Target issue short changing customers coupons

target_logo2So we have been aware of this issue with Target for a while and have been looking at a way to post on it that won’t shed too much of a negative light on Target. We personally don’t shop there all too often and have never come across this issue our self bought I think its time to share with others  and encourage them to be more diligent on watching the display on the cash register and reviewing their receipt. Below is a article that one of our readers, Shari sent to us from her local paper and we want to share it with you:

Target Corp., the mass merchandiser with about 1,750 stores nationwide, for months has been shortchanging its customers who use certain manufacturers’ coupons by crediting them for a fraction of their face value.
Target is calling it a computer glitch. Avid coupon users are calling it an outrage.
“It’s just a mess. It makes me not want to go there,” said Caroline Jaworski of Harwood Heights, Ill.
On Wednesday morning, she said, her $1.50 coupon for two packs of feminine-hygiene products was reduced by the register to $1.02 at a Target store.
“You really have to watch the registers, and for people who don’t, they don’t know they’re getting ripped off,” Jaworski said. “I think this is a serious issue that a lot of people aren’t aware of.” …continued …
Target says it has been aware of the problem since August.
A spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based retailer said she had no information on why the problem was happening or why it hasn’t yet been resolved.
“We are aware that some coupons are not scanning for the full amounts,” Target spokeswoman Erika Svingen said. “We are aware of the issue and are diligently working on a fix for that and will implement it as soon as possible.”
Coupon use soared during the Great Recession. Some 3.3 billion coupons were redeemed in 2009, a 27 percent increase from the year before, according to coupon research site CouponInfoNow.com.
What may be most disconcerting to many Target shoppers is that the coupon problem has been ongoing since at least midsummer.
“I don’t understand how a national company knows there’s an issue but hasn’t done anything about it,” Jaworski said.
Target has instructed cashiers to check coupons to ensure customers are getting the full value, Svingen said.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our guests,” she said. “Anyone who does not receive the full coupon amount at the register can bring their receipt to guest services for a refund of the difference.”
Shoppers complained primarily about coupons that require the purchase of multiple items. Multiple-item coupons make up a quarter of all coupons, according to Inmar Inc., which helps retailers and manufacturers manage coupons.
The glitch appears to stem from a common practice among retailers. Stores won’t allow a coupon to reduce the price of an item to less than zero. Otherwise, it would have to pay the customer cash for buying the item. Free is the best they will do, which also is Target’s stated policy.
In Target’s case, the application of that rule seems to be fuzzy. Consider an example used by coupon expert and blogger Jill Cataldo, who said she’s been shortchanged by Target registers eight or nine times in recent months.
“Many coupon shoppers are savvy and watch the register like a hawk. But a casual coupon user may not realize it until they’re home or not realize it at all,” Cataldo said.
Cataldo’s example concerns a recent coupon offering $1 off when buying eight Yoplait yogurts. The conventional thinking is that a Target consumer would pay $1 less than the total cost of all eight yogurts.
But apparently Target’s checkout registers, after making sure you bought eight, apply the $1 discount to a single 39-cent yogurt. The computer then apparently figures that the value cannot drop below zero, so just 39 cents is subtracted, instead of $1.
Retailers typically submit for reimbursement the face value of coupons. If applied, Target would get $1 from the manufacturer, netting the retailer 61 cents.
That doesn’t sound like much money, but it quickly adds up over many different items over hundreds of customers at Target stores nationwide, Cataldo said.
Target had no comment on what will happen to that money.
Kraft Foods, a major issuer of coupons, is “not aware of any issues with redeeming coupons at Target,” a spokeswoman said.

Article by MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS | Times-Dispatch
Published: October 29, 2010 Click Here for link to article

Also this link was sent to us by one of our readers. It is taken with permission from Totally Target:

THE $10 INVISIBLE MANUFACTURER COUPON GIFT CARD DEAL GLITCH
This is what I have named this beast of a coupon glitch. And here’s what I know:

#1. It only applies to Gift Card Deals
while there are a couple other glitches going on- this invisible $10 only seems to affect Gift Card Deals

#2. When items prompting a Gift Card are scanned- the register automatically applies what I believe it sees as a $10 manufacturer coupon to your transaction. This is not a good thing and by no means a $10 discount. All it does is make you have less available merchandise value available to use coupons on. It also does not seem to matter how many items you need to buy- whether it is 2, 3, 4 or more items- the glitch remains constant at $10 per deal.

