Re-Turn is a scam but theres still no need for shop staff to be made take the p!ss out of customers even more. You might get 1 in 10 or less that will stand their ground and demand the cash change. Thats good enough odds for the retailers.
Reminds me of a thread on here about delis not displaying prices and gouging like feck. Illegal but there was blind support for the shops. Posters frothing at the mouth saying "why not ask how much every individual item is when it's going on the sandwich / breakfast roll?" 😂. Wouldn't hear tell of the shop displaying what stuff costs. Maybe 1 in 100 will leave the food at the counter. Again profit overall.
Bought 2 dualsense controllers in Smyths last year. Guy on the till telling me I have a 6 month warranty. I knew it was bollix and he knew it was bollix but thats how it is. Most will go along with whatever the staff are made to say.
I'd estimate that a good 90% of people who partake in the scheme use the vouchers in store already as most return when going to the shop. Obviously not people on this thread who are furious with the scheme.
Such a pity the pain in the hole element remains where you have to go to the checkout to load it from the voucher, should just be able to swipe at the deposit machine to load on to the card.
My initial reading of it was that Aldi were going to be fitting the DRS machines with a place to swipe a gift card. Seems not. A trick missed by Aldi, who already have outdoor DRS machines, on this occasion
I thought they were reteofitting their machines so the credit could be loaded at the machine but I might be wrong.
No, according to the article "The card can be topped up at Aldi checkouts."
It's essentially just a gift card that you top up by scanning your voucher at the till. Now a lot of Aldi's have brought in self service so it could be quite quick to do if someone wanted to do it.
A different article says
The retailer is investing in new machines and upgrading existing ones at more than 40 stores, making the scheme easier for customers.
Video put out by an "Aldi ambassador" had her saying "just take your receipt to the till and they'll add it to your savings card." Can't imagine they're rolling out all new machines or adding debit card functionality to just the Aldi ones.
So an article says
then there's this quote
Jason Carolan, Plastic & Packaging Manager at ALDI Ireland commented: “The DRS scheme has been very popular with ALDI shoppers, and since going live in February 2024, the number of items being returned on a monthly basis has steadily increased. That’s why we’re now looking at how we can make it even easier and more efficient to use. This investment will allow us to make machines even more user-friendly and faster. “Our new DRS Savings Card is a great way to build up the value of deposits over time. They’re easy to use and top-up and customers can not only contribute to the circular economy, but they can also put that money aside for special occasions.”
Jason Carolan, Plastic & Packaging Manager at ALDI Ireland commented:
“The DRS scheme has been very popular with ALDI shoppers, and since going live in February 2024, the number of items being returned on a monthly basis has steadily increased. That’s why we’re now looking at how we can make it even easier and more efficient to use. This investment will allow us to make machines even more user-friendly and faster.
“Our new DRS Savings Card is a great way to build up the value of deposits over time. They’re easy to use and top-up and customers can not only contribute to the circular economy, but they can also put that money aside for special occasions.”
These both suggest to me that at least some machines will have the facility to load the funds directly on the card from the machine itself. Why would they be upgrading existing machines? What part of the process could they make 'easier for customers' with new or upgraded machines?
The newly designed DRS specific card is designed to encourage customers to return their bottles via the DRS system, which is present in every ALDI store across the country. By loading the value of their DRS vouchers onto their ALDI Savings Card, customers can conveniently keep all their deposited returns in the same place. The card can be topped up at ALDI checkouts, offering customers a convenient way to save money or plan for future purchases, while supporting sustainability in their daily shopping habits.
This just means that the card can be topped up at the checkout if a customer wants to save money for future purchases. It don't specifically say that vouchers have to be brought to the checkout to deposit them on the card.
If that was the case, all the articles would state it clearly that you will be able to top up the DRS card from the machine. Instead, the paragraph about the DRS card specifically says The card can be topped up at ALDI checkouts
The card can be topped up at ALDI checkouts
Why would they be upgrading existing machines?
