Couldn't believe my own eyes!

yeheain

Today I bought a 25g Amber Leaf pouch from Centra, Blackpool, Cork. Guess what I found inside the pouch. A SLICE OF BREAD instead of tobacco!. I couldn't believe my own eyes. I even tasted a bit just to confirm what I saw. I rushed back to Centra which is a few walks away from my house, of cause they look at me with a suspicious eyes. They can't do anything for me because I didn't opened it in front of them (Who would anyway). I opened from a sealed pouch. I mailed to info.ie@jti.com with attached images but no response at all. I WON'T PAY 10 EURO FOR A SLICE OF BREAD INSIDE TOBACCO POUCH. Somebody help me give a direction where and how would I get back my 10 euro or a replacement. Thank You.

Ye Heain Zaw

bumper234

You should remove your mobile number from public forum

Hootanany

Small claims court, get 50 to dust the slice of bread for prints?

ibarelycare

Definitely one of the more unusual threads I've seen in here! Very strange!!!

yeheain

thanks for that anyway. I'm a bit new to this kind of stuff and I'm really in a pissed off stage at the moment with this Amber Leaf pouch.

dudara

If you only emailed them today, you need to give them some time to respond to the complaint.

foggy_lad

Write a letter to the shop and also to the manufacturer explaining what happened.

Are you sure the pouch was sealed? could it have been opened and glued shut by someone working in the shop?

yeheain

any ideas?

bumper234

ibarelycare wrote: »

Definitely one of the more unusual threads I've seen in here! Very strange!!!

It seems op is not the first.


http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/8623305/Butt-of-a-bad-joke


But after returning to her mother's home less than an hour later she opened it and was aghast to find not only was the tobacco missing but it had also been replaced with one slice of multi-grain bread.

TheBody

Wonder if the shop sourced it from a dodgy source on the cheap?

I wonder if you bought another pack in the same shop and opened it there and then, what you would find?

yeheain

It was sealed and I know that Centra. They are nice old folks which I know them over four years. To be honest, I am not used to investigate how my pouch is sealed before I open it. Who would anyway? Maybe 1 out of 100 who checked like a James Bond?

sabat

This is becoming increasingly prevalent due to a combination of the recession and high duties on tobacco products. Eastern European gangs are intercepting shipments at ports and transit centres and replacing the contents with wheat-based food products then selling the real stuff on the black market. I bought a pack of 20 Johnnie Blue last week and it was stuffed full of stale Krispy Kreme donuts while a friend bought a box of Monte Cristo cigars for his brother's wedding-imagine everyone's face when it contained a loaf of McCambridge's stoneground bread.

yeheain

Atleast this is not only me who been through prank like this.

rubadub

TheBody wrote: »

I wonder if you bought another pack in the same shop and opened it there and then, what you would find?

They could try squeezing a few. My guess is somebody made it up at home, went in, bought a new one, switched them on the sly and said "oh sorry I meant drum" or a different size.

yeheain wrote: »

I even tasted a bit just to confirm what I saw.

Was it nice at least?

Pro Hoc Vice

It's a scam pulled in the shop. Guy goes into shop asks for amber leaf say, shop keeper hands over amber leaf, guy says I said some other brand and hands back amber leaf. In fact he has swapped the pack with one in his pocked full of the same weight of what ever. The shop keeper then puts the rubbish pack back in stock and some poor sap gets caught when he buys it.

It happened to a shop keeper friend of mine with a pack of cigs.

hfallada

I imagine its got to do with the shop. I imagine Amber leaf is made on a production line and is completely automated, meaning an employee cant rob the tobacco. Plus the bread isnt mouldy and it takes weeks for the tobacco to reach the customer( it has to go from manufacturer to wholesaler to customer)

yeheain

rubadub wrote: »

They could try squeezing a few. My guess is somebody made it up at home, went in, bought a new one, switched them on the sly and said "oh sorry I meant drum" or a different size.


Was it nice at least?

Yes it does taste good lol. This is my trophy bread for being a long term smoker.

TommiesTank

This is outrageous, I hope something can be done for you, OP.

SligoBrewer

OP, don't let this drop. Keep the thread updated. We believe in you.

yeheain

No way I will drop this! Euro 10 for a slice of bread in 9/11. I would turn the world upside down to get a replacement or 10 Euro back in my pocket.

