Tesco's "Complete Mess" Delivery Service

I have emailed the letter below to online@tesco.co.uk and terry.leahy@uk.tesco.com after a really distressing experience this evening.

I placed the above online grocery order and arranged delivery for 28th March 2008 between 9-11pm. The driver arrived at 9.10pm approx and straight away i noticed that my order was not 'in carrier bags' as requested. Furthermore the order contained 2 items of dog food, one bag of dried dog food plus six tins of dog food - i do not have a dog. It also contained a packet of 6 snow ball cakes, which i had also not ordered. There was only one '21 pack' of walkers crisps - i had ordered 2, and to be honest this was the final straw. Myself and the driver began to 'tick' items off on the receipt but it became clear that the order was a complete mess, the driver said it would look badly on him as he was limited to time spent at each address so i asked him to take the order back. He advised me to telephone customer services to re-arrange the slot which i did soon after. I explained the issues to the operator and they arranged re-delivery for the following day - 24 hours after my original order. I also explained that i do my shopping online as i am disabled and have a young child at home, and we now have no food. The operator apologised - i also pointed out that as my delivery was completely messed up through NO fault of my own i objected to paying delivery charges, he said 'Tesco delivered your shopping - you sent it back!' - is this what you call customer service?? My order was totally incorrect, packaged incorrectly and now i'm told its my fault and expected to pay for an inferior service. The call ended.
I then went to log into my Tesco account to check the change of delivery time, to my surprise the total amount of my shopping had increased by almost £20! Again i telephoned customer services only to be told that as the 'home delivery team' worked short hours there was no-one available to find out the reason. I requested that the order be cancelled completely.
Now this leaves me with not only no shopping but no further funds to do my shopping elsewhere as the funds have been debited from my debit card and upon speaking to customer services for a third time i am advised that it can take up to 5 days for a refund. I really cannot believe that i could be left in such a complete and utter mess and no offer to rectify the situation. None of this is my fault and i will certainly think twice before using Tesco again - which is a real shame as i have used Tesco for almost 12 months now - but i suppose my business hardly makes a difference.
I just hope someone in a similar situation to myself may not have to experience anything like this, i will be sending a copy of this email to Watchdog and Motability Magazine as i think you're customer service is non existent.
I would like to continue shopping with Tesco but do not feel confident my custom is valued or that you are able to provide a basic delivery service.
I hope you are able to get to the bottom of these problems and look forward to speaking to someone in authority who is able to take ownership of this and bring it to a mutually acceptable conclusion.

Yours Faithfully
Mrs Diane Dawson

Tesco's Cheapside Manager Alan is an Ape!

I bought some Bahlsen biscuits marked on special earlier this week and noticed that the till price was £ 1.03 compared to the £ 0.79 on the shelf. I noticed while doing a self-service check out that the price was wrong and a member of staff corrected the price back to what it should be. Today I thought I would see if they had bothered to fix the error and bought the biscuits again but sure enough the price still came up at £ 1.03 in the check-out despite the shelf price still being £ 0.79.
I insisted on seeing the manager (Alan in the Cheapside Branch in London) who acted in a surly manner and just shoved the £ 0.24 owing and my receipt at me. He was upset because he thought I should have just called another checkout supervisor and had them correct the price while I was checking out. When I explained that it wasn’t my job to correct their prices when I have already told them that they are wrong and said I should have been given an apology for this attempt to rip me off, he got surly and told me “there is a Marks and Spencers nearby – go there in future”. When I said I would report him he then started telling me not to come back to the store and was yelling at me as I left the store.
Clearly staff training is a low priority at Tesco as is correcting “mistaken” prices – especially given that the new price-correction only policy now makes it a very lucrative business.

Welcome to TescoRipOff.com

TescoRipOff reveals the shocking truth about Tesco's serious and widespread overcharging of its customers by leaving out-of-date prices and offers on display in stores. Amazingly, Chief Executive Terry Leahy has said he sees nothing wrong in doing this.
Click here for more amazing info on Tesco's ripoff.

Tesco internet service pay as you (dont) go!

I had a Tesco Anytime Internet package which i tried to switch to pay as you go as i obtained a broadband package with another ISP. The Tesco screens went through and switched my package to pay as you go but then did not load the browser for me to use pay as you go. I didn't worry about it as didn't really need to use pay as you go.

I then emailed Tesco.net to resolve this and emails went back and forth giving mixed information. In the end i was told i would have to phone in.

