Money blog: 'The Sainsbury's method' - Fake voucher trend sees supermarket call in police (2024)

Asda says it has started selling refurbished TVs in some of its stores - becoming the first UK supermarket to do so.

The retailer said customers in a handful of locations in England and Scotland are able to get their hands on three models of returned TVs from as little as £100.

The 32-inch, 40-inch and 50-inch TVs are being refurbished at Asda's electrical returns centre using recycled materials and come re-packaged to make clear they are refurbished models, it said.

These are the models available:

• PLRD Combi TV 32-inch - £100 (RRP £149) - saving of £49
• Sharp Smart TV 40-inch - £130 (RRP £190) - saving of £60
• PLRD Smart Fire TV 50-inch - £160 (£240) - saving of £80

Customers in Folkestone, Leeds, Glasgow, Sunderland and Ellesmere Port are able to purchase one of the TVs as part of a trial by Asda to increase the longevity of its returned products.

By James Sillars, business reporter

Quite a few companies are reporting positive results in London this morning.

However, the FTSE 100 is trading further down in what has been a tough week for global stock markets.

The main drag has been renewed fears of a US recession, while major tech stocks suffered some intense bleeding on profit taking on Tuesday amid a school of thought they are overvalued.

Leading the way on the FTSE this morning was housebuilder Vistry – up by more than 2%.

The company revealed a 7% rise in half-year profits despite the affordability challenges facing the sector and a share buyback worth £130m.

In the wider market, Asos, the fast fashion firm, saw its shares climb more than 12% after it reported that annual profits were expected to come in at the top of market expectations, despite continued struggles for sales.

The electricals retailer Currys saw its stock drop by 0.5% despite a 2% lift in underlying sales over the last four months, putting it on track to grow profit this year.

Aldi has again pipped rival Lidl to be crowned cheapest supermarket in August.

Which? said a basket of 62 items at the budget retailer cost £110.58 on average across the month.

Lidl came just behind at £111.88 for the same items with Lidl Plus loyalty pricing, and £112.17 without.

At the other end of the spectrum, Waitrose was named the priciest for the average shop, with its 62-item basket costing £140.89 - £30.31 (27%) more than Aldi.

The basket included a range of branded and non-branded items, including Heinz baked beans, Hovis bread, milk and butter.

Which?'s monthly analysis compares the average prices of popular groceries at eight of the UK's biggest stores.

From yesterday Barclays customers with Blue Rewards current accounts will no longer get a free £5 added to their balance every month. Customers may be reluctant to leave due to other perks such as free Apple TV, access to MLS matches, cashback incentives with major retailers and, perhaps most crucially, the 5.12% rate in their Rainy Day Saver.

For this week's Savings Guide, we askedSavings Champion co-founder Anna Bowes to look at what else is out there in the easy access accounts market.

"Although the top easy access rates on standard best buy tables have dropped to around 4.8% AER, there are still some accounts available, like Barclays, that are paying 5% or even more," says Anna.

"But, there are a number of reasons that you might not be able to access these accounts, or you may feel that it's not worth it.

"One of the more popular tricks of the trade is to offer an account that is exclusive to those who hold, or open, a current account with the bank - just like Barclays.

"Added to that there may be a restriction on the deposit that will earn this top rate - so, with Barclays, it's £5,000.

"Another example is Santander's Edge Saver Account (Issue 2), which is paying a whopping 6% AER, but this rate includes a 12-month bonus of 1.5% AER and the maximum you can deposit and earn interest on is £4,000. Anything over this balance will earn zero interest, so the overall rate you earn will be diluted if the balance exceeds £4,000."

The rewards that come with the Santander account include cashback on household bills worth up to £10 a month, a similar offer with retailers, and no charges for using your card abroad.

As discussed, Barclays Blue Rewards comes with other perks too.

Anna says: "It's important to check they are perks that you will benefit from before signing up just to have access to an account.

