Get rid of loose change in tesco self service machines (i.e. commision free)

rubadub · 12-06-2012 11:32am #1

Wasn't sure where to post this. In my tesco they have big coin counting machines which take something like 10% commission. They also allow this to be converted to vouchers only to be used in tesco which you might presume would be commission free, but they take the exact same commission. In other threads I think people claimed some tesco machines were commission free vouchers, so it might depend on the branch, or they were mistaken. Its a clever trick since I presumed it was commission free due to my reasoning of "who would take vouchers over cash", I expect many never read the small print and may not even know they were charged it.

Anyways, I found the self service tills are pretty fast at counting out the loose change. You just dump in 5 or 6 coins at a time, it is a small basket, you are not slotting them in, and watch your balance going down on screen, if you put too many in it just spits them out at the end. Might not want to do it at a busy period if you have loads to get rid off. I have a tub of coins and now take a fistful as I leave to go shopping.

brian_t · 12-06-2012 11:53am

rubadub wrote: »

Might not want to do it at a busy period if you have loads to get rid off.

Doesn't stop some shoppers.

It's a good tip though.

flickflock1 · 12-06-2012 11:55am

Ya i do this always, first thing in the morning before i go to work as there is a tesco near by , ok it can take a while but its good satifaction!!:D

Mint Sauce · 12-06-2012 11:58am

Whats the maximum number of coins you can put in the self service machines before it spits them back out?

Bobsammy · 12-06-2012 12:03pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Whats the maximum number of coins you can put in the self service machines before it spits them back out?

I'm not sure but generally if you put in a big coin - €1 or €2 - it'll take the little coins again then.

brokenhinge · 12-06-2012 12:07pm

Go easy though, I was a bit eager with it a while ago and jammed the machine.

Scarleh.

Green Diesel · 12-06-2012 12:09pm

brokenhinge wrote: »

Go easy though, I was a bit eager with it a while ago and jammed the machine.

Scarleh.

Same. On the plus side my nerdy side was happy to see the inside of the money machine while they were clearing the blockage.

rubadub · 12-06-2012 12:15pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Whats the maximum number of coins you can put in the self service machines before it spits them back out?

I jammed it too like the others, I thought it might jam in fairness and was testing the limit as I was shocked how fast it did them (compared to say the luas). I think it was about 10-15 coins at once, before that I was putting in about 6 at a time no bother. The staff are alerted and some woman typed in something and they all came out again, I was only worried it might need to be reset and not recognise all the money I just put in, but it was fine.

As its a basket type slot you just hold one hand with coins and slowly brush them in with the other.

brokenhinge · 12-06-2012 12:15pm

I was disappointed. I was hoping for elves.

cfeeneyinterior · 12-06-2012 12:21pm

You can also go into a bank and ask for the bags. Then go home count it yourself and bag it up. Then lodge it into the bank, no charge. Although tesco tip is a handy one.
Done this a good few times.

Levitate · 12-06-2012 12:35pm

easy enough to get rid of small change when buying petrol also.

Oracle · 12-06-2012 12:38pm

It matters the order you put the coins in. I get rid of the smaller coins first, then the larger denominations, otherwise the machine will give back the smaller coins. I also count my money, in and out, I've been shortchanged by Tesco self-service tills.

There can be a small cost to using the self-serve tills; you don't get any till coupons (till spits) at the Tesco self-service tills, they're only printed at the staffed tills.

brian_t · 12-06-2012 12:41pm

Oracle wrote: »

There can be a small cost to using the self-serve tills; you don't get any till coupons (till spits) at the Tesco self-service tills, they're only printed at the staffed tills.

Not true. I've get till spits at the self-service ones.

Oracle · 12-06-2012 12:51pm

brian_t wrote: »

Not true. I've get till spits at the self-service ones.

Well maybe they've changed that recently. I've never gotten till coupons at the self-service tills, and sometimes get them at the staffed tills.

quaalude · 12-06-2012 1:04pm

brian_t wrote: »

Not true. I've get till spits at the self-service ones.

In the Tesco on Upper Baggot St, till spits come only from the manned tills. I've never gotten one from a self-service till. Maybe it varies from shop to shop.

mathie · 12-06-2012 1:09pm

This is the greatest bargain alert of all time.

Memories of cheap bounty bars fail into insignificance.

snubbleste · 12-06-2012 1:10pm

Self-service tills have never spitted at me either which is why I go to the manned till and pray for a few spits in my direction.

