I just wanted to share this with you this article making the rounds right now: Target Accused Of Not Giving Full Value On Coupons. In short what is happening is that Target is in some cases not crediting the full face value of the manufacturer coupons used in store. The result is that in many cases people are getting shorted a LOT of money in their purchases. For example I got an email from my friend Marcia and she shares she was shorted $12 on one shopping trip alone!
This all started when Target adjusted their registers to adjust the value of the coupons down so the coupons wouldn’t beep when the value of the item was less than the value of the coupon. The problem is that in some cases the coupon adjusts even when the value is more. This is the case as the example delineated in the article. You have a coupon for $0.75 of two items and each cost $0.69 cents. The coupon is adjusted down to 69 cents when it shouldn’t.
This is a very serious issue Target has in their hands and I am glad it has been brought to the public’s attention so that it can be fixed. I wanted you to be aware of it to make sure you watch the register correctly to avoid being shorted and if you are bring it up to the cashier’s attention for a quick fix right then and there.
Have you noticed this sort of coupon shorting on your receipts or at the register? Did you get a satisfactory resolution to it?
Thanks Marcia, Mrs Walker and Totally Target!
Hi! I am Mercedes and this is my blog Common Sense with Money! Helping other people live better, spend less, and save more is something I am very passionate about. I combine simple frugal living tips and smart shopping techniques to help moms across the U.S. become better home economists. Thank you for visiting my blog.
i hate when stores do that.. they get full value of the coupon why cant we? they make a profit..even a few cents adds up..not fair..stores should not be able to do that!
One time I made it out to the car with my kids and realized this happened so had to pack everyone back up and go back in. I literally went back 4 times because I kept noticing new things wrong with my receipt. This happened with the scotch tape ($1/3 and they were 50 cents each), Yogurt (55 cents off 2 – they were 52 cents each) and Chef Boyardee ($1.50/4 and they were 99 cents each). Each instance, it only took off the value of the individual item. I don’t mind not getting overage on items but I do mind not getting what I’m entitled to!!
I also had the chef boyardee one, and I only got $0.84 taken off my bill, because that is what one can was priced at. The cashier told me right at the start of my transaction that they “changed their policy” so that she can’t do anything about any coupons that don’t scan, they can only take coupons that scan, no adjustments. When I got in my car and noticed the error, I didn’t feel like making the effort to get my coupons back from the cashier, take them to the service desk, have them sort through it ( and still not understand) for just $0.66. I’m going to only use 1 for 1 coupons at Target until I hear otherwise that the problem is fixed. I agree with the other posters that the receipts are hard to understand. I add up how much I have in coupon savings, and compare it to the final total to see if it seems resonable.
I’ve actually had this happen to me in a Target but didn’t notice until I got home. Very disappointed and have watched Target closely ever since.
I’m hoping that this doesn’t cause Target to perform a massive overhaul on their coupon taking!
The same exact situation described in the news story happened to me as well, with the Smartones meals. I had to ask the cashier to correct it and she did.
This happens almost every time I go. The customer service rep told me to ask the cashier to ring up the coupons slowly every time now so I can make sure they all come off.
Same thing happened to me with the Smartones. It also happened with the scrubbing bubbles extend-a-clean deal with the $5/1 and $1/1 refill- they took $3.50 off of the refill, and $1 off of the full size instead of the $5/1 off of the full size. I had to take it back the next day to get the money back- thankfully I had another copy of the coupons so I could prove my case.
Another time I went and 4 high value coupons scanned and just never showed up on the receipt. I took the receipt back in with more copies of the coupons to show them and they gave me the money back. (one of them was a target coupon I couldn’t print again, but they gave it to me anyway)
Good deals to be had there but so annoying!
This has been going on for awhile – I was quite incredulous when the article stated that Target wasn’t aware of the problem. I’m glad you posted this! I read it this morning and was really happy to see some media coverage.
You know, a few times my hubby and I are confident that all of our coupons did not come off the total. However, the way the reciepts print now, it is very difficult to understand! Maybe it is because my hubby and I are in our late 40′s:) I often have a hard time discerning the new register print-outs. It is also hard to watch the totals when the registers only have the total running on the main register and not a screen for the customer to watch. On the other hand, at the Target we go to (Madison, WI) the cashiers have always been very helpful and friendly to help us figure out the problem, even when I have nearly 20 coupons and a line is forming behind me. Thanks for posting this. It is very interesting.
I agree about the way that they print coupons! I believe they are purposefully making the receipts almost impossible to understand if you have a sale and a coupon. I went back once about a $5 mistake on my receipt and they would not fix it. We went back and forth for 10 minutes and the gentleman just didn’t make sense! Thanks for sharing!
oops.. I meant print receipts
This is really frustrating! I don’t think it’s your age, those receipts are completely confusing! Especially when the manufacturers coupons don’t spcecify which product they’re for and sometimes show up at the end…or something!
I had a coupon issue (well, I mean I have a coupon issue every time I go there with more than 1 coupon!!) with a B1G1 and a $ off coupon. Didn’t realize until I got home that the B1G1 didn’t work. Took the item back, but sadly can’t get my coupon back! I wish the cashier (or me!) would’ve noticed so I could have at least gotten the coupon back!
I agree that it is totally confusing trying to decipher a target recipt. I have found that organizing my coupons by value before heading to the register AND handing just a couple of coupons to the the cashier at a time (any store, not just Target) is helpful. This way I can watch their screen and make sure that my coupons are excepted and for the correct amount.
They shorted me on their OWN coupon last week. I had a “save $1 on produce.” I bought a bunch of bananas, which rang up as 19 cents each. So the coupon scanned for 19 cents even though all the bananas were $1.14.
I didn’t notice that until I was out of there; I had already had to go back because the “free with purchase of a printer” printer cable didn’t come off the total.
That happened to me as well with the bananas. I asked her right then and she said that what ever it rings up as is what they have to give you.
This happened to me as well with the bananas, but I caught it right away and the clerk took the $1 off rather than just $.19 for one banana.
Same here with the Target $1 off on produce. I bought 3 avocados for $1.50, the coupon took $0.00. didn’t notice ’till I was at home.!!!!
I hope the national media picks this up. It’s been happening for months and months and months to me. Notified corporate no less than 4x and local customer service as many. To no avail. Never even a remotely satisfying explanation or apology.
I agree with Deb H. that the receipts are hard to check to see if your coupon came off properly!
I’m having problems like this everywhere any more. Walmart did it to me a few weeks ago with a $2 Heinz 57 coupon. I bought 4 and had 4 Qs (it makes an awesome marinade with honey) and by the time I was home, realized that the Qs rang up only for $1! Ever since, no matter what store I’m at, I count the number of Qs I’m using and try to remember the value. I watch the cashier and if I’m too busy bagging (they make me bag my own if I’m using canvas), I check the receipt before leaving the store.
All of my problems came from coupons that were x off when you buy more then one! Every coupon adjusted down to less then the price of one! So the $4/6 swedish fish only took off $.75!!! I bought 12 bags that’s $6.50!! Of course I had a little girl pastnap time and couldn’t figure out why I had spent so much till I got home along with that 7 other coupons rang up wrong and not to my favor:( Make sure to check those coupons that you have to get more then one!!!!!!
Just last week I went to Target and got the Mead Poly folders for .50 and I used a manufacturer’s coupon for 1.00 off TWO. It only took off .50. I went customer service right after and told her. She told me that the registers take off the correct amount. I told her over and over that the coupon was for 1.00/2 and I even asked why are you only giving me .50 and the store Target will get a dollar. She finally gave me my money after I she realized I wasn’t taking no for an answer. This is happening all the time.
This very same thing happened to me with the mead folders.
I had the EXACT same problem . . . it was such a hassle.
Yes…it has happened to me several times. I have had it fixed once and the other couple of times I took the item or items back. One time I did not but it made me sad!
I’m glad you posted this. I will watch more closely from now on. It actually happened to me a few weeks ago on a high value coupon. I should have gotten $5.00 off but it only took $2.50 off. When I questioned that, the guy said he didn’t know and I’d have to take it to customer service. I asked him to please just try scanning it again and he did and it took off another $2.50 so I was satisfied. It was buy 2 and save $5 so scanning it twice – once for each item worked.
