Underweight and overcharged: Are you being ripped off in the supermarket?
- Replies 15
We’ve previously written about the various ways supermarket meat may be ripping you off. From ‘moisture infused’ roasts to trays being included in the weight charged. But today, we’re looking at a concerning report of underweight meat being sold in supermarkets.
Member Lorraine M. kindly wrote in to share her experience.
She said, ‘Last week I purchased two legs of lamb from Coles supermarket because they were on special for $10/kg. I was about to cook them this afternoon, but they seemed a bit small. So I checked the weight to find one leg was 400g underweight and the other was 300g underweight.’
This is a huge weight discrepancy, meaning Lorraine was charged for something she didn’t receive. That’s a $7 overcharge, to be precise.
Lorraine continued, ‘I am wondering how many others were the same, seeing I was lucky enough to pick up two.’
‘I finally managed to speak to somebody at Coles, they don’t make it easy, and I have been offered a refund. But now I have the inconvenience of taking the packaging back to the store, somewhere I don’t usually frequent. The last BBQ chicken that I bought weighed only 750g compared to the usual 1kg (for the same $12).’
‘So I would suggest that we now can’t trust the supermarkets to truthfully weigh the meat.’
Members, we urge you to take Lorraine's experience onboard and consider weighing any meat in-store before purchasing. The best way to do this would be to utilise the fruit and veg scales to ensure the actual weight matches the price set on the product.
Of course, we shouldn’t have to resort to such measures.
Member @JayKay previously left an insightful comment regarding a potential overcharge at the butchers: ‘With a one-off, single purchase, the 9 cents may not seem very much to worry about. But if you are buying 6 items or more weekly or more often, it adds up. That's for one customer. Add up the number of customers for the shop per day, per week, per month, per year...that's a lot of 9 cents.’
We know every dollar counts, and it really does all add up.
Now, we would love to hear from you. Have you also experienced or suspected that this is the case? Please let us know in the comments below.
Member Lorraine M. kindly wrote in to share her experience.
She said, ‘Last week I purchased two legs of lamb from Coles supermarket because they were on special for $10/kg. I was about to cook them this afternoon, but they seemed a bit small. So I checked the weight to find one leg was 400g underweight and the other was 300g underweight.’
This is a huge weight discrepancy, meaning Lorraine was charged for something she didn’t receive. That’s a $7 overcharge, to be precise.
Lorraine continued, ‘I am wondering how many others were the same, seeing I was lucky enough to pick up two.’
The two underweight legs of lamb. Credit: Member Lorraine M.
‘I finally managed to speak to somebody at Coles, they don’t make it easy, and I have been offered a refund. But now I have the inconvenience of taking the packaging back to the store, somewhere I don’t usually frequent. The last BBQ chicken that I bought weighed only 750g compared to the usual 1kg (for the same $12).’
‘So I would suggest that we now can’t trust the supermarkets to truthfully weigh the meat.’
Members, we urge you to take Lorraine's experience onboard and consider weighing any meat in-store before purchasing. The best way to do this would be to utilise the fruit and veg scales to ensure the actual weight matches the price set on the product.
Of course, we shouldn’t have to resort to such measures.
Member @JayKay previously left an insightful comment regarding a potential overcharge at the butchers: ‘With a one-off, single purchase, the 9 cents may not seem very much to worry about. But if you are buying 6 items or more weekly or more often, it adds up. That's for one customer. Add up the number of customers for the shop per day, per week, per month, per year...that's a lot of 9 cents.’
We know every dollar counts, and it really does all add up.
Now, we would love to hear from you. Have you also experienced or suspected that this is the case? Please let us know in the comments below.
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). The meat is also local from the Tablelands and the butcher family business brings it to their shop just outside Coles in Cairns where I live. A staff from coles I chatted with (he was sorting out the shelves) told me the meat at coles often comes frozen from Melbourne! Oh dear, why ?!? 
