The use of coupons spans widely among different stores and as we all know, each store has its own policy. Some policies are more lenient than others allowing for bigger savings and this is where couponers tend to shop.
A recent issue has been coming up a lot in the last few days and I wanted to get your take on this.
This situation is at Target with the adjusting of manufacturer’s coupons. Now, I have been told many times at Publix and other stores that no one is allowed to adjust a manufacturer’s coupon. This is because when these coupons are turned into the clearing house, the retailer is given the entire face value PLUS $.08 for handling. If the retailer receives face value and adjusts it down by $.05 or $.04 or whatever for the couponer, then isn’t that fraud? Maybe not fraud, but maybe at the least a rip off.
What do you think? I have looked pretty much everywhere looking for some type of concrete evidence, but there is nothing to back it up. I even contacted Target’s corporate with an email asking them why and how they were allowed to adjust the manufacturer’s coupons when they receive the full amount. This is what I received in return:
Dear Target Guest,
Thanks for asking us about using coupons at Target. Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping with us, and it’s easy to use them at our stores. Because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target.
When accepting coupons, we use the following guidelines:
- We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued and manufacturer-issued.
- We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
- We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in this case, we’re able to adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
- We can’t accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
- All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you’re checking out.
For questions about using a specific coupon, we encourage you to stop by the Guest Service Desk and ask to speak with the Guest Service Team Leader. They’ll do their best to help while you’re in the store. If you still have questions after speaking with them, please call our Guest Relations team at (800) 440-0680. Either way, we’re here to help!
We appreciate the opportunity to share this information with you.
Now, just as I suspected, there was no answer to my question. Their policy states that they CAN adjust them and I would just like to know why and how they are able to do that. I plan to dig even further to see what I can find.
What do you think? Readers weigh in!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Target just did that to me the other day. They took a $5 off coupon for the Scrubbing bubbles thing and turned it into a $2.50 off ziplock coupon and then took my $1 off Ziplock of my Scrubbing Bubbles. I didn’t get the deal I should have gotten and they wouldn’t fix it at the service counter. They shouldn’t beable to change the value of a coupon.
What frustrates me is when things are one sale for say 1.99 and they say they cant take a $2 coupon. That is so frustrating, you know they will get the full $2 plus the handling fee so why can I not use this? I would care less if they raised the price to $2.
Go Amy! I think maybe if you know any attorneys maybe they can answer that question for you. Maybe a little pressure somehow could make them change their policy. And I’ve noticed too that sometimes coupons come off items that were intended for something else. I think I’m going to start doing separate transactions for everything I have coupons for.
Hi- I have only been doing this for 3 weeks and I notice that Publix is fine with the adjusting the coupon and overage. Target in Vero is not but Target in Melbourne is. I think it depends on the manager. One was so rude that I didn’t realize she didn’t take one of my $5 Scrubbing Bubbles coupons off after I got home. I emailed Target Corp, heard back and the customer service rep was very nice and is sending me a $5 Target gift card to make up the difference. I will say the cashier I had today at Publix was so rude. I ended up paying $5.77 total for $37.97 in groceries thanks to coupons. She acted like I was a thief and embarrassed me. After only doing this for 3 weeks, I realize how much I save but I can’t believe how rude cashiers and managers are.
That is when you ask her right out why she is being so rude just because you are smart enough to save money when you shop. I have found putting the rude cashiers on the spot to be a great stress reliever. I have even told the cashier I’m sorry she is having such a bad day, but please don’t take it out on me. I know a lot of people who would be more than happy to have her job, so she might want to think about her attitude towards customers. Asking them to please get the manager for you to speak with usually changes the attitude quickly. I didn’t used to stand up for myself, but I got tired of being mistreated for using coupons. I do not try to defraud anyone with them. I use them as they are intended, so I shouldn’t have to be mistreated or embarrassed for it.
I do think it has a lot to do with the cashier. Some are trained and others have no idea about the coupon policies.
I received a second email from Target Corp and I’ll be calling them tomorrow.
Thanks for the comments guys! Sometimes coupons can just be frustrating! As April said, cashiers always think you’re stealing or something, even if you’re going by the coupon word for word.
As you and I have previously discussed, from my experience the cashier was the flaw, not necessarily Target’s policy. But, as you have found, their site and email responses are not clear as to whether they alter coupons. To me, their generic response means that they can alter the coupon if a request is made for cash back (but honestly, most people know they cannot get cash back on a coupon), and I take it as meaning any other circumstance means they are not allowed to alter the coupon. I am going to do some more digging regarding a federal coupon guideline for manufacturer coupons and will let you know my results.
I will be checking back to hear what Target has to say. Seems like craziness to me to adjust it down when they get back the full amount. Ran into this a couple months ago myself. I had like 10 q’s for an item that was .99 and the q was for $1. The holy nightmare it was to get them to accept the q. They ended up just adjusting the price down on the q.
I believe it is fraud. The wording “Any other use constitutes fraud.” is on almost all coupons, right after it says one coupon per purchase of item specified. If Target is receiving the overage, they are defrauding the manufacturer. Otherwise, there would be a space on all coupons for the cashier to enter the price. If the coupon specifies $1 off, then that is what it is intended for, not .96 off, and Target gets the difference. The purpose of coupons is to get the consumer to buy the product, so the coupons are meant to benefit the consumer, not the major chain stores.
VERY well said Stephanie!!