# Manky Fruit in Dunnes



## Tubbs (3 Feb 2006)

Bought a bag of oranges in Dunnes.

Got home and realised they were rotten (even though they were in date by 2 days)

Unfortunately I lost the receipt somewhere between Dunnes and home. (I know I know - I was in a rush, hence why I didn't inspect the fruit properly - doh !)

Anyway, later that day took them back to customer services. They scanned them and agreed they were bought in the shop but couldn't give me a refund due to no receipt.

I kicked up a bit of a fuss and got to see a manager eventually.

She said I wasn't entitled to a refund but as a good will gesture they would replace the oranges. I said I didn't want any more of their manky fruit and would like my money back as the fruit was unsuitable for consumption.  

Eventually they (there were three of them) wore me down and I accepted the replacement oranges (which were again bad before they reached their best before date - although I did get to eat half of them beforehand)

Were they within their rights ?


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## z107 (3 Feb 2006)

> agreed they were bought in the shop



Well if they agreed this, than I would suspect that this is adequate 'proof of purchase'. As the fruit wasn't of merchantable quality, you were probably entitled to your money back.


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## Max Hopper (3 Feb 2006)

Thought that was only a Aldi/Lidl problem.


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## celsius (3 Feb 2006)

How petty of the management in that store - any manger with a bit of cop on and basic foundation training in customer relationship managment would have refunded you with out question  - perhaps with a nominal good will gesture. That way they could have turned a negative into positive experience. Now not only have they lost your custom potentially for good -with associated revenue loss over your life time,  your thread here has raised the issue to a huge number of people. whats the cost of that to Dunnes - a lot more than a manky few oranges !!

That guy/girl  should be fired.

BTW; What Store was this ??


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## Tubbs (3 Feb 2006)

It was Dunnes in Kilkenny.

I'm just fed up now of getting really poor quality items and being regularly being overcharged (especially in Supervalu KK - check your receipts people) 

I gave up on Supervalu because their fruit is consistently very poor. (and as I say, the price given on the shelves doesn't always reflect the price you pay)

I am now giving up on Dunnes.

Looks like its Superquinn from now on - it costs more but there is little chance of you picking up an orange and have your fingers squelch into the middle of it.


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## ClubMan (3 Feb 2006)

Tubbs said:
			
		

> (and as I say, the price given on the shelves doesn't always reflect the price you pay)


You should complain to them and to the [broken link removed] about this illegal behaviour.


> Looks like its Superquinn from now on - it costs more but there is little chance of you picking up an orange and have your fingers squelch into the middle of it.


We buy most of our fruit from stallholders or small fruit & veg stores around _Dublin _- much better value and quality than supermarkets in most cases.


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## Winnie (3 Feb 2006)

Hi,

we have a brilliant fruit & veg shop in our area & the fruit & veg are soooo much more tasty & fresh than anything in the supermarket...........supermarket stuff tends not to have any flavour.
A lot more of these shops seem to be opening up lately......

On the supermarket........i would write a letter to HO giving details & see if they come back with anything.........


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## Marion (3 Feb 2006)

> They scanned them and agreed they were bought in the shop but couldn't give me a refund due to no receipt.



The legislation says nothing about a receipt. All that is required is "proof of purchase"

Marion


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## Cati76 (3 Feb 2006)

Tubbs said:
			
		

> I gave up on Supervalu because their fruit is consistently very poor. (and as I say, the price given on the shelves doesn't always reflect the price you pay)
> 
> I am now giving up on Dunnes.


 
It happened to me several times in Dunnes, price in shelf was cheaper than what was charged. Complaint straight away and got money back, but it was a waste of time, as I have to do it again a couple of days later. Since then, no price in the shelf for that product for a couple of days, and then a higher price I used to pay. After that I always check prices and make sure they are correct.


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## DrMoriarty (3 Feb 2006)

Tubbs, if you do go to the trouble of writing to them, maybe you should mention this thread?


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## Petal (4 Feb 2006)

You should complain to the Food Safety Authority, they will send an Environmental Health Officer to follow up.


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## bond-007 (4 Feb 2006)

Marion said:
			
		

> The legislation says nothing about a receipt. All that is required is "proof of purchase"
> 
> Marion


 Prehaps they could accuse someone of shoplifting if they had no receipt?


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2006)

ClubMan said:
			
		

> We buy most of our fruit from stallholders or small fruit & veg stores around _Dublin _- much better value and quality than supermarkets in most cases.


This morning a couple of enterprising lads from one of the fruit & veg outlets in the _Corpo Markets _came around selling fruit & veg from the back of their car and said that they hope to make it a weekly run. Great quality and value.


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## Marion (5 Feb 2006)

Hi Bond007

In relation to the specific post, the shop had accepted that the good was purchased in their shop. 



> They scanned them and agreed they were *bought* in the shop


. 

