Earlier this week I bought something in Tesco. It had one price on the shelf, and a different one when I got to the checkout. I was in a rush so didn’t bother to query this.

Today I bought a bottle of hair conditioner. £4.48 on the shelf, and when I got to the (self-service) till, it showed £4.58.
I asked the self-service supervisor person, and she told me that due to the VAT increase, and the size of shop, the prices on the shelf might be the pre-VAT-rise price, instead of the post-vat-rise price that the till shows.
She added that if I wanted, I could check this with customer service, but they had a big disclaimer somewhere, so it was all above board, and it’s unlikely I’d get it for the shelf price.

Given everyone knew the VAT was going up, I don’t think this is good enough. The size of the shop is immaterial. Bigger shops have bigger budgets and more staff.

A part of me wonders if this isn’t just a clever way of looking like your prices haven’t gone up, while still putting them up. Most people know the price of milk, but if you buy 20 items, you’re less likely to notice if it comes out £1.50 more.

Is this even legal?
Displaying one price and charging another?

Either way, I’m going to be more vigilant with this. Maybe you should be too.