Tesco Maynooth overcharging

seanabc

We shop here regularly because it's open 24 hours and 3am shopping suits us but they do seem to have a problem with charging more than the marked price. My wife is the kind of person who always checks the receipt and on the last three visits we have been overcharged each time.

To make it worse the staff try to argue with you and tell you you must have picked up the wrong item and then require you to bring them down to the aisle and point out the mistake. When they're shown the incorrect price on display they often try to blame customers for putting stuff back in the wrong place even when it's clearly not possible.

They do pay double the difference if you're overcharged but for the amount of time and embarassment involved in getting your money it's hard to say if it's worth it. Also, since most don't check their receipts so closely I'm sure lots of people are walking away from here ripped off without realising it every day.

We were overcharged by €9 on our last visit there tonight. The amount would usually be less than that but on one visit last year we were overcharged €35.

foggy_lad

seanabc wrote: »

We shop here regularly because it's open 24 hours and 3am shopping suits us but they do seem to have a problem with charging more than the marked price. My wife is the kind of person who always checks the receipt and on the last three visits we have been overcharged each time.

To make it worse the staff try to argue with you and tell you you must have picked up the wrong item and then require you to bring them down to the aisle and point out the mistake. When they're shown the incorrect price on display they often try to blame customers for putting stuff back in the wrong place even when it's clearly not possible.

They do pay double the difference if you're overcharged but for the amount of time and embarassment involved in getting your money it's hard to say if it's worth it. Also, since most don't check their receipts so closely I'm sure lots of people are walking away from here ripped off without realising it every day.

We were overcharged by €9 on our last visit there tonight. The amount would usually be less than that but on one visit last year we were overcharged €35.

Try shopping in aldi or lidl! They don't have all nonsense offers and bogoffs just cheap prices and the checkouts may be super fast but there are rarely issues with overcharging.

wmpdd3

foggy_lad wrote: »

Try shopping in aldi or lidl! They don't have all nonsense offers and bogoffs just cheap prices and the checkouts may be super fast but there are rarely issues with overcharging.

Agree, way too much price changing going on, the only thing I can think of is, prices are changed between 9pm and 5am, so the wrong prices could be on display for an hour or 2. But increases should be done first so you should be undercharged.

I'd consider Maynooth a well run Tesco, but it looks like the attitude of the check out staff let it down.

For customers putting stuff back in the wrong place, in my opinion, more than 4 of he same items in the wrong place and its not customers doing it.

closecall

didnt know they pay double the difference if over charged

seanabc

closecall wrote: »

didnt know they pay double the difference if over charged

They do pay double the difference. Getting overcharged by €35 made our day when we were shopping last year! On that occasion they didn't argue with us. The items had been marked down on sale but still went through at the original price so we got €70 back.

Usually though the overcharging is by a few euros and getting double the difference back isn't such a great thing then, especially after having to argue your case with the staff and wasting 20 minutes of your time to get the refund.

@wpmdd3 Agreed about more than 4 items in the wrong place and it's not the customer putting them there. On several occasions we have had staff telling us that it must have been customers putting items back in the wrong place when there's a stack of the same item there.

Don't know about it being a well-run store. I've found staff in other Tescos, eg Ashbourne, to be much more helpful. In Maynooth you get the 'if it's not there we don't have it' attitude. It's a shame because being open 24 hours is a great advantage for me. It's a pity there isn't a 24-hour Lidl about because I can't recall ever getting overcharged for anything there.

silentfox

seanabc wrote: »

then require you to bring them down to the aisle and point out the mistake. When they're shown the incorrect price on display they often try to blame customers for putting stuff back in the wrong place even when it's clearly not possible.

Most stores will try and find out what the problem is by looking at the items. As it's a business, they need proof of the wrong price, otherwise people could just say it was wrong and get money off it.

seanabc

silentfox wrote: »

Most stores will try and find out what the problem is by looking at the items. As it's a business, they need proof of the wrong price, otherwise people could just say it was wrong and get money off it.

Obviously. We've found that they do try to defend the indefensible though. Instead of trying to find what the problem is, they do their best to deny that there's a problem. When the price that's on display is pointed out to them they will say 'that's not the price for this item' and say that other customers must have put it in the wrong place, even where it's very obvious that that's not what happened.

Since my wife and I have been overcharged so often here I think that what's happening is that they're deliberately making it as awkward and embarassing as possible for customers to point out mistakes. Whether management are doing that to cream some extra euro off their customers or if staff don't want to admit how many mistakes they make, I don't know.