Imagine my shock when my credit card was billed the following month. I tried to cancel it again online and it went through the motions and then did an error message about pay as you go. Then i was billed again for another months usage!

I phoned the number they suggested at Tesco.net and they cancelled my package and said if a refund was due it would be applied to my credit card.

To date this has not happened despite several calls to Tesco.net and two conversations with a Manager. He agreed i should not have to pay for the service if i had not used it. i asked him to check their records to see if i had used the net via Tesco since i switched to broadband.

No refund or contact has been received since. i have stopped shopping at Tesco's as i have decided to vote with my pocket.

Thank you for a great site.

Tesco - rotten on the inside!?

We are forever buying fruit that looks just beautiful from the outside but is often actually inedible or of very poor quality. Having lived for half my life in a sub-tropical country (South Africa) you can rest assured I know tropical / sub tropical fruit VERY WELL.

The current example is of Nectarines purchased on the 20/03/2007 at 15:54 As I said it is all very well having fruit arriving here from all over the world LOOKING perfect on the outside but when you try and eat it, as is often the case, it is not correctly ripened and or has a powerdry texture and when allowed to ripen a bit, as in this case a few days, goes off or at least ends up inedible.

The picture shown reflects the fruit as it was on Friday 23rd March 3 days after purchase. It is a shamefull indictment of the lack of interest TESCO actually has in supplying “good quality” products.

My complaint is not aimed at getting something back from Tesco (although I often feel that I should because to be sold fruit like this is not on, in simple terms IT'S a rip off !) but more towards offering valuable feedback on the problem of picking, preparing and transporting fruit over long distances and getting TESCO to DO SOMETHING about the problem.

Before I move on, I do however wish to point out that these nectarines were and still are on a special offer, HALF PRICE, and I could just not help thinking that TESCO is simply dumping stock that is not quiet up to standard or stock that they know will not last and reach the customer in the quality it should, at special prices, to get the public to buy the sub-standard product and minimise TESCO's wastage / loss.

Back on the more general matter, as you may be aware fruit can be successfully picked early, held in cold storage and ripened on demand by raising the storage temperature and spiking the natural ripening process by the introduction of Ethylene into the air.

Unfortunately this process needs very tight control and degradation of the quality of the fruit, as has happened in this case can occur, amongst other things, because...

Fruit is overheated between time of picking and cold storage for transport.
Fruit is over cooled during the cold storage transport stage.

I think Tesco should have a hard look at the procedures involved and make it the responsibility of the suppliers / transporters to keep accurate recorded temperatures from beginning to end of the process, recording the temperature every 30 minutes during of the process using an inexpensive digital device that accompanies the fruit throughout it's journey. This way TESCO can refuse to accept fruit that will not reflect the high standards we, your customers demand. There are however also other actions / factors that govern the fruit final quality that should be considered.

This way Tesco can live up to it's name of bringing high quality to it's customers in every aspect of your service.

Grey Smith

Tesco-Complaint: This is far from the the first rotten produce complaint we've received - Tesco must receive hundreds if not thousands of rotten complaints. Will they ever do anything about it?

Tesco's Deceptive Fruit and Veg Pledge...

Mark Mcgivern of The Daily Record reports that for Tesco, EVERY LITTLE CHEAT HELPS: SUPERMARKET giants Tesco have been accused of a half price fiddle. Trading Standards officers found they put big hikes on the price of fruit - then slashed them by 50 per cent days later.

Tesco, who take in £1 in every £8 spent in British shops, use TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh to advertise their "Fruit & Veg Pledge". They promised to halve the price of five types of fruit and veg every week of this year.

But research showed that four of the products featured in the first week of the promotion in January suddenly rose in price at the end of December. For example, Gala apples cost £1.19 a kilo on December 11.

They went up to £1.99 on December 18, but were reduced to 99p on January 1 for the promotion. A 500g punnet of peaches cost £1.99 on December 11, before reaching £2.99 on December 28. On New Year's Day, the price was reduced by half to £1.48. Nectarines and plums followed a similar pattern.

Mart in Fisher, of the Trading Standards Institute, said the supermarket were "grossly exploiting" loopholes that allow them to cut prices on goods which quickly go rotten.

The Department Of Trade and Industry states that shops can only advertise a discount on a product if it has been priced at a higher rate for the past 28 days.

But with fruit and veg, the discount has to relate only to the last advertised price.

Researchers also found other evidence of unusual pricing.