YES, I have noticed and the way they put it on the receipt it is VERY deceptive and hard to tell but yes, I noticed that I didn’t get full value. This is bad because you KNOW they are getting face value from the manufacturer.
My problem wasn’t the register, but the cashier. She was not going to give me the full discount on a buy one get one free item, when it was correct.
My other problem was on the Hanes girls underwear. The price in the sales flier was $5.00, the price they rang up was $5.50. So not only do we need to watch the prices on the coupons, but also the prices on the items as advertised. I went in on a Thursday, so that means all week people had been overcharged.
I’m glad I saw this. I had a $2 off of two items coupon. After I left the store I checked the receipt and the $2 off was not showing. The coupon only took off the $1.77 which was the cost of one of the items. Also, the other day I had the $1.00 of of 3 scotch tapes and they only took of .50 cents. When I go to Target I use alot of coupons. Now I hate knowing that the registers are short changing customers. If I go to Target I should just do one transaction for coupons and another for other items. What a pain!!!
Happened today at Target with discounted Glade Candles…decided to keep the candles anyway.
I rarely go to Target because they examine every coupon and look at me as if they are thinking I am making counterfiet coupons. Seriously, it’s like noone in the store EVER saw a coupon before, even the manager when he is called over. My grocery store will almost always have just as good as a deal come along, plus they double coupons so I stay away from Target.
Tottaly agree with you!
I always have problems with Target taking coupons.
They make me feel like I am doing something very wrong and very bad.
I found out that you can get most things for a better price and sometimes for free at drug stores on sale. When you buy on sale with coupons you don’t need to shop at target.
i did notice that, but thought that it was just a one time thing. now, i will for sure look each time i use coupons there! like my son says: “that not nice!”
This happened with me last month with a $5/2 coupon. one item cost $4.14 and the other was $2.29. The register just took off the $2.29, I told the manager at the time and she just said that there was nothing she could do since they weren’t allowed to override whatever the register took off and told me I should take my coupon to some different store that wasn’t Target. I left the items and went to a different Target where the same thing happened but that manager did take the $5 off.
I experienced this only once a few weeks ago. I bought both Dove soap bars and a Dove body wash. I had a $1.25 off the body wash and $1 off the bar soap. The cashier rang the bar soap first, and the body wash second. He rang the body wash coupon first – so it adjusted down to $1 and appeared under the bar soap on the receipt, and when he rang the bar soap coupon, it adjusted down to .75 and was listed under the body wash. I wasn’t very happen about it, but I didn’t do anything about it because I was still getting the body wash for cheaper than at the wholesale clubs. It made me realize the importance of having the items scanned in the order I hand over the coupons. I think the computer just allowed the Dove coupon to go to whichever item had rung up first. Which actually kinda stinks, becuase will Target still be able to turn in those manufacturer coupons and be refunded if it appears that the coupon was for the wrong item? I now mke sure that my coupons are in the same order that the items scan!
I have always thought that it was unethical on the part of any store to only give a customer credit for a $.99 item, when they gave the store a coupon for $1.00. The store profits the $.01, plus gets paid to take the coupon. This equates to a pure profit of $100 for every 10,000 customers. If they gave the overage to the customer, they would use it to purchase additional merchandise, thus making a larger profit for the store. Far be it for me to tell a retailer how to make a larger profit.
This happened to me twice in the past week! Yesterday I went in to purchase some glade candles that were on clearance for $1.48 a piece. I had a $2/2 man IP and the register only took off $1.48! I brought it to the sale associate attention and she brought the manager over only to tell me that the item exceed coupon value. I told the manager it’s $2/2 and not off of one . But he told me he couldn’t do anything about it and he wouldn’t manual fixed it. I was upset but running late to class so I will just email corporate about it. I’m so frustrated at the management at my Target. They are always rude to coupon shopper and give me their interpretation on the store policy when I already know it better than they do!
Kristina L. – the same thing happened to me on the same item (Mead Poly Folders) – mfc was for $1 off 2 but it only took off 50 cents (they were priced at 50 cents each). However, unlike you, I didn’t notice until I got home. Their receipts require a whole ‘nother language in order to decipher them!
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was the only one this was happening to! SO many times , I have lost count. I rarely use coupons at Target, due to so many problems. I even had a cashier tell me I was photocopying coupons and she asked if I knew that was illegal??? They treat couponers like criminals, and it is not worth the headache.
Now this is issue, I think I may be done with Target!
Yes, just this last Target trip, the register didn’t beep and the cashier had to re-scan $6.50 worth of coupons.
If a cashier scans a coupon and the register doesn’t automatically recognize it, it no longer beeps. So they just keep on scanning the coupons assuming that they were accepted when they weren’t!
I went today to get a bunch of travel size freebies. None of the coupons adjusted down, and I wondered why. With this article coming out, I wonder if they stopped the auto-adjust feature until they can fix it. My cashier was unfortunately my least favorite one (a coupon nazi) and tried to tell me they couldn’t accept any of my coupons because they were more than the amount, but I had a manager come over and they adjusted them all down manually. I hope they fix it soon.
I bought aPur water filter at Target recently, and used a $2 off Target coupon ( Idon’t recall the value).. but the system said “item is not here” even though I held it in my hand.
Cashier didn’t want to do anything about it but say I’m sorry.
I think it’s hit and miss with Target employees. I shouldn’t have to be sooo nervous cashing out. I’m not doing anything wrong.
A different event- a Target cashier told me ” I can only accept 2 of the same manufacture coupons”. (I got 4 renutzits, and had 4 renuzit coupons). I didn’t want to argue but it’s a pain to cash out at Target.
OMG- this did happen to me recently- I didn’t notice until I left, and it was only a 0.25 difference (q was for $1 and they took off 0.75)- it was on something that cost more than that (I can’t remember what it was, but I know it was more than that!)
I live in MN… They’ve been doing this for ages here and often we’re told it’s the companies policy. What gets me is…you bet your ass that they’re still getting full value of those coupons from the manufactures…let alone taking our discount. I often don’t go to target anymore the sale ads aren’t right either, example…printer ink on sale for 29.99 with a 10 buck gift card back. If you don’t watch closely they’ll charge you 39.99 for the ink and claim you get the sale price with the gift card. The coupon issue is a hassle everytime and most things you can get cheaper at other places and not get the trouble. Last month I went in an purchased 2 boxes of juice boxes and had one coupon for the two, I had to explain what the coupon was for to the cashier…I couldn’t believe it! Just give up on Target until they start being fair with the coupons.
I posted about this a couple months ago and have watched my coupons closely ever since. http://www.buildingshangrila.com/2010/06/is-target-committing-coupon-fraud-or-is.html Like others, my store said the coupons rang up right and said they couldn’t override the register.
I used a $5.00 off scrubbing bubbles coupon. The register credited $2.50. I had 5 scrubbing bubbles products and the $5 coupon attached to the lowest price item. Since I didn’t figure this out until I got home I returned it. On another occasion i used a $5 off 2. Fortunately I noticed while at the register. The manager was called over and I had to explain that the coupon was off 2 items. The register was only crediting me the cost of one item. Target has to know this is going on if the managers and customer service are hearing about it. I think I am going to stop shopping at Target! Too much aggravation to use coupons there and their prices are going up.
I had this happen to me with crystal light. The coupon was for $2 off and they were $1.76 – I brought this up to the cashier but she said it was because the were $1.76 and not $2 that it rang up like it did. I didn’t know any better so I said o.k. I thought that was the way it was supposed to be. Now I know different. She seemed disgusted with me and my friend anyway because we had massive coupons for her to ring up.
I think their coupon policy states that they “may reduce” coupons to reflect the value rather than give you overage. I don’t agree with this because they are getting the full amount from the manufacturer. One time I thought I was shorted but was in a huge hurry. Later I found it to be true but I was planning a move halfway across the country and didn’t bother to deal with it. Plus it was a coupon that didn’t scan and since it was in their drawer I doubted I’d actually get anywhere with it. They tried not to allow me to use a coupon on a trial item (coupon stated ANY and didn’t exclude trials, FYI! it was right guard deo I think) and the manager was SO rude to me that I called guest relations 800 number. They were very gracious, called the store, and they let me make my purchase. I felt a little silly raising a fuss of one dollar deo I was getting for free, but it was principle!!!
