Tesco appears to have taken action after a trend went viral on TikTok that showed people getting free sweets through the self-checkouts. People had shared a coupon loophole - dubbed the Tesco Method - that has since been fixed by the supermarket giant.
Videos on the social media site appeared to show people reusing discount codes on sweet vouchers to fill baskets and trolleys with chocolate and confectionary without having to pay. Not everyone commenting on the site was impressed, dubbing it 'shoplifting', questioning its legality, or hoping the 'free' sweets would be donated to a food bank.
However, many commentators realised that a patch had been issued for the glitch after trying the method. Tesco is reported to have become aware of the issue and has brought in a fix to prevent the fraudulent use of the coupon.
Among the negative comments on one TikTok post about the 'Tesco Method', one shopper, ceedee, said: "That's the same as going into a shop, seeing there’s no price and saying to the staff “oh must be free then”
Another, cassandraroserich, said: "Isn't this classed as stealing?" Although some people did ask for more details about the glitch, claimed to have done it, or to say that the glitch no longer worked.
Customers knowingly using coupons more than once could potentially be committing fraud and could be liable for prosecution. Vouchers have terms and conditions and by using a voucher, you agree to those terms - breaking them could see you in big trouble.