A pack of three courgettes were halved to 99p - at the same time the price of loose courgettes rose by 35p a kilo. Celery hearts halved in price, but celery sticks simultaneously rose by 51 per cent.

A Tesco spokesman blamed seasonal fluctuations. He added: "Any suggestion we ramp up prices in order to cut them again is the purest nonsense."

Labour MP Jim Dowd, of the all-party small shops group, said: "It amounts to the deception of customers."

Tesco's Mass Overpricing forces end of Refund & Retain Policy

TESCO is ditching its refund policy after being forced to GIVE £300 Xboxes to shoppers. The rule promises customers who are overcharged at the till a full refund, plus they can keep the item they bought. The People report that some punters seized on the generous scheme and deliberately tracked down mis-priced gear - costing the chain at least £100,000.

The cheeky freebie-hunt - fuelled by internet tip-offs - peaked when a pric- ing blunder left store chiefs no option but to give away Xbox 360 games consoles. They were marked on shelves as £297.81 - but came up on tills at £299.97.

Return and refund-takers have also bagged themselves DVDs, wine, food, chicken nuggets and nappies. Tesco - whose motto is Every Little Helps - tried banning the worst culprits. But now bosses have decided that does not go far enough.

A source said: "We have lost too much money through the policy. People were just taking advantage and Tesco had to draw the line somewhere."

But Martin Lewis - who runs moneysavingexpert.com, which runs details of Tesco price gaffes - was unrepentant. He said: "If thousands of pounds worth of Xboxes walked out the door then it should teach Tesco to be a bit more careful about prices so that customers are not misled."

The new policy from February 26 will see shoppers receive double the amount they were overcharged.

Tesco stole from my credit card!

On Tesco.com We ordered 12 bottles of a Montana Sauvignon Blanc 2005 that was on offer @ £25.79 per half case, with free shipping total £51.58. A week later the wine was delivered (in the earliest delivery slot available). On checking the invoice the total was £120.90 - two half cases of wine @ £57.95 PLUS £5 delivery.

We looked online and found that Tesco cancelled our first order the day before delivery. The invoice we received with the delivery was against another order number that they had raised. They charged our credit card without our authority. On ringing them, they said that we should have been contacted. We weren't (and we were in all day the day before delivery). They have refunded the money, but have not said how they can take almost £70 of our money without even asking! We have emailed Sir Leahy suggesting that if we took £70 of goods from his shops, but offered to give them back when caught, Tesco would still take us to court for theft. What they have done is no different!

Where do they stand on this? Surely they can't just raise and order and take money off a card without authority? Even though they have refunded the extra money taken (we shall see next statement), they must have committed an illegal act?

Their investigation was slipshod and full of the usual platitudes that so and so has been asked to tighten up on this and so and so on that. It was all rather devalued by the fact that they didn't even bother to check that the wine we bought has never sold for almost £10 a bottle! £6.00 (= £36 a case) is more typical. Even the "Reserve" version of the wine sells for less than we were charged.

And then "It is always a matter of regret when one of our customers remains dissatisfied with any aspect of our operations but I do hope that, despite this, we can still look forward to your custom in the future". As if!

Iconoclast records Tesco's poor customer service!

Tesco pudding leaves very bad taste

Barrow-in-Furness Tesco is just like many other Tesco stores in treating customers as though they are all untrustworthy charlatans. Heres what the North West Evening Mail reported today:

LIKE a plump Christmas pudding, retail giant Tesco has landed itself in hot water over a festive dessert. Two sisters, Margaret Tucker, 65, and Lorraine Hill, 57, are steaming after cashing in on what they had thought was a 20 per cent discount on Tesco’s finest pud. They spotted the bargain while shopping on December 5, but later that afternoon they noticed that they had been charged the full price.

When Margaret returned to the store three hours later she took one of the managers round to show her where she had picked up the bargain. But to her amazement the display and the 20 per cent ticket had vanished. The manager at the store — who came on duty after the sisters had done their shopping — insisted there had been no such offer that day. Then the customer services desk said no such offer had ever existed. When the pair wrote a letter of complaint the store wrote back saying an offer had existed but ended a few days earlier. The letter claimed that all discounts signs had been removed before the pair’s shopping trip.

The sisters visited the store a second time to meet another manager and to view CCTV footage in the hope of finding evidence to back their case. Lorraine said: “Despite the fact there are cameras all over the store — and one very close to where we had picked up the pudding — we were told the cameras do not work all the time.”

