The Irish Times reported yesterday that Tesco was reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority for displaying a special offer, not honouring it at the checkout, and then scribbling out the offer on the packs. What? Yes. A customer noticed after leaving the shop that she’d been overcharged for her Weight Watchers Sausages and Mash (advertised as Two for €6), and when she returned to the shop for her refund, the offer had been ‘defaced’ on the packaging and was no longer visible.
The ASAI’s complaints committee, with admirable understatement and restraint, “requested Tesco to remind their stores that it was not acceptable to remove promotional stickers from products that are subject to special offers”.