Which? lodges super-complaint over supermarket price offers

Consumer body Which? is exercising legal powers in a move against what it describes as "confusing and misleading" supermarket price offers.

The organisation is one of five entitled under the Enterprise Act 2002 to launch a "super-complaint" with the Competition & Markets Authority, to which the CMA must respond within 90 days.

Which? is complaining about practices such as claiming that larger packs are better value, when the unit price is actually higher, seasonal offers where the higher price only applied out of season, and prices increasing on multi-buy so that the saving is less than claimed, non-existent or products are actually more expensive when included in the multi-buy.

With about 40% of groceries (by revenue) in Great Britain currently sold on promotion, Which? states that even if only a small percentage of offers are misleading, it could cost consumers hundreds of millions of pounds collectively.

Executive director Richard Lloyd commented: "Despite Which? repeatedly exposing misleading and confusing pricing tactics, and calling for voluntary change by the retailers, these dodgy offers remain on numerous supermarket shelves. Shoppers think they’re getting a bargain but in reality it’s impossible for any consumer to know if they’re genuinely getting a fair deal.

"We’re saying enough is enough and using one of the most powerful legal weapons in our armoury to act on behalf of consumers by launching a super-complaint to the regulator. We want an end to misleading pricing tactics and for all retailers to use fair pricing that people can trust." 

Tom Ironside of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) responded: "The examples set out are very specific in nature and are not in any way indicative of broader systemic problems across the retail industry.

"With thousands of products and special offers in store every day, errors may from time to time occur. However, these are rare in nature and are resolved quickly by the retailer concerned."