Sainsbury’s and Tesco have been accused of deceiving customers over savings under their loyalty card schemes.
The supermarkets faced backlash after the consumer group Which? accused them of using “potentially dodgy tactics” to convince customers of greater savings than they actually are.
However, both grocers have denied the accusations.
Which? examined 141 Nectar and Clubcard prices and looked at their pricing history over the last six months.
It revealed roughly a third of the member-only promotions could only be bought at their “regular” price under half of the time period.
Other “key problems” found by Which? included regular prices being altered immediately before the loyalty card promotion and regular prices being much pricier than at other grocers.
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In its investigation, the consumer group also pointed out not all shoppers qualified to register with the supermarkets’ loyalty schemes, due to eligibility rules including age restrictions.
The consumer group has shared the results with the Competition and Markets Authority, which have been asked to examine whether grocers could be raising their normal prices to mislead shoppers over loyalty schemes.
Responding to the accusations, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson claimed inflation meant many items had risen in price during the last six months, but that its own rate of inflation had been lower than that of many rivals.
Speaking to The Mirror, a Tesco spokesperson its regular prices Which? had examined lined up with the normal prices other grocers charged shoppers at the time.
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