This happened to my with the bic. I had two packs of bic pencils and a $1.00 off target and $1.00 off bic coupon from the paper and it reduced the manuf. coupon down to 50 cents. I didn’t figure it out until I got home and I didn’t have any proof.
the price of each pack of pencils was 1.24
Exact same thing happened to me. grrrr.
I am glad I am not the only one who goes through this! The last time I went to Target I had a $3 off 3 Johnson and Johnson products. My total for the 3 items was $2.91. The machine kicked it out. I went through 2 managers and finally they said it was ok but the price would have to be adjusted. I got ugly with her since they made me wait so long (5 people checked out while I was waiting, and I had been VERY nice) and told her that she needed to mark out the dollar amount on the coupon and change it to what they gave me, otherwise it would be considered coupon fraud. They were not very happy but it sure made me feel good!
Good for you! I will have to say that from now on!
Yes, this has happened on several occasions. A big problem is that the cashiers don’t understand when you try to explain it to them, even if the coupon is off of two. My husband stood in line for 25 minutes last week just to get $1.06 back because the coupons didn’t ring up right. It’s not always about the amount, but the principle that if we are taking to time to match up coupons and shop in the store, then we want the money back we deserve!
This happened to me yesterday!!! I got two travel size shout products and used the $2 off two and it lowered my coupon down to $.98. I noticed it right away (i have coupon issues with target daily) because I watch the register when they scan my coupons. The cashier argued that she could not do anything about it and if she gave me the full value of the coupon I would get my items for free. I was in a rush so I had her void it out but any other time I would ask for a manager. It is getting difficult to shop anywhere these days with coupons.
Happened today with the $2.50 off 3 huggies wipes. Coupon vaqlue was brought down to $1.99> Of course I had two cranky kids and could not pay attention:(
This happened to me with the Glade candles. Didn’t realize it until I was out of the store. I called corporate and they acted like I was speaking a different language. I just kept saying that I bought 2 products and the coupon attached to one. She just kept repeating attached to one? You could by her tone she was asking it in a question way. I just hung up shaking my head. Thank goodness it was only $.52 in this case, but that is still my $.52.
I’m so glad you posted this! I hadn’t been to Target in a while and made a trip 2 days ago to get the Schick razors. I got 4 using (4) $3 Manf. and (4) $2 Target coupons. At the end only 3 target coupons came off and only ONE manufacturers coupon! Then there was a weird .78 manufacturer! Yet they took all my coupons. When I went back in to resolve the issue, the manager, who was very nice, explained that they can’t accept more than one manuf. coupon when there’s a gift card deal on the item and that I would have to do them all separate! I’ve never heard that once! Seriously what is going on target! I also had other coupons, just bought one of each item, where my coupons didn’t come off at all! Needless to say I returned the razors! Oh and I agree….the way they print the receipts makes it almost impossible to figure out!
Yeah I’ve been hearing this and it’s realllly crazy when they have a promo going on for a gift card when you buy 2!!! It’s just not right! It’s like there should be fine print…when you buy 2 if you don’t use a coupon* You can’t get the deal if you do really. Which is just INSANE since they get fully reimbursed!!!! I hope that’s just a computer issue or they are the dummest company going! Most companies are trying to embrace the coupon way, but going in the other direction is only going to burn you in this economy.
I’ve been VERY unhappy with their receipts. Usually I can work through them but they honestly make them as difficult as humanly possible. I have noticed on several instances that I’ve been ripped off via coupon adjustment and/or completely missing a coupon I know I gave them. I’ve gotten better at noticing when I’m there.
What I can not figure out in stores overall is this, the majority of cashiers are women, the majority of shoppers who use coupons are women. Have these cashiers never seen a coupon before? Not to mention in this economy, more and more people are using coupons to try and stay afloat. You would think the merchants would just be happy to get us in the store knowing most people spend more once in the store on impulse buys. I am not one of those people but there is certainly a lot of them.
Just a random addition….some stores if my husband is with me I have him go through the line. I have found that some stores give me a hard time and never say a word to him and it doesn’t matter the gender of the cashier. One thing we have noticed is that if the cashier is a coupon person themselves they never give you a hassle or are happy to honor the coupon. Hard to tell though who is and isn’t a couponer!
yes, and sometimes I purposely go to a man instead of a women! Why are women so mean to each other? Let’s help each other out!
I do the same thing … the guys just seem better to deal with and especially if I see a teenage boy cashier … they seem the best at helping you out. I find older woman give me the most problems. I actually had one tell me that “she hopes she doesn’t get in trouble for allowing me to use so many coupons” WHAT?!?!? Why did she say that!! The stores get reimbursed for all those coupons and it doesn’t come out of her paycheck!!! She was very rude to me as well. The lady in back of me in line followed me out after she checked out and complimented me on how well I did saving so much with coupons and said not to let the cashier bother me with her attitude.
So, Brandy, I agree ~ why do woman have to be so mean sometimes?!?
That happened to me too! I bought 10 Weight Watchers meals and I had a coupon for $5.00 off and the cashier only took off for one meal which was for $2.25! I was soooo mad that I called the store within minutes and they found the coupon! I went in a couple of days later and they issued me a Target GC for $5.00! What a mess!
this happened to me just last week. I had 6- $2/2 Shout coupons…I bought 12 trial Shout packets @ .99 each.
I thought the total was too high, but I had added some other items that wasn’t on my list, so I just paid. When I got home, (30 miles) I realized they only took off $6 for my coupons instead of $12!!!! Ya, can you say fraud??? B/c they are going to make even MORE $$ on my transaction…
Gotta watch it that’s for sure!!!
I had two b1g1 coupons today and neither went through. The cashier kept telling me they went through even though they were not listed on the reciept. I finally went to the cs desk and they corrected it and gave me my $8. Make sure you look through your reciept with a fine tooth comb!
I am glad that this issue has come to everyone’s attention and I hope that Target will do the right thing and resolve these coupon issues. I noticed this problem recently on two purchases that I made. I was very upset to see that my $3.00 coupon off 10 Smart Ones frozen meals was reduced to $1.80 which was the cost of one meal. I would have never bought 10 meals had I known it was not going to take off the full $3.00. I did not notice this until I got home and the store was already closed so I couldn’t call there or go back. Then it happened again on another trip there on the scotch tape and bic pens just like others have stated above. It is so frustrating when you take so much time to match up your coupons with the sales and then you end up paying more than you should. I love saving money with coupons and it just defeats the whole purpose of using them if they are not deducted properly. I have the most difficulty and mistakes made at Target, and Walgreens is also difficult to deal with at times. CVS is by far the best with coupons. My CVS also accepts my expired extra bucks and CRT coupons and catalina coupons from other stores as well.
It happened to me today with the Schick Quatro Razor deal – it kept “taking” the MFG coupon but deducting $0.00 – so the cashier called over a manager, showed her that I had all the right items and the right number of coupons, and she had t manually do a discount. (It kept telling the cashier, when she tried to manually input a “MFG Coupon” that it was over the price of the item – which it wasn’t by $1.49 – watch carefully!!
This happened to me with a huggies wipes 2.50 off of 3. Each pack cost 2.39 so the register only took 2.39 off. When I asked the cashier she said that the coupon scanned that amount so the manufacture was the cause… which I didn’t buy for one sec. and asked if thought that the coupon was printed incorrectly…… she was very rude. Hopefully they will fix that problem soon!
I was in Target the other day and in my mind vowed that I would never go back with coupons. It was too much hassle and I use coupons ALL the time. I was buying 2 razors that were maybe $5.49 each. Target had a promotion that when you buy 2 of these razors they will give you a $5 gift card. They gave me the $5 gift card but then couldn’t get the 2 $4 razor manufacturers coupons to come off. I think the first one scanned but didn’t really come off and the second one beeped and said that I had exceed the coupon limit. They wanted me to pay like $11 plus tax but I would have the $5 gift card. I should have been able to use the 2 coupons subtracting $8 from my bill and then paying $3 plus tax and get the $5 card. Cashier and manager were both nice but couldn’t override the system. Eventually they told me to pay the $11 and go to customer service with the 2 coupons and customer service gave me the $8. If they didn’t have the$5 promotion I would have been better off by just using the 2 $4 coupons!! Target promotions shouldn’t have anything to do with manufacturers coupons and also the first coupon would have ended up in the cashier’s drawer even though it wasn’t subtracted from my order. Target would have been reimbursed for that coupon even though I didn’t really use it. Their receipts are ridiculous to read, with some of the coupons coming off in one place and some on the bottom hmmm and some never coming off. They really need to fix this. It used to be one of my favorite places to shop…
My $4 Olay Body Wash coupon only rang up as $1. The price was over $5, so it didn’t need to be adjusted down. Part of the problem also is that they split the coupons/discounts up on so many different parts of the receipt. I usually end up leaving the store knowing that I have been ripped off, but having a hard time figuring out exactly where. I have largely given up on Target (and Albertsons) because of this issue. I had a $3 coupon show up on the Albertsons scanner, but printed $0 on the receipt. So sometimes even if you watch carefully, you still end up getting ripped off.
