We've Got Mail: Recently we reported on a reader's ongoing problems with Tesco over its position of price stickers, which she said routinely obscured the best-before dates.
Our reader said that while Tesco had assured her it did not block the best-before dates on special priced items she had seen it done "on numerous occasions in several branches". We contacted Tesco and were also reassured that if the best-before tags on any products are obscured by the price, then it was a mistake. "Our policy is that it should not happen," a spokeswoman told PriceWatch, and if it has, then it happened in error.
However, since that item appeared several readers have been in touch suggesting that if it is an error, as Tesco says, it is one which appears to be happening far too frequently. One reader texted us to say that in his local branch in Greystones he has found that "goods are often past their sell-by date". He says that while he has regularly complained to management in the store it has "done no good". Another reader says she has noticed the same thing in Bray and Ballybrack and suggests that it is a regular occurrence. "Best-before stickers are always blocked by price stickers here in Middleton," writes another reader.
So we contacted Tesco again.
A spokeswoman said that Tesco Ireland's "store compliance team" would visit the stores mentioned by our readers "as soon as possible to check for errors in the positioning of the yellow price stickers." She said that the store had "strict guidelines for the placement of such stickers" and said that it would re-issue these guidelines "to all of our stores immediately".
Strawberry fields forever dearer
Earlier this month Ann Ryan from Dublin bought 400g of Irish strawberries in Marks & Spencer on Mary Street.
The strawberries were displayed prominently as being Irish and at half price. "I was unable to ascertain the full price as this was not as prominently displayed," she writes. "Later at home I discovered half price was €2.99," which meant that the full price was a whopping €5.98.
"Marks & Spencer half price is the same as full price in Superquinn," she says. "Do Marks & Spencer charge a premium for Irish fruit?" she asks.
We contacted M&S to find out more. Apparently the Irish strawberries were at a full price of €5.99 for a period in May. Towards the end of the month the store ran a "save €1" promotion and the price fell to €4.99. Some time later - presumably as the supply of Irish strawberries increased - the price fell further and the half-price promotion price of €2.99 came into effect.
In response to our reader's complaint about not being able to establish the full price of the fruit in the store, a spokeswoman said it would have been displayed on the shelf edge as usual "but as with any promotion the saving would be highlighted more prominently on the packaging".
A spokeswoman said there was no premium placed on strawberries because they are Irish. "M&S believe they are good value for money, particularly when you look at the size, sweetness and quality," the spokeswoman said. Whatever about the price, after going in search of a supply last week, PriceWatch can confirm that they do taste pretty good.