As regards loose change, I've experienced that another customer gets all the crap change back. If something costs €4.50, pay with a fiver and get 10x5c coins in change.

SMI · 12-06-2012 1:12pm

Any trouble throwing in a few coppers?

Fighting Irish · 12-06-2012 1:20pm

rubadub wrote: »

Wasn't sure where to post this. In my tesco they have big coin counting machines which take something like 10% commission. They also allow this to be converted to vouchers only to be used in tesco which you might presume would be commission free, but they take the exact same commission. In other threads I think people claimed some tesco machines were commission free vouchers, so it might depend on the branch, or they were mistaken. Its a clever trick since I presumed it was commission free due to my reasoning of "who would take vouchers over cash", I expect many never read the small print and may not even know they were charged it.

Anyways, I found the self service tills are pretty fast at counting out the loose change. You just dump in 5 or 6 coins at a time, it is a small basket, you are not slotting them in, and watch your balance going down on screen, if you put too many in it just spits them out at the end. Might not want to do it at a busy period if you have loads to get rid off. I have a tub of coins and now take a fistful as I leave to go shopping.

welcome to 1996

rubadub · 12-06-2012 1:23pm

brian_t wrote: »

Not true. I've get till spits at the self-service ones.

I have never got them at the self service in my tesco, I thought maybe you had to buy over a certain amount, e.g. €20+ before you got them, and being in the self service I was usually only spending €5-€10.

SMI wrote: »

Any trouble throwing in a few coppers?

No, even takes 1 cents, it spat a few out but took them when I put them back in.

cfeeneyinterior wrote: »

You can also go into a bank and ask for the bags.

True, but tedious & time consuming, esp. small coins, when the finished bag is worth feck all anyway. I hear stories of guys getting €400 back from these big machines after throwing in a big pot as though I should be impressed, but I just think "jaysus, they got about €40 off him in commision". I have a coin sorting device to help bag coins in my house but never used it, still very tedious.

Oracle wrote: »

I also count my money, in and out, I've been shortchanged by Tesco self-service tills.

Counting would slow things up, what did you do when you were shortchanged, do they open the machine and verify it? how much were you out by?

Fighting Irish wrote: »

welcome to 1996

? my tesco has the basket/funnel counters in only maybe the last 6 months. Before this it was 1 by 1 coin slot, like an arcade machine or luas, i.e. you could not dump them in like the big commission machines. You'd be there all day feeding in coppers one by one.

Oracle · 12-06-2012 1:36pm

snubbleste wrote: »

Self-service tills have never spitted at me either which is why I go to the manned till and pray for a few spits in my direction.....

Yeah thats why I don't go to them either, unless I have a lotta small change I want rid of, or battered old coins.

rubadub wrote: »

Counting would slow things up, what did you do when you were shortchanged, do they open the machine and verify it? how much were you out by?

I was left short a €1, but I checked straight away and mentioned it. They just opened the machine and gave it to me. Point is people assume these machines are always accurate, not necessarily.

quaalude · 12-06-2012 1:52pm

rubadub wrote: »

I have never got them at the self service in my tesco, I thought maybe you had to buy over a certain amount, e.g. €20+ before you got them, and being in the self service I was usually only spending €5-€10.

I've studied this, and I think it's less than €10 - no till spit.
So if I have shopping worth more than €10 I go to the manned till - sometimes get a useful till spit.

Christ, I deffo spend too much time in poxy Tesco.

wmpdd3 · 12-06-2012 1:58pm

The new Self service tills do spits.

Its linked to your clubcard wheather you'll get one. I always get €2 off actifit or a free Tesco mobile sim card!

The self scans can hold a certain amount of each coin, once one type is full ie 5c, it can jam.

snubbleste · 12-06-2012 1:59pm

quaalude wrote: »

I've studied this, and I think it's less than €10 - no till spit.
So if I have shopping worth more than €10 I go to the manned till - sometimes get a useful till spit.
Christ, I deffo spend too much time in poxy Tesco.

I don't agree. I spend less than €10 most of the time and still get spitted at.

the groutch · 12-06-2012 2:02pm

mathie wrote: »

This is the greatest bargain alert of all time.

Memories of cheap bounty bars fail into insignificance.

