I am unsure where to put this post, so thanks in advance for he/she who placed it in its correct place.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I was in a part of Sydney I don’t often visit. As I readied to go back to the office, after my meeting wrapped up, I stopped by a fishmonger (very busy shop) and selected 2 pieces of salmon. The price was $27 per kg and I was charged $11.90.
I was not offered a receipt and when I asked, the saleswoman behaved as though she did not understand English.
I did not argue, but went on my way, lest my car parking clicks over into another hour.
After leaving the store I thought my purchase of two small pieces should weight close to 300 gm, which should in turn cost me $8, not $12.
When I got home I found the bags in which the fish were placed were very wet. Odd to say the least.
I have never experienced this situation before.
As I opened the large bag I found not only a small bag containing the 2 pieces of salmon but also another bag with many ice cubes and some water.
The fish and the bag of ice cubes it seems were weighed in order to arrive at $11.90 being circa 440 gm.
Two points come to mind:
I do not recall the name of the fishmonger but do recall where it’s located. I could make an effort to pass by it soon and report back to this community; and
Have other shoppers been similarly fleeced by cunning vendors?
As this scam cost me $4, I am not taking it to the Supreme Court, but do wonder how often the retailer concerned and others engage in such behaviour and what is the cost to hapless consumers?
Perhaps the fishmonger was assisting you in keeping your purchase fresh in ice. I am not aware that ice occurs naturally in Sydney in December, so there is a cost in making it.
Perhaps next visit you could specify no ice, and take your chances with whatever nasty bugs may start to breed.
Scales are supposed to be zeroed if something other than the product is included so if the facts are as you say you have been cheated. I have had the experience of servers throwing food on to the scales or leaving their thumb on it while weighing. I have not had that experience with weight being made up with water. Note that for frozen seafood the water in the casing (glazing) is not to be weighed.
If you are given short weight it is an offence as any time goods are sold by measurement the equipment and methods used must give correct measure within defined limits by law.
There are exceptions where accessory material that cannot be separated from food, such as marinade, are weighed with the food. It seems to me there is scope for bending that rule but that is not relevant to this case. Similarly it is permitted to not re-zero the scale all the time if a lightweight container is used (buying loose olives for example) but I cannot find what the permitted limits to that might be.
I have had the case where a fishmonger offered to put my purchase in a second bag of ice but that was after the weigh-in. So how prevalent is this kind of cheating? Hard to say but my guess is that is happens more in informal situations such as markets or small shops where small vendors sell their own product. I don’t see Colesworths telling their staff to cheat.
If you have evidence the business is intentionally and deliberately deceiving its customers (and not an accidental oversight where a bag containing ice to maintain quality of the product was accidentally weighed while speaking to the customer) and you can verify your own kitchen scales read correctly, you can make a complaint to:
You are spot on regarding the type of vendor. It looked like a(n extended) family small business. Like you, I have never witnessed such behaviour at Coles or Woolworths.
While it may be argued that the goods purchased at the deli in the plastic containers are not pre-packed, there are strict rules in regards to packaging used in pre-packed goods
Of particular note to this topic from the link is “ensure the measurement marking is accurate and does not include the weight of any packaging material”. Would ice used to keep goods cooled fit into the definition of packaging materials? My guess is yes as it is definitely not the product purchased, but rather a means to keep the product fresher.
Both Coles and Woolworths are trialing BYO containers for deli purchases and they are supposed to adjust the tare before weighing the product being sold.