It is a good idea to keep receipts if paying for goods in cash.

Paying by credit card, laser, cheque etc would all be accepted as "proof of purchase" as would own-brand good tags.

It is the consumer's responsibility to provide "proof of purchase".

Marion


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## levelpar (5 Feb 2006)

HI , Just this morning I bought fruit in Dunnes  (being Sunday my regular fruit and veg shop was closed) The bananas looked perfect but when I peeked one the inside was starting to go black all along the banana.  My wife says that the producers are probably speeding up the maturing process , much like a micro wave so the inside is more ripe that it looks on the outside.


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## dino (8 Feb 2006)

I usually buy fruit & veg in Tesco. Last summer I went to Dunnes Stores a few times and everything I bought was rotten in a 2 or 3 days. I couldn't believe it. I thought it might just be that it went off quicker in summer. I went back to Dunnes again a few weeks ago and I bought a bag of red & green peppers. They were rotten in 2 days... I couldn't believe it. Peppers usually have a decent shelf life. 
The prices for fruit & veg were also dearer in many cases than Tesco. I now only buy in Tesco or in a Fruit & Veg shop.


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## mobileme (8 Feb 2006)

I used to work in Dunnes Head Office and I agree that you should definitley write a strongly worded letter to them. Detail times, places and names of the managers involved and obviously stress how unimpressed you are with the situation and how you are being forced by their unreasonable behaviour to take your €x spend per week to A.N. Other Retailer. They take this sort of thing very seriously. Address it to Margaret Heffernan and Andrew Street.


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## smiley (13 Feb 2006)

i agree..the quality in dunnes is quite poor..any time i bought fruit there it did not last long..supervalue is not much better either..

pettitts in the southeast is far superior..quality is excellent..and the produce lasts. The same goes for superquinn and marks and sparks...ok..you pay more but its a small price when the fruit is fresh and full of flavour.

a lot of the poor problems i think comes down to suppliers..some are not as good as others.


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## shnaek (14 Feb 2006)

Support your local fruit and veg shop! I have found fruit and veg in supermarkets (not including SuperQuinn) to be of poor quality on most occasions. I used to buy all my fruit and veg at a local shop. The quality was way better and the prices in most cases lower. Still the guy had to shut down because it isn't prices the Irish are concerned about but convenience. Luckily I have found a nice fruit and veg shop again lately so I can wave goodbye to the muck dressed up as fruit and veg in the supermarkets


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## ClubMan (14 Feb 2006)

Support your local _F&V _shop - *if *they offer the quality, value and service that you desire. Otherwise go elsewhere that does. No point in fuelling so called "rip-off Ireland" by supporting local shops just because they are local.


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## Thrifty (14 Feb 2006)

I've had similar experiences with the fruit but i have to say the most frustrating thing is the lack of proper pricing. I've wondered round trying to find somebody to ask so many times and then the staff don't know themselves, they wonder back with me to where i got the product and start looking for the price to then eventually give up and ask a manager. On several occassions i just left the goods becuase i was so fed up. I've also had several trips back to the checkout when i've been overcharged for items. I though following the rap on the knuckles Dunnes got about pricing last year that things would change but sadly no. When i've pointed things out to managers about pricing they just shrug there shoulders. Its the Dunnes in Kilkenny too so maybe its just more of a problem there.


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## Thrifty (14 Feb 2006)

Apologies for bad spelling in last email - just noticed


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## Tubbs (14 Feb 2006)

I didn't take this any further due to me not having a receipt for the fruit and also did not get the managers name. (although the manager did sign the bag of oranges in case I was stopped by security - with no receipt from my bag of oranges - that would have been a nightmare !)

I should have done really but felt without receipt I was onto a losing battle. 

I have written to Dunnes before when I saw something truly disgusting happening in the Dunnes store in Stephens Green. Got no response at all. Although I didn't write to head office as was suggested above.

I feel my only real option as a disgruntled consumer is to take my business elsewhere.

Everything around me is going to crud. No matter what service I pay handsomely for I get really bad or incomplete service.

Some of my recent experiences......Manky fruit and incorrect pricing in supermarkets (Supervalue and Dunnes), plumber fixed one pipe but wrecked another in the process, new kitchen worktop fiitted incorrectly, lino on kitchen floor fitted incorrectly (rumpled and ripped), electrician and builders not turning up whne they said, dentist not fitting crown properly, SKY taking 3 months to get from ordering (30 odd phone calls + 4 days off work later), ESB wrecking plants in garden, Chorus charging despite being cancelled, parcel taking 2 weeks to arrive from Dublin, Woodies over charging, window cleaner leaving streaks across all the windows, new phone line playing up, flowers being ordered that are wilting on arrival............

I'm sure there are more things that have happened recently. 

I know when I order/buy something - I'm likely to have another battle on my hands. It gets tiring after a while !


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