If you don't live in Canada you may not have heard that we have had a bread price fixing scandal involving almost every large Canadian grocery store. Loblaws which is one of the largest admitted to being part of it and came out before they were charged/sued. They are giving everyone who bought bread there before 2015 (*no proof required) a $25 GC if you register at loblawscard.ca.https://www.loblawcard.ca/. I have registered and had my husband and Mom do the same. This price-fixing happened over a very long period of time including before I was married so that is why we both registered as had independently shopped there.
Class action lawsuits take years and often it is difficult to claim for a large amount unless you have proof of purchase. Due to that if you live in Canada and shopped at either of these stores I recommend you sign up for these offers. These gigantic grocery stores need to know that they will be held accountable and will face financial consequences even if they choose to admit to wrongdoing before anyone else does.
You could also donate the GC to a foodbank. If you choose this option I recommend writing a cheque to the foodbank for the same amount so you get a tax receipt then use the gc yourself for your own groceries. We always make a large yearly donation to our local food bank so we will be using both of these offers for our own groceries.
This year I am keeping a closer eye on my grocery receipts as often spot errors when I get home. Now I am forcing myself to look at the receipt either before I leave the store or on the way home. I am also taking back products I am not happy with.
Mom's 75th birthday was yesterday and we did homemade ribs and a home movie. We had given her the option of a meal out or a meal of her choice in. Hubby makes a mean rib which is her favorite so for $28 I bought a huge package of ribs at Costco and we froze half for another meal. I also I had purchased some flowers for her and also bought some premade salad dressing from a different store. I sometimes make dressing but everyone seems to like different kinds so storebought it was. It tasted off and ruined my bowl of salad :( Today I will take it back on our walk using zero gasoline as the store is only 2 blocks away from home.
We BBQed two half racks for each of us so that we could all have leftovers tonight so no cooking today - yay!
Thank you CC for the suggestion to write the cheque to the food bank. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteYou might as well get a bit of bonus from your donation, it takes nothing away from it :)
DeleteHappy belated Birthday to your Mom! Many happy returns of the Day!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I've also started lately to pay closer attention to grocery receipts as I've spotted some errors , especially concerning promotions.
sometimes it is the cashiers but sometimes incorrect pricing is input - worth it to watch for.
DeleteThe rib dinner sounds like a great birthday gift for your mom. I know I would choose an experience as a gift any day.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for returning the dressing. 2 days ago I needed celery for a dish, bought it and got it home and the entire inside of the stalk was mushy. Since I had to have it for that night I went ahead and used the outer ribs and I should have taken the inner part back the next day for a partial refund, but I didn't. I am going to have to start getting very particular about returning less than satisfactory foods.
Actually on Christmas Eve I was making Steak and salad...the salad leaves purchased at costco the day before. In a rush I didn't look at the best by date. They were slimy. Had to run to my local store to pick up some new salad fixings, never ended up returning the costco lettuce as didn't want to step foot in costco after Christmas so out the window was that money - this year will be different
DeleteHappy birthday to your Mom! Shelagh has applied for both GCs.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there will be more to come Peter
DeleteI have both supermarkets cards and have claimed. SaveOn is at least planning on crediting your loyalty card with the points. Loblaws is making it more difficult. Honestly, they should just credit the money to the PC card and cut out a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I can see how SaveOn is saying they weren't part of the ring. In my area, most of their breads are branded and very little is made in store. So who knows how bread prices are reached. I remember bread being .99cents a loaf and suddenly and without reason it was $1.29.
Actually Loblaws just flat out gives you a gc no pc plus required, that way if you want to give to someone else so much easier
DeleteGreat idea with the tax receipt!
ReplyDeletePeople should be recognized for their generosity and since we can't get tax receipts for donated items like a GC then the cheque is the way to go
DeleteI'm not sure what to think of this bread thing. We haven't shopped at Loblaws but it seems most major grocery stores were involved, however only two are offering compensation so where does that leave the rest of us? Meanwhile I'm trying to be more self sufficient so as not to be at the mercy of large corporations.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure the others will follow, especially Thrifty Foods. We don't buy much bread these days but did in the years they were price fixing
DeleteI take back unacceptable foods. Or, if it is not the store's fault, I often complain to the manufacturer. Either way, I am not wasting money on food. I live far away from Canada, so I cannot use the other information. However, bread pricing? s bread high in Canada?
ReplyDeleteBread has increased quite a lot the last few years. I don't buy it unless it's less than $2 but the breads in question were in the $2.50-$4 range
DeleteI went to a bread outlet and bought a good brand, not fancy, for $.99 that still had 4 days before the sell by date. That is the highest price I will pay.
DeleteI've never heard of a refund on a price war item. But it seems some company is getting into class action law suits for false claims and such. Safeway has a class action suit on an olive oil
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
They only did it as a preventative measure over a class action lawsuit but I think it will happen anyway. They ratted out the other guys. This went on for years and years
DeleteHappy birthday to your mom! You do so well on your food budget! I do so admire that about you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
DeleteHappy birthday belatedly to your mother!
ReplyDeleteShe keeps saying she can't believe she is that old already!
DeleteAlong with reducing waste, paying attention to the cost and unfortunate bad check out prices is part of my plan for keeping grocery budget in check.Too bad about the dressing-a ruined salad is not a treat. Happy Birthday to your mom. Our daughters was yesterday and she too picked home cooked option.
ReplyDeleteMom usually chooses ribs as there are no rib restaurants anywhere near us and it is one of her favorite foods :)
DeleteI wouldn't have thought of using the Loblaw's card myself and writing a cheque as a donation instead - great idea. I think I'll get Kazi to sign up for the gift card as well. She worked there for years as a teenager and bought a lot of food there. Then we can double our donation. I've got her savings towards retirement not but haven't taught her much about the two-way benefits of donating to charity. I haven't heard of the other grocery store you mentioned - is it just in Western Canada I wonder?
ReplyDeleteYeah, strictly Western Canada - Jimmy Pattison owns Save On Foods (biggest billionaire in Western Canada). I fully expect other chains to go there soon.
DeleteThanks for the reminder. I had forgotten to register for the Loblaws card. I'm not sure when Save-on came to my city so not certain I can register for theirs.
ReplyDeleteGood idea on the tax receipt. I'll save $25 on my groceries and get the tax credit since I generally make a donation to the food bank anyway.
I would register for the Save on on either way, I think they likely will giveyou the points.
DeleteI registered for the Loblaw bread card as well. Happy belated B-Day to your Mom! She made the right choice about dinner.....i would pick great homemade ribs over restaurant one any day!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday wishes to your mom. Yes, the price fixing of bread...
ReplyDelete