Tesco faces probe into cut-price drink deal

Wednesday, 07 January 2009

Tesco is under investigation by trading standards over claims the supermarket deliberately misled consumers over a cut-price drinks deal.

Labour MP Rosie Cooper said she could not find a bottle of Bailey's - advertised for sale at £8 - despite visiting three separate stores.

Cooper claimed Tesco is using the practice of "bait advertising", luring shoppers in knowing that the item was understocked.

The method has been banned since last May.

She commented: "The bottom line is that Tesco is getting so big and so arrogant that they think they can do anything and they are taking the British public for mugs."

But a Tesco spokesman denied that stocks of the drink were insufficient and Cooper had been misled.

He said: "It was a very popular promotion. The fact is when you have a popular promotion now and again you temporarily run out of stock.

"It would have been back in stock very quickly.

"This is not indicative of anything more than a popular promotion exceeding our expectations in one store. It is not about any of the things she is suggesting. It is not about luring people in."

The investigation comes after Labour MP John Grogan led a campaign last year to try and ban cheap alcohol promotions in supermarkets.

Further to this, the Advertising Standards Authority is looking at whether Tesco broke rules when promoting the drinks offers - and if it did not remove in-store banners even when it had run out of stock.

The stores are in the Liverpool area.

Tesco cut the price of about 3,000 staple items this week by £100m, after introducing similar promotions on Boxing Day.