I think if we raise enough stink, they will change. They cant afford to lose shoppers. The competition is too high. I get so nervous when I go to Target with coupons. They are not properly trained and usually rude!
I have noticed this, but I thought there was nothing I could do but live with this new policy.
What do we do?
I haven’t noticed the coupon problem, but I do get overcharged about everytime I visit Target. The price on my receipt is different that the price on the shelf sticker. Unfortunately I don’t usually catch it until I’m home and then it’s my word against theirs, but they are notorious for mismarking items in their stores.
I have had this happen many times. Especially with the Shout coupons that are out. I noticed it right away when it was ringing up. I asked for it to be fixed and it seemed like I was asking the cashier to kill someone! The customer service lady that came over to get it fixed was a little fiesty, but it got fixed. My friend had the same problem but didn’t catch it as she isn’t used to coupons. After she checked out at a different cashier we went to customer service and got it fixed. It takes a lot of time to shop in the first place, I don’t think we should have to spend more time in line waiting for them to fix THEIR problems. It is very annoying.
This also happened to me with the Mead folders. The coupon was $1/2 but it instead only took off 50 cents. The manager told me that was the manufacturer’s policy because they didn’t want you getting the item for free. I knew she had no idea what she was talking about. I’m sure this has happened to me more than once because their receipts are so stinking hard to understand! Glad it’s being addressed anyhow.
Has anyone noticed Target charges tax on the shelf price of an item not the price after coupons? I hate shopping at Target because the high sales tax they charge
Actually that’s state law (at least in MN). You are supposed to pay the sales tax of the full price. I tend to think of coupons as like cash because of this.
Thanks for posting this!
I call slander. I work at target and the coupons ring up at full price every time. Hell, sometimes I use the same coupon twice. The only time it does this is if the coupon is conditional an you don’t meet the conditions. Its not Target’s fault if you can’t read the not so fine print.
Are you even reading what people are writing? We are meeting the requirement and there is a glitch in your system. Coupon shoppers are getting riped off and Target is getting reimburse for the full value of the coupon/ making a profit. How is that fair and not Targets fault?
False…obviously with many, many examples.
Evan, it is only called “slander” if the facts are not true and cannot be verified. Sorry, you are wrong.
Maybe you should show target some of these comments so something can get done. It happens to me all the time there.
Hahaha, they deleted my reply. Probably because it had some swear words in it… Seriously though, this is like fox news. Someone says they don’t like what is happening and then they bring in a number of guests to agree with them.
HQ is aware of the problem and is working on it. You act like Target is some sinister company that’s out to steal your money. Do any of you even realize how much Target gives back to the community? 5% of it’s total profits ($3 million a week!) and 1% of red card sales to schools. That’s better than most corporations do in a century. So quit it with all the angry messages about how you got shorted that one time and go to the Walker Art Museum or Minneapolis Museum of Art for Target free Thursday nights, or go to the lovely new Twins Stadium, or go pick up your kid’s school supply list at your local Target store. They don’t have to do these things, but they do.
Also, the drones you see walking around in red and khaki at the stores are (believe it or not) real people! So when you treat us like garbage, walk all over us and act like we are all incompetent buffoons; we just shrug it off and keep acting like it doesn’t matter. The individuals at each Target store are some of the most hard working and patient people I have ever met considering all the crap we put up with coming from you. So maybe next time you go into a Target store pick stuff up when you drop it on the floor, don’t huff and puff at us when we don’t have what you need (we can’t just use magic and make it appear), and maybe you could treat us a little nicer than a punching bag. (seriously, if you think your day is going poorly, we are probably having a tougher day)
Here is a copy of Targets Coupon Policy.
I realize that in the report, the coupon did not come off correctly, however lots of people on here are complaining that they are not getting say $3 off a product that is $2.40. The policy clearly states that: “Coupon amount may be reduced if it exceeds the value of the item after other discounts or coupons are applied.”
Target Stores Coupon Policy
Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping with us, and it’s easy to use them at our stores.
• Target accepts one manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon for the same item (unless prohibited)
• Super Target coupons can be used in any Target store if the store carries the item
• We gladly accept valid internet coupons
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 coupons and manufacturer-issued.
• We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
• Coupon amount may be reduced if it exceeds the value of the item after other discounts or coupons are applied.
• We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value 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.
My store would not take Target coupons stacked with manufacturers coupons…
I wonder what other discounts means? A price cut.
Target really clearly stated that on its coupon policy that “Coupon amount may be reduced if it exceeds the value of the item after other discounts or coupons are applied.” so I haven’t gone to the customer service for this issue.
I have given up on using coupons at Target, and am almost ready to give up on Target altogether. It used to be my favorite store to shop at, but not anymore.
The last time I used coupons, the system never beeped, but my coupons weren’t coming off. My cashier called the manager over, and she couldn’t figure out how to fix it. Finally, I just asked them to take all the coupon items off, and give me back my coupons. The items were taken off, but the manager refused to return some of the coupons to me, saying they were already in the system. I was pissed, but both of my kiddos were tired and cranky, so I just left. I wish I would’ve said something now.
We have that same problem up here in Alaska too. I bought 4 chef boyardee microwave dinners. Each was about $1.33 and had 3 $1/1 chef boyardee target coupons and 1 $1.50/4 coupon which I think was for any conagra product listed. When the manufacturer coupon scanned it only took off $1.33 since that was the value of one microwave dinner. Which after reading this post I think I got shafted. Since we seem to pay way more for items up here.
I did clean up on the post it notes when they were $1. The local store charges sales tax but if I drive 40 miles down the road, they do not charge sales tax.
I also have a friend who works for Target and try to shop when she is on a register. She is always amazed at how little money I spend and the haul that I leave with.
This happened to me with the 1.50 of 4 chef boyardees, the coupon took off the complete wrong amount it was so confusing the cashier, the supervisor and the customer service rep could not decifer the receipt to coupons I gave. Finally the cs rep so what are you saying, I said you owe me $4.00, she opened the drawer and gave it to me.
I thought it was just me when this happened 2 weeks ago. Of course, it didn’t help that the cashier insisted on separating each and every coupon (though I tried giving her the store coupons first), then the $1.50 ConAgra wouldn’t scan. Eventually it looked as though she did scan it. I paid and moved aside (which I have learned to do here) in order to review my receipt. For as much hassle as she gave me for giving her the coupons, there was not a $1.50 off (there was an $0.87, but as I pointed out, I never gave her a coupon in that amount)…so I waited 10 minutes in order to point it out to her. It never dawned on me that the register was reducing the value…I said that the coupon didn’t go through, she said it did and grabbed the receipt. After several frustrating minutes, I said just give me the coupon back, and I took it to CS where she scanned it and it came up full value. I think I may have gotten more than the $1.50 at this rate, but why is it that the cashiers’ registers do this glitchy thing while CS it never does?
Happened to me too with the Shout coupon ($2/2 laundry products). Bought 2 trial size wipes at 97 cents each. System took off 97 cents instead of $1.94. Thankfully I caught it before leaving the store and got my money back. (I had two coupons, so they gave me $2 back). Imagine if everyone who has been cheated could make it onto the news!! I hate being ripped off!
i just came from target and one of my coupons did not come off properly. i used a $2.50/3 huggies wipes and it came off as $1.99 i had to go to customer service to get it fixed. it is such a drag to shop there now, they always have issues with coupon usage!!
Thanks for the posting. I shop at Target on a regular basis and I do watch the coupons because it can be very confusing.
In fact, today I bought 15+ items and used about 15 coupons (store and manufacturer) and everything processed correctly.
