Supermarket chain says higher prices were 'mi-steak'

Tuesday 18 July 2023

Sandpiper CI has reassured customers that products going through the till at an unexpectedly higher prices recently were the result of "errors" and not a stealth inflationary rise or absorbed VAT.

After being charged more for some products than advertised at Marks and Spencer – which is run by Sandpiper CI – customers took to social media to share their 'beef'.

Among them was a customer who complained of being charged £11.25 for a steak marked as £10.

When the customer queried, the extra amount was taken off, but other islanders expressed concerns about being charged more than the expected 5% GST for 'price-marked' UK products.

However, a spokesperson from SandpiperCI has said: "The till price for all food products sold in Jersey's Marks and Spencer stores is clearly marked with a shelf edge price label inclusive of 5% GST. This includes multi-buy promotions which is always clearly displayed with flash labelled prices highlighting the cost also including 5% GST. "

Pictured: An example of price discrepancy shared on Facebook.

The spokesperson added: "Marks and Spencer Jersey sell more than 6,000 different food product lines.

"On rare occasions – and not surprisingly – internal systems can incorrectly price products both above and below the correct price. As soon as errors are discovered, corrections are made and refunds immediately given."

It comes after States Members previously raised concerns that VAT, which can be added to UK products, was not removed from products bought in the island, costing Jersey consumers more during a cost-of-living crisis.