An Australian shopper has accused Woolworths of pulling a clever trick after finding a clearance tag that made an item more expensive than its normal price.
Christian Hull posted a photo on Facebook showing the normal price of ‘Inghams Chicken Munchies’, which was marked at $10 per kilogram.
However, a clearance tag next to the item listed it at $11 per kilo.
“I understand that product prices change, but the fact that this item is on clearance clearly is not,” he explained. ‘At what point does someone intervene?’
His comments come as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched legal action against Coles and Woolworths over bogus discount schemes.
The consumer watchdog alleges both retailers temporarily increased prices on certain products by 15 per cent before including them in Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” promotion and Coles’ “Down Down” promotion.
Hull is concerned that with Woolworths’ gradual introduction of digital price tags, it may become harder for shoppers to tell when a so-called “special” offer is not actually a genuine discount.
‘Uncontroversial point of view, but has Woolworths just spent an excessive amount on the new digital labels to avoid getting caught increasing prices?
“This was one of the only ways we were able to call them out on their lies.”
Many Australians agreed with Hull and felt it was time for the big supermarket chains to face up to the law.
A shopper posted an image online of a clearance tag that was more expensive than the original price (pictured)
Woolworths is rolling out digital price tags (pictured) in many Australian stores
“I think it’s curious that the organization that’s supposed to protect consumers just notices this,” one said.
“Buyers are well aware of the dirty tricks that big companies have been using for years and years.”
A second added: This is what they do to increase prices. People convince themselves to save $11. Then, once the “special” is over, the new higher price applies.’
A third said: ‘As a former employee of both supermarkets they have been doing this for over 20 years. “They got away with it for so many years because we trusted them.”
However, a Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia it appears the original $10 price tag was old and was left there by “mistaken”.
“We apologize to our customers at this store for any confusion caused,” they said.
“This appears to be the result of a one-off human error, where the old shelf label was not updated.
‘Our store team members work hard to quickly update our on-shelf prices when there are changes. If a customer is unsure about a price, our team is always available to help.’