Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent George Weston Ltd. and other major grocery retailers colluded over more than 14 years to increase prices of some packaged bread, Loblaw and Weston admitted on Tuesday.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...ticle37387816/
Update: Registration is live. Visit https://loblawcard.ca/ to sign up for your $25 Gift Card. It will take approx. 6 weeks.
Loblaw will be offering $25 gift card for eligible customers as a result of bread price fixing for the last several years. Sign up here to be notified when program registration starts
https://loblawcard.ca/
not sure how they consider you eligible...
Thanks
Just read about that. Everything hidden eventually come out in the open. Shame on them.
Thanks OP
they are doing this because class action law suits have already startedQuote:
Originally Posted by Lavender Lady
they are hoping that their offer would persuade people not to join the class action suit
if they lock you into their offer, then they may ask that you do not become part of a class action suit
today's press release: http://media.loblaw.ca/English/media...y/default.aspx
http://media.loblaw.ca/English/media...y/default.aspx
from their website
wonder if this is a better deal than joining the class action law suits mentioned on their website
:shrug:
Loblaw were the ones who blew the whistle on it and they have fired the people who were in on the price fixing. According to all the press releases and the newspapers, "As a result of their admission that they participated in the arrangement and their cooperation with the Competition Bureau's investigation, the Company will not face criminal charges or penalties."Quote:
Originally Posted by Shwa Girl
It will be worth keeping an eye to see if other companies involved follow their lead?
Cell Phone Companies like ROGERS , BELL & TELUS should be next. They have been price fixing for a long long time, till the NEW kid on the block - WIND Mobile aka FREEDOM Mobile came along.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colsgirl
Freedom Mobile ( now owned by SHAW ) just came out with their $ 50 - 10 GB , Unlimited Talk & Text plan - and all of a sudden the Big 3 are finally offering some decent talk/text/data plan , like $ 60 for 10 GB data.
The Gas companies like Esso, Petro Canada, Sunoco, Shell should be next !
Is it one per household ? Or 1 per adult living in the household ?
How will they prevent abuse of this program ? What if someone enters 1 home address & 1 work place address ?
How much private & confidential information will they ask for, before mailing the Gift card ?
I have NO intention of giving them my real name or my full name or my phone number. So hopefully I can just give them my initials & my address & they mail the $ 25 card to me :)
Not trying to be paranoid, you never know who companies like this sell your private info too :(.
I think the class action will likely give you the same amount, but it will be actual cash you can spend however you like.
This is so cunning. The snitch f*** everyone over and offer the gift cards to spend at their own stores. It's probably cheaper than penalty. Galen Weston has that harmless dad-next-door face, but he might be very dangerous.
In locations where there has been no choice in providers ....they really have us over a barrel!Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
Yup.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tweets77
That's why they always have good plans in Quebec due to Videotron .
Now hopefully due to Freedom Mobile, other provinces might have good plans going forward from Bell, Rogers & Telus.
The gift cards can be electronic. No need to mail out actual gift cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
Ahh yes gouge me out of $1000's on bread for like 15 years and offer me $25 while you walk away scott free.....
Electronic might be worse, with people creating multiple email addresses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuckoobird
With mail at least once a card is mailed to a physical address, they can strike it out and no more cards to that address.
Someone needs to go to jail for this. I & others would rather have that than a $ 25 GC.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tommycoupons
Some people out there are literally struggling & having a hand to mouth existence. They can barely put food on their table, hence the need for food banks. The difference between a $ 2 loaf of bread and $ 3 loaf could mean someone going to bed hungry or starving or even worse !
How someone can fix something as basic as this is beyond me.
We'll see. Electronic cards distribution can be done per valid home address too. I'm just saying that it's possible but I prefer actual gift cards.Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
Sobey's and Metro claim they haven't participated in price fixing...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/brea...xing-1.4457991
If Weston breads cover their Old Mill loaves too, then I did buy those sliced cracked wheat ones and the odd white loaf. I definitely bought Wonder buns now and then (discounted or full price).
Last month, I noticed that the Old Mill bread price (regular) had dropped down to $1.99 (it had been $2.19 for most of 2017). Did anyone else notice similar price changes in their favourite sliced loaf or bun products?
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...ng-scheme.html
Anti-poverty activist files $1 billion class-action lawsuit over bread price-fixing scheme
Irene Breckon of Elliot Lake, Ont., ‘outraged’ after Loblaw offered $25 gift card.
https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/...op.888x650.jpg
If you accept this $ 25 GC any class action lawsuit that takes place, you will be excluded from it. You can't do both, its either or.