"The bottom line is that some accounts may look head and shoulders above the rest of the market, but there will usually be a reason that they are able to offer such a rate. So it's important to read the small print to make sure you will earn what you expect."

Here's a look at what's out there...

By Jess Sharp, Money team

Sainsbury's has started working with police after noticing an increase in the number of fraudulent vouchers being used in its stores.

The supermarket has recently become the subject of a TikTok trend called "the Sainsbury's method".

Videos using the term have been posted on the social media platform showing people scanning a coupon several times at the checkout to get money off their shop.

In one clip, a customer gets into an altercation with a shop worker who tries to stop them using the voucher.

This video has since been removed from TikTok.

In another, a person brags about getting shopping worth more than £400 for £6.

Several videos also encourage viewers to join Discord servers to be sent the reusable voucher.

Other clips have warned people about the risks of using the coupon.

We've also seen similar messages appearing on X, with people sharing images showing lots of products supposedly bought with the voucher.

In some instances, they have offered to sell others the coupon.

Sainsbury's told the Money team it had seen an "increase in fraudulent coupons" being used and that there were processes in place to detect and block them.

In-store detectives have also been tasked with monitoring false attempts, and the supermarket is working with police forces on the issue.

"We continue to accept genuine coupons and vouchers," a spokesperson said.

We contacted a number of other supermarkets that use a voucher system to see if they had experienced a similar problem.

Morrisons told the Money team it was not experiencing any issues.

We also understand that Asda already has security measures in place.

Its rewards scheme is app based, with customers getting a unique one-time barcode linked to their account, rather than the same voucher code issued to each person.

Customers have also been encouraged to be careful before clicking or entering anything online that isn't connected to an official Asda account or an official Asda website.

Tesco did not respond to our requests for comment.

More landlords are selling up in London, with the number of buy-to-let properties up for sale hitting a 10-year-high.

Analytics company TwentyCi found 22% of all newly listed homes in July had been available to rent in the last 10 years.

This compares with 15.6% in July 2023.

Across the rest of the UK, the number of landlords selling their properties was significantly lower at 9%.

Chief executive of TwentyCi, Colin Bradshaw, said fears of a capital gains tax increase was one of the reasons for the landlord exodus.

Capital gains tax is a levy on any profit you make when you sell or "dispose of" an asset, such as shares or a second home.

The amount you can earn in profit before paying capital gains tax is currently £3,000.

Mr Bradshaw said another factor was expected measures such as the requirement for a minimum emissions rating for rented properties by 2030.

HM Revenue and Customs Data shows private landlords' income fell by 4% from £49.4bn in 2020-21 to £47.44bn in 2022-23.

One of the biggest falls in income was in London at 12.5%, followed by Scotland at 6.9%.

Oasis have announced two extra Wembley Stadium shows after their tour sold out over the weekend.

Both Liam and Noel Gallagher, as well as Ticketmaster, came under fire over the initial release - as fans spent hours in virtual queues, and some tickets ended up costing more than three times as much due to surge ticket pricing. The government has launched a review into the practice after the backlash.

Announcing two further dates at Wembley Stadium in September next year, Oasis said there would be a staggered "special invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy", devised "as a small step towards making amends for the situation".

They said it needed "to be made clear" that the band "leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used".

Applications to join the ballot for the September shows will be opened first to fans who were unsuccessful in the initial sale.

The band added: "Inevitably interest in this tour is so overwhelming that it's impossible to schedule enough shows to fulfil public demand," the band's statement continued. "But this ticket sale strategy will make the process far smoother for fans by reducing the stress and time it takes to obtain one of the hottest tickets of our time."

Read more on this story here:

Councils have called on the government to end the Right to Buy scheme for new council homes.

One hundred local councils have warned the financial model for council housing finances is "broken", with a £2.2bn "black hole" in councils' dedicated budgets expected by 2028.

The councils have called for a complete overhaul of the Right to Buy scheme introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1980 that allows council tenants to buy their council homes at reduced rates.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, whobought her council house through Right to Buy in 2007, announced at the end of July the government had started to review increased discounts introduced by the former Conservative government in 2012 and will begin a consultation into the whole scheme this autumn.

