Foreign Coca-Cola

axer

Was in that centra that used to be a londis on the southside of o'connell bridge where I bought a bottle of Coca-Cola only to discover an awful taste.

I looked at the bottle closer and noticed that the design was not a design but arabic writing or something like that.

It tasted really sugary like really cheap cola and I could only manage one or two mouth fulls before having to throw it out.

Anyone know if I have any rights to a refund in this situation?

I have a feeling that I have very little rights to a refund as I guess I bought what was on sale but from what I remember the label said coca-cola and the pricing label on the fridge said just coca-cola.

Im surprised that Coca-Cola do not control the licensing for each region so that the likes of this does not happen.

What do you think? Would I have any rights?

APM

I'd say you have very little come-back in this situation as you did choose which bottle you bought. Nobody handed it to you. Its bad form on behalf of the retailer who are making enough profit as it is.

I'm sure coca-cola Ireland do try to control this sort of thing but with the amount of retailers in Ireland, controlling every single store is almost impossible.

I'm sure the same goes for the likes of budweiser (in tesco) and heineken (in dunnes) of which I've seen the 5% english versions of recently instore. I doubt diageo ireland are happy about this taking from their sales figures. Very little the can do about it though

ScouseMouse

This coke is a grey import. You went into a shop and picked up "a coke".As long as it is official coke - even if it is from Aruba or somewhere similar, you have no comeback. There are several importers of minerals at the moment and they are flooding the place with the stuff. I drink a lot of coke but always check if its the irish or english product. They are very similar but I agree with you that the exotic coke is awful.

Guy:Incognito

I always make sure to check the label ( a quick look at the unit of measurement, 500ml is grand .5l is foreign muck) after blindly buying a few times. It really doesnt taste good at all.

Random

Dam paper label bottles ... complete ****e

jhegarty

If the product did not taste like it should then surely it comes under 'fit for purpose' ?

mdebets

jhegarty wrote: »

If the product did not taste like it should then surely it comes under 'fit for purpose' ?

No, it tasted exactly like it should. You knew you were buying a bottle of foreign coke and it's a well known fact that Cola changes flavours in different countries.

pickarooney

He wasn't in a different country though.

If you feel aggrieved, I would say drop a note to Coca-Cola Ireland expressing your displeasure at being taste-swindled, that your confidence in the quality and constancy of Coca-Cola has been shaken by the incident (say it tasted worse than Pepsi) and name the shop.
You'd probably get a few vouchers and the shopkeep a beat-down from the Coke policía for your trouble.

I would say that, but you say you '[had] to throw it out', and any rights to complain along with it.

DublinWriter

mdebets wrote: »

No, it tasted exactly like it should. You knew you were buying a bottle of foreign coke and it's a well known fact that Cola changes flavours in different countries.

Most kebab-shops around town sell 'Arabic' Fanta which is about as flavoursome as camel-weewee if you are used to regular Fanta.

OP also mentioned that he got the Coke from a Centra - I thought such shops were obliged to buy their stock from the franchise HQ?

ojewriej

We got this coke with arabic writing delivered with chinese food one night. It was in cans, not bottles. I don't really drink coke, so can't say how it tasted, but gf said it was different.

Toto Wolfcastle

I worked in a chinese and there was once a big sticker on the slab of cans of coke saying 'Not to be sold outside Canada.' We all had a great laugh at it and it tasted perfect. Depends on where the coke is from I suppose.

I would send a letter anyway, regardless of whether you threw it out or not. Just say you wanted to draw your attention to the matter.

ScouseMouse

How do you define a soft drink not fit for purpose? Can it be drunk? If so, it is fit for purpose. Irish Coke will have CocaCola Naas Rd dublin, or Cocacola Lambeg on the label.

A quick glance at the label will tell you if it is irish or imported. Dont bother complaining to coke, they have no power to do anything. As long as it is real coke, even from the other side of the world, there is nothing they can do about it. However, if it was some irish company MAKING the stuff and labeling it Coke, then thats a different matter - but its not.

MOH

Most of the shops along and around O'Connell St now seem to sell imported Coke, from Egypt, Germany or Eastern europe. I always check the labels if I'm buying in a shop, but you don't always get a chance - I ordered a takeaway last night and it was delivered with a bottle of German coke. Apache pizza delivered me a can of Arabic stuff a few weeks ago that even my gf found horrible, and she's not a big Coke drinker.
There is a definite taste difference between the Irish stuff and the foreign stuff.

Show_me_Safety

do you think somewhere on the other side of the world people are buying cans of irish coke and thinking "bleugh!"?

