# Misleading price in Superquinn: cuddly dogs 'Only 3.99'



## Sydney100 (19 Mar 2008)

Not exactly a big deal but something that has really annoyed me.  

I was in Superquinn in Blanchardstown the other day.  And they had a stand with a load of cuddly dogs that said 'Only 3.99' so I grabbed one for my daughter.  After I paid for my groceries I was wondering why our bill was so much, turns out the dog was 19.99 so I went back to the stand and yes it said 'Only 3.99' and underneath that price, in tiny letters it said 'see leaflet for details' so I picked up a leaflet and it had collect 10 tokens and its 3.99.  

What a scam, I could hardly take the stupid thing off her and have her go ballistic, by the way it wasn't worth anymore than a fiver, its a small little thing.  Its not even the E20 that annoyed me its more the underhand way they got people to buy these, half the store was walking around with these dogs in their trolleys.  

Apart from complaining to Superquin, would the advertising authority deal with this...


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## MandaC (19 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Saw the stand for the dog collection in Superquinn Lucan and thought it was labelled clear enough that you had to collect the tokens


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## Staples (19 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



Sydney100 said:


> Apart from complaining to Superquin, would the advertising authority deal with this...


 
The National Consumer Agency is the appropriate agency for reporting misleading or inaccurate pricing.


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## Cashstrapped (19 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

I'm with Sydney on this one, I was in our local Superquinn yesterday and I took it that they were €3.99 too and I wouldn't even allow my daughter to pay the €3.99 for it so I feel your pain when you paid €20!!!


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## fintans (19 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



Sydney100 said:


> What a scam, I could hardly take the stupid thing off her and have her go ballistic, by the way it wasn't worth anymore than a fiver, its a small little thing.


 
I saw the stand in my local superquinn and thought it was crystal clear that you needed tokens as well as €3.99. Did you forget your glasses that day or will you be blaming superquinn for that also?!? Calling it "a scam" is a bit strong don't you think?


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## sapmanie (20 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

I thought the dogs were e3.99 also (it's the biggest number on the sign!) in Knocklyon but when I stopped to read it, I saw something about collecting tokens etc.

So I think it's a case of buyer beware (and read before you buy!) rather than an out-and-out "scam" which I don't think is the case as Superquinn is actually the last few companies that does not just give lip service to customer service.

Mention it to the customer representative in store or


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## MandaC (20 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

The stand with the toys in Lucan is a reproduction of whats on the card to collect the tokens....same photos...logos....wording etc.  What it actually says is "only €3.99" and then directly underneath (in smaller writing allright, but directly underneath and still quite clear "with 10 Saver Tokens".  It states this a number of times on the stand.  I am sure the stands are the same in all the shops.

Thats quite different than what the original poster said ie, only €3.99 and then "see leaflet for details" indicating that then you had to go and get the leaflet to see that you needed the tokens at all.

It is really a case of read the small(er) print, but personally I dont think the original poster has any real gripe with Superquinn at all and is unfair to call it a scam.


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## shipibo (21 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Manda, Fintans,


     Does sign state without tokens the toy costs 20 euro ???, have not seen it ...


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## MandaC (21 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Now that you say it, I dont think it does. I don't recall seeing €20 or €19.99 on it anywhere. Its full of the "€3.99 with 10 saver tokens".
 Have had a look at the token card and there is no mention of what you have to pay if you dont have the saver tokens.

Will be in there tomorrow and have a look at stand as well and let you know.

Still think the 10 saver tokens is clear enough  though!

Reminds me of a few years ago when my friend was saving Supervalu tokens for "the monks bench".  Everything was purchased in Supervalu to get the tokens.  A large space was cleared  in the hall for "the monks bench", which had only been viewed from Photos and TV advertisements.  Said bench turned out like something you would put into a dolls house.


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## bacchus (22 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



MandaC said:


> Saw the stand for the dog collection in Superquinn Lucan and thought it was labelled clear enough that you had to collect the tokens



Same for me, i tought it was very clear.
BUT...I have found that prices in Superquinn are often wrong, especially for their specials, e.g. buy 1 get 1 free, or buy 1 for €1.50, 2 for €2 type of thing...It is 50/50 as to whether you'll be charge the full price or the discounted prices at the till.

And the discounts are only shown on the screen at the end when the cashier request total rather than automatically when the goods are scanned..


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## shipibo (26 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Update;


   Went into SuperQuinn yesterday, and seen offending sign, no mention of price without Tokens ....., yet they will sell you toy without tokens .....

Toy is worth around 5 € , no wonder they do not put price up ..


 I agree with OP, this is a SCAM !!


Is there an update on complaint made to consumers rights...