(PS. Talking about mistakes, this has happened us with two separate items on display in the shop: When we take it to the till, it won't scan in and after some checking we'll be told that it can't be sold to us because a price hasn't been entered onto the system. Next time we're shopping there the same product is back on sale. Assuming the problem must have been fixed we pick it up and when we get to the check out it still doesn't scan and so they can't sell it us. And then apparently put it back on the shelf and not sell it to the next person who picks it up. )

Davidth88

seanabc wrote: »

(PS. Talking about mistakes, this has happened us with two separate items on display in the shop: When we take it to the till, it won't scan in and after some checking we'll be told that it can't be sold to us because a price hasn't been entered onto the system. Next time we're shopping there the same product is back on sale. Assuming the problem must have been fixed we pick it up and when we get to the check out it still doesn't scan and so they can't sell it us. And then apparently put it back on the shelf and not sell it to the next person who picks it up. )

I have had that at Maynooth also . There was a certain type of pickle I saw , the first time the assistant scanned it , said , this does not scan I can't sell it . I was annoyed and if I had not had a full shop already scanned would have left the lot. However 1 month later , same pickle , same thing happened ... this time I told the assistant the price , she accepted this and put it through manually .

In superquinn they used to give you stuff that didn;t scan for free , not sure if they still do that ?

wmpdd3

That is crap, its bad enough when you cant buy the non-scanning item and I can see the reason why, but for it to be on sale again a few weeks later, that's unforgivable. If you think the store could fix it you could email here:

www.tescocomments.com

I dont ever go to Lidl as its too far away, but I have an Aldi beside me and hte prices hardly ever change. The only thing I can think of thats changed is the packs of grated cheese.

Yeah, Superquinn used to always give you the item for free if it didnt scan, BUT, I was in there one day and this older woman was opening the multi packs of chrisps and chocolate as the individual packs wouldnt scan. And she was telling me so I could get them for free too! God love her.

diamondtooth

In realtion to Tesco Maynooth:

They have a lunch offer (like other Tesco stores) where you can buy a sandwich, orange juice and chocolate/crisps for €2.50.

I went to the self service till one day and the price came to €4.80. I called one of the staff over and she keyed in the correct price of €2.50 instead.

Another day I went to the shop to make the same purchase again. And on the self service till it came up as €4.80 again. This time I was told by a staff member to queue up again at another till where a second staff memeber would checkout out the items for me. So I queued up a second time and the items came to €4.80 again. Then I was the drink I chose was an incorrect one so I had to go and pick another and have it checked through again. After this the 3 items still came to €4.80, not €2.50 as advertised.

Then I was told to leave that till and go over to the Customer Service desk and they would check out my items. While there one person started checking out my items then left half way through, and another girl came over to finish checking out my purchases.

So to buy my lunch in Tesco Maynooth it took 30 minutes, queuing up at 3 different tills and dealing with 4 different staff.

Terrible service, and the offers did not apply at the till. I was so annoyed as it wasted my whole lunch break. Hate the store now.

Mizu_Ger

We've been overcharged a number of times in Tesco Maynooth too. Each time they were quite fast at going off to check the price and they always refunded the total amount of the item (so we ended up getting it for free). Never had any hassle. We always check our receipt whenever we shop there.

We shop a lot less in Tesco now though, as they seem to be hiking their prices slowing (we were noticing something else each week that was dearer than before). Going to Aldi and Lidl instead.

I find with Lidl and Aldi that they don't squash all our shopping at the checkout. They put your stuff through the checkout very fast, but they'll wait until you have it packed away before putting any more stuff through. Tesco just keep ringing the stuff through and squashing it together.

wmpdd3

they always refunded the total amount of the item (so we ended up getting it for free). Never had any hassle. We always check our receipt whenever we shop there.

This changed on the 31st of May 2011, (I think), Its now double the difference between the wrong price displayed and the price you paid.

BUT, if the displayed price is less than half price, you would get more than you paid!!

seanabc

wmpdd3 wrote: »

This changed on the 31st of May 2011, (I think), Its now double the difference between the wrong price displayed and the price you paid.

BUT, if the displayed price is less than half price, you would get more than you paid!!