Fortunately, I have never had any real problems. Normally, if I notice a coupon did not go through correctly, they handle it at the point of sale. Also, the cashiers are always so nice about processing the coupons. Just wanted to say this because the Target stores in my area are great for service.
I’m a Target lover, so I wanted to add a positive comment.
I’m glad that not all of the stores have the customer service I have experienced!
Former Target Fan
I think you’ve got the ONE good store … it’s a joke in our area about how bad the customers are treated in our Target. You are one lucky woman!
Sounds like a Target employee to me!
Glad to hear I’m not alone! I was at Target a few months back trying to use an Olay coupon to get the body wash (which would have been 47 cents after coupon, and I also had a coupon for free dial soap. The cashier sat and argued with me telling me I wasn’t aloud to do that and she wouldn’t accept the coupon. She totally belittled me in front of a lot of other customers…it was rather embarrassing! Hopefully in the future Target will get their act together so they can keep their customers coming back!!!
The last time I went to Target some of my coupons did not got through at all. I did not notice until I went outside – but I went back inside to the customer service area. The original cashier (who was rolling her eyes for the entire transaction) apparently had not even checked on anything that beeped so several coupons came up as $0.00 -which was obvious at the bottom of the receipt. The service desk staff was very rude, arguing that the coupons I had stated one per purchase (they all say that) and that I could only purchase one item (not five with five coupons). It was as though they had never seen coupons before and were completely perplexed with how they work. They said that they have to be careful about customers who are abusing the system, suggesting that I was one of them. So offensive! I am very careful to follow the rules (read coupons, etc) and would never use a coupon I thought might be fradulent. I didn’t even know what to say. I don’t want to go back. I’m not surprised at all that they are not ringing up coupons correctly. I am certain that their poor customer service in this matter will persuade others to shop elsewhere.
This has happened to me several times locally. In fact I was so sure of the shortage, that I started to tally up my coupons prior to shopping. In one trip alone, they shorted me over $40.00! I have had so many problems with using coupons at Target, that I have stopped shopping there. I have had to wait for an hour while the CSM and cashier went through all of my coupons, because so many of them beeped. I was even told that I was unable to stack a B1G1 free with an additional coupon off of the item I was buying. I went so far as to contact the manager, and the district office which sent the complaint back to the store level. I was told by the store manager that he can limit purchases at his discretion. In this case I wanted to buy 4 boxes of cereal with coupons. He stated to me that he was limiting me to 3, due to the fat that it is reasonable for a family to consume 3 boxes of cereal within a 30 day time period. I was shocked….In fact in the weekly ad, it was running a special for the purchase of 4 boxes of cereal, you could get a giftcard. (I believe that was the deal) I too have been highly humiliated, and belittled in front of other customers, with the attitude that I was a criminal for shopping smart. I currently use their ad at CVS, where locally they price match. Other readers might want to check with their local CVS to see if they price match as well. It has worked out quite well for me, in fact they accept grocery store ads, and I have bought some good things with my coupons.
reminds me of k-mart. same thing would always happen there so i just quit shopping their stores
Good!! I’m glad they are getting busted for this! I have ALWAYS had problems with them even accepting my coupons, even managers and CS get snippy about it, just rolling their eyes and giving me excuses…uurrgghhhh!!! Havent been to Target for many months now, yuck!
Sounds like business as usual at Target. Every few months there is another problem with them following their own coupon policies. There are a lot of us who coupon. I wonder when we’ll decide that this is enough already and start a class-action suit.
In the past when I’ve had problems with them accepting their “own” store coupons, the customer service line told me that I was in the right, after I continued having problems I filed a complaint with the BBB in which Target simply sent me another copy of their coupon policy. This nonsense went on through three consumer regulatory agencies until I eventually stopped filing and shopping at Target.
I had that happen Monday. I had 2 coupons for free 6 oz. bags of dog food. I got home and realized my manufacturer coupons rang up as $0. Very frustrating. I live almost 30 minutes away, so it isn’t worth my gas to drive back.
I had the same thing happen to me at Target last week. I went back in and the front end manager said because I got clearance items, I only received a portion of the coupon. Like if an item is 50% off you only get 50% of the value of the coupon. I told her that was fraud since the manufacturer gives Target face value of the coupon. She was very very rude. I argued for a while and decided it wasnt worth my time since I was late returning back to work from my lunch break. It ended up costing me $12. because my coupons were for 4.00 and it selected the same brand items that were 1.48. Also my $2.00 off two items rang up as 1.19 – the cost of one item. I was very upset with Target. Makes me want to start shopping at Walmart more often.
In your situation, I would definitely call/write Target to tell about the baloney-excuse and ESPECIALLY about the rude ‘customer service’ person. (I hope you remember her name – or maybe can find out) In all of my Target Customer Service interactions, I have been impressed with how helpful the employees are. No bad attitudes should go unmentioned.
YES! I had the Scotch tape $1 off of 3 coupie, and a lady who I was chatting with in the school supplies caught me going up to the register and told me about it or I wouldn’t have caught it at all! I think it’s a shame that when you’re trying to save money companies try everything to make you look like an idiot. If you point it out, then you look like you’re trying to cheat the system. I had a cashier get so angry that I got my order for free when I bought a good bit of the Kraft First Taste products that i had freebie coupies for. It’s sad, I just want to provide for my family, and as a stay at home Mum, I want to get the best deal. If I’m not printing more than I’m allowed, why can’t I save the maximum? UGH!
I also have had it happen to me many times. I’ve made many trips to the service desk and now keep a close watch on the register!!! I’m glad Target is now aware it is a real problem. Hopefully they will provide a quick fix!
Have had this happen too. In fact, a few times, the cashier would ignore the beep when they scanned the coupon and even though the coupon amount wouldn’t deduct, they tried to keep the coupon anyway.
I’ve probably missed several coupons. So, I started to pay better attention. For example, I had a Huggies Rewards coupon for a free jumbo pack of diapers and the cashier ignored the fact the coupon didn’t deduct anything and prompted me to pay and – since it was a $10.99 item that should have been free – I called her out on it. She tried it again and looked confused when it wouldn’t scan. I told her she would probably have to punch in the price. I had to tell her the price. She had to have a manager come over and finish doing it. My husband wasn’t paying attention and was going to pay… if I hadn’t said something, I would have been out my free coupon and out $10.99 + tax!
I just entered a complaint into the federal trade commission that they programmed a new system that auto adjusts below what the customer is paying and doesn’t beep. I explained the whole $1/2 products, coupon auto adjusting down to 50 cents, sometimes scanning at $0.00 without beeping—hopefully someone sees it and does something.
Problem is- Target has little incentive to end this profitable system. It’s not profitable for anyone to do anything.
Margie – Hopefully Target will get the idea that it isn’t profitable to rip their customers off when we ALL STOP SHOPPING THERE !!!
This just happened to me Monday, although I didn’t realize it until I left the store and we live over an hour from Target. I used the buy 1 get one free on Pledge Multisurface coupons and instead of getting one for free, it took 75 cents off each. I had all 3 kids with me who were not exactly cooperating when I checked out, so I missed it. I will def. pay better attention next time I am at a Target.
My mom was shorter something like 15 dollars on a recent Target trip. She didn’t realize it until she was home and checking her receipt. (It was a large order.) She called and spoke with a manager who told her to come back in and they gave her the difference on a gift card. Now that they are more aware, you may be able to recoup some of that lost cash.
This has happened to me several times and I didn’t notice until I got home. I said to my husband I was going to take a calculator the next time and keep a running total so I know exactly what the final total should be.
Also, the Target coupon for $1 off produce..they sell bananas for .19 each, so the coupon only took off .19 when I should have received the entire bunch for free!
So aggravating!
I’ve used that coupon many times. You have to get more than a dollars worth first of all, so 6 bananas would total to $1.14, then if you use the coupon you will get the bananas for 14 cents. I bought a bunch with that coupon, plus my team member discount and got all 6 for just a few cents.
