I'm a long-term, generally satisfied Lidl customer. However, of late, I've noticed something that's bothering me & that's the difference between the price indicated on the shelf & the price you're charged at the checkout.
It's been happening to me for a few months now & whilst I've noted it, I haven't really done anything about it. However last week, there were THREE items in my shopping where I'd been overcharged; leeks £1.19 vs 99p, broccoli 95p vs 85p & one where they'd scanned my Low GI loaf (£1.49) as a sourdough loaf (£1.69). I pointed these mistakes out to the checkout operator who duly corrected everything. However you are very aware that you're holding up everyone in the queue while someone is despatched to confirm the shelf prices.
So I shopped earlier this week & blow me down, the same thing happened again! I spotted that I'd been charged 85p for bread flour vs the 75p shelf price. The guy on the till sorted it but it wasn't until I got home that I realised I'd been stiffed for my loose peppers (45p vs 35p) & a couple of other items I need to check on to be 100% sure about.
This only seems to happen at Lidl (Aldi is fine) & I'm disinclined to put this down to 'accidents' because if this was happening 'accidentally' then I'd expect instances where I get undercharged & I don't.
Being honest, to me, the sums involved...10p here, 20p there...aren't that big a deal but to some people, they may well be & it's very likely they aren't even aware it's happening to them. Anyone who shops at Lidl & Aldi knows checking out is a pressured, race against the clock & not everyone checks their till receipts.
I have written to Lidl & they say take your receipt back to get a refund, which is nice but frankly, in this day and age, this kind of thing simply shouldn't be happening... especially when we're in the middle of a cost of living crisis!
Anyone else out there had this happen to them or is it just me??
It's been happening to me for a few months now & whilst I've noted it, I haven't really done anything about it. However last week, there were THREE items in my shopping where I'd been overcharged; leeks £1.19 vs 99p, broccoli 95p vs 85p & one where they'd scanned my Low GI loaf (£1.49) as a sourdough loaf (£1.69). I pointed these mistakes out to the checkout operator who duly corrected everything. However you are very aware that you're holding up everyone in the queue while someone is despatched to confirm the shelf prices.
So I shopped earlier this week & blow me down, the same thing happened again! I spotted that I'd been charged 85p for bread flour vs the 75p shelf price. The guy on the till sorted it but it wasn't until I got home that I realised I'd been stiffed for my loose peppers (45p vs 35p) & a couple of other items I need to check on to be 100% sure about.
This only seems to happen at Lidl (Aldi is fine) & I'm disinclined to put this down to 'accidents' because if this was happening 'accidentally' then I'd expect instances where I get undercharged & I don't.
Being honest, to me, the sums involved...10p here, 20p there...aren't that big a deal but to some people, they may well be & it's very likely they aren't even aware it's happening to them. Anyone who shops at Lidl & Aldi knows checking out is a pressured, race against the clock & not everyone checks their till receipts.
I have written to Lidl & they say take your receipt back to get a refund, which is nice but frankly, in this day and age, this kind of thing simply shouldn't be happening... especially when we're in the middle of a cost of living crisis!
Anyone else out there had this happen to them or is it just me??
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sorted byWhen you go to Tesco Asda Morrison Sainsburys vs Lidl Aldi do you see the difference in staff working, they are a budget supermarket with low prices so less staff therefore staff have more work to do and errors. But on the other hand your Local Store might have poor staff. (edited)
But if you ask me, Lidl are expensive for some things versus Aldi, home style chips 10p more, peas 4p more, deep pan pizzas 4p more are just some. Their basic foil is £1.22, Asda 68p and basic tissues £1.35, Asda £1.10
inflation for you. The price of sunflower oil has gone from £1.10 to £2.10 in one year.
It's not always the case but as often as not, the price discrepancies happen with 'offers' & I see this as especially problematic. You might see a special offer (eg for 99p leeks or 35p red peppers) & you think, 'Ah-ha! Cheap price. They're not on my shopping list but I'll stock up regardless'. When the offer price isn't honoured, you feel like you've been tricked into buying something you might otherwise have passed on. (edited)
I used to feel ashamed going back when it was only 10p but now I think why should I let them off, they wouldn't let me off if I was 10p short.
This also happens in my local Morrisons. I stopped going because of them always overcharging but the other day I needed Soya Milk and Lidl have stopped selling it so I went to Morrisons. Sure enough they charged me £1.99 for potatoes costing 69p. Had to stand in a long queue for a refund
Makes you wonder if it is an accident or they're doing it deliberately.
I think it is more frequent/acute at the moment due to staff shortages and fast rising prices.
I find it tends to happen more frequently on items that are on promotion - the promotion finishes but the SEL isn't updated and is still showing the promotional price - thing is, promotional prices tend to sway your buying decision so it's frustrating when you get to the till for the item to scan at the non-promotional price.
I always highlight this to staff there and then when this happens and they always reduce the price accordingly. To save time, I also take a picture of the item and price on the shelf and show this to staff which sometimes saves them running to check.
As a side note, I think stores/supermarkets are really struggling with staff recruitment - my local ALDI still has non-food items from many months ago for sale and this whole area is an absolute mess - the OCD in me really struggles not to start tidying up.
If at Tesco or Asda I say that "I've been overcharged" - in addition to a refund Asda gives a Gift Card with a couple of quid on it as an apology and Tesco has a 'double the difference' policy
At my local Sainsbury's I use their hand-scanners when shopping so can spot errors immediately. ( I also take a photo of the shelf price to show staff at checkout so they can over-ride the price).
A chap at Sainsbury's admitted some of their shelf-edge price labels are often wrong as the 'person responsible for changing them' isn't always there!
Perhaps the member of staff who is supposed to update the labels is lazy, or more likely they don't have enough staff to run the store and keep up with the constantly updating shelf prices and the manager doesn't consider displaying correct pricing a priority.
Cynically, especially with 'offers' I wouldn't be surprised if it's deliberately bottom of the job list. Advertise an offer but don't ensure it's processes correctly (eg. sandwich meal deals) - 95% aren't going to go back and queue for 10mins for a 50p refund.
If there was a good penalty/Trading Standards were properly funded it wouldn't happen. It didn't take Tesco long to stop their double-discount on misprices! (edited)
Suddenly there's the store manager beside me telling me in no uncertain terms, that taking photographs in store is forbidden & that if I didn't stop, I'd have to leave the store!
I did as he asked because it's never worth the aggro to argue. That said, the experience definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. A bit of politeness wouldn't have come amiss.
Also, like others, I've previously experienced the reduced price going through at full price....Overcharging has occurred a few times from shelf price but this is the first time I've noticed its over a week! Will check price of BBQ sauce next time I vist,,,to late to go back today.
I'll return the leggings but the coffee is annoying as I would have got M&S coffee if I'd known it had gone up.
One of the first & most basic lessons you learn in business is that in the long run, its way cheaper to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one. I suspect that Lidl are going to have to learn this lesson the hard way.
Dirty trick department is running Lidl