#3. Target Coupons appear to scan just fine against this $10 glitch.
There are some Target coupons that behave badly on their own- this has nothing to do with the $10 glitch. When you have a pleasant, working, scannable Target Coupon, the computer SEEMS to accept it in a Gift Card deal no matter your total, which is why I believe this $10 is applied as a manufacturer’s coupon. SO USE YOUR TARGET COUPONS LAST.

#4. Total Transaction Value after the glitch must meet or exceed your actual coupon value:
If you do not have enough item value to cover your coupon value after the glitch- manufacturer coupons will not scan properly. If you are doing a gift card deal you must pretend (along with the register 🙄 ) that someone took a $10 manufacturer and scanned it already, thereby reducing how much room you have to use other manufacturer coupons.

#5. Employees cannot force your manufacturer’s coupons through:
While many times your manufacturer’s coupons can be entered in as Target Coupons and be fine. All stores are definitely not willing to do this. And as far as I know- there is nothing they can do to force your MQs through as MQs. The computer absolutely will not allow it for the sole reason that according to it- you don’t have anything left to use a coupon on.

#6. The amount of the Glitch may vary depending on the Gift Card Amount Issued:
If you are being awarded a $10 Gift Card for purchasing an item(s)- this $10 Glitch may now become a $20 glitch- so keep that in mind. The total amount of the glitch will likely be twice the amount of the Gift Card being earned.

For many of us- we don’t encounter these problems because we are doing a whole shop at Target, there are plenty of items to absorb all the coupons we want to use. Where people run into trouble is when they are only doing Gift Card Deals in their order with little or nothing else in their transaction. If you are just interested in grabbing Gift Card Deals- you can either hope that your store will push some of your coupons through as Target Coupons- OR you can apply the following formula to a deal you want to do:

Add up the total cost of the items you are buying to get a gift card deal BEFORE coupons
Now MINUS the invisible $10 and you will get your MAGIC NUMBER
This magic number is how much value in coupons you can use without problems.
If you have LESS total value in coupons than the magic number you have no worries
If you have MORE total value in coupons than the magic number, you will need to purchase other items in your transaction to absorb the remaining coupon value.

EXAMPLE #1- I want to do this deal:
giftcardsm3 FREE $5 Gift Card wyb any 5 Select Glade Holiday Air Care Items*
So I decide to buy 5 Glass Candle Holders = $14.95
MINUS invisible $10 = $4.95. SO $4.95 is my magic number.
I have (5) $1/1 coupons I want to use = $5. This is more than my magic number, so I need the difference (.05 cents) in merchandise to absorb my remaining coupon value. If I don’t- then the 1st 4 coupons will scan fine, and the 5th will scan at .95 cents because that’s all the computer sees me having available to use a coupon on. So I buy a banana or whatever for at least .05 cents or more and I am fine.

EXAMPLE #2- I want to do this deal:
giftcardsm3 FREE $5 Gift Card wyb any 3 Select Dial Soap or Body Wash Items $3.99*
So I decide to buy 3 Dial Body Wash = $11.97
MINUS invisible $10 = $1.97. SO $1.97 is my magic number.
I have (3) $1/1 coupons I want to use = $3. This is more than my magic number, so I need the difference ($1.03) in merchandise to absorb my remaining coupon value. If I don’t- then the 1st coupon will scan fine, the 2nd will scan at .97 cents, and the 3rd at $0.00. So instead I buy a dozen eggs for $1.39 and all 3 coupons scan normal.

EXAMPLE #3- I want to do this deal:
giftcardsm3 FREE $5 Gift Card wyb any 2 Arm & Hammer Cat Litter $12.99*
So I decide to buy 2 Arm & Hammer Cat Litter = $25.95
MINUS invisible $10 = $15.95. SO $15.95 is my magic number.
I have (2) $1/1 coupons I want to use = $2. This is LESS than my magic number, so I dont need to do anything and my coupons will scan just fine.

I also want to add in another way to look at this whole thing that may be easier for some to remember. I know I tend to be over-analytical- and perhaps the following way that Derek has of looking at it will work better for some:

Just remember that your total cannot go below 2x the amount of the gift card earned when using manufacturers coupons. So say for example you earn one $5 gift card, your total cannot go below $10 using manufacturer’s coupons. If your MQs will take you below this $10 they will either need to be pushed through as Target coupons, or you will need more items to absorb them. Use your Target coupons LAST, as these can take your total below the $10. This will apply to each deal you do- so remember- if you are earning two $5 Gift Cards, now you can’t go below $20 and so on.

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