Supermarket coupon ‘scam’ sweeps UK after viral TikTok

A British supermarket has lost “hundreds of thousands” of dollars to a “coupon scam” that enabled people to checkout bags of lollies without paying for them.

British supermarket Tesco was forced to take action after a TikTok trend – dubbed the Tesco Method – went viral, showing how to take home free candy using a coupon when going through the self-serve checkouts.

The $1.19 (£1) coupon had initially been issued as a goodwill gesture by the manufacturer to a customer following a complaint.

But a loophole with its usage meant it could be scanned over and over, which after being exposed, was then widely circulated.

Social media users then openly “abused” the loophole, filming themselves taking home trolleys and baskets filled with candy they hadn’t paid for.

Once Tesco figured out what was going on, it caused chaos at the checkouts as it made the move to snap shut its self-serve outlets across the country in a bid to prevent any more losses.

The issue also prompted many supermarkets in the UK to enforce a blanket ban on coupons.

Holly Smith, a well-known British money-saving expert dubbed the “coupon queen”, has described the situation as the “biggest coupon fraud scam to ever hit the UK”.

“The Tesco Method has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds,” she explained in a video that has been viewed millions of times.

“The coupon that everyone is using was originally issued to someone who emailed the manufacturer with a complaint, and as a goodwill gesture, the manufacturer sent them this $1.19 (£1) off coupon.

“This was never meant to be shared publicly because it is unique to that one person.”

Holly then goes on to explain that while a glitch with a barcode on the coupon allows it to be used endlessly in the supermarkets, a second barcode used by the manufacturer identifies how many times it can be claimed by the intended recipient.

“So at the end of the day when Tesco send all the coupons up to the manufacturer to get their $1.19 back for each bag purchased, the manufacturer will scan this barcode.

“If this has been used once already, the manufacturer will not pay out more.

“So all those bags of sweets you’re seeing people getting, Tesco only got $1.19 (£1). So that’s why they have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

TikTok has been flooded with videos of people showing off their free haul, with one user bragging about getting over $35 worth of Skittles and Maltesers for free.

Clips of trolleys and baskets filled to the brim with Mars products have also been widely viewed as some shared their tips for snagging as many bags of candy as possible without getting caught.

However, the loophole has since been shut down, but not before some were “caught” and are facing legal action.

One TikTok user claimed he has received a $477 (£400) fine after being busted by staff – while another shared a video of police arriving at their home, captioned: “POV you get caught doing the Tesco hack.”

The “Tesco Method” was slammed by many users, who compared it to “stealing” and “shoplifting”.

“That’s the same as going into a shop, seeing there’s no price and saying to the staff, ‘Oh must be free then,’” one said.

But many failed to share any sympathy for the supermarket, with one writing: “I am struggling to feel sorry for Tesco as a multi-billion pound company who pay workers pennies.”