FaganJr

Get them to check their camera system, they can get the times that product was sold at the tills and see if a customer done a swap. The shop & yourself have been conned by some dirt bag!
The bread looks fresh enough which implies it was done recently.

yeheain

FaganJr wrote: »

Get them to check their camera system, they can get the times that product was sold at the tills and see if a customer done a swap. The shop & yourself have been conned by some dirt bag!
The bread looks fresh enough which implies it was done recently.

Yea I contacted to main Centra already. The guy in local Centra is not so cooperated. Let's see how they will take action.

FaganJr

yeheain wrote: »

Yea I contacted to main Centra already. The guy in local Centra is not so cooperated. Let's see how they will take action.

The local Centra is your only hope, you've got to convince them that they have been conned by someone and ye are both the victims! Also Centras have a morning & evening managers ( usually ), check at a different time with a different manager, maybe more helpful!

yeheain

FaganJr wrote: »

The local Centra is your only hope, you've got to convince them that they have been conned by someone and ye are both the victims! Also Centras have a morning & evening managers ( usually ), check at a different time with a different manager, maybe more helpful!

Thanks you. I will try first thing in the morning. Hopefully its not too late to explain everything.

west20s

A switch scam by a customer who had been in previously IMHO. Same was going around before with boxes of cigarettes that just contained cardboard. That's why they brought in the no exchange policy.

yeheain

west20s wrote: »

A switch scam by a customer who had been in previously IMHO. Same was going around before with boxes of cigarettes that just contained cardboard. That's why they brought in the no exchange policy.

I could understand from the point of view of shopkeeper but I lost my words when it come to real. It just unfair to a legit customers.

west20s

yeheain wrote: »

I could understand from the point of view of shopkeeper but I lost my words when it come to real. It just unfair to a legit customers.

Absolutely, I would say who ever was at the tills just got caught out in the situation; either uninformed, inexperienced, undertrained or not weary of the scam, or put under undue pressure at the time. As scammers tend to do.

athtrasna

Must have been done pretty recently for the bread not to be mouldy?

yeheain

athtrasna wrote: »

Must have been done pretty recently for the bread not to be mouldy?

Probably a day old bread. I could smell a freshness once I opened it. I was so amazed and speechless that I forgot to point out about that to a guy from Centra.

yeheain

<SNIP>

I know ya. who the f*** would check their stuffs like tobacco pouches/boxes or take away wrapped food in front of their sight anyway?

west20s

Was this a busy city centre shop? If you were a local/regular or if it was more of a local store, a replacement and apology should not have been a problem. Also CCTV is generally backed up month by month, not even an offer to investigate = poor customer service.

grumula

yeheain wrote: »

I know ya. who the f*** would check their stuffs like tobacco pouches/boxes or take away wrapped food in front of their sight anyway?

I've worked in retail on and off for about 12 years, this type off guff is applicable for things like change, people can be awful chancers coming back into any sort of shop saying "here, you only gave my change of a tenner", but in your case, unless you walk around spitting and swearing at invisible people whilst not completely dressed, i'd give ye the benefit.

now we just need some catchy tabloid headlines to get ya on yer way.

Too much bread for day old bread?
c'mon centra, use yer loaf!?
smoker gets panned at local?

yeheain

west20s wrote: »

Was this a busy city centre shop? If you were a local/regular or if it was more of a local store, a replacement and apology should not have been a problem. Also CCTV is generally backed up month by month, not even an offer to investigate = poor customer service.

Its Blackpool Centra. I say very local. No, not at all for investigation. Not even a good look at my pouch and all he kept telling me is like pushing me out of the shop with words.. like You're not opening this here so this your problem with manufacturer.. so nothing I could do for you.. said the manager.

Soundman

Just wondering... Is there even any trace of tobacco in the pouch under the bread? Any remnants in the corners or even on the bread itself? Usually very difficult to get every last bit out of a pouch due to static and the like. Might give an idea if it was done in the factory (somehow) or whether it was done by some scrote chancing his arm.

yeheain

Soundman wrote: »

Just wondering... Is there even any trace of tobacco in the pouch under the bread? Any remnants in the corners or even on the bread itself? Usually very difficult to get every last bit out of a pouch due to static and the like. Might give an idea if it was done in the factory (somehow) or whether it was done by some scrote chancing his arm.

