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DODGY DISCOUNT
Sainsbury’s glitch sees shoppers make huge savings as high as £80 as supermarket slams people using fraudulent coupons
We spoke to one Sainsbury's customer about how they discovered the issue
A GLITCH at Sainsbury's has led to fraudulent self-checkout coupons being accepted after a shopper claimed he saved around £80.
Sainsbury's took action in stores nationwide after scammers found a flaw allowing shoppers to purchase baskets of goods for enormous discounts.
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It is claimed that the supermarket giant suffered a glitch, letting shoppers repeatedly scan a £3.49 discount voucher at self-checkouts nationwide.
The claims say that punters leave stores with full baskets for as little as £3, exploiting the glitch to the max.
The troublesome fake coupon spread like wildfire on WhatsApp this week, with a voice note that said: “This is for the mandem,” before launching into a step-by-step guide on how to cheat the system.
Word of the exploit spread quietly but quickly, as hopeful customers flocked to their local branches to try their luck.
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We spoke to one shopper who said: “[I was] sort of excited but a bit nervous – it definitely felt like you were doing something wrong.
" I went into the store and scanned everything, I followed the steps.
"The items were around £70-80, but I managed to get the items for just under £2.
"It’s mad how small faults in codes can cause such a big issue.”
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One source claimed to The Sun: “Apparently, there is going to be an email going out from Sainsbury's telling customers they cannot use coupons.
"And the employees are all informed. It was madness and chaos while it lasted.
";I wonder how much money they lost – some people must have taken them for thousands.”
I'm a coupon super-saver - cashiers working at self-checkout hate me but I don't care, I'm saving
Sainsbury's has not responded to claims an email was circulated.
A Sainsbury's spokesperson has denied the computer error happened and said fraudulent coupons do not work.
They told The Sun: “We have seen an increase in fraudulent coupons in our stores and we have processes in place to detect and block them.
"We also have in-store detectives monitoring for fraudulent attempts and we are working closely with the police on this issue.”
The spokesperson added that the supermarket continues to accept "genuine coupons and vouchers”.
SAVINGS TIPS
This comes as a mum went viral for her hack that has helped her groceries go further – after she spent a staggering £12,000 per month on bills.
A supersaver has gone viral after sharing her eight tips for saving up to £30 on your weekly food shop.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Kat from Manchester is no stranger to finding a good bargain, with over 917,000 likes and 33,000 followers looking to her for advice ().
In one of her latest videos, which has over 3,000 views, the 27-year-old shares hacks for how she saves money when browsing the aisles.
How Sainsbury's voucher system works
How to get money off your weekly shop.
Nectar: While Sainsbury's doesn't have a personal scheme, it does own the Nectar card which can also be used in Argos, eBay and other shops. You need 200 Nectar points to save up £1 to spend on your card. You need to spend at least £1 to get one Nectar point.
E-vouchers: Sainsbury's shoppers can look out for e-vouchers - These are 12-digit codes consisting of numbers and upper case letters which can be entered on the website to receive a discount for an online grocery order.
To use these click Add Voucher at the checkout and this will be deducted from the total of your order. E-vouchers contain expiry dates and these will appear on the vouchers themselves.
Exclusive offers: Sainsbury's often runs exclusive offers, the major supermarket currently has a £15 off scheme for customers' first £80+ grocery shops up until 31/07/2024 - shoppers can use the discount online, entering the e-voucher SSEO24JUL15.
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