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## shipibo (26 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



fintans said:


> I saw the stand in my local superquinn and thought it was crystal clear that you needed tokens as well as €3.99. Did you forget your glasses that day or will you be blaming superquinn for that also?!? Calling it "a scam" is a bit strong don't you think?


 

As no mention of price without tokens , this is misleading at very least.

Maybe you should have some manners when answering a query.


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## deedee80 (26 Mar 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

My god I agree with the op, I would be raging if I was caught out paying 20 euro.  I bought two of the toys as I had so many tokens (I was given way more than my shop was worth) and I thought they were funny looking, but I nearly thought they were a bit steep at 3.99! I would go in with your receipt and explain to the manager the situation.  I would imagine they will have to be a bit sympathetic.


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## shipibo (6 Apr 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Another one I found in SuperQuinn ...


2 punnets of strawberries for a fiver, one punnet 3.99 on the sign, but on punnet and checkout they were 2.99 .....


Bit of sharp practice taking place in SuperQuinn


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## denise1234 (6 Apr 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Bought dishwasher tablets in Superquinn while ago, small sign beside them saying 'buy one get one free' (was written underneath price on shelf). went to checkout and charged for both. Said about offer and was told no offer on. Said I definately saw it so lady at checkout got another girl to go down and check. She came back and said no sign. At this point was tempted to leave it but knew I'd seen the offer. I said to girl I'd go down with her and show her. Sure enough buy one get one free there! Back to checkout and manager had to be called. Said offer had expired day before but I pointed out that sign still there and no mention of expiry date so got the other one free. 
Wasn;t the money but the principle. If offer on they should honour what they are offering.


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## shipibo (6 Apr 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



denise1234 said:


> Bought dishwasher tablets in Superquinn while ago, small sign beside them saying 'buy one get one free' (was written underneath price on shelf). went to checkout and charged for both. Said about offer and was told no offer on. Said I definately saw it so lady at checkout got another girl to go down and check. She came back and said no sign. At this point was tempted to leave it but knew I'd seen the offer. I said to girl I'd go down with her and show her. Sure enough buy one get one free there! Back to checkout and manager had to be called. Said offer had expired day before but I pointed out that sign still there and no mention of expiry date so got the other one free.
> Wasn;t the money but the principle. If offer on they should honour what they are offering.



Fair play


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## mercman (6 Apr 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*

Since Fergal Quinn sold his business, Superquinn have lost all credibility. Obviously Fintans works in SQ. [edited by Marion] Same thing happened to me in Tesco last year. The Manager was called and I walked through the store and showed him the sign. Not only did he give me the original two free, he gave me another two boxes as well, and couldn't apologise enough.


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## fintans (6 Apr 2008)

*Re: Misleading price in Superquinn*



mercman said:


> Since Fergal Quinn sold his business, Superquinn have lost all credibility. Obviously Fintans works in SQ. [Edited by Marion] Same thing happened to me in Tesco last year. The Manager was called and I walked through the store and showed him the sign. Not only did he give me the original two free, he gave me another two boxes as well, and couldn't apologise enough.


 
Fintans here Mercman - I don't work in SQ - don't write rubbish that you can't substantiate. Cheers.


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## mercman (6 Apr 2008)

Fintans - Apologies for making untruths about you. Maybe you should do the same for posting abusive remarks. It's obvious that the majority tend to side with the OP that this entire debacle circles the questionable.


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## putsch (6 Apr 2008)

Funny thing. I haven,t shopped in SQ for ages but yesterday a friend was seething. She'd bought two punnets of strawberries on the basis of a sign saying 2 for 5euro in SQ - when she got home she found she'd been charged 2.99 for one and 3.99 for the other. Brought them back and was told - "one of the punnets you took is the extra large so no special offer". She's absolutely certain there was nothing about this on the display. Sounds like an racket.


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## fintans (7 Apr 2008)

mercman said:


> Fintans - Apologies for making untruths about you. Maybe you should do the same for posting abusive remarks. It's obvious that the majority tend to side with the OP that this entire debacle circles the questionable.


 
Mercman - thanks for admitting you were wrong. I didn't post abusive remarks about anyone. Cheers.


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## F. Kruger (7 Apr 2008)

Local SQ has these Dogs on the following terms

Save 25 tokens and get the dog for free. When you spend €10 you get a token. T&Cs state that the value of each saver token is 0.0125cents


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## RMCF (9 Apr 2008)

This is incredibly common these days - you see it all over the place.

Examples:

1) Nice car on TV advert - with quote "price from €12,500" - but in the small print on the screen you see "car shown €29,500" - in other words this nice fancy sporty car you see will be nothing like the crap basic model you can afford.

2) Ads on the radio for health insurance. They say "you can save €300 by switching to us". But they only mention that you have to be on the maximum package and the savings only apply if you insure 2 adults and 2 children. And they total price of this package is massive.

Scams everywhere.


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