Hey Everyone – I’m reposting the post below (I originally posted it in early May, go HERE for original post) since there has been a lot of commenting about legit coupons versus coupons that are scams. I may start posting this once a month so that all of us who are new to Addicted to Saving can get the same message. Regarding the potential change in Publix’s coupon policy, I will be contacting corporate and will let all of you know what I find out.
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Fraudulent Coupons
One of my goals as the writer for this website is to make sure that every deal, coupon, freebie, etc that I post is legit. There are so many scams out there and my every intention is to keep scams off of my website. I have received two emails in the past 24 hours regarding fraudulent coupons. Since I have never posted on the topic, I thought now is a great time for me to get on my soapbox. Did you know that there are HUNDREDS of coupons floating around the internet world which are fraudulent? If you didn’t then it will probably be very easy to get confused as to what is legit and what is not.
Here’s my first thought on all of this. If you see an online coupon which is in PDF format, be wary, VERY wary! I very seldom post about coupons which open into PDFs. The only time I will post coupons that are in PDF format is when the link is opened directly from the manufacturer’s website. Besides those instances, I don’t post them. While it is frustrating to print out a coupon and only be able to print it out once or twice per computer, at least we know we are allowed to print the coupons!
Here’s my second thought.. if you see a coupon that looks too good to be true, it probably is! One of the emails I received yesterday was regarding the FREE Doritos printable. Guess what? If it sounds too good to be true (i.e. FREE or high value) then it is! The Doritos coupon is a scam. The second reader emailed me what looked like an awesome coupon – but I knew right away the fact that it was such a high value, PDF coupon, it was too good to be true.
There is a website you can go to which lists many of the fraudulent coupons. Go HERE to The Coupon Information Corporation to see a list.
Oh – and do you ever become frustrated when your cashier looks at every coupon before scanning them? They are doing their job. They are supposed to make sure your coupons match the items you are buying AND that the coupons you are using are not fraudulent. So, if you do use a fraudulent coupon, you are affecting all of the couponers that get in the grocery line behind you because your cashier will become even more diligent reading the fine print on each and every coupon!
Ok. I’m off my soapbox. Leave a comment on this post if you have any thoughts or questions!
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
I do have a comment/