Misleading trading practices (omissions)

• Misleading trading practices (omissions)
  Posted by andy_foster on 05 Dec, 2024 20:35
• Sanity check/curiosity/rant...
  
  This evening I ventured forth to my local supermarket. Lets call it Tesco, for the sake of accuracy (albeit stopping short of pedantry). The weather was atrocious, which has no bearing on the facts of the matter, or legality or otherwise of the practice(s) in question, but served to extract any festive cheer that your correspondent may otherwise have had. As did the sight of the Scouts encouraged by their Fagin committing offences contrary to the Vagrancy Act of 1824 by wandering around the store to beg by accosting shoppers.
  
  In the promotions section at the end of the wines and spirits aisles, they had a promotion on 70cl bottles of Baileys reduced to £10. This caused me concern, as I had intended to buy a 1 litre bottle for £10 - a promotion that I recalled was due to run well into December. It would appear that that promotion, had been curtailed in favour of a far less generous one. After all, who in their right mind would buy a 70cl bottle of Baileys for £10 if they could buy a litre bottle in the same store for the same amount?
  
  As far as I am aware, the other major supermarkets will still have the promotion running on the litre bottles, so assuming that I don't need a smaller bottle there and then for the same price, I can stock up when I next visit some other major supermarket...
  
  However, just check to satisfy my own curiosity, I thought that I would check the far end of the wines and spirits aisle, to see what they were now selling the little bottles for. £10. As per the promotion which I had correctly recalled was due to still be running, as is still running. So I bought one. And started thinking.
  
  TL;DR - Tesco are quietly running a seasonal promotion selling 1 litre bottles of Baileys for £10 (largely in order to compete with the other major supermarkets), but have stopped actively promoting this in order to actively promote and sell 70cl bottles for the same price. No rational consumer would buy the 70cl bottle if he knew that the 1 litre bottle was available in the same store for the same price.
  
  When trading with consumers, any misleading practices, including significant omissions, which would be likely to affect the transactional decisions of the average consumer constitute criminal offences, subject to the sole defence of due diligence.
  
  Am I missing something, or are Trading Standards simply an offence under the Trades Descriptions Act?
  
  
  
  
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• #1 Reply
  Posted by JoCo on 06 Dec, 2024 12:25
• Quote

  Tesco are quietly running a seasonal promotion selling 1 litre bottles of Baileys for £10  but have stopped actively promoting this.

  I don't know about stores, but The litre bottle offer is being actively promoted on website. 
  
  Looking at the Tesco website there are two different items.
  
  a) Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur Bottle 17% Vol 1L    £22.00
  b) Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur Bottle 17% Vol 70Cl  £16.50
  
  Item a) 1L is on offer for £10  with a Tesco Clubcard until  19/11/2024 - 09/12/2024
  Item b) 70cl is on offer for £10  with a Tesco Clubcard until  03/12/2024 - 31/12/2024
  
  Item a) and item b) are different and distinct items.
  They have a different barcode / skucode.
  
  Tesco are able to set whatever price they like for each of these items and offer whatever promotion they like for each*.
  And so they should.
  
  * Except Scotland , of course.
  
  If they want to be particularly generous with one offer, that's their privilege.
  If they want to downplay one offer, in instore display, that also is their privilege.
  
  Given that the Litre offer started in 19/11/2024, it is likely that stock is running down, as they move to stock & promote the newer 70cl XMAS offer.
  
  I can't see any Trading Standards issues. I could only imagine they might be if the two lines somehow had the same volume, e.g. one had a different packaging but was otherwise identical, except price, which could confuse the customer.
  
  Let the buyer beware.  Or as in OP case, let the buyer be aware, and grab a bargain.
  
  
  There is no difference, in my mind, to this practice, and having an offer on, say, 48 T bags, but finding that it's still cheaper, pro rata, to buy 240 t-bags.
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