- Missing or inaccurate labels are problems in some stores, a review has found
Grocery shops have been caught charging the wrong prices for everyday staples including Kenco coffee, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Marmite.
Some retailers have been displaying inaccurate prices or failing to provide any price at all for certain products, a watchdog has revealed today.
The review, conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority, found that some prices were illegible, the selling price was sometimes obscured, and multibuy promotion labels did not specify the price of the items individually.
The majority of problems were found in independent food stores and small independents operating under a brand name.
It concluded that 60 per cent of the errors resulted in customers being charged a higher price at the time.
Failure to provide clear and accurate pricing information for products on sale is a breach of consumer law.
As a result of the findings, the CMA and Trading Standards have released a poster aimed at helping grocery retailers understand what they need to do to comply with the law.
The CMA’s interim executive director for consumer protection and markets, George Lusty, said: ‘We know how frustrating it can be when you get to the till only to find the price doesn’t match what was advertised.
‘While lots of grocery retailers – particularly supermarkets – are complying with pricing rules, this needs to consistently be the case across all types of stores.
‘It’s important that shoppers can make well-informed choices based on accurate information, especially at a time when lots of people are looking to save money. That’s why we are reminding businesses of the importance of complying with consumer law.’
The view follows separate work by the CMA last year which looked at how grocery retailers are displaying unit pricing in stores and online.
The review found problems with unit pricing which could affect consumers’ ability to compare products.
It comes after MailOnline revealed some shoppers were being fooled by misleading supermarket signs and labels that dressed up imported food as British.
Union Jacks and ‘Made in Britain’ stamps were printed on the packaging of some Aldi pork and beef products even though they used EU meat.
The findings were the result of an investigation by Which? researchers, who also found that consumers are keen to buy British.
The study established that almost two in three – 64 per cent – would be more likely to buy a product labeled ‘British’ than one that was not.
Labeling rules require stores to identify a country or place of origin on meat, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as honey and wine.
However, confusion creeps in because these rules do not generally apply to processed products, such as ready meals, sausages, pizzas, pies and many frozen or processed fruits and vegetables.