I’m pretty sure she bought more than 1 banana (note the word “bunch” in her writing), or at least the spirit was there (like ALMOST free). She only got 19 cents off. I’m seriously not trying to bash you today, Evan. Especially since I agree with a bunch of the writers that I’d much rather check out with a young guy who is friendly and helpful, than a tyrannical old biddy who is nasty and rude. Unfortunately when customers feel like they are being taken advantage of on perfectly legal uses of discounts, tempers will come out in extreme numbers. I wouldn’t take this so personally, and maybe use this to try and help more customers in the future. : )
This explains why the coupons I had didn’t match the amounts that came off!!!! I was so confused the other day walking out of there and looking at my receipt, there were amounts coming off I didn’t have coupons for!
This happened to me yesterday! I bought 2 cans of the Chefboyardee that was $0.80 and used 2 Target $1 coupons. They only took off $.80 for each. I didn’t have a problem with this since it was a Target coupon and it would have given me overage if it had taken off the full $1 amount for each. What I did have a problem with is that I bought 4 ofthe Hunt’s pudding packs that are $0.84 and used a $1/3 Target coupon and $1/4 man. coupon. The man. coupon only took off $0.84 instead of the full $1. Of course, I didn’t notice this until I got home. Granted, 16 cents isn’t a big deal, but done over and over again, it is. I will be watching much more closely!
I commented (on a CSWM Target blog) when this happened to me a few weeks ago. I accepted the Chef Boyardee adjustment, but I returned the Pampers because they should have been almost free ($2.39 – $2 coupon deal). That one made me angry because I know Target will receive the full $2 face value from the manuf.
I’ve just been watching the cash register more closely and buying fewer items.
It happened to me on the Scotch Magic Tape deal a couple weeks ago — they were 50 cents each and the coupon was 3/$1 but the register only took off 50 cents. I pointed it out to the cashier but he couldn’t fix it so I had to go wait in line again (urgh) at Customer Service. They took care of it and just gave me 50 cents cash back.
Wait, what? If they are 50 cents each and you got 3, that makes a total of $1.50. So if your coupon is 3 for $1 you would get 50 cents off so the total would come to $1 for all three…
Evan, you keep commenting, yet proving our point as to why we are aggravated and annoyed. READ what she said! She had a $1 off of 3 purchase…50 cents times 3 is $1.50, less $1.00 equals 50 cents for the 3 products. THIS is why everyone is so irritated! Sometimes people can’t comprehend simple math at the register! We can’t leave it up to the register sometimes, so we sort of hope that maybe the human element can help us. But obviously, that is asking a lot anymore. Some families need to make $100 last a week or 2, so if they choose to use a very accepted way of saving money, they are entitled to that. It is not stealing, it is trying to make ends meet.
It’s actually not clear to me here whether the coupon was for $1 off if you buy 3, or 3 for $1 – you see the difference? If it was 3 rolls of tape for $1, then the purchase went through correctly. If it was save $1 if you buy 3 rolls, it did not go through correctly.
Now you’re angry at me because I took 3/$1 as “3 for $1″ and you read it as “$1 off a purchase of 3.” I can do math lady.
The coupon was definitely for $1.00 off of 3 rolls. I had the same thing happen to me, along with similar coupons not deducting the proper amount. The tape was priced at .50 each so 3 rolls were $1.50 and it should have taken off $1.00 for the coupon leaving the final cost of the 3 rolls costing .50. Why is this so hard for people to figure out? You simply must buy 3 rolls of tape whatever the price is for them and you get $1.00 off for the coupon. The coupon value is the total amount that should be deducted when purchasing the 3 items and not the cost of the individual item. This is what Target is doing wrong and what everyone is so upset about. They should find a solution to this “glitch” in the system and just fix it so everyone would not be so angry. It really is the right thing to do and judging by all of these many comments, there are a lot of people that feel cheated and these are just the ones that took time to write their comments or noticed the coupon errors on their difficult to figure out receipts.
Evan, you sound so angry at everyone who shops at Target. I am always very polite when asking for help and no one should feel embarrassed or made to feel like they are doing anything wrong for using a lot of coupons and trying to save money. And as far as it just being small amounts that you save with coupons, it is amazing how much it adds up to. When people don’t get the full value of their coupons, it just simply defeats the purpose of purchasing a product that we might not have purchased had it not been on sale and we also had a coupon for. I have had very nice cashiers at Target compliment me on doing such a good job with saving so much with using coupons and those are the cashiers that I like and feel are doing their job properly. I have also had very rude cashiers. The coupons do not come out of the employee’s paycheck and Target gets reimbursed for them along with a handling fee and, therefore, there should be no resentment or irritation of their part when someone uses a lot of coupons to save money. If this Target coupon problem was all unintentional, it should be fixed as soon as possible.
Kathy, I do meet some nice people who are very polite, but the mean people far outnumber you. If you read most of these comments, everyone insults our intelligence by assuming that we can’t do basic math and such. Most of the people I work with, including myself have or are working towards a college degree, but have not found a great job just yet.
Seriously, we are real people.
Let me rephrase…aside from a possible “$1 for 3″ in-store coupon or promotion that a store (say Target, or even better yet, Walgreens) may have, I don’t ever recall seeing any coupon stated that way. Every manufacturer coupon that I have ever used is for a specific amount OFF of an item. Melissa may have phrased it differently, but the customers who use coupons regularly (like me) know that the flat-purchase price coupons generally do not exist, only cents or dollar amounts off. Came to the poor gal’s defense. Three other previous comments reflected the coupon value.
I have always been very suspicious of my receipts from Target. Most days I do not have the energy nor the patience to go through them with a fine tooth comb, but they are very confusing . . . esp. when they have those “package deals” and how the coupons are deducted. The numbers never seem to add up, but the one time I went to customer service, I spent close to 30 minutes waiting on a refund of $2 and change. It just worth it . . . as a result, I only go to Target if I have no other options. And usually there really good deals will pop up at a Rite Aid or CVS if I just wait a few weeks. I would rather use my patience that way than standing there at Target’s customer service with 3 antsy kids waiting for a refund . . . . It’s really a shame b/c Target used to be my favorite store before I started doing coupons . . .
I have had the same experiences as most people who have commented! their receipts are confusing, and they go so fast with the coupons it’s hard to tell if it worked when they scanned it. it always seems like I had more in coupons than they took off, and now I know why! I had a target coupon for $1.50 off when you buy 3 market pantry items. We checked the whole receipt and didn’t see that amount taken off anywhere. So basically it’s like I just handed her the coupon and she threw it out. same thing.
Hopefully this will be resolved and people will start getting the full value of their coupons.
I had a BYGO Free coupon for Bare Naked Granola and $0.00 was taken off. I caught it and the customer service representative ended up refunding me one of the items. She fixed my problem, but it seemed she did not understand why the coupon did not scan, either. Kudos to her for taking care of the customer.
I have recently had issues wtih Walmart locally about taking internet coupons despite the policy on the website. Just pay clost attention at all retailers.
Absolutely, yes, I have had this happen at Target. I try to pay attention to the monitor as the cashier is scanning the coupons so I see the total decreasing appropriately. Nevertheless, sometimes it’s busy in there and sometimes the cashiers seem to have to do more than simply scan the coupon to get it accepted by the computer so I have gotten home and realized deductions were not made. The most costly one for me was for a coupon worth $4! I was so irritated when I got home and realized it had not been applied!! But I didn’t really think I had much recourse. Sure, I could complain at customer service but how would I prove I had submitted that particular coupon?
My new plan is to do separate, single transactions for high value coupon/stacking coupon scenarios. Sure the cashier and the people behind me in line will be irritated but I don’t want to be cheated again.
This problem has been around for a LONG time … I’m glad it’s finally getting noticed. I hope it will be resolved. Target needs a complete overhaul. The customer service dept will only argue with you, the manager isn’t available (or they don’t have a manager at this time), the cashiers won’t let BOGO’s go through, won’t allow stacking Target q’s with mfg q’s, and won’t accept any q where the item ends up being free. I have often run into cashiers taking a couple coupons at once, and only scanning the top coupon … so now I have to hand the coupons one at a time and make sure they are entered before continuing (this gets looks and rolling eyes). Recent examples: Scotch Tape, Sobe, Post-It notes, BIC pens. It’s too much hassle … I quit going to Target. Calling Corp doesn’t even help, although they have fantastic lip service.
