Warning for shoppers over confusing laundry label rip-off – can you spot the difference?
SHOPPERS risk being ripped off due to complicated and unclear labelling on laundry detergents, an investigation by The Sun reveals.
The biggest box of Ariel washing powder available in Sainsbury’s was the XXL Mega Pack.
This contains 65 washes (3,900g), which worked out at 21p per wash.
But at Tesco, the biggest pack on sale at the time of the investigation in March was the XL Mega Pack.
This contained just 3,000g – enough for 50 washes – and cost more at 22p per wash.
It means shoppers can easily pick up the wrong sized pack because they assume the biggest one on sale in that supermarket will be the same as the biggest sold elsewhere – only to find it contains less.
The larger XXL mega pack was also found to be the biggest size on sale at Asda and Waitrose .
Both boxes look almost identical, apart from the XXL and XL at the top of the box and a small washing logo in the left-hand corner which shows the number of washes.
But shoppers will never be able to compare these side-by-side though, as they are from different supermarkets.
The Sun found there is little consistency to the way that Fairy, Persil and Ariel laundry liquid and powder products are presented at the major supermarkets.
Our found the most expensive packs cost up to 77% more per wash, meaning shoppers are being ripped off if they unknowingly buy the wrong size.
Most supermarkets only stocked up to three different size packs for each brand, which made it look like the products come in three sizes: standard, large and extra-large.
But each brand actually comes in up to five different pack sizes with labels and names which look very similar, like “Family Pack”, “Mega Pack”, “XL Pack”, “XL Family Pack”, “XL Mega Pack” and “XXL Mega Pack”.
Only some of these are stocked by each supermarket.
The Sun also looked at Fairy laundry detergent. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all sold the same size standard pack of the brand’s washing powder.
But when it came to the largest pack Sainsbury’s was bigger and cheaper than in other stores in another example of this confusing sizing.
At Sainsbury’s the XXL Family Pack, containing 77 washes (3,850g), cost 16p per wash.
“Supermarkets and big brands alike go out of their way to bamboozle us with labels and measures that make it near impossible to compare and contrast
Martyn James
Asda and Tesco only sold the XL Family Pack, containing 60 washes (3000g), which cost 17p per wash at Asda and 18p per wash at Tesco.
Both packs are very similar-looking.
And when we looked at Fairy’s washing liquids, “standard” bottles contained different amounts – but there was also no obvious label difference between them.
In Asda, Tesco and Waitrose it contained 35 washes (1,225ml), but at Sainsbury’s and Lidl it contained 44 washes (1,540ml).
The prices ranged from 17p per wash at Waitrose, Lidl and Sainsbury’s, to 20p per wash at Tesco and 23p per wash at Asda.
The only sign these sizes were different was a small figure showing the number of washes on the front, and the small print showing the total volume on the back.
It means shoppers are only aware they may be buying a different sized product if they have memorised the exact number of washes in their usual pack ahead of going shopping.
This is difficult because the number of washes was often an unusual number, like 44 or 52, instead of something more memorable like 40 and 50. And different brands used a different amount of product to calculate one “wash”.
Consumer expert Martyn James said this meant “nothing was clear” to consumers, who could struggle to understand the “randomness” of these pack sizes.
“Supermarkets and big brands alike go out of their way to bamboozle us with labels and measures that make it near impossible to compare and contrast – and work out what the best bargain is,” he said.
“Businesses should be forced to introduce a standard measure for all washing products so we can work out where the best deals really are.”
The labels on supermarket shelves should make it easier for shoppers to compare prices by showing how much a product costs per litre or kilogram – known as unit pricing.
As well as different sizes like XL and XXL, names like mega pack and family pack, and different wash numbers on boxes and bottles, we found labels in the same store showed some prices as pounds per litre and others as pence per wash, adding to the confusion.
Consumer campaigners Which? have been calling for stricter rules to make unit pricing clear, leading to the government to promise to review the issue.
Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: “Consumers often find it difficult to determine whether they’re getting value for money. Unit pricing isn’t always as clear as it should be and can be inconsistent across all kinds of products, including laundry detergents.“
In response to our investigation, a Waitrose spokesperson said: “Bigger packs normally give the best value, but the smaller pack is on promotion at the moment. We make it clear which is cheaper by displaying the cost per litre on our shelf edge tickets and on Waitrose.com.”
None of the other retailers or the manufacturers of Persil, Fairy and Ariel responded to requests for comment.
What are the rules for labels?
UNIT prices show you how much different products would cost if they were sold in packs of the same weight or volume, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) says.
Unit prices show you how much different products would cost if they
were sold in packs of the same weight or volume, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) says.
This helps you to compare prices of similar products which are sold in different sized packets .
These unit prices can usually be found on the labels on supermarket shelves, or as part of the online listing.
They can be shown in weight (kilo or gram) or volume (litre or millilitre) or could be shown as price per item.
Comparing unit prices can help you choose the best value product.
Sometimes items sold in bigger packs might look better value, but actually be more expensive by weight or volume.
For example, when choosing between three packs of orange juice of
different sizes, using unit pricing would help you check which type of
orange juice is most expensive.
For example a 600ml bottle costing 95p works out as 15.8p per 100ml. A 1.5L “family pack” costing £3.50 works out as 23.3p per 100ml, making the smaller bottle better value.
These rules come under legislation known as the Price Marking Order 2004.
But, there’s no obligation for these unit prices to be consistent between similar products.
For instance one brand of orange juice might show the unit price in litres, and another in millilitres.
There is also no requirement that these unit prices are shown on the lower price when an item is discounted or on offer, or how they are displayed, for instance prominence, font size or colour.
BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
Our investigation also found buying a bigger pack was no guarantee of better value, as we found several examples where the smaller packs were in fact cheaper.
This can be because items are on offer, but this wasn’t always the case.
A Mega Pack of Fairy liquid containing 51 washes (1,785ml) cost 18p per wash at Tesco and 20p per wash at Waitrose and Morrisons.
But a smaller standard pack containing 44 washes (1,540ml) was only 17p per wash at Sainsbury’s, while the small 35-wash pack (1,225ml) was on offer at Waitrose so also only cost 17p per wash.
Similarly, the largest bottle of Persil laundry liquid sold at Tesco was the XXL Pack containing 72 washes (1,944ml), which worked out at 16p per wash – or 13p per wash with a Tesco Clubcard.
But even though the largest bottle sold at Asda was bigger – the XXXL Pack containing 90 washes (2,430ml) – it was actually more expensive, at 17p per wash.
And it was cheaper to buy a small standard pack of Persil washing powder containing 42 washes (2,100g) at Sainsbury’s for 18p per wash, than to buy the big 60-wash XL Family Pack (3,000g) from Morrisons, which cost 22p per wash.
A separate Sun probe found top brands using a sneaky trick known as “slack fill”, where food is sold with excess packaging to give the impression that shoppers are getting more for their money.
And a recent investigation into baby grow sizes found outfits varying up to ten per cent in size, meaning parents risk wasting their money on clothes that don’t fit.
Is there an issue you think The Sun consumer team should investigate? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.