Yes I can see a little trace of tobacco on bread. Clearly a switches one.

zenno

I'll be feeling the packet of tobacco myself in future to make sure, that's for sure.

yeheain

zenno wrote: »

I'll be feeling the packet of tobacco myself in future to make sure, that's for sure.

I will just do my first roll in front of shopkeeper in future. Just to make sure its not a dry grass lol

grumula

zenno wrote: »

I'll be feeling the packet of tobacco myself in future to make sure, that's for sure.

dunno, I don't reckon I could tell the difference off the bat, maybe we're heading for an age where we can't so much by a package of tayto or a mineral fer the child without opening them in the shop directly after the transaction whilst eyeing the till jockey accusingly in a sergio leone style mexican standoff, bad form for a local, especially if they know your head, they could at least pretend to be on your side, instaed of shouting "thank you come again" and ignoring your plight, in which they are inherantly directly involved!

west20s

Funnily enough, a search for Centra Customer Service yielded no results. http:// centra ie /contact is all you get . Complain at the source and quote how you were treated by a representative of there company. They will quote the no exchange... but a lack of action and if an internal investigation to see if they breached their own policy, may show you were not in the wrong, but do not be surprised when you get... ''oh the cameras were turned off that day''

yeheain

grumula wrote: »

dunno, I don't reckon I could tell the difference off the bat, maybe we're heading for an age where we can't so much by a package of tayto or a mineral fer the child without opening them in the shop directly after the transaction whilst eyeing the till jockey accusingly in a sergio leone style mexican standoff, bad form for a local, especially if they know your head, they could at least pretend to be on your side, instaed of shouting "thank you come again" and ignoring your plight, in which they are inherantly directly involved!

To me today is also my lucky day. I took a little piece of that bread to confirm the thing I am looking at. What if...WHAT IF its been poisoned? I'm already dead for sure.

evolving_doors

yeheain wrote: »

Its Blackpool Centra. I say very local. No, not at all for investigation. Not even a good look at my pouch and all he kept telling me is like pushing me out of the shop with words.. like You're not opening this here so this your problem with manufacturer.. so nothing I could do for you.. said the manager.

I think from a consumer point of view the onus is on the last point of contact to resolve the issue not the manufacturer...

Now....if you really want to push the point you could do the same old switcharoo yourself as described earlier...actually do it a few times with different staff untill you have used up a whole slice pan... Maybe then they'll listen

dudara

Enough of the off-topic posts - stick to the issue at hand please

dudara

Kenny Logins

infosys wrote: »

It's a scam pulled in the shop. Guy goes into shop asks for amber leaf say, shop keeper hands over amber leaf, guy says I said some other brand and hands back amber leaf. In fact he has swapped the pack with one in his pocked full of the same weight of what ever. The shop keeper then puts the rubbish pack back in stock and some poor sap gets caught when he buys it.

It happened to a shop keeper friend of mine with a pack of cigs.

This. I remember this scam being pulled in a shop years ago.

They need to ask the staff if anyone did request a swap like this.

MugMugs

Kenny Logins wrote: »

This. I remember this scam being pulled in a shop years ago.

They need to ask the staff if anyone did request a swap like this.

But Amber Leaf is wrapped in a plastic wrap with the papers just inside the same.

How would they have negotiated that?

Mountjoy Mugger

You could try and report the issue to the manufacturer also. They're may have been an issue with the batch...

Tippex

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

You could try and report the issue to the manufacturer also. They're may have been an issue with the batch...

Doesn't look as if it was batch from the Pics more like sliced pan Apologies couldn't resist

I would defo push it with the shop though. intrigued to see how you get on.

Kenny Logins

MugMugs wrote: »

But Amber Leaf is wrapped in a plastic wrap with the papers just inside the same.

How would they have negotiated that?

I'm sure it could be opened without breaking the seal... At the bottom perhaps?

du Maurier

Maybe try purchase or insist on receiving a pouch sealed in plastic (not sure what brand, but some have this) or the boxed tobacco which always has sealed plastic covers.