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

superscouse wrote: »

This coke is a grey import. You went into a shop and picked up "a coke".As long as it is official coke - even if it is from Aruba or somewhere similar, you have no comeback. There are several importers of minerals at the moment and they are flooding the place with the stuff. I drink a lot of coke but always check if its the irish or english product. They are very similar but I agree with you that the exotic coke is awful.

I know you own some stores, so presumably you know than me on the matter. But, surely all of the ingredients, sugar content etc have to be written in English as required by the law? If it is written in arabic then people are not being given full information on ingredients of the product - therefore, they would be entitled to return it on this grounds - or at least contact some state body (Office of Consumer Affairs???)

ojewriej

They are written in english as well

MOH

superscouse wrote: »

A quick glance at the label will tell you if it is irish or imported. Dont bother complaining to coke, they have no power to do anything. As long as it is real coke, even from the other side of the world, there is nothing they can do about it. However, if it was some irish company MAKING the stuff and labeling it Coke, then thats a different matter - but its not.

I imagine Coca Cola bottlers Ireland would have an issue with it, if a Coke distributor from another territory is undercutting their sales. Might not be a lot they can do about it if the stuff is being imported from within the EU, but I'm sure they'd like to know.

ojewriej wrote: »

They are written in english as well

Not all of them are. I've had bottles with nothing on them in English, and couldn't even find a best before date on them. It's a valid point if they're not displaying consumer information which is required in Ireland.

axer

Dear Consumer,

Thank you for contacting Coca-Cola Great Britain.

We were interested to learn that you had been able to purchase, in this country, a can of 'Coca-Cola', manufactured by a foreign country. We are aware of bottles and cans having been shipped over from European countries by independent entrepreneurs, but due to the Free Movement of Goods we are unable stop independents importing our product into this country. We wish to assure you that The Coca-Cola Company has not been involved with the movement of this stock into Great Britain.

It is the obligation of the importer to ensure that the ingredients panel, if in a foreign language, is "understandable" in English. If he/she does not comply with that requirement, we suggest that you take the matter up with your local trading standards office that will be able to assist you.

We appreciate you taking the time and trouble to share your concerns with us and I hope the above information clarifies the situation. We hope you will continue to enjoy the refreshing taste of 'Coca-Cola' products manufactured in Great Britain.

Yours sincerely,

***** *****
Consumer Information Centre

foggy_lad

as MOH said coca-cola should have a problem with this as they frown upon shops etc putting foreign sourced products into their rental machines!

and i would assume there would also be product labeling issues as the ingredients on these bottles are not in a language that we in ireland can easily understand so there could be items you are allergic to and not be aware of it!

i would contact coca-cola and make a complaint about this and they will have all this cheap foreign coke removed from their fridges!

axer

The ingredients were in english and arabic (or whatever language that was) IIRC.

Tabnabs

Bought a can of coke in Centra in Dun Laoghaire last week and noticed it was a German can. Maybe it's a policy of Centra is stock from abroad?

foggy_lad

purchasing foreign coca-cola puts irish jobs at risk so demand bottles with proper labeling from your local retailers!

Raekwon

I got a bottle of Coke in Londis at the top of Grafton Street and it had an Irish label stuck over a Macedonian label. I peeled off the label and I read the back of it, I thought it was Greek but then I saw the word Skopje which is the capital of Macedonia. It tasted like absolute muck and cost me around €1.50. How are they getting away with it?

As for the Arabic Coke, I got a can of it for €1 in a vending machine in Apache Pizza (it too tastes like piss) but when I was in Dubai last year (which is a very expensive place) you could get a 6 pack of Coke cans for around €2 in the supermarkets. Looks like some people have found a way to increase their profit margins :mad:

ScouseMouse

Roundtower2 wrote: »

I know you own some stores, so presumably you know than me on the matter. But, surely all of the ingredients, sugar content etc have to be written in English as required by the law? If it is written in arabic then people are not being given full information on ingredients of the product - therefore, they would be entitled to return it on this grounds - or at least contact some state body (Office of Consumer Affairs???)

The ingredients must be in english, but one way around this is to have a little sticker on the label with the required information. I have seen this in the past but and the stuff really was rotten, but most of the foreign stuff has english ingredients listed.

Someone mentioned about most of the shops around O'Connell St selling it. A lot of the stores in that area were Centras, but went to Londis. They are all owned by one guy, so they are all the same company. They are all getting the same stock from the same place. However, it is not coming from Londis central. It is being purchased from a third party source which he is perfectly entitled to do. I cannot comment about the SPAR stores though.

Run_to_da_hills

Coca Cola should be like a Mc Donalds, ie it should use the same recipe and same taste world wide. Im sure there is a corporate head office that would take in international complaints.

ojewriej

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Coca Cola should be like a Mc Donalds, ie it should use the same recipe and same taste world wide. Im sure there is a corporate head office that would take in international complaints.