I ran into this problem earlier this week. I used the coupon for 1 Free bag of the Purina One Dog Food (6 oz. size) or up to $1 off *any* size. I bought the 6 oz. size, which they sell for $1. I had 4 coupons, 4 bags. Each was scanning in, but taking $0 off. As she scanned them, the total stayed the same…so I asked her if they were ringing up correctly. She said, no – and told me she couldn’t adjust anything from the register so I’d have to go to customer service after the sale. I told her I’d need to take the coupons with me so that they can see what’s what…so she gave them back to me and I took them to CS. They were confused for a long time, but finally gave me back $4 in cash.
Then, I got home and realized only 1 of my $1.50/1 Vaseline coupons was accepted…ugh. At least instead of being out $5.50, I was only out $1.50. But it’s still SOOOOO frustrating!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I’ve given up shopping with coupons at the Northern Virginia Targets. All the cashiers treat you like a criminal if you use coupons and never give you the correct amount. They will even refuse “free” coupons as fraud. Both Target & Walmart lost my business – I will pay a little extra at surrounding grocery stores (such as Wegmans, Harris Teeter, or Giant), who are much more honest in their coupon policies.
Yup, this happened to me the last four times I was at Target to the point I don’t shop there anymore (I mean one time I got taken for 10.00 and had to fight and fight and finally just had them void the sale and give me my money back) unless I’m picking up four or less items and/or no coupon items. I am just refusing to deal with corporate coupon fraud, thank you very much. Trying to read their reciepts before was hard enough without all the new coupon mis-adjusting. I have two young kids…I just do NOT have time to mess with it.
This has happened to me at least twice in the past month, but I haven’t bothered to argue with the cashiers. The other days I used a $2 off 2 coupons on glade candles (that were on clearance for $1.48 each) and it only gave me $1.48 off. It also happened with the $1.50 off 4 Con Agra coupon. At least now I know why. I hope they fix this.
Thank goodness this is finally being made public. I have had this very same problem and I was told by the cashier,supervisor and store manager that I could take it or leave it as they couldn’t override the coupon. One example is that I had a coupon for 3 cans of Alpo dog food and save $1. When the coupon scanned instead of taking off $1 it only took of the cost of 1 can which was .67 and on that same trip I had a coupon for buy 3 ConAgra products save $1.50. I bought 3 cans of Chef Boyardee for .97 each and the coupon scanned in for only .97 instead of the $1.50.
I sent an email to corporate and received their “coupon’ policy back as the reply and was told to call with any further questions. I called and the CSR said she would report it but again basically nothing they could do.
I haven’t had this issue anywhere except Target!
I used to work at Target too and their ways have certainly changed in the past few years…they are greedy and they do not care about their customers or they would not be doing this…it is all about PROFIT and not about the customers…I hate this as I too got ripped off the other day and I hadn’t seen the new print out of receipts with the package deals which turned out not to be not so good a deal after the coupons were all adjusted down to pennies instead of the dollars they will be reimbursed and I didn’t get to save and use myself. I have decided to take everything back and get a refund. I have also decided not to buy anything at TARGET with coupons unless they are manufacturers and I hand them with each item and make sure the amount comes off….IT is a SHAME that they are so greedy but I think the same that people will just go somewhere else to shop!!! I certainly will move TARGET to the bottom of my list from now on!!!
Thanks for posting. Everytime I get home from target my coupons were never right. One time it was over $8.00. That time I did speak with a manager and she went through all my coupons and I got the money back. Just the last time I had a target $5 coupon for buying 3 herbal essences plus man. coupon plus target coupon for $5 off of 50. Got home one of the $5.00 off never came off. I also noticed on the bobo coupons if you use a target coupon and man. coupon the 2 items aren’t completely free, for some reason the computer adjusts down and I still had to pay about half. I always try to watch the cashier but sometimes it is hard. I hope something will change.
Yes, this happened to me recently. I bought two bottles of Nivea body wash, priced at $2.99 each. I used a $4/2 coupon and only $2.99 came off my total. I was in a rush and tired, so I didn’t bother going to customer service to quibble over $1.01. I am so fed up with Target. I used to shop there every weekend and now I go maybe once a month. They just can’t seem to get their act together on a reliable and fair coupon policy.
I know that Target could fix the problem, if they wanted to. Mostly, it seems to be when
the coupon is for more than one item, $1/when you buy 2 type. Then it takes off just the price of one item, if it less than the coupon value.
It seems to be that as some other posters have said, they don’t really want to fix it. The profit they make by taking our money and also getting reimbursed for the full coupon value must really outweigh our complaints and dissatisfaction with them.
Also, a warning to be aware at Walmart too. I’ve had the same thing happen twice in the last month there. And they don’t know how to or don’t want to fix it either.
I’m new to couponing…only been doing it 6 months… but Target is notorious for items ringing up wrong and coupons not coming off right. My husband insists it is intentional. How many people really look at their receipt? …not many!!
This is already a very long thread so I am not sure my contribution matters but here goes. I wrote Target Corporate and reported my experience to the media. It took a lot of effort on my part, but I finally prevailed. My husband says that there is no stubbornness in my family – it’s all in me
. I emailed this inquiry first and then thought I better send a snail mail version is too send to message home to Target.
Target Corporation
ATTN: Gregg W. Steinhafel
1000 Nicollet Mall, TPS 3165
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403
August 1, 2010
Subject: Manufacturers Coupons Not Accepted for Purchase
I bought 2 3-packs of Schick disposable razors that cost $5.49 each with an offer of a $5 Target GC for the purchase of two packs. The razor package had a coupon on it for $1 off 1 pack and I had a $3 off coupon for 1 pack. The cashier was not able to use the coupons even though they were not expired, for the products and quantity of products purchased. The manager (Mickey) intervened and she was not able to get the register to accept the coupons and could not explain why and said that I could not use the $1 off and that she could only give me 98 cents for the $3 off coupon. She said she could void the sale or I could take the offer and said I could call an 800 number to find out why the coupons could not be used. After over 20 minutes of waiting while two managers tried to figure out why the transaction could not be done using both coupons I finally accepted the 98 cents for the $3 coupon and took the other coupon back and left the store. I want to know why this happened?
Results: Received a phone call from a Target Customer Service rep who reviewed my complaint and tried to explain away the issue by citing some reasons form why this might have happened including the language on the coupon. I told her that I had the store make me a copy of the coupon before I let them have it so I could read it to her which I did. She then asked me to send her a screenprint which I did and she said that on the face of it I should have received the full value of the coupon. Thank you
A few days later I received a snail mail letter of apology from Target for the wait time I experienced at check out, but no reference to the coupons. They gave me 3 -$3 coupons, no expiration date in compensation for my trouble.
With the story in the media now and with all of us complaining I think they know not to mess with us. The next thing I expect is a class action law suit so save your Target receipts.
I have had it with Target and their computer problems! Today it was the $1 produce coupon reduced to 25 cents plus several others that weren’t read at all; when I pointed it out to the Russian cashier she yelled at me. Very emarrassing, as the line behind me is getting longer and longer and I am getting chastised…I am thinking that in the future I will do only one transaction at a time, hand them one coupon at a time, and stay away from the Russian cashier!!
We must shop at the same Target.
I’m SO glad it’s not just me! I had a BOGO free coupon for Covergirl… instead of taking off the whole amount of the “free” prodcut, they only took off $3.00 BUT the cashier wrote the entire amount to be reimbursed on the coupon, and said that the computer wouldn’t let her take off more than $3!
It’s criminal. They shouldn’t get the entire amount reimbursed. I’ve always thought of Target as a great store… good for the community, etc. But this is disappointing and greedy. I’m going to think twice before I shop there from now on… especially with coupons. Other companies can have my business!
I know from experience Target updated software in all stores just over 18 mo to one year ago depending on the area. No one gets to use any for overage anymore. They adjust everything to lowest value. So your getting cheated on many of the deals and yes Target gets paid full value for the coupon plus .7 or .8 cents for the handling of the coupon which every coupon has that wording on it somewhere. So this is cheating the consumer. Don’t like it stop shopping at that store or watch the register so as not to get cheated. I stand my ground if they do not take full value off then I want my coupon back and the product taken off my bill. I can take the coupon and the product to the manager at the service desk if need be or I can leave the store and shop elsewhere with my coupons. Many stores take coupons by listing for the beep that it went thru if the money does not come off the bill the store does not care they still get paid for handling the coupon so you the consumer are the only one who looses. Read your reciepts even if you have to do it sitting in your car in the parking lot and go back to the customer service right away if you have been cheated. Alternatively you can carry a calculator and figure it out before you get to the register if it is wrong don’t pay . When you pay that is where the problem begins. So stop paying when you have been cheated.