Don't start, I bought so many that when I see them in the shops now I get Vietnam-style flashbacks.

snubbleste · 12-06-2012 2:06pm

quaalude · 12-06-2012 2:07pm

wmpdd3 wrote: »

The new Self service tills do spits.

snubbleste wrote:

I don't agree. I spend less than €10 most of the time and still get spitted at.

OK, cheers for that. I did say earlier in the thread though it must vary from shop to shop - I'm talking about Upper Baggot St.

antodeco · 12-06-2012 2:28pm

Can someone please explain what a 'till spit' is?

Oracle · 12-06-2012 2:33pm

antodeco wrote: »

Can someone please explain what a 'till spit' is?

It's a money off or extra points coupon, that gets issued with your receipt, at the till. I think they're only printed if you use your Clubcard.

12-06-2012 2:45pm

antodeco wrote: »

Can someone please explain what a 'till spit' is?

I need to know too!

who_ru · 12-06-2012 4:55pm

had a load of change at home in a couple of Pringles tubes. had been putting off going into tesco to get it counted for ages.

anyway in i went one evening, it was quite enough at the time. i started pouring in the change, it rejected any sterling coins i had.

at the end the total amount in change came to 126 euro! this included the 10% commission.

left feeling very happy:)

green123 · 12-06-2012 5:05pm

who_ru wrote: »

had a load of change at home in a couple of Pringles tubes. had been putting off going into tesco to get it counted for ages.

anyway in i went one evening, it was quite enough at the time. i started pouring in the change, it rejected any sterling coins i had.

at the end the total amount in change came to 126 euro! this included the 10% commission.

left feeling very happy:)

so you actually had 140 euro in change.

they took 14 euro off you and you are very happy ?

you seem to have totally missed the point of this thread

edgars · 12-06-2012 5:11pm

your giving them change for there tills , and they are charging you 10% and YOUR HAPPY .
NOT A BARGAIN ALERT

CLOSE THIS THREAD

Paparazzo · 12-06-2012 5:15pm

edgars wrote: »

your giving them change for there tills , and they are charging you 10% and YOUR HAPPY .
NOT A BARGAIN ALERT

CLOSE THIS THREAD

You should probably read the OP, but more slowly this time

d@rk l0rd · 12-06-2012 5:16pm

who_ru wrote: »

had a load of change at home in a couple of Pringles tubes. had been putting off going into tesco to get it counted for ages.

anyway in i went one evening, it was quite enough at the time. i started pouring in the change, it rejected any sterling coins i had.

at the end the total amount in change came to 126 euro! this included the 10% commission.

left feeling very happy:)

You left happy after being charged €14 to do this? Wow, someone who's happy at being ripped off! :rolleyes:

Access · 12-06-2012 5:18pm

In before everyone thrashes the place and a lock in!...

Fighting Irish · 13-06-2012 2:16am

rubadub wrote: »

? my tesco has the basket/funnel counters in only maybe the last 6 months. Before this it was 1 by 1 coin slot, like an arcade machine or luas, i.e. you could not dump them in like the big commission machines. You'd be there all day feeding in coppers one by one.

Fair enough, still a sh1t BA :pac:

AdventRises · 13-06-2012 2:39am

Way ahead of you op

Went down to my local tesco express 2 months ago with a bag full of change. Mix of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c & 20cents. Counted it before hand and it was 20 euro. So I just added up what I was buying as I shopped.

I am suprised people are still using the 'change machines' as even a shred of common sense tells you Tesco machines count the same way. With the added bonus of no commision

Tip;
some tesco machines stop accepting coins if you got a big load of coins. It only lasts a few seconds so the machine can sort them out. You can see this happen when the green light goes off and it makes noises. Give it time and start dunking coins in.... oh and don't dump loads of coins in

You will lose money if you dump too many at one time as you are not giving it enough time to scan.

swampy353 · 13-06-2012 6:35am

If you dump all your coin into the self serve still, pay the balance with a card, dumped a load of change into it and was a couple of quid short, put in €5 and it gave me change using the coppers I put in

manster · 13-06-2012 7:20am

so let me get this right...the new Tesco tills swallow your coins and spit receipts. Does it gargle anything?

mathie · 13-06-2012 7:32am

swampy353 wrote: »

If you dump all your coin into the self serve still, pay the balance with a card, dumped a load of change into it and was a couple of quid short, put in €5 and it gave me change using the coppers I put in

As clear as mud.

rubadub · 13-06-2012 8:22am

mathie wrote: »

As clear as mud.

