Yahoo News Supermarkets Face Super-Complaint On Pricing
The pricing tactics employed by the country's supermarket chains may face a competition inquiry after Which? used its legal powers to issue a so-called super-complaint.
The consumer group accused firms of ripping off shoppers with misleading and confusing prices and said it was handing a dossier of evidence, gathered over seven years, to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The news was announced just hours after a report suggested that the supermarket price war was having a "devastating" impact on suppliers and small grocers, with a growing number suffering "significant" financial distress.
Which? accused retailers of creating the illusion of savings through the use of multi-buys, shrinking products and baffling sales offers with 40% of groceries sold on promotion.
It said consumers could be collectively losing out to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds if only a small proportion of offers are misleading and it was virtually impossible for people to know if they were getting a fair deal.
Promotions have become more widely used in the industry over the last 12 months as major supermarkets have adjusted prices to fight losses in market share to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.
Tactics under the spotlight include 'was/now' promotions, multi-buys and so-called shrinkflation; when own-brand or branded goods are smaller but the price remains the same.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "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."
The group argued that trust needed to be restored.
Which? said an example of a misleading multi-buy offer came when a leading chain increased the price of a Chicago Town Four Cheese Pizza Two-Pack from £1.50 to £2 last year as it went onto multi-buy at two for £3.
It went back to £1.50 after the offer ended.
One instance of seasonal pricing was tackled in 2013 when Tesco was fined £300,000 over a strawberry promotion that was said to have netted the chain £2.3m in profits.
The CMA has 90 days to respond to the super-complaint which it is obliged to examine before deciding if it warrants a full inquiry and possibly new laws.
The British Retail Consortium, which represents many chains, rejected the complaint.
Tom Ironside, its director of business and regulation, said: "UK retailers are committed to treating their customers fairly and to avoid misleading them in any way.
"We do not accept the core implications set out in this super-complaint. 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.
''Millions of shoppers across the country enjoy the benefits of price promotions and special offers. Recent research has shown that, with the exception of fruit and vegetables, food prices in British supermarkets are on average 7% lower than the eurozone average."