This makes a little more sense to me. I haven’t experienced the problems you other ladies have, although I don’t think I use as many coupons as many of you. I’m amazed at how good some of you are at saving and bargain shopping. I use a few coupons, but probably not as many. After reading about this I went back and looked at a few of my receipts from Target. I usually put everything on my credit card so I can just pay it off at the end of the month so I still had several of them and I couldn’t find any instances of coupons taking the incorrect amount off so it makes me wonder if it’s isolated to certain products, certain manufacturer’s coupons, or even certain parts of the country.
I agree…I am going later and I have written on a scrap piece of paper each item I am getting with a coupon and it’s value. Then when I am there I will note the price of each item so I can figure out how much my total should be. It’s sad that we as consumers have to be so vigilant, but like you said that’s the only way anything will change.
I went to Target with the Sobe BOGO coupons. I had 15 coupons, so I picked up 30 sobe’s. I told the cashier right away that I had 15 coupons. She rang up my order, and then proceeded to tell me that they can only take 3 coupons per item. I was like ok, but I have 30 items and 15 coupons. She told me that she could only take 3 coupons. I had her take the other 24 bottles off my order. Then I looked at the policy when I got home, and there is nothing posted about only taking 3 coupons per item type.
Hi I went to target on Sat and found the air wick I motions on sale I had the $4 off coupon
and I was sopose to get them for $2 I had 9 total and they only gave me 5 with $4 off and 4 with just $1 off I called and asked and they said they could not track the couponsand I told them that one of the managers had seen all the coupons because she had approved for me to use them all in one transaction Well finaly they told me to go pick up 3 $3 target coupons to use at the store.
I always have so many problems with Target. I also don’t understand the reasoning behind the adjustment of coupon values. Why do they get the overage but consumers don’t? They are submitting these coupons and getting reimbursed for the full amount of the coupon.
Also, one day a manger missed 5 of my coupons (2 for $5 each and 3 for $1 each). It had already taken them (2 managers, 2 cashiers) to read my coupons before they would scan any of them. I had frozen items that were defrosting so that was annoying as well. Anyways, I realized in the car on the way home that they had missed the coupons and which ones they were. I called and spoke to one of the managers. I just asked her to set them aside so I could show her and they could be scanned so I could get a refund. I specifically told her which ones and she read them to me over the phone. She said she would put them to the side. When I went back she had only put one aside and I was told “OH sorry, they’re not here.” So I was out $14 dollars for coupons they are making $14 on. DISGUSTING!
Many months ago, the last time I went to Target was for Crest and Johnson & Johnson for soap 97 cents. The first day, the cashier did not accept Crest kid toothpaste manufacturer’s coupon, but Target coupon. She said Johnson & Johnson coupons did not work either. I tried again a few days later with J & J coupons; 1 cashier told me the computer was not accepting the coupons. Another cashier said I had to buy J&J products according to the pictures on the coupon like shampoo, lotion. I said it said “any product” on the coupon. She still insisted. I left. So from my experience, Target did not reduce value of coupons but they even try not to accept manufacturer’s coupons. I have never gone shopping at Target again since then.
This happened to me a couple of days ago with the $2/2 Any Shout. I bought 8 of the travel sized Shout wipes for $.97 each, so the register should have taken off the $.97 eight times. But it only did four. The cashier had no idea what I was talking about when I brought it to her attention, so I took it over to Customer Service. That lady didn’t understand at first but when she realized that that meant that all of them were free, she said that Target can’t do that. I said that they could and that I had the coupon policy with me, would she like to see it? She was a bit flustered and just decided to give me the almost-four dollars in cash, and not even deal with the receipt. I think they need to do a coupon training for all of the cashiers! : )
After reading this, I was relieved to have never had experienced this. However, I visited Target yesterday, and OF COURSE, I had spoken too soon. I had picked up some travel sized Shout wipes and was planning to use the $2/2 Shout products. As the checker was scanning my coupons, I saw that the register was price adjusting them to $.97, which was the price of ONE of the Shout wipes!!!! I couldnt believe it. I bought it to the attention of the checker, and to my surprise, she manually adjusted to coupon value back to the $2. Having had three of those coupons, it was going to cheat me out of $3.09. That is quite a bit of a cheat. I am very thankful that my checker was so cooperative, or it could have been a mess!! TARGET SHOPPERS BEWARE!!
Oh my word! They adjusted it for you!?! I just went through this last night! They made me do each in a seperate transaction! I ended up with 27 tranactions between every thing I was buying! I was buying the shout wipes too!
wow. Apparentely I live in a place with an amazing Target because I have only had one issue with coupons at Target, and it was because I was doing a price match scenario with the Toy Story DVD’s at Toys R Us. But I have always had the coupons go through just fine and never any hassle. I also however, always have my transactions written out ahead of time so I know the exact or at least close to the amount my final total should be, so if it was ever off by too much, I knew to question it right then and there before ever paying.
Here’s hoping that more Targets will get like mine!
I’ve been shorted several times but their receipts have become so difficult to understand that I just let it go… Havent been back in there for a month or so..
I had this same problem, and customer service would not fix it for me! I had $3 off five Quaker products, bought 5 Chewy granola bars $2 each, and the coupon rang up as $2 off. The CS rep told me “you’re getting one free” like that was just as good. I emailed Target but I’m not sure what else to do. I had the scotch magic tape and BIC coupons do the same in recent weeks, but didn’t notice until I had left the store. I actually saw the Quaker one ring up wrong, and the cashier said she couldn’t change coupons.
I carry the coupon policy with me. I have also started bringing this news artical with me too. It has been working for me. Because if the manager argues I pull out the news artical and ask if we should get our local news involved too?!?
Haven’t had this problem with Target, but I rarely use coupons there. However, if any of you are in Los Angeles County, let LA County Weights and Measures know. They will send someone in to check (unmarked shopper), and if the same thing happens to their shopper – minimum fine is $500 per occurrence per store, and every store nabbed has to post a “we were caught overcharging” sign in the front window for 30 days…Sweet revenge…
I was at Target last night and found some thing out. If the coupon isn’t taking off the full value the cashier can do it in a seperate transaction and it will come off correctly. I was purchasing the travel size shout for .97 and had coupons for $2/2. The coupon took off .97 the first time. When she did it as a seperate transaction the 1.94 came off. They actually had to open a new register for me because I was getting all my “free” stuff for the month. I had 10 travel size tides, 10 shouts, 10 dial soaps, 10 olay soaps and had to do EACH seperate! Talk about a waste of time/paper/patients!
Last week I used the P&G Coupon for the Swiffer, Buy 1 Get 1 Refill Free, up to $7. I bought the larger size refill which was $7.99 and thought I would pay the difference. The coupon scanned and the receipt registered the coupon as $0.00. I went to the service desk and was told that they can only take a coupon for a product up the $ amount of the coupon. If the product is over the amount, they won’t take it. I argued that I had done this previously and it wasn’t an issue to pay the difference, and received a refund of the $7 but was told it was a one-time courtesy. I haven’t read the coupon policy, so that could be the case, but it doesn’t really make any sense to me when they’re getting reimbursed by the company for the amount. When I mentioned that the cashier scanned the coupon and didn’t notice anything when it came up at $0, I was told that the cashiers job was just to scan everything. Needless to say, I visit Target as little as possible.
This happened to me today with the Huggies wipes deal. The 2.50/3 cpn adjusted down to 1.99. If I weren’t so pregnant, I would have noticed it in store and asked her to adjust it. Seriously, I only got 3 things of wipes, really? Didn’t she see what happened? Grrr. I knew there’s a reason I barely shop at Target.
This aired on our local station tonight:
http://cbs3.com/consumer/3.On.Your.2.1924832.html
Looks like Target is not making people very happy – I personally think they are committing fraud and stealing money from the customer (by not honoring the coupons face value). It just doesnt seem right since they collect the full face value plus handling from the manufacturer.
why can’t target hire some smart computer wiz instead of all this negative media attention
why can’t target hire some smart computer wiz instead of all this negative media attention and many other retailers too!