What he means is, if your total is say €20 and you stick in €19 in small coppers then you can use your credit card to pay the remaining €1.

Otherwise if you stuck a €5 note in to pay the €1 balance it might give you €4 back in the coppers you just fed it.

ThisRegard · 13-06-2012 8:58am

I would have thought this was a fairly obvious thing to do, no ? You don't even need to use self service tills, most shops are happy to receive lots of change from you unless it's towards the end of the day and are close to counting their floats.

rubadub · 13-06-2012 9:33am

ThisRegard wrote: »

You don't even need to use self service tills, most shops are happy to receive lots of change

Some might be happy, many would not. I would feel embarrassed/awkward handing over €20+ in coppers and asking them to count out what I owe and give me back the rest. It would take ages and hold up any queues. Shops also do not legally have to accept large amounts

No person, other than the Central Bank of Ireland and such persons as may be designated by the Minister by order, shall be obliged to accept more than 50 coins denominated in euro or in cent in any single transaction.

This is why some people are happy to pay the commission, counting it into bags takes up their free time too. If they worked overtime instead they might come out better off and live with the 10% commission.

Whenever I hear of people using these machines it is always over €100, they are raking it in with commission. They are in effect paying €10-40 for the use of a machine for a minute, they usually come away with more cash than they expected so go off happy, it doesn't sink in. I bet if they went into the bank and a cashier glanced at the bucket and said "I'll count that for you for €30, I just throw it in this machine" they wouldn't be impressed.

swampy353 · 13-06-2012 12:16pm

mathie wrote: »

swampy353 wrote: »

If you dump all your coin into the self serve still, pay the balance with a card, dumped a load of change into it and was a couple of quid short, put in €5 and it gave me change using the coppers I put in

As clear as mud.

Your welcome

Sigourney · 13-06-2012 2:26pm

snubbleste wrote: »

Self-service tills have never spitted at me either ...

I have never been spat at in a supermarket. But I always go to Superquinn.

wmpdd3 · 13-06-2012 3:37pm

or if your really smart:

buy tee-shirts for €20 or what ever, pay using all your coppers at self scans, then off to the customer service desk for a refund ............ in notes.

the groutch · 13-06-2012 5:24pm

or just spend your loose change instead of hoarding it at home, and then you'll never have the problem to start with.

rubadub · 14-06-2012 9:02am

the groutch wrote: »

the problem

I would rather live with the 'problem' of having hoarded coins than the 'problem' of spending all my loose change whenever I get it.

People do not hoard coins for the laugh. Some points I made in old threads.

-In the 80's I remember mc donalds giving free burgers, and superquinn giving free donuts out, you brought in £5 in small change and got a £5 note and free food.

-the central bank should be offering this service for free. Some coins cost more to produce than they are worth, e.g. a 50cent coin might cost €1 to make. The central bank pays a fortune minting new coins because of hoarders. It was in the paper a while ago they had to buy them in from sweden or someplace, costing millions. They would have been better off paying people €1.10 per €1 worth of hoarded coins! the central bank & government make no attempt to intice people to part with their hoarded coins. A few of these machines in the central bank would save millions. They should also force banks to offer free coin counting machines for this reasons to, christ knows the bastard banks owe the public at least that.

I think there was talk of the central bank doing something at last.

ThisRegard · 14-06-2012 9:13am

rubadub wrote: »

I would rather live with the 'problem' of having hoarded coins than the 'problem' of spending all my loose change whenever I get it.

People do not hoard coins for the laugh.

C'mon, it's not that hard to hand them over when paying for stuff so you're not left with bags of them.

rubadub · 14-06-2012 9:25am

ThisRegard wrote: »

C'mon, it's not that hard to hand them over when paying for stuff so you're not left with bags of them.

I am not saying its particularly hard, I just prefer not to, and obviously many others feel the same, I find it easier to hoard/collect them, surely people realise why this is? Its more time efficient for me, and I find it annoying/tedious to count out coins. If a machine can do this for me I will use it, just like I do not clean all my plates & cutlery straight away and put them back, I let them mount up in the dishwasher, clean the lot and put them all away at once.

I usually only count out change in takeaways if I am waiting with nothing else to be doing, and even then I do not like handing over bunches of coppers and then have to wait for them to recount them all. I get rid of most €2, €1 & 50cents, its smaller ones I tend to dump in a pot.

Get rid of loose change in tesco self service machines (i.e. commision free)

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