They used to give you the item for free but it's double the difference now. As long as you're prepared to argue your case very strongly. On the last occasion we were overcharged the manager was putting up such a strong resistance that eventually we just asked for our money back and left the items there. It was one of the evening meal deals where you pick three items for a special price. He was arguing that one of the items (a cheese cake) wasn't included in the offer even though there were seven of them on the shelf with the offer.

The other item, a childs toy was marked as €2.99 and we were charged €7.99. We had first of all to go to the toys aisle and point out that mistake to him, which was accepted and then onto the food section to show him the meal deal offer. His attitude to us regards the cheesecake annoyed us so much that we just couldn't be bothered anymore and asked for our money back, which we got and left.

If this was an isolated incident I wouldn't have bothered repeating it but this is regular. I can only imagine how many people are being overcharged here and not complaining about it.

Mizu_Ger

wmpdd3 wrote: »

This changed on the 31st of May 2011, (I think), Its now double the difference between the wrong price displayed and the price you paid.

Thanks I didn't know that. We don't go there very often anymore. We shopped there the last 2 Sundays and the place was very empty at 11:30am.

seanabc wrote: »

If this was an isolated incident I wouldn't have bothered repeating it but this is regular. I can only imagine how many people are being overcharged here and not complaining about it.

If you're doing a large shop you really have to study your receipt to see if you've been overcharged.

I really prefer shopping in Lidl/Aldi now. We tend to buy what we need and don't get distracted by all the special offers etc. that Tesco always have. We only buy what we need.

mcwhirter

Its not just in maynooth, drogheda and ashbourne are 2 others that do the same

rubadub

wmpdd3 wrote: »

BUT, if the displayed price is less than half price, you would get more than you paid!!

Usually its only a few cent, so often I do not bother claiming it, so others are probably paying over the odds too. Not worth the value of my free time to queue up with all the smokers at the info desk, its ridiculous, and then to be sometimes treated like a liar or chancer.

I wish it was gone back to being free, they obviously save a lot by not employing their own staff as price checkers.

Corruptedmorals

They still are employing staff as price checkers. They are generally called EPOS (electronic point of sale) staff, or price clerks or something similar. Dunnes are also. Supervalu do not- that is why they have such a huge problem with pricing errors, much more so than Dunnes and Tesco. The staff detect loads of errors but they can't be everywhere at once and every morning will see new offers ending or starting and new increases/decreases. It's impossible to keep up with every change. The price they scan the item at is the same as what the till scans it at-this is updated automatically usually before ths store opens (not sure how a 24hr does this). It is the signs that are wrong and have to be taken down and changed to reflect this-a store the size of Tesco Maynooth is going to have thousands and thousands of signs.

Of course this doesn't excuse the absolute lousy attitudes you've encountered. They can't of course just take your word for it, they need to see the physical evidence of the sign first- they'd get slaughtered if they skipped this step and gave refunds on something that was totally fine to chancers etc. But as for pinning the blame on other customers or fighting about it? Sounds like a management policy or trying to cut down the number of times this double-the-difference is given. They should be stepping up validation (scanning) instead. The staff on the desk though ONLY work on the desk so they have no vested interest in trying to hide mistakes since it isn't their own mistake. Likely they have been told to parrot the same lines as the manager/shop floor staff.

If the getting the item free policy was reinstated, it would be reflected in further price inreases.

foggy_lad

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

They still are employing staff as price checkers. They are generally called EPOS (electronic point of sale) staff, or price clerks or something similar. Dunnes are also. Supervalu do not- that is why they have such a huge problem with pricing errors, much more so than Dunnes and Tesco. The staff detect loads of errors but they can't be everywhere at once and every morning will see new offers ending or starting and new increases/decreases. It's impossible to keep up with every change. The price they scan the item at is the same as what the till scans it at-this is updated automatically usually before ths store opens (not sure how a 24hr does this). It is the signs that are wrong and have to be taken down and changed to reflect this-a store the size of Tesco Maynooth is going to have thousands and thousands of signs.

Of course this doesn't excuse the absolute lousy attitudes you've encountered. They can't of course just take your word for it, they need to see the physical evidence of the sign first- they'd get slaughtered if they skipped this step and gave refunds on something that was totally fine to chancers etc. But as for pinning the blame on other customers or fighting about it? Sounds like a management policy or trying to cut down the number of times this double-the-difference is given. They should be stepping up validation (scanning) instead. The staff on the desk though ONLY work on the desk so they have no vested interest in trying to hide mistakes since it isn't their own mistake. Likely they have been told to parrot the same lines as the manager/shop floor staff.