Maybe because they have realised their current machines breakdown almost daily, so have decided to go with more heavy duty ones or ones with a greater capacity.
The company couldn't supply enough machines for the amount required and I believe they are also more expensive. They only have a little over 600 in operation globally. Don't fall for marketing gimmicks
I will bet you my next 1,000 empty cans that there will be no facility to load the funds directly on the card from the machine itself.
An RVM - Reverse Vending Machine, is a windows PC, connected to some additional hardware. It printing out the vouchers which then are redeemed in store, cuts out one vector of fraud. If someone manipulated the machine to print out 1000 euros worth of vouchers, they have to go to the store to redeem it, which will most likely be flagged and questioned.
If they allowed a gift card or a debit card to be topped up by the machine, particularly the machines that our outside, the incentive is high for someone to take a crowbar to the back of the machine and plug in a keyboard and mouse and manipulate the machine to credit a card hundreds or thousands of euros.
I don't foresee deposit top ups from the machines any time soon.
In theory that is possible in reality it is not.
I use aldi exclusively for returns and haven't seen a machine break down in the last 6 months. If you're seeing matching breakdowns daily you're incredibly unlucky.
I never use the machines in Aldi and certainly don't use any daily. I wasn't referring to my experience, I was referring to what Aldi's experience of the machines may have been.
There are reports on here almost every day of some machine or other being broken. You asked, why would they be upgrading the machines after only a year in service. Over the course of the day, if a machine breaks down every day or every couple of days, that could be the motivation for upgrading them.
A bit like how it was only theoretically possible that the computer system used by the Post Office in the UK could be manipulated remotely, but according to the Post Office, in reality it was not possible. Except it turned out it was possible and was happening.
Okay, so you're just speculating like everyone else then, but doing it with no actual experience of the machines themselves. 👍
Of course Im speculating. Thats why that sentence started with "maybe".
I have lots of experience with similar machines and with years of experience with payment card systems.
The royal mail scandal is no where near in the realm of what you said. That was a direct lie by RM and Fujitsu. It was not outside hackers.
I take it you have no understanding of IT security and card payments. If it was possible the same applies to any shop that takes card payments. They would be breaking into stores and using the card readers to steal that way.
Out of the all the RVMs in the country one report here of a machine not operating does not mean they are all breaking every day which is what you are saying. If you see a car broken down do you think all cars breakdown everyday?
Ahahahahahahahahaha
I really don't think you should be laughing given how stupid your comments are about IT.
That's the same reason we have to go into banks to take out money. Imagine if you had a machine outside running Windows giving cash out from your bank account, some messer could plug in a mouse and keyboard and help themselves!
Which definitely never happens!
https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2022/0311/1285709-gardai-atm-robberies/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/former-all-ireland-winner-found-guilty-of-atm-thefts-with-cross-border-gang-1.4806427
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/three-brothers-in-atm-theft-gang-that-stole-almost-800000-remanded-for-sentencing/41301333.html
Wow. Nobody ever said there would be CASH in the RVMs. Brute force breaking into a machine holding cash is nowhere near what you claimed.
Pretty much every RVM vendor offers an add-on option to load refunds to a loyalty card, but I've not seen any card readers fitted anywhere.
Cost will always be an issue. Adding hardware still requires integration development and maintenance. Not a current legal requirement but no doubt it will be introduced in the future
We've seen from RVM documentation they can display a QR code. I find it hard to believe at a minimum deposit refunds cant be added to the Lidl Plus app as a discount for the next shop or to save up for Christmas etc. Isnt that a big feature of the Lidl Plus app already? Providing customer specific discounts.
It costs money, time and effort. Out of curiosity what do think it would cost to implement and run ?
I see they have passed the one billion mark.
Last Tuesday in Lidl, Kilcarbery.
Not in time for the anniversary but better late than never.
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0207/1495297-deposit-return-scheme-hits-1-billion-drinks-containers/
Hooray-now clap hands! What does this meaningless statistic mean?