It would be impossible to do. McDonalds doesnt taste the same everywhere. They have a policy of using local suppliers i.e. irish potatos and meat in Ireland, polsih potatoes and meat in Poland. That's why even if the recipe is the same, end product tastes differently.

ScouseMouse

Agreed, while the idea is good in practice it is just not possible. I speak as someone who threw a BK whopper in the bin in Bangkok, it was disgusting.

ztoical

ojewriej wrote: »

It would be impossible to do. McDonalds doesnt taste the same everywhere. They have a policy of using local suppliers i.e. irish potatos and meat in Ireland, polsih potatoes and meat in Poland. That's why even if the recipe is the same, end product tastes differently.

+ 1 I lived in the new york for years and got alot of the same brand name products I was use to here and there were differences. Each factory will make things slightly different even if they use the same ingredients. My friends and I use to make trips out to the arse end of queens to find coke from mexico cus they use sugar there while in the states they use corn syrup.

And the Mcdonalds menu changes from city to city in the states[all the southern states have loads of sweet ice tea options in mcdonalds you can't get anywhere else]and from country to country - the mcdonalds india menu has much more veggie options then anywhere due to the majority of hindus there.

Guiness can taste different the world over cus Guiness ships a concerted version of their product and some countries dilute it differently and some add some local stuff to it.

Run_to_da_hills

ojewriej wrote: »

It would be impossible to do. McDonalds doesnt taste the same everywhere. They have a policy of using local suppliers i.e. irish potatos and meat in Ireland, polsih potatoes and meat in Poland. That's why even if the recipe is the same, end product tastes differently.

In theory it should thats why I would go there than be food poisoned by some local burger joint.

foggy_lad

one way to stem this is to make a complaint to coca-cola and let them know where their branded fridges have been used to stock these foreign products

this would be against terms for renting their fridges which should only be stocked with bottles with correct labeling and provided by coca-cola in ireland.

i know this as i have complained about a shop before selling german coke and they were told to empty the fridge immediately and warned not to stock foreign sourced products in the fridge or it would be removed!

coca-cola take this very seriously as it damages their reputation and cheapens the image of coke in ireland!

ojewriej

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

In theory it should thats why I would go there than be food poisoned by some local burger joint.

We are talking about taste here, not health& safety procedures.

You are dead right, you are safer eating in McD than in local chipper (that's not saying that chippers are dirty, moste of the aren't but some of them are) wherever you go, but the taste will still vary from country to country.

Tabnabs

Off topic I know, but in Indonesia, you can get rice with your BigMac! The staff also had a big sign reminding them to put salt on the fries. It tasted grand to us all the same!

Run_to_da_hills

Dyflin wrote: »

Off topic I know, but in Indonesia, you can get rice with your BigMac! The staff also had a big sign reminding them to put salt on the fries. It tasted grand to us all the same!

You can also get a beer with your Big Mac in Spain!

Hanley

Is there still an EU wide ban on parallel imports from outside the EEA?

I guess the middle east coke could be considered a "grey import"?

afatbollix

a couple of nicked trucks of the stuff?? driven here and then sold here?? thats what comes to mind first

Guy:Incognito

anto-t wrote: »

a couple of nicked trucks of the stuff?? driven here and then sold here?? thats what comes to mind first

Nope. It's everywhere and been going on for a long time. They would want to be hijacking trucks on daily basis.

The_Conductor

ojewriej wrote:

It would be impossible to do. McDonalds doesnt taste the same everywhere. They have a policy of using local suppliers i.e. irish potatos and meat in Ireland, polsih potatoes and meat in Poland. That's why even if the recipe is the same, end product tastes differently.

In France they guarantee that their beef is either French or Irish, complete with Bord Bia posters all over the place. No wonder the French farmers keep burning Irish sheep......

axer

Re. Imported Product

Dear ******

Thank you for your recent enquiry to Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland regarding the imported Coca-Cola which you recently purchased.

As I am sure you will appreciate, we have no control over the importation of foreign product onto the Irish market once the retailer is in compliance with trading standards legislation. However, we will bring the matter to the attention our Sales Rep for the store in question.

I can assure you that Coca-Cola is produced to the very highest of standards worldwide. However, the water & sweeteners used in the production process can affect the taste of the end product. Accordingly the taste of imported Coca-Cola can be noticeably different to that of Coca-Cola produced in Ireland to a regular Coke drinker.

We trust that this meets with your satisfaction, and thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention.

Kind Regards,

*******
_____________________
*******
Public Affairs and Communications Office
Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland
Western Industrial Estate
Naas Road, Dublin 12
Tel: 01-4195698
Fax: 01-4195693
www.coca-colabottlers.com