Candie sent the following email:
I wanted to let you know that I went to Kroger this morning and I had two bygo free coupons and was informed that as of 4-8-10 they no longer take those. I was shown the policy from corporate and asked for a copy but they wouldn’t give me one. Too many fake coupons.
This news has not been updated on the Kroger website which still lists this as the policy:
Kroger Print-at-Home Coupon Acceptance Policy
• Effective November 2007, all Kroger divisions accept industry-standard, secure print-at-home coupons. We recently partnered with Coupons Inc., the industry leader in print-at-home coupons, to offer print-at-home coupons on Kroger.com and all of our store banner websites. You may also find coupons on brand websites and legitimate coupon websites like Coupons.com. Help us make your shopping experience a pleasant one by keeping in mind these simple rules for using Print-At-Home coupons.
• We can only accept print-at-home coupons if they scan properly at checkout. Legitimate printable coupons are delivered using special software designed to print a properly rendered barcode on the coupon and limit the number of coupons printed.
• We will generally not accept “FREE product” (no purchase required) print-at-home coupons. It is currently an industry practice not to produce print-at-home manufacturer’s coupons for free product. Buy-one-get-one-free coupons and other values that have a purchase requirement are acceptable.
• We will usually not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product’s value. For example, a $2 off coupon will be acceptable for a product that normally sells for $5 or more, but a $2 off printable coupon for a product that sells for $2.25 is unlikely to be legitimate. If there are exceptions, we are usually provided advance notice by the manufacturer.
• Coupons will be rejected if they appear distorted or blurry, altered in any way, or are obvious duplicates. You should always print the coupon yourself directly from the website or email that is offering it. Only then can you ensure you are printing a legitimate coupon. The coupon will never appear on your computer screen. A legitimate coupon is never sent as a graphic or PDF or sent in a Word document.
Is you print what is currently on their site, maybe they will still allow the B1G1? It can’t be rejected under the 75% rule since when you add the two together and then take off one, you are still paying 50% of the original cost.
I must say that these “rules” are extremely broad absolutes. To say there isn’t a $2 printable valid on a $2.25 product is false. The same with “industry practice” as we do know the smaller companies will put out free printables.
If you can find a more current internet policy online, please let me know and I will update this post.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Today I went to Target to do a price match I forgot to do yesterday on grapes. They told me that as of today they will not price match produce or meats anymore(due to forgetfulness I spent almost $4 extra–UGH). I am going to email corporate to find out if this is a corporate policy.
I work at Kroger, cashier and service desk, and we have no new coupon policy.
Ann, I have not heard of a new policy either. Of course they could have just changed it. But, I did email them a few weeks back and they sent me the same exact response that you have posted.
Now some Harris Teeters have gone to the no printable FREE coupons, even BOGO. I have not had a problem at my store but some of my readers have.
Keep me posted!
Hi Ann,
I have had so many horrible experiences in the past 2-3 weeks with couponing, I was seriously considering giving it up! Safeway and Fry’s (Kroger) have made it incredibly difficult to use coupons here in Az. Safeway seems to come up with new ‘Rules’ everytime I go in there, and the new ‘Rule’ always seems to cancel out the previous one! I don’t want to go into long story here, but at Safeway, they waved a ‘Corporate email’ in my face, would not let me read it or provide me with a copy and then very subtly tried to accuse me of using fraudulent coupons that they had not even bothered to check or scan. I have noticed an increase in this problem since the airing on NBC re couponing.
Awww Michelle, I am so sorry they are giving you a tough time. Is the policy posted in-store? All our double stores display their “rules” prominently (too bad it does not extend to Walgreens), but this is NYS, not AZ.
It may be time for your to give corporate a call n the U.S. Retail Store or Corporate offerings, call us toll-free: 1-877-723-3929 and ask for the latest policy to be emailed to you. Explain that the store changes the policy on a (seemingly) weekly basis, and you are about to give up shopping there and head over to Albertsons’, Whole Foods, Trade Joe’s, WalMart (whatever, just pick one).
You should not have to suffer through “guess this week’s coupon policy” every time you shop.
Ann