Only 4% of homes bought under Right to Buy have been replaced, according to charity Shelter, while an estimated 43% of households living in private rented accommodation and receiving housing benefits are in homes bought under Right to Buy.

Read the full story here...

Boohoo has caused upset among its loyal customers after cancelling accounts and charging them for returns.

The online retailer has reportedly started closing some premier accounts due to "unusually high returns activity".

Earlier this year, it started charging premier customers £1.99 for returns - but many shoppers have complained that they were not informed.

At the moment, a premier subscription costs £7.99 a year, but it usually costs £12.99.

Subscribers get unlimited next day delivery, paperless returns and access to exclusive discounts.

Up until the changes, they were also able to return their items free of charge.

One X user said she was "disgusted" after Boohoo deactivated her account.

"Because I order multiple outfits for holidays and night outs or (because your sizes are all over the place) I order two sizes of most things... and because I don't keep everything and send them back, you deactivate my account," she said.

"I've been a customer for 12 years. Disgusting."

She wasn't the only one feeling that way...

Others said they would stop shopping at the retailer altogether.

The Money team looked through the Premier T&Cs - and it does not mention a limit on the number of returns that can be made, or returns at all.

But, it does state that the company can terminate accounts at its discretion.

"We may decide to terminate your Boohoo Premier account and you will be given a prorated refund based on the number of whole months remaining in your membership," it states.

"We will not give any refund for termination related to conduct that we determine, in our discretion, violates these terms or any applicable law, involves fraud or misuse, or is harmful to Boohoo's interests or another user."

Boohoo isn't the online retailer to make this move.

Earlier this year, PrettyLittleThing, which is owned by Boohoo, introduced a returns fee and started cancelling accounts that sent back several items.

Consumer expert Helen Dewdney from The Complaining Cow said there was a growing trend of companies doing this, explaining that returns can be costly for those with small profit margins.

"If a customer is costing a company more by returning more than they are keeping, then it is perhaps understandable why they are having their account closed," she said.

But, she noted that where a company has offered unlimited free returns for a fee, without detailing any limits, then this could be considered as "very unfair and misleading".

"Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a fairness test," she added.

"For a practice to be unfair under these rules, they must harm, or be likely to harm, the economic interests of the average consumer.

"It could be considered that paying to have unlimited returns was part of the purchasing decision. Boohoo should be clearer in their terms and conditions as regards what the limit is, and should certainly be refunding the fee to anyone who has had their account closed."

A spokesperson for Boohoo told Money: "We are committed to providing our customers with easy access to our products and upholding a fair return policy.

"However, like many other online fashion brands, it is important that we balance this with our responsibility to discourage repeat returners, which incur a cost for both the business and the environment."

The Co-op is experiencing its highest-ever levels of crime and abuse, with some staff members losing an eye or miscarrying as a result, one of its directors has told the House of Lords.

Speaking to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Paul Gerrard said crime had risen by 44% across its stores and violence had increased by 35%.

"That level of crime in our stores is 1,000 incidents every single day," he said.

"That is the highest level we have ever seen, levels of abuse are at the highest level we have ever seen and violence has dipped slightly in 2024, but it still a very high level."

He suggested that organised criminals are behind the surge in shoplifting, saying people are "stealing to order huge volumes".

In some cases, he said people had entered with wheelie bins and building bags to load up with stolen goods.

"If one of my colleagues gets in the way, there will be a violent threat," Mr Gerrard added.

"There might be a knife, there might be a syringe. I've had colleagues attacked with a medieval mace, we've had colleagues lose their eye, we've had colleagues miscarry.

"We spend money to keep the colleagues safe in the store. If an incident happens, then we take a number of measures."

Co-op has been a leading voice in campaigns against shopworker violence and is one of the funders of Project Pegasus.

The group supports police forces in identifying the organised crime groups operating in their area.