The sisters, who are demanding an apology and an explanation, insisted they had not imagined the discount. They claim the discount signs should have been removed if the offer was no longer valid. Mrs Hill, from Mount Pleasant, Barrow, said: “I am becoming increasingly concerned that Tesco locally and nationally is prepared to stand by the humiliation of my sister in the Barrow store and implying, in writing, that she and I had some kind of joint hallucination on December 5.”

At no point did the store offer to give them a free Christmas pudding — only a full refund. To add to the confusion the sisters received another letter from Tesco customer services in Dundee shortly after contacting us, in which they now blame tills for not registering “the multi-saver purchase”. They claim the tills have now been fixed and apologised for the inconvenience. They said the complaint would be passed to Barrow store manager Rob Alexander. Mrs Hill has now written to Mr Alexander to see if he can help.

We have since contacted Tesco and they promised to look into this fully. They apologised for the sisters’ troubles. A spokesman refused to be drawn on whether they had implied the sisters were lying. He said: “It does seem to be a misunderstanding. The store is going to be in touch. “We are sorry for the distress. They could be sent something.”

We also suggested they should give the sisters £200 worth of vouchers as an apology. They can afford it, having made £2.2bn profit last year. Later that day Mrs Hill was offered flowers and chocolates by Tesco — but refused them."

A Tesco "Manager" replies...

I am a manager for Tesco. Firstly, I just want to make one point, no one is forced to shop at Tesco, if you have so much complaint about it, simply don't shop there. How boring life must be to spend time moaning about a supermarket! I have no complaint about my company, and the only bad treatment I have ever received is at the hands of customers including acts of unjustified aggression and threats of assault If any of you had the slightest idea about the work and effort that goes into providing the service to the customer at Tesco then you may think twice about the comments posted on this site. I just think that everyone is jealous of Tesco's position and no one likes to see anything successful. Why don't we celebrate a great British company.

My second point is about all these comments and dedicated websites on Tesco mispricing. Yes I admit on occasion there will be some pricing errors, either human error where a member of staff misses changing a label over or a computer error centrally. However, there are systems in place and a dedicated department to make sure prices are correct. Tesco is not intentionally over charging customers. Concerning the over charging policy, this is provided for as a gesture of good-will as way of apology for the inconvenience of being overcharged. Although it is VERY apparent that many "customers" are making a career out of this generous policy by intentionally purchasing high value products they believe will scan incorrectly. It is under these circumstances a refund may be refused by management and the "customer" banned.

Furthermore, it is well known that some criminals will intentionally swap labels around and even attempt to print their own labels to make out they have been overcharged. So if "customers" request refunds under suspicious circumstances then YES refunds should not be given out and these people banned from store.

Tesco-Complaint response in the comments section...

Tesco Club Card Fraud?

I receive extra Tesco ClubCard points codes with my mailings from Tesco all the time, so I ordered online to get 1500 extra points which would have been great if they had been added but they weren't.

I phoned 3 times, 1st time told it takes 28 days, 2nd time said they would add them, 3rd time said they would add them.

E-mailed them and haven't got a response, I could have got the stuff in store and saved myself £5 delivery. Surely this is false advertising? Is it against trading standards to offer deals like thses and not honour them?

Lights Go Out at Tesco...

On December 9th, I purchased a box of 200 Tesco white multi-function christmas tree lights at the Wrexham branch of Tesco. Before putting them onto the tree, I plugged them in to check that they were working. Only half of them lit up. I painstakingly checked every bulb but to no avail. As it was 21.45 on saturday evening, I re-boxed them as best I could and on sunday morning (10th December) I returned them to the store.

I was told to take another set, which I did. On arriving home, again I plugged them in only to find exactly the same problem. Dispite ill health, I returned to Tesco yet again. This time I decided to try a different type as these particular lights obviously have a fault. I picked up a box of 120 micro lights and two boxes of blue neon lights which were labelled as £4.95 for 40. I took them to the customer service desk where I was then told that they were actually £14.95 each and the £4.95 label referred to boxes of 20 pink fluffy lights that worked by battery.

The female member of staff at the desk was most unhelpful and spoke to me as if I was an annoying child. This is not the attitude I use when working with the public and it is certainly not the way I expect to be treated either. I returned the lights to the shelf and observed that a good half of them were stacked above the wrong price labels.

I also watched in disbelief as the box of faulty lights I had returned were put back on the shelf and were about to be purchased by another lady until I told her that I had just returned them.

