McBrides Off-License in Castlebellingham

My name is URL

Thieving pack of bastards :mad:

They're selling multipack bottles and cans individually with no discount!

What's even worse is that they're selling multipacks and instead of pricing the pack they scan 1 item and multiply it by whatever the pack contains.. eg. a pack of 8 cans of Bulmers costs 19.60 and one single can is 2.45

Did anyone encounter this anywhere else?

Name & shame the fcukers! It's not on, esp in these recessionary times

peejay1986

Name and shame? They should be reported because what they're doing is illegal. If you're as annoyed as you appear to be then you should contact Trading Standards as the shop is marking up the price of goods.

My name is URL

peejay1986 wrote: »

Name and shame? They should be reported because what they're doing is illegal. If you're as annoyed as you appear to be then you should contact Trading Standards as the shop is marking up the price of goods.

I did think it was illegal myself. When I mentioned it on another thread people said it was above board and that they can charge what they want.. I think it's more of an understanding between distributors and retailers than an agreement between retailers and consumers, no laws prohibit retailers from charging their own desired price.

It's still bloody low though, best thing to do is let others know of their thieving ways

peejay1986

My name is URL wrote: »

I did think it was illegal myself. When I mentioned it on another thread people said it was above board and that they can charge what they want.. I think it's more of an understanding between distributors and retailers than an agreement between retailers and consumers, no laws prohibit retailers from charging their own desired price.

It's still bloody low though, best thing to do is let others know of their thieving ways

Each retailer can charge what they want, that is true. However if they are buying multipack products with the intention of selling/pricing them as individual products, that is illegal. It even says on the multipack that they should not be sold separately.

A shop near where I live sold me a packet of Walkers crisps that was originally from a multipack packet. I brought it back and they begged me not to say anything. Ended up getting my lunch free there for the next week which was great! Point being, why would they be so concerned if they're not breaking rules? The owner has decades of shop experience so I'm sure he knows the ropes.

Personally I would be VERY surprised if selling multipack products as individuals is not against trading standards laws.

kingshankly

i can not see a problem here you are getting a single item for the exact price.the problem can be sometimes when a shop sells say cans of coke for a €1 that are part of a 6 pack at three euro.
but in your case your getting the right price and are actually being provided an extra service by breaking up the multipack for you.

My name is URL

kingshankly wrote: »

i can not see a problem here you are getting a single item for the exact price.the problem can be sometimes when a shop sells say cans of coke for a €1 that are part of a 6 pack at three euro.
but in your case your getting the right price and are actually being provided an extra service by breaking up the multipack for you.

lol.. how was it an extra service? If I wanted the pack broken up I would have bought individual cans.

They had boxes on display as an item that was for sale, so that's what should have been scanned imo, not what was inside it

Whiskey Devil

This is a tricky one. As far as I know alcohol from a multipack can be sold individually. Unlike crisps (multipack crisps are about half the size of a normal pack!!) or soft drinks etc. it does not state on the can 'Not to be sold seperately'. The majority of off licences sell the multipacks at a discount price, but they are not obliged to. Yes, they are thieves, but they are not doing anything illegal as far as I know.


I stand to be corrected on that, but I've never seen it.

Whiskey Devil

Just checked a few cans I had lying around.

Fosters 'Not to be sold seperately'
Kilkenny & Heineken - nothing.

My name is URL

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

it does not state on the can 'Not to be sold seperately'

It does now.. first time since I started this thread that I've bought Bulmers and there is now a red band around the top of the can stating exactly that!

No barcode on cans in multipacks now either, so they can't be scanned individually.

This is an email I received in response to the 'complaint' I made to Bulmers at the time

Dear Martin

Thank you for your email and for bringing this issue to our attention. I apologise for the delay in reverting to you- I had escalated your query and was awaiting the correct information.

Bulmers is currently available in Draught, Pint Bottle and Long Neck formats in over 95% of pubs nationwide.

The Can format of Bulmers is only intended for sale in supermarkets and Off-licences for consumption in the home, and Bulmers supplies retailers with cans in multi-pack formats as these packs tend to be on promotion, with a view to offering excellent value to consumers. These cans are therefore not intended for individual sale, or for sale in the licensed trade.

Notwithstanding, Bulmers has no jurisdiction over the selling practices of retailers, including the sale of individual cans taken from promotional multi-packs, or in the licensed trade. Although we do make recommendations in relation to retail prices, competition law precludes Bulmers and indeed any supplier from setting retail prices.

We do acknowledge your frustration, and we certainly appreciate all feedback. If you would like to let us know what shop you are having this problem with I can bring it to the attention of both our Commercial Manager and Territory Manager for the area who will action these issues in an appropriate manner.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Kind Regards

tenifan

My name is URL wrote: »

It does now.. first time since I started this thread that I've bought Bulmers and there is now a red band around the top of the can stating exactly that!

No barcode on cans in multipacks now either, so they can't be scanned individually.

This is an email I received in response to the 'complaint' I made to Bulmers at the time

It's not illegal and no one's forcing you to shop there.

As a matter of interest, have you devoted the past 5 years of your life to this issue?

My name is URL

tenifan wrote: »

It's not illegal and no one's forcing you to shop there.

And I haven't since.. I don't think many others do either.. place is a dive

As a matter of interest, have you devoted the past 5 years of your life to this issue?

No.. I bought a few cans yesterday, noticed the new 'not to be sold separately' warning and was reminded of this thread.

HAMMERCURRENT

My name is URL wrote: »

And I haven't since.. I don't think many others do either.. place is a dive

I don't shop there very often but i was there yesterday evening and everything looked fine to me, what makes you say the place is a dive?

moonshadow

Nice wee place , nice customer service ,couldn't say it was a dive by any means.