Tesco - Battery Question

thehairyone

Hi All,

Was wondering what ye would have done in my position or whether ye know what my rights were?

Was in Tescos during the week looking to buy some batteries. I saw that they had hearing aid batteries on sale, the yellow price label said they were reduced from approx. 7 euro to 1.70.

My dad has a hearing aid, so i said id buy him about 20 euros worth as it seemed to be a bargain (13 packets in all). I went up to the till and the staff member picked one of the battery packs and scanned it in and then multiplied it by 13 (saving him having to scan them in individually). It came to about 140 euro, they were scanning at 11.50 each when they should have been 1.70 as per the label.

I told him about the deal and we both walked back to the battery section and he agreed that they should be 1.70 and that the best course of action was for me to pay and go to the customer service desk and they will be able to sort me out.

I went up to the service desk and a manager was called. I was waiting for a good 10 minutes. When the manager eventually came, she checked the price of the batteries. It turns out that 12 of the battery packs were scanning at 1.70 and one was scanning at 11.50 (the man at the till had randomly picked the 11.50 packet to scan earlier). Also, the 11.50 battery packet was slightly different to the 1.70 battery packet (I hadnt noticed the difference when i took them off the shelf). They were the exact same batteries but the 11.50 packet had a slightly different label (had a little badge on it saying "double the power" (or something similar)).

After a bit of confusion we went back to the stand again, it was there we noticed that there was a row of the 11.50 type batteries (same batteries but with the slightly different label) that I hadnt noticed on my previous visits to the stand. The label priced them at 11.50.

The manager said that there must have been a mistake and that the 1.70 batteries should be 11.50. I questioned them for a bit, mentioning that they were 2 different styles of batteries but they wernt budging.

They gave me a full refund but wouldnt sell me the batteries for 1.70. They also offered a half hearted apology and were pretty unprofessional through out the encounter. I must add that I was completely polite through out the whole process.

I walked away with all my money but no batteries. What would you have done in my position? Had I a leg to stand on? Should I have been sold the batteries for 1.70? What were my rights?

brightspark

Normally you get back double the difference between the scanned price and the display price. It's a policy usually displayed around the customer services area.
(Not sure how double the difference works with such a large discrepancy)

Legally they don't have to sell (invitation to treat), so you have to complete the purchase then look for a refund, under their own policy.

wmpdd3

Those batteries are 1.70, go to another Tesco and get them for 1.70 and then make a complaint to the first Tesco.

There is no reason that they couldn't sell them to you. how could the manager know they were wrongly priced and not clearance?

I think they are an older type though, check the expiry date before you but a load.

Bepolite

There's actually an issue here in that the contract was completed. In the UK they can't do this it would actually be a criminal offence, one I'm sure you'd be waiting a few hours for the police, but criminal never the less. Here I'm not sure - contact the NCA and make a complaint, also complain in writing, to tesco head office.

The only caveat is that the 1.70 batteries might have been near their sell by dates.

rubadub

Check the barcodes in future. The barcodes of products are always listed on any prices I have seen, I am always double checking when stuff is questionably stocked.

thehairyone

brightspark wrote: »

Normally you get back double the difference between the scanned price and the display price. It's a policy usually displayed around the customer services area.
(Not sure how double the difference works with such a large discrepancy)

Legally they don't have to sell (invitation to treat), so you have to complete the purchase then look for a refund, under their own policy.

Hadn't realised that, safe to say I wasnt offered it.

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Those batteries are 1.70, go to another Tesco and get them for 1.70 and then make a complaint to the first Tesco.

There is no reason that they couldn't sell them to you. how could the manager know they were wrongly priced and not clearance?

I think they are an older type though, check the expiry date before you but a load.

Expiry dates were fine. I reckon they actually were reduced but they hadnt a clue what they were at so they decided the best option was to take them off me. No harm done I suppose, would have been a great bargain though. Sent my dad into his local tesco but they didnt sell any hearing aid batteries.

wmpdd3

Whet they sell those batteries there's a small price sign, so no bar code to check.

Did you complain to any of the links?

rubadub

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Whet they sell those batteries there's a small price sign, so no bar code to check.

I don't think I have never seen these small signs with no codes, pretty sure any batteries I have seen in tesco had the regular SEL like this



Sometimes they are all bunched up and can partially cover others, you can just pull back the plastic and take it out to read it.

I thought they would always have them for stocktaking and double checking its correct.

There are usually additional numbers as the end put on by tesco. I think there is usually a dash or foward slash separating them.

Bepolite

rubadub wrote: »

I don't think I have never seen these small signs with no codes, pretty sure any batteries I have seen in tesco had the regular SEL like this



Sometimes they are all bunched up and can partially cover others, you can just pull back the plastic and take it out to read it.

I thought they would always have them for stocktaking and double checking its correct.

There are usually additional numbers as the end put on by tesco. I think there is usually a dash or foward slash separating them.

Nom Nom :pac: :pac: 8p!

sandin

brightspark wrote: »

Normally you get back double the difference between the scanned price and the display price. It's a policy usually displayed around the customer services area.