What on earth are the staff at at Tesco playing at? I can assure you that as person in full time employment, I have better things to do with my time on a sunday morning than travel up and down to Tesco. I ask that you investigate this matter and I await your reply.

Julie Lloyd

ASA: Tesco Lies to Customers

The UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint made against Tesco Personal Finance, for a misleading TV advertisement that promised a 50% discount for consumers who bought a home policy online but failed to actually provide such a large discount.

In fact the discount was as little as 15% even though the advert implied that customers who enquired within the promotion period would receive a 50% discount compared to the price that would have been quoted prior to the beginning of the promotional period.

The ASA ruled that the ad breached rules relating to misleading advertising and accurate pricing, and has told Tesco Personal Finance that the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

More at Brand Republic and Insurance Business Review and click our labels for more false advertising by Tesco.

Asda cheaper than Tesco - OFFICIAL

For the last eight years Asda has beaten all the other main supermarkets to be the cheapest according to industry magazine The Grocer. Tesco doesnt like this fact and so complained to the ASA that Asda was claiming to be Britain's lowest priced supermarket.

Why are Tesco always complaining about Asda anyway? Like was said before - it's time to roll back some justice - maybe Asda should start adding small text to TV campaigns saying

"Asda is cheaper than Tesco -The Grocer"

- that should get the point across without allowing Tesco to run to the ASA.

Misleading prices keep on coming...

I am a checkout operator at Tesco. After reading through a number of posts here about misleading Point Of Sale information being displayed on shelf edges and on products, I want to share some of my own experiences.


There is no coherent policy. The displayed 'Our Promise' sign is often blatantly contradicted by staff members of all levels, including senior managers. This has led to a number of checkout operators (myself included) never divulging ANY information to customers about whether they will get a refund, discount or whatever on an overcharge in case a manager blatantly contradicts us five minutes later.

Most of my colleagues have developed ways around this. For many 'Buy 2 for £2' and similar offers, the tills used to offer ways around this in case of automatic discounts failing to apply. However, being able to do this has been gradually taken away, and the checkout operator is only able to alter the price of a few 'price verified' items which are subject to 'price-flexing' (also borderline unlawful, and used to drive down competition), leaving the only solution to a failed automatic discount to be a full refund, which stores are not inclined to do.

Tesco's policy on overcharging backfires against itself, which is why so many stores are unwilling to rectify their mistakes. Having to go 'above and beyond' what the customer expects (in theory) has led to the policy of a full refund + keeping the product, but when this happens for expensive items it becomes less appealing than when it's for a £1.99 bag of salad. The reports I've read on this forum of such incidents where stores have refused to refund expensive items are truly appalling. It is about targets - stores are monitored on their individual profit and loss figures - but this doesn't make it right. The fact that you could be refused a refund one day, then go in the next day and speak to a different manager and then actually get a refund isn't right either.

It's also interesting to note that all my knowledge of the refund and overcharging process has been gained from experience. Neither I nor any of my colleagues have received formal training on correct, legal refund procedures. This only adds further to the stupidity of Tesco's refusing to honour their refund policy.

Tesco's Misleading Price Indications

Whilst reading the earlier post about Tesco overcharging and being guilty of misleading price indications contrary to the Consumer Protection Act 1987, I recalled an incident in Norfolk in September 2001 where Tesco complained to Trading Standards about Asda resulting in Asda being investigated and ending up in court with a hefty fine for misleading price indications. Read about that on BBC News.

It seems to me most ironic that today whilst Asda don't seem to have a problem with wrongly labelled prices, Tesco have a huge problem hence their refund and retain (R&R) policy. Isnt it ironic that whilst Asda have sorted out their misleading prices, it is Tesco who complained about Asda that are now facing problems. Report any misleading prices to Trading Standards who can see to it that hefty fines are imposed and if Asda are reading - perhaps it's time to roll back some justice?

Tesco - Breaking the Law and Own Policy?

Over the last five weeks it has been well documented by many Tesco customers on various internet forums that most branches of Tesco nationwide have been displaying misleading price indications on computer games consoles. These problems appear to have affected all branches nationwide and have originated at Head Office level.

Stores have displayed promotional Point Of Sale material on the shelves stating:

• "Save £20 when you buy an Xbox and Game Of The Week" and
• "Save £10 when you buy a PSP and Game Of The Week".

However, as many customers have discovered, the advertised discounts have not applied by the tills when customers have purchased the relevant items. This is caused by the "Game Of The Week" posters being out of date or incorrect, although this is not apparent to any customer who reads the poster.

