However government guidelines state that the tax should not be applied to small bags containing unpackaged foods. Jean said: "I may be 86, but that doesn't mean I will stand by and be conned. It is not about the five pence it is about the principal, and I don't think is right. They must sell thousands of those little bags each week so think about how much those five pence's add up to, and where does the money go?" The incident took place on Thursday when Jean deviated from her usual routine of buying her fresh fruit from a local greengrocer.
She said: "I went to Asda because I just needed a few bananas. I put them in one of the small bags and took it to the till. The woman then said that will be five pence for the bag and I just couldn't believe it. I said that's not right it isn't a proper shopping bag, and she said because it had handles it comes under the five pence rule. I just felt furious. I said I would rather shove the bunch up my top than pay the five pence. I mean just because it has handles it doesn't make it a full-size shopping bag, I couldn't fit my weekly shop in that could I?" After a short argument the checkout woman allowed Jean to leave without paying the charge.
On her way out she asked a second Asda worker about the rule and they confirmed that staff have been told to charge five pence for each 20cm fruit bag sold. The incident has put Jean off shopping at the supermarket giant, owned by Walmart, and she hopes her experience will prompt others to question the charge. She said: "I will never go to Asda Longwell Green for bananas again. I am all for the charge for large bags, but not the small ones." An Asda spokesperson said: “We would firstly like to apologise to the customer for the inconvenience caused. The carrier bag guidance states that retailers should charge 5p for a bag of this size, unless it is being used for exceptional items such as loose fruit and vegetables. In this case, a mistake was made and we are trying to contact the customer to apologise in person."
4 comments:
I'm with the lap on this one. I have no problems paying for the regular carry bags, as they can be used again. It is outrageous that one must pay for those little see through plastic bags that are only good for one use. That's taking it too far.
Grandma needs a hobby.
The point isn't to charge people for plastic bags. The point is to get people to use less or no plastic bags. Grandma could have carried her bananas home without bag just fine.
Or Grandma could have brought her own bag to the store. I keep a bag in my purse at all times so I won't have to use a plastic bag. And there's no charge for the plastic. do it for the environment.
Post a Comment