Pricing errors and short weight issues investigated in Scotland c-stores

Following two previous investigations at the end of 2022 that found a range of pricing errors in shops across Scotland and also short-weight issues with prepacked goods, similar investigations were carried out at the end of 2023 to find out if the situation had improved.

On the pricing side, the investigation saw participation from 18 local authorities.

The focus was on small to medium convenience stores following results from 2022, and a total of 417 convenience stores were visited, encompassing both independent shops and small to medium-sized chained businesses.

The results showed that there had been no improvement from the 2022 investigation.

Of the 20,579 products examined:
• 22.4% lacked price indications (4614 products).
• Unit price indications were found to be incorrect in 34.1% of cases, with 67% of those non-compliant products lacking any unit price display at all.
• At the point of sale 5997 products were checked, with 11.6% being incorrectly charged, and 79% of these being to the detriment of the consumer.

Officers have supported traders with actions taken including issue resolution, advisory letters, verbal warnings, and revisits, in order to increase knowledge and compliance.

Trading Standards said the lack of price indications in convenience stores poses significant challenges for consumers, potentially leading to overpayment and undermining trust in businesses and addressing these issues is crucial to fostering a competitive fair-trading environment.

The project’s recommendations underscore the importance of continued efforts and proactive measures to address pricing-related concerns. These include conducting re-visits, reviewing complaint management processes and considering appropriate enforcement actions for persistent offenders.

On the weights and measures side, Trading Standards Officers throughout the West of Scotland collaborated on a project aimed at identifying short weight products, following a 2022 project, when 71 out of 2496 (3%) packs checked were found to be short weight.

Weight checks were carried out on packaged goods at 146 retail outlets, with short weight products identified during 47 of these visits.

A total of 1479 different product lines were checked with 70 (5%) found to contain short weight packs. A total of 10308 individual packs were checked within these product lines and 424 (4%) of these were found to be short weight, with deficiencies as high as 40%, leading to detriment of as much as £2 per pack.

Although the vast majority of packs did not give cause for concern, 50 packers were found to have placed non-compliant products on the market, each one of these constituting a potential offence by the packer5 as well as causing financial harm to consumers.

One packer, which produces 1.5 million packs of square sausage each year, was found to have produced packs with deficiencies of as much as 22%, representing a loss to consumers of 44p per pack.

Examples of other short weight products included a 750g steak pie with a gross weight of 578g, representing a loss to consumers of £1.97 per pack, and 7.5kg hardwood eco logs that weighed just 6.18kg, causing detriment of £1.05 per pack to consumers.

Alexandra Connell, Chair of SCOTSS (Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland) explained: “Transparency in pricing is at the heart of fair trade in goods and is a core issue for Trading Standards teams across Scotland, making sure that consumers pay the correct price for their purchases and that businesses are diligent in presenting goods for sale accurately and legally.

“With a continuing cost of living crisis, it is important that the processes and systems that should be in place are working properly and that consumers pay the correct amount for their shopping.”

John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said:
“The vitally important work being carried out by Scottish Trading Standards in relation to pricing and metrological issues could not be more timely.

“With the cost of living crisis still having such a substantial impact on the decisions consumers make around spending, price transparency and trust in measurement is crucial to ensure that consumers know that they’re spending their money wisely.”