At present most branches of Tesco are also displaying Point of Sale material offering "10% off all Pay As You Go mobile phones". Once again, many customers including myself have found that no discount is applied to the original price when a number of the mobile phones are purchased. In the case of the Motorola L6 Virgin Mobile phone, staff have claimed that the current sale price of £69.99 has already had the 10% discount deducted. However, this is untrue as the phone has never been on sale by Tesco for more than £69.99.

As you may already be aware, all Tesco stores nationwide have a sign on display in their stores (usually behind the Customer Service desk) entitled "Our Promise", which states the following:

"In the unlikely event you are charged a higher price than on the shelf or the product we will refund your money and you can keep the product" (This 'refund and retain' policy statement does not have any conditions or small print attached to it).

In my own experience, and in the experience of hundreds of other customers across the country, Tesco have refused to honour this policy on games consoles or other items of a high value when they have overcharged for them.

Some of their implausible and often ridiculous excuses have included:

"The policy only applies to food and drink items."

"In the case of multisave offers (i.e. buy two or more items and receive a discount) which fails to be deducted at the till, we have not actually overcharged you - we have just forgotten to give you your discount."

"Our policy is at the manager's discretion, and the manager says no."

"Each customer is only entitled to have the benefit of the policy on a maximum of one/two/three products." (the amount varies from store to store)

"You noticed you had been overcharged before you left the store, and therefore the policy does not apply".

When some customers have elevated their complaints to Tesco's Head Office after the branch refused to honour company policy, individual store managers have taken the decision to issue a lifetime ban on that customer entering their store.

I have myself been issued with such a ban by my local store. Tesco have insinuated that by me trying to obtain a refund on a games console after they overcharged me for it, I am in some way committing fraud. I entirely refute their allegation since it is Tesco who committed a criminal offence by overcharging me in the first place, and I have simply tried to obtain a refund under their advertised policy.

The real reason for these banning orders is that managers feel threatened by observant customers who are aware of their legal rights. It is far easier for them to ban these customers rather than to operate an honest, law-obiding business.

There are two issues here:

1. The numerous and widespread breaches by Tesco of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 by displaying misleading price indications. These are criminal offences.
2. The misleading policy statement on display in every store, which Tesco frequently refuse to honour. This is currently under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Over the last five weeks I have been overcharged on a total of 18 occasions by several Tesco stores. In all but two of these cases, the stores have refused to honour their advertised policy on overcharging. I have been astonished at the ignorance of the law displayed by some of the managers and duty managers of the above stores. When I have explained the legalities of the situation, they have denied that they are doing anything wrong by displaying incorrect pricing information.

The rudeness of the staff (including managers) has at times been absolutely shocking.

The forum section of the website Moneysavingexpert.com contains hundreds of customers' examples of Tesco's overcharging and subsequent refusal to honour their policy.

Tesco Reported to The Police For Assault!

Just had a terrible experience in the Tesco Kilmarnock store. Noticed £20 off Virgin & Vodafone handsets was still on offer. Bought a Motorola L6 and discount didn't come off. Pointed this out at CS and SA went back to shelf, removed the A4 poster and said she'd speak to her manager. She said "It's not your fault, you'll get your money back. This is out of date" I replied I was familiar with this policy as it happened a few weeks ago too with a book I'd bought.

Waited at desk for a few minutes and the next thing I know 3 or 4 staff were around me with the manager waving the A4 poster in my face saying "Where did you get this, this is not our point of sale" I replied "Excuse me" at which point he started a total rant and told the CS guy to call the police! He was saying "I'm fed up with this, we've had this in here before, I'm not giving you a refund, just call the police" He then proceeded to rip up the poster in front of my face stating "THERE!" I asked him exactly what he was accusing me of and if he thought I printed my own poster. He answered that he wasn't giving me any refund and that was that. I asked for his name which he gave but was very aggressive and attempting to be intimidating throughout. This at the front door of Tesco at 5.45 on a Friday evening, very embarrassing. I asked what he would like me to do now as he had stated that he was calling the police. He replied "Just go" He still had my reciept and top up voucher which I asked him to return and he had crunched them up in his hand in his anger!

I then left the shop and I went to the police station to report his threatening and abusive manner and to keep myself in the right. Head Office closed by the time I got home so I'll be calling first thing tomorrow. Is it better to do this in writing or over the phone?

Any help greatly appreciated.