Coles have issued an apology and offered refunds to thousands of customers after accidentally overcharging them on a number of different products.
The supermarket giant sent an email to its Flybuys members this week admitting the price 20 popular items was accidentally raised before the end of a promotion period.
A spokesman for the supermarket chain told Daily Mail Australia they understand many customers are relying on discounts to make ends meet.
‘We know cost of living is the biggest focus for so many of our customers. We sincerely apologise to our customers for this mistake and we are working quickly to make it right,’ they said.
‘We are refunding the full cost of the items to customers. Coles has processed refunds for customers who used their Flybuys card or purchased through Coles Online.
‘We are also making arrangements to place these products back on promotion. eight are currently back at a reduced price and we are making arrangements to place the remaining 12 on promotion for our customers.’
Coles sent Flybuys customers an apology email and offered a refund for overcharging them on sale products
The six brands involved in the pricing mistake are: Bulla’s thickened cream in 300ml and 600ml packs and life varieties.
Somat’s 30 and 45 packs of excellence dishwashing tablets, 25 and 51 packs of gold dishwashing tablets and rinser and drying booster dishwasher rinse aid in 500ml bottles were overpriced.
Napolina’s chopped tomatoes four-pack and plum tomatoes four-pack were refunded.
Kelloggs cereal corn flakes, Fehlbergs jalapenos sliced 470g, Coles bbq briquettes and bran flakes with sultanas 580g were all also incorrectly priced.
A number of Coles’ medical products were refunded, including the ankle support premium, heat pack silicone bead, medistrips fabric 50-pack, pregnancy midstream test single-pack, pregnancy midstreamtest three-pack and wrist support premium.
Coles encouraged all Flybuys customers to check their emails for information about their refund.
‘When you next scan your Flybuys card, the credit will deduct from your shop,’ the email reads.
However, many customers said the email was confusing.
The grocer said it changed the prices of 20 popular items before a promotional period was over
‘I have predominantly shopped at Woolworths the last couple of years so apologies if this is common. Now to go to Coles and see if I am getting back $1 or $20,’ one said.
‘I got it too. Didn’t buy the meats. Have no idea what it was that I was overcharged for,’ another wrote.
‘I got that too, first time. And I shop at Coles fairly often,’ another said.
A fourth thought it could be a scam, writing: ‘I was very confused at first and was assuming some dubious link I need to click and put in all my card details or something but I think it’s legit.’
Customers who purchased the incorrectly priced products but are not Flybuys members can visit the service desk at their local store for a refund.
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