Generally class action law suits takes years & mostly the lawyers from both sides make money, not the general public :rant:
But as a matter of principle, maybe I might not accept the $ 25 GC, as the message we will send companies like this is that you can gouge us for 15 years with price fixing and potentially out of thousands of dollars per person & then try to buy us out with a lousy $ 25 GC.
Class action lawsuit the consumers might not make much money in the long run, but at least the right message will be sent to companies like this.
I remember BELL Canada delibrately/illegally over billing customers and CIBC bank charging illegal extra fees on their mortgages or mutual funds or something like that , and both of them got away with a slap on the wrist. After someone complained & the government investigated.
Hopefully Loblaws is held accountable for a larger amount - this will send the right message to other retailers like Wal Mart and banks, telecoms, gas stations etc also.
I remember a few years back the Old Mill bagels - 6 pack used to be on sale almost always at 99 cents at No Frills ( Loblaws discounted store ) and suddenly it went up to $ 1.49 :yikes: one day. And they almost never used to be on sale after that, and would hover around the $ 1.29 to $ 1.49 mark or even $ 1.99 :yikes: sometimes !Quote:
Originally Posted by Ciel
I thought that was odd, not like the price of flour or anything else like wages had gone up during that time :shrug: to account for the price increase. Never occurred to me, maybe price fixing had something to do with it.
That's when I kind of stopped buying bagels and started eating regular whole wheat bread - not that it was getting any cheaper :(
And then they kind of started selling 4 pack bagels for the price of 6 pack bagels - when the sales of 6 pack bagels reduced.
The law suit mentions the following retailers too.. so does that mean we might get something from them too ? Looking forward to apologies from them too & a $ 25 Gift Card from them also :)Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
The suit names grocers Canada Bread, Walmart, Sobeys, Giant Tiger and Metro as well as Loblaw Companies Ltd. and George Weston Ltd. as defendants, according to a statement of claim filed by Toronto-based law firm Sotos LLP.
Most Class-action lawsuits where thousands upon thousands of claimants participate often wind up in little to nothing being paid out to the claimants.
There are limits to the amount of "damages" that can be paid out in a lawsuit such as this. When hundreds of thousands of people join such a lawsuit, more lawyers get involved, more fees... and it only means that what's left over and winds up trickling down to you and me is often next to nothing. In two to three years time, if the lawsuit is even a success, you MIGHT get $5 out of it, if you're lucky.
Dont sign up for the class-action lawsuit looking for a big payday. You wont get it. And if your intent is to punish Loblaws... then I say this:
Loblaws will pay out the $25 gift cards to all of those who apply... that's a sure thing for you and me... and guarantee "payout" for Loblaws.
The lawsuit is going to happen regardless... and they MIGHT ALSO be found guilt in the lawsuit meaning they'll pay out doubly if the lawsuit is a success.
When applying for the gift card, no one is going to have to prove they bought any of the implicated brands for the gift card. That would be a preposterous undertaking... however if you plan to participate in the lawsuit, you may be called to prove and/or testify to your claim (if not in person, by declaration by affidavit). Plus have your name and info on public record.
You might as well apply for the card and get the $25 sure-thing and let the lawyers and the few thousands who wish to take it to court do so.
... and for those who say "I don't need it, I dont care" I have an additional suggestion:
Apply for the gift card, and DONATE IT to your preferred local food-driven charity. Be it a food bank, or soup kitchen, or school breakfast program, etc.
That's what I plan to do with mine, and the ones I am encouraging my family members to do with theirs. -- even if it's one per household, that's $250 between myself, and my immediate family that will go to a local charity.
Imagine if even HALF a small city (like say the greater Moncton area of NB) did that -- say 50,000 people out of 100,000 -- it would easily exceed $1 Million donated to local food charities... and for a small city like Moncton, that would be huge. Half of Halifax? Half of Montreal? half of Toronto? Consider it...
So my two cents is: Take Loblaws for their $25 gift card and do something GOOD with it.
Agreed, should be by mail. Events like this bring out the worst in some people.Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
25$ back to consumers is way too little. Loblaws should not be exempt from the investigations. :mad:
I can only speak to my area of the GTA, but the Old Mill bagels still go on sale at both No Frills and RCSS for either 99 cents or $1 for a package of 6.Quote:
Originally Posted by tjthemanto
What you need to know about the $25 Loblaw card. How do you register?
https://www.thestar.com/business/per...blaw-card.html
On Jan. 8, you will be able to claim a $25 Loblaw gift card as a promo through which the company is attempting to redeem its image in the wake of a price-fixing scandal. I shop at Loblaw's and will have no problem answering the few questions it is rumored the site will be asking. Apparently, no receipts or other documentation will required. The GCs can be donated to charity.