If the getting the item free policy was reinstated, it would be reflected in further price inreases.

if it was just a few wrong prices/signs it could be put down to staff being normal and not some superhuman robots but these mistakes are rampant in some stores and it appears that it is the larger 24hour stores which are not doing so well now after the collapse which are worst.

wmpdd3

Trust me, productivity is worked out to the nearest second. 100 price changes should take 1 hr. If you are 2 minutes late getting to the shop floor after clocking in, you have to work faster. If you help a customer you have to work faster, same if you have to jump on tills to clear a queue.

Some store will be run so that the staff have enough time to get their work done or will be performance managed out the door if they can't other stores are not run correctly. But the system is there, its up to the store manager to ensure it is correctly followed.

But at the end of the day, they 2 issues causing the large workload are constant price changes and a pricing data entry department in an country that doesnt use our alphabet or numbers.

I they fixed these two issues, staff would not be under so much pressure.

genie

I was overcharged in Tesco Carrick on Shannon today. I checked my receipt shortly after leaving and saw that I had been charged €1.49 for salted Ritz crackers. Re-checking the price on the shelf I confirmed that the cheese Ritz crackers were €1.49 and the salted €0.74. I explained myself at the customer service counter, someone went to check, I was right and I was refunded the difference and I received an apology. Will always check my receipt now.

mrswalton

genie wrote: »

I was overcharged in Tesco Carrick on Shannon today. I checked my receipt shortly after leaving and saw that I had been charged €1.49 for salted Ritz crackers. Re-checking the price on the shelf I confirmed that the cheese Ritz crackers were €1.49 and the salted €0.74. I explained myself at the customer service counter, someone went to check, I was right and I was refunded the difference and I received an apology. Will always check my receipt now.

Genie,

You should have been given double the difference. You were overcharged by .75 therefore they should have given you 1.50, They should have paid you 1 cent for the trouble and to take the crackers away for free!

They seem to only give the double difference if you point out it is their policy, it happened to me today in Tallaght. I pointed out the error and was treated as though i had commited a crime. She said the products were in the wrong place, but i had also checked the price online. She was huffing and puffing so much i had to stop her and point out .....Listen love, lets be clear whats happening here, you have OVERCHARGED me, and it is YOUR policy to refund me double the difference. Presumably to have to listen to your bad customer service.

It wasn't a lot of money, its the principal.

genie

mrswalton wrote: »

Genie,

You should have been given double the difference. You were overcharged by .75 therefore they should have given you 1.50, They should have paid you 1 cent for the trouble and to take the crackers away for free!

They seem to only give the double difference if you point out it is their policy, it happened to me today in Tallaght. I pointed out the error and was treated as though i had commited a crime. She said the products were in the wrong place, but i had also checked the price online. She was huffing and puffing so much i had to stop her and point out .....Listen love, lets be clear whats happening here, you have OVERCHARGED me, and it is YOUR policy to refund me double the difference. Presumably to have to listen to your bad customer service.

It wasn't a lot of money, its the principal.

Sorry, yes, I was given double the difference of €1.50. Sorry to hear how you were treated, they were very polite and apologetic about it in Carrick.

seanabc

mrswalton wrote: »

I pointed out the error and was treated as though i had commited a crime. She said the products were in the wrong place, but i had also checked the price online. She was huffing and puffing so much i had to stop her and point out .....Listen love, lets be clear whats happening here, you have OVERCHARGED me, and it is YOUR policy to refund me double the difference. Presumably to have to listen to your bad customer service.

It wasn't a lot of money, its the principal.

That's exactly my point too. Being overcharged is bad enough but then when, you point out the incorrect signage, to be given a load of excuses and lies is what annoyed me the most.

ejmaztec

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Trust me, productivity is worked out to the nearest second. 100 price changes should take 1 hr. If you are 2 minutes late getting to the shop floor after clocking in, you have to work faster. If you help a customer you have to work faster, same if you have to jump on tills to clear a queue.

Some store will be run so that the staff have enough time to get their work done or will be performance managed out the door if they can't other stores are not run correctly. But the system is there, its up to the store manager to ensure it is correctly followed.

But at the end of the day, they 2 issues causing the large workload are constant price changes and a pricing data entry department in an country that doesnt use our alphabet or numbers.

I they fixed these two issues, staff would not be under so much pressure.