That policy was done away with a long long time ago.

Bepolite wrote: »

There's actually an issue here in that the contract was completed. In the UK they can't do this it would actually be a criminal offence, one I'm sure you'd be waiting a few hours for the police, but criminal never the less. Here I'm not sure - contact the NCA and make a complaint, also complain in writing, to tesco head office.

A CRIMINAL OFFENCE - ah jaysus, pull the other one. Please please please show me the UK CRIMINSAL law that states this. (hint - it doesn't exist!!!!)

As for saying the contradct was completed?? - again, please shopw where the contract was completed. In retail, the contract is completed when the consumer agrees to the price asked for and hands over the payment and the payment is accepted.
In this case the asked for price was 11.50, and the OP ahd an option to buy or not to buy. If the OP handed over €140, and it was accepted, then a contract of sale has been formed and the OP would be dependent on goodwill to get a refund if he wanted - luckily the OP did not ahnd over the money and said he was not accepting the price of €140 and therefore he did not enter into a contract and neither did tesco form a contract either.

So please don't give false misleading information - it can make people who believe such rubbish look right fools if they use it in a situation they are in.

brightspark

sandin wrote: »

That policy was done away with a long long time ago

When? I got a refund of about a euro a few weeks ago, I seek the refund on principle even if just a few cent!

What was done away with (a long long time ago) was the full refund AND keeping the items free.

As regards the legality of mispriced items, Tesco were fined back in 2011


http://corporate.nca.ie/eng/Media_Zone/news-archive/news-2011-2/Tesco_fined_for_misleading_pricing.html

But I don't think individuals can bring a case against them.

brian_t

sandin wrote: »

luckily the OP did not ahnd over the money and said he was not accepting the price of €140 and therefore he did not enter into a contract and neither did tesco form a contract either.

So please don't give false misleading information - it can make people who believe such rubbish look right fools if they use it in a situation they are in.

You didn't read the OP properly.

He did pay the €140 but got a refund later.

thehairyone wrote: »

the best course of action was for me to pay and go to the customer service desk and they will be able to sort me out.
...

They gave me a full refund but wouldnt sell me the batteries for 1.70.

brightspark

And companies are still being warned!

http://www.shelflife.ie/article.aspx?id=4405

brightspark

This is the relevant section from the act.



http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2007/en/act/pub/0019/sec0043.html#sec43

(2) A commercial practice is misleading if it would be likely to cause the average consumer to be deceived or misled in relation to any matter set out in subsection (3) and to make a transactional decision that the average consumer would not otherwise make.

Bepolite

To be fair I'm not sure the Irish legislation provides the kind of protection that's in the UK. I'm actually no speaking from my legal knowledge (which is primarily Irish) in reference to the UK but my experience as a retailer, although again this was manly in Scotland, which might have subtly different laws.

Notwithstanding that there is enough info on it being a criminal offence in the UK if one takes 5 secs to google it, irrelevant aside as it was! I think it would need to be a longer running practice here but I stand to be corrected.

sandin wrote: »

A CRIMINAL OFFENCE - ah jaysus, pull the other one. Please please please show me the UK CRIMINSAL law that states this. (hint - it doesn't exist!!!!)

Failure to comply with the Price Marking Order 2004 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 is a criminal offence.

Feel free to enjoy her majesty's statute book at your leisure.

sandin wrote: »

So please don't give false misleading information - it can make people who believe such rubbish look right fools if they use it in a situation they are in.

The info I have given isn't false, as has been pointed out I think you need to reread the OP. The contract was completed and this is where the situation becomes a little more complicated.

thehairyone

Was at another Tesco just now. Decided to check the battery section. They had the batteries but they were marked full price at 7.19. Decided to go to the customer service desk and ask for a price check. They scanned at 1.70, so I cleared them out. Happy days. Great saving.

brightspark

They have one or two machines hidden around the floor for customers to do their own price check on too!

wmpdd3

Batteries have a little price sign like the baby milkin this pic,with no barcode.

PeteK*

Isn't their policy ''Double the Difference''?
Definitely call/email their head office. They will look after you well.
They did for me, three times!

Before the double the different policy, It was free! I got some free things before. :P

Michael D Not Higgins

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Batteries have a little price sign like the baby milkin this pic,with no barcode.

There's a barcode right under the price sign, which is presumably for the quoted price.

thehairyone

Just to keep everybody informed.

As per the advice of some people here I sent a complaint to the customer service dept (pretty much using the OP above).

They got back to me apologising and offered me a 10 euro Tesco Moneycard. I initially wasnt going to accept it (as I feel I have already got my moneys worth). However, I reckon I will take it and give it to charity.

They also said that they; have carried out a pricing history on the Duracell Hearing Aid 312 Batteries and it indicates that we never sold the batteries at €1.70. Therefore, it seemed to have been a error at our xxx Store.

I havnt mentioned that I bought a rake of the same batteries at another store for 1.70, so it very well might be a nationwide problem, it's funny that they havnt picked it up though.