Supermarket Pricing Errors

gooddeals on 23/07/2025 - 22:42

Consumer magazine is organising a petition on pricing accuracy code..

advocating for

clear pricing rules

requiring supermarkets to automatically compensate consumers when pricing errors occur. For example, by requiring products be provided free of charge if the shelf price is cheaper than the scanned price, there is a special that doesn’t offer a genuine saving, or incorrect unit pricing.
requiring your rights to be clearly disclosed both instore and online
with infringement notice powers and much higher penalties (similar to those in Australia) for misleading pricing and promotions.

https://campaigns.consumer.org.nz/supermarkets

General Discussion

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  • AhhNo on 24/07/2025 - 07:54
    +1

    I’ve been emailing them every morning since Monday, they sent out my weekly boost email. In that email it mentioned I can get 5% off my shop this Saturday plus bonus's. No where in the EDM are there t&c’s on the website there are no reference to this offer at all. In the same EDM there is boost for an item that I purchased and no boost had appeared. The EDM that I got, I actually think is meant for staff members of Woolworths, nothing specificity points this out but I don’t work for them. I’ve signed, but I’m wondering how does “price protection” for consumers work online, it seems it only covers in-store purchases

  • Alan6984 on 23/07/2025 - 23:06

    Can anyone see any specific detail about how this would work? I had a look at the link, but maybe I missed it (very possible!)

    I wonder which 'supermarkets' this would apply to?

    Will it only be Woolworths and FoodStuffs? If FoodStuffs, will it apply to each individual supermarket, as they are (mostly, if not exclusively) individually owned? Would it also apply to all the FoodStuffs member FourSquare stores (mostly quite small least compared to NW, Woolworths, and PNS stores)?

    If it applies to FourSquare stores, does it also apply to all the independent dairies, some of which are larger than a FourSquare (some were previously FourSquare stores but left the FoodStuffs group)? If not, that seems to create a pretty unfair competitive landscape?

    Would it apply to The Warehouse? Fruit World? Mad Butcher?

    Would it also apply to the much discussed, if theoretical, potential new entrant to the NZ grocery retail sector, that is trying to 'get going', and starts out with only one, or perhaps a handful, of stores? If so, that seems to make the NZ market less attractive, and thus reduces the potential for additional competition, and helps to maintain higher prices - which seems to be the opposite of what the authors of the petition should want? What are their true motivations here?

    What about product types? Does this apply to everything that a 'supermarket' sells? Including, say, pens? If so, does it apply to pens that are sold by Warehouse Stationery too? Does that then extend to everything that Warehouse Stationery sells? Does that then mean that it actually extends across all retailers for all products sold in NZ?

    If so, does that mean that every retailer will need to put their prices up to cover the extra time it will take to ensure that there are no pricing errors, else it could be punitively expensive for them? Given that it probably takes the same amount of time to check the price of a basic ball-point pen, as it does to check the price of a $100 pen, does it mean that some fixed amount will effectively be added to the cost of every individual item? Would that disproportionately impact people purchasing at the lower end of the price / quality spectrum? If so, why are the petition authors seeking to deliberately punish the poorest members of our society?

    So many questions about how this would work, but I'm sure they've thought it through far more comprehensively than the ten minutes I've considered it for.

  • nzmax on 24/07/2025 - 02:20

    I think Woolworths already compensate shoppers. Or at least they used to. If they get a price wrong they will give you the product and then also give you a refund of what you paid. Pak n Save don't and I have had quite a few pricing errors with them.

    • PRR on 24/07/2025 - 16:38
      +2

      PNS recently changed its Price Integrity policy to match Woolworths (In the North Island at least)

      So if the price you are charged is different from the advertised price, you get a refund and the product free (Only the first, if you bought multiple items afaik, The rest just have the difference refunded)

      If you have issues, just show them their policies on their websites.

      PNS - https://www.paknsave.co.nz/terms-and-conditions/refund-polic…
      Woolwoorths - https://www.woolworths.co.nz/info/policies/refund-policy

      • PRR on 24/07/2025 - 16:41
        +2

        Oh and the refund/free is only if you have already paid. If you bring up the issue before paying, they just have to fix the price (no free product).

        • nzmax on 24/07/2025 - 17:04

          Make sure you pay and then discover it. But normally people discover these before paying. However I have often been at the till and have to point out the pricing error when scanning, and then I guess you don't get a refund which sucks. It is a hassle when they have to give a refund as well as it takes a lot of time.

      • nzmax on 24/07/2025 - 16:40

        Guessing that is in reaction to the recent campaigns. So they should too.

    • Bobbee on 24/07/2025 - 11:37

      Not in my experience. I purchased two frozen meals from the Grey Lynn Richmond store that came up more than $10 more than I was expecting. They had loaded them into a freezer compartment that had previously held some much cheaper product (potato chips) that was on special with low volumes available. They left the price tag on the freezer but it was right at the back so you could only read the price not the description, without leaning over from the side. I told the store checkout manager who wasn't apologetic at all. Came back several hours later, they had done nothing. Reported with evidence to ComCom. Have since seen them use this scam strategy multiple times at this store (also saw and reported this scam at PnS Silverdale who are being prosecuted)

  • FarOut on 24/07/2025 - 07:10
    -1

    Signed. Cheers.

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