eg beetroot instead of swedes, this took much phone and email work to get fixed, ie re-delivered.
Also, you have to be vigilant with the 'Substitute permitted' tick boxes, they are not prominent and you easily miss them.
Most supermarkets and food shops now ask if I want the receipt which leads me to believe that most people don't want them. This would work in the shops' favour as without a receipt you will not know you have been overcharged unless you watched the till as items were scanned.
We have to check the dockets from our local new world every single time and are overcharged probably on an item over 80% of the time. Not to mention the dodgy labeling. 1kg tasty behind a sign saying $10 yet excluding tasty in teeny weeny writing. Hubby came home yesterday being stung with beans marked on special...the beans with sausages strewn throughout the stand all charged at full price. Bring in some honest competition labour! These guys are beyond taking the mickey.
I have several times been charged full price for shortdated items which have been repriced. I have always asked for a refund which has been given but then I approached New World Mosgiel because it was happening so often. They rang me to assure me that they had checked with the relevant departments and reminded everyone that the new price has to go over the previous barcode if it is to scan correctly. Question - do people return to the store if they have been undercharged eg when an item has not scanned ?
The writing on shelf price labels is often very small and almost illegible at times. Shopping at New World in Dunedin I have detected several mistakes on my receipt over the past year. I now always spend a couple of minutes checking my receipt after passing through the till but before I leave the store. That way I can report the problem to Customer Services.
My current complaint is I have to sit in the car and check my receipt before I leave my Countdown supermarket because quite often I have been charged twice for an item I only have one of. I'm okay if it's only $1 or $2 item but usually it's the bigger cost items anywhere from $6 to $10. I never use to check my receipt till I got home but living Rural it's a hassle having to take the time between work to get back there and get it sorted although they tend to look at you as if I'm lying and really did buy 2. Another gripe is they have a bad habit of not removing special tags when they are finished and I don't make a habit of looking at the small print on the tag for the end date so I've brought what I've thought was a really great price only to discover I've paid full price. YES I do go back in and complain and I have had the full cost repaid to me but we shouldn't have to do this. Taking photos on your cell phone if you can of the item in question on the shelf also gives you the upper hand. They don't like it.
That is just a lie! No time have I ever been offered the item when been overcharged. Every time its cost me is far too much time to get a refund at countdown
At pack save the price of a lot of items has jumped .. Eg Pizza has gone from $2.50 to $2.99 ! How about that fo a huge increase?
My Countdown supermarket gives me a full refund and I keep the item whenever I am overcharged. I check my receipts before leaving and am actually delighted when they charge too much. Keeps them on their toes as it doesn't happen very frequently.
I checked Countdown's Policies and found:
Price Issues
If any product is charged at a higher price than stated on the current shelf ticket/label and the transaction has been completed the following will apply:
- Single product: Countdown will refund the price paid and the customer may keep the product free of charge.
- Multiple of the same product: Countdown will refund the first product and the customer may keep this first product free of charge. A refund will also be given for the difference between the current shelf price and the charged price for the balance of the products.
This info is from: www.countdown.co.nz/about-us/our-policies/refund-policy
To supply mandarins I grew to a supermarket they had to be "Choice" grade ie more than 40mm in diameter and free of blemishes. After grading, packing and "marketing" the fruit entered the supermarket at $1.20/kg and were in the bin at @2.45/kg. I had 3 main complaints. Firstly the margin made by the supermarket of $1.25 was much greater - and unreasonably so - than I received net as a grower of $0.19/kg. Secondly, the fruit remained my property for 48 hours after entry to the supermarket which meant no risk to them, and thirdly I found fruit with skin blemishes and smaller than 40mm in the same bin. They had mixed second grade fruit with "Premium". If supermarkets call this "best practice" and "respect" their suppliers what else goes on?
I have to check my receipt everytime I buy from PaknSave Blenheim. In one out of 4 shops an item will be charged incorrectly. Pay attention to fruit on special, e.g. apples. If for instance Braeburn are on special, make sure they charge for Braeburn and not the more expensive other varieties.
Always always always check your receipts.
For more than a decade, and throughout New Zealand, Countdown has tried to overcharge me on many items, in various ways. For about half of ALL my visits to Countdown over the years, have resulted in me having to go to the CS counter to get a refund. Of course the problem is systemic. It’s nice getting full refunds on the various items that I buy, but most people won’t be checking their receipts - and shouldn’t need to.
- Special prices not honoured
- Regular prices promoted as special, including followed by one week of an artificially high regular price, before the regular price being returned to what it was.
- Special price cards being placed over the wrong regular item
- Mix non-specialled items in with specialled items
- Not correcting any of these mistakes when alerted to them (which has meant that I’ve had full refunds on multiple visits)
There’s also regular double-scanning of items in my trolley, multiple scanning of the most expensive of similar items (rather than scanning each item’s price), removing or masking expiry dates on items, etc.
The results are always over-charging, never under-charging. They would probably earn an extra $50 to $100 per year from me if I didn’t check. I guess that equates to $50,000,000 - $100,000,000 of extra profit from New Zealanders each year. Why is this not scandalous?
Always always always check your receipts.
With everything you said as my post above mirrors the same. They do not like me taking photos of the item/shelf in question as I have the proof and they can't hide it.
So true that man!
Every week at New World one of the pear varieties has been significantly cheaper than the others . For three weeks running I selected the cheap option and was charged for one of the expensive ones. On the last occasion I saw the name of the wrong variety on the screen and asked for it to be changed, she then argued with me and a supervisor had to tell her she was wrong. This was a difference of $3.99kg and $6.99Kg
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