Counterfeit coupons have been prevalent enough in recent months to cause local and national stores to be wary of coupons printed off Internet Web sites.
“To be honest with you, there’s a lot of abuse out there,” said Larry Good of Bob’s Super Saver regional grocery chain.
The Super Saver company owns both Country Marts and the Price Chopper grocery stores in Emporia.
The problem is serious enough that the Coupon Information Corporation issued a warning about Internet coupons, and specified known counterfeit coupon scams that have been reported to the nonprofit organization.
CIC has posted reproductions and information about phony coupons on its Web site, with rewards often offered for information leading to the arrests and prosecutions of the counterfeiters.
Each sample coupon shown carries the amount of the reward, if any is offered, plus the caveat: “Retailers should not accept this counterfeit coupon.”
The Web site, at www.cents-off.com, is available to anyone who wants to check the validity of Internet coupons being passed at businesses.
The site may not show every counterfeit coupon, because it takes some time between the acceptance and the rejection by the manufacturer, but does carry a list of known counterfeits, ranging from Tyson products to Camel cigarettes to Duracell batteries, Pampers, Bertolli Olive Oil, Hanes brands, Nivea, Wahl and many others.
The Country Mart and Price Chopper grocery stores recently stopped accepting coupons printed from the Internet.
“There’s a lot of counterfeiting going on,” Good said.
Creative criminals have been able to alter some coupons or reconfigure others to make the coupons more valuable than they were intended to be when the manufacturers posted them online. With enough skills, counterfeiters can, for example, turn a 30 cents-off coupon into a $3 windfall savings.
The criminal takes the greater discount from the counterfeit coupon — which can be substantial on large-ticket items — and leaves the store holding a worthless paper certificate that the manufacturer refuses to honor.
“And it comes back and we don’t get any credit at all,” Good said. “It isn’t exclusive just to Emporia. It’s probably rampant clear across the state.”
For a time this summer, the local Walmart store had a sign posted to notify customers that coupons printed from the Internet no longer would be accepted.
The sign apparently had been taken down by last week.
Walmart spokesman Dan Fogelman said that company stores will accept manufacturers’ coupons and some Internet coupons.
“We take Internet coupons provided that they are legible and say ‘manufacturer’s coupon’ on there,” Fogelman said, “... so that we as a retailer are able to be reimbursed for those coupons.”
Fogelman said, “Coupons are a great vehicle for customers, especially in the current economy.”
Walmart’s coupon guidelines posted online, stating that stores will accept the following types of coupons:
- Manufacturer cents-off coupons
- Free merchandise, or manufacturer’s buy-one-get-one-free coupons
- Store coupons
- Advertising and promotional pharmacy coupons
- Internet coupons
- Soft drink container caps
Below are the guidelines for using and the limits on the coupons Walmart does accept:
- Must be presented at the time of purchase of items Walmart sells
- Internet coupons should be legible and say “manufacturer coupon.” There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scannable bar code.
- Only one coupon per item is permitted
- Use of 40 or more coupons per transaction will require approval by customer service manager
d23_66801 (anonymous) says...
coupon fraud? how much lower can crooks get!
August 19, 2009 at 3:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jewely33 (anonymous) says...
Speaking from the perspective of someone who uses coupons the correct way...this is an unfair decision and just another situation where one bad apple ruins the entire bushel.
Fogelman said, “Coupons are a great vehicle for customers, especially in the current economy.” This statement is correct! For some of us who are hard working, tax paying, law abiding citizens, we don't catch a break in the hard times. If we can clip coupons from the Sunday paper and print them off the Internet, it allows us to save a few extra dollars at the check out line. I am feeding a family of 5 and we get NO assistance from anyone, other than ourselves. Smart shopping, menu planning, and coupon clipping allows me to stay within my already tight budget and still provide wholesome, healthy meals for my family. Situations like this just make it even more difficult and frustrating!!!
Stupid Crooks! Thanks for ruining it for everyone.
August 20, 2009 at 6:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
And again, greedy persons have ruined a good thing.
August 20, 2009 at 1:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )