Shopper uncovers ‘misleading’ Aldi price hike
At first glance it looks like a saving — but one woman has claimed the German supermarket is “misleading” shoppers with its tags.
An Aldi shopper has spotted something “suspicious” going on with the price tags of her everyday grocery items.
The Sydney woman, a “regular” customer at the German discount supermarket, recently revealed she’d spotted an increase in the price of a bag of dry pasta.
But that wasn’t what she had a problem with – it was the price tag that suggested the price change was a saving when she said she knew it was a hike.
“I would just like to say that I find it very cheeky when they increase prices on certain items, but then label the price tags to suggest that it is actually a saving?!?!” she wrote in the Aldi Fans Facebook page.
“Remano pasta has always been $0.65 per bag in Sydney – I have been purchasing these 2-3 times a week for the past 6 months.
“Today I find the new pricing of $0.79 which is OK, but the tag suggests that the price has been slashed from $0.89?!
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“I have noticed this in the past with other products, too. This really is misleading the public and makes me second-guess their practices. Am I overreacting?”
She accompanied her post with a photo of the red label that clearly reads: “New low price. Was 89c, (now) 79c.”
Reaction to the post was strong, with many claiming the same “trick” was used at their own local stores.
“I am getting sick of the dishonesty everywhere for the money. Greed is taking over,” one woman wrote.
“I have noticed this as well on certain items,” another added.
“100% we have noticed this too!! Also noticed some of the products are increasing rapidly,” a third said.
“Pure robbery … I wonder how many other items they are doing same thing with … The World has gone crazy,” someone else chipped in.
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But while many slammed Aldi for the “sneaky” move, others defended the store, saying the price went up to $0.89 a few weeks ago so the 10c discount was actually a saving.
“I’ve always paid 65c in Sydney and it’s just gone up to 89c in the last couple of weeks,” one pointed out.
“I noticed that too as I buy it every week but it’s still a great price,” another said.
In a statement, Aldi told news.com.au the company would never intentionally “mislead customers”.
“We are reviewing this price card and if any issues are found, we will rectify immediately,” the spokesperson said.
In a twist likely caused by the coronavirus supermarket chaos, the original poster later added another photo from her Aldi store, showing the price had gone back up to 89c and the pasta was “temporarily unavailable”.
In a separate Aldi Facebook group, mums have been airing their fury that stores have been ransacked of groceries and pantry staples, making it difficult to feed their families.
“What is wrong with people?” one woman asked, uploading two images of empty shelves.
“Panic buying causes hysteria. People who really need these products won’t be able to get them because of this madness,” she wrote.
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Hundreds of members commented, agreeing that the reaction to the virus is “just ridiculous” and “insane”.
“I have seen so many posts like this today. It’s outrageous,” one woman said.
“Panic buying happens every time there’s major illness or weather disaster people are just panic freaks,” said another.
“Bloody nuts and stupid,” a third said.
Extreme “panic buying” has been sweeping Australian supermarkets for the last few days as people rush to stock up in a bid to protect themselves from the deadly coronavirus.
Many are reporting a shortage of toilet paper, toothpaste, baby milk formula as well as other essential childcare items such as nappies, wipes and hand sanitisers.
Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au
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