Tesco orders price checks over errors

TESCO is to check the prices of all items in every store after an investigation found customers were being shortchanged on promotions.

An undercover reporter for BBC Inside Out was overcharged on multi-buy offers at two-thirds of stores visited.

The reporter was charged more than expected in 33 out of 50 stores visited because promotions marked on the shelves were out of date and no longer valid at the tills.

Multi-buy deals were still being advertised on the shelves months after they had expired in some cases.

Martin Fisher, from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said the errors could break the law by falling foul of the The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, according to the BBC.

The supermarket giant will now re-evaluate the price of every item at its 3,500-plus stores across the UK.

A spokeswoman said: “We take great care to deliver clear and accurate price labels for our customers so they can make informed decisions on the products they buy. We are disappointed errors occurred and will be working with the stores involved to reinforce our responsibilities to our customers.”

Meanwhile, latest retail spending figures show consumers tightened their purse strings at the start of 2017 as the January sales failed to stop spending on clothing falling at the fastest pace in nearly five years.

Face-to-face spending on the high street recorded an annual fall of 3.1% in January — the strongest decline seen in four years, Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index found.

Meanwhile, online spending increased by 4.1% year-on-year, marking the slowest growth seen in five months.

Overall, spending was up by 0.4% in January compared with a year earlier, following a 2.5% year-on-year increase in December.

Spending on clothing and footwear fell at the fastest pace seen since April 2012, with a 3.8% annual decline recorded in this category.

Food and drink spending was unchanged year-on-year, with 0% growth, while spending on household goods fell by 2.7% annually.

Growth in spending continued to be led by hotels, restaurants and bars, which saw a 5.7% year-on-year increase in spending, and recreation and culture, which recorded a 3.1% annual spending increase.

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