Loblaws admits to bread price fixing (with immunity) & Offers $25 Gift Card

[GoodBoy]

Seems the site is taking a break!!

[GoodBoy]

and it now appears back after a rest and a reboot

[Silk]

I posted this a few days ago but I think everyone was busy with changing over to the PCO program.

Here's an interesting article about the $25 gc from Loblaws for the price-fixing of bread and a reason why they might have decided to do it that goes beyond goodwill and public relations:https://globalnews.ca/news/3961662/2...ction-lawsuit/

Btw, the latest I heard is that the price-fixing went on for about 10 years!

[GoJays]

They didn't think that name through very well. PCO is a pest control company

[sampler]

I want my gift card. They should add extra funds for making us wait for the darn thang ;P

[tjthemanto]

They should have given a $ 25 pre paid VISA or MC or something, so you can spend it anywhere as opposed to their Over priced groceries.

[Shwa Girl]

They should have given a $ 25 pre paid VISA or MC or something, so you can spend it anywhere as opposed to their Over priced groceries.

[johnb56789]

They should have given a $ 25 pre paid VISA or MC or something, so you can spend it anywhere as opposed to their Over priced groceries.

I personally don't mind the $25 GC as I can probably stretch that to $50 worth of groceries if not more. I always struggle to use those prepaid credit cards, I'll end up with like $0.50 left and can't really figure out how to use the rest, a GC, I can use no problem.

[Newfiescreech]

done, thanks!

Welcome to smartcanucks Nancy.. hope you enjoys it around here.. Take good care yourself 💕💕

[Silk]

I personally don't mind the $25 GC as I can probably stretch that to $50 worth of groceries if not more. I always struggle to use those prepaid credit cards, I'll end up with like $0.50 left and can't really figure out how to use the rest, a GC, I can use no problem.

@johnb56789 - Don't know if it's just here (Quebec) but I never had a problem carrying a balance on prepaid Visa GCs so that I don't have to use it in one transaction. And if I had 50c left, I could apply it to a transaction then pay the rest in cash or charge it. Is this different in other provinces?

[bhlombardy]

@johnb56789 - Don't know if it's just here (Quebec) but I never had a problem carrying a balance on prepaid Visa GCs so that I don't have to use it in one transaction. And if I had 50c left, I could apply it to a transaction then pay the rest in cash or charge it. Is this different in other provinces?

I dont think it's the province necessarily...

Prepaid credit cards are a nightmare, I find. In most cases it's because they're transacted like any other Visa/MC... If the amount being charged is more than what's available on the card, the system merely reports back "declined" -- it doesnt report back why, nor the balance, nor does it only charge the remaining balance. -- Keep in mind, from the retailer's point of view, it's just like any other credit card and being able to tap into the balance or other info is blocked due to privacy concerns. -- Unlike an in-store gift card, where the retailer is required to have the ability to check your balance.

The staff then either dont know how to perform a split-payment, AND/OR they dont know how to key in the exact amount you tell them to charge to your Visa, AND/OR their point-of-sale system doesnt allow them to. (especially if you plan to split payments across two credit/debit cards)

A.) I spent 15 minutes one day trying to figure out with a cashier how to deplete a $10.13 balance on a prepaid visa for a $15.xx purchase. She was a bright girl, so it wasnt her intelligence, but it was these technical blocks that prohibited her from doing just that. She wound up selling me an in-store "loadable" gift card for $10.13 which I paid for with the prepaid Visa. Then she processed the actual purchase where she used the in-store gift card. Then her point-of-sale system then reported back the $5.xx owing (as you would expect) with which I paid with my OWN Visa.


Then there's the card's pre-authorization system that often results in a rejection at the registers if the previous pre-auth hasnt actually been cleared yet...

B.) Another (and the ONLY other) time I had a $50 prepaid Visa: To avoid a repeat of the above scenario, I decided to make purchases that were EXACTLY the amount on the card. I opted to buy $25 in gas one day... and then $25 in gas the next day (being sure to use the exact amount on the card). Yea... that failed because the 1st day's pre-authorization charge hadnt been cleared yet. (even though the $25 purchase had been deducted from my card's balance). Because the pre-auth amount was the same (or more) than the balance remaining, the card was put on hold until the original pre-auth cleared. I only know this because the card's customer support informed me of this when I called to verify the balance. I had to wait 5 days for that thing to clear before I could use it again.


I swore (in both forms of the word) from that point forward that I would never buy a pre-paid credit card again for myself or anyone else, in order to save them the same frustrations.


If I ever RECEIVE such a card... I spend the entire balance in a single blow. AND if I find myself in scenario A -- I know enough to buy an in-store gift card first with the PP Visa first.

[tjthemanto]

If you drive, the best place to use a Pre Paid Visa or MC is a gas station.

Just use the preset amount of $ 25 at the pump & fill gas & pay with the Pre paid VISA or MC

Maybe if you go inside the station they can do for odd amounts like $ 18.17 or $ 23 or something like that for gas filling, not sure if the attendant can do odd amounts.

[Cake]

If I get preset cards I use them on my Rogers' bill.

[bhlombardy]

If you drive, the best place to use a Pre Paid Visa or MC is a gas station.
Just use the preset amount of $ 25 at the pump & fill gas & pay with the Pre paid VISA or MC

That's a great idea... *IF* you're using the entire balance of the card. or you dont mind waiting several days to use the card again.

That's exactly what I did in my scenario above... used it at the pump.

In my experience, it did a pre-auth for $25... then charged me the $25 at the end of the transaction but didnt immediately clear the pre-auth (not for about 5 days) -- so that pre-auth was actually freezing the rest of my pre-paid visa -- Fortunately, with the card I had, I was able to go online and check for charges and see when the pre-auth cleared. When it did, I used it again for the remaining balance all at once.

[luckbealady]

For prepaid MC/Visa, I use them to top up online accounts - ie, I buy an Amazon gc on the Amazon website for the same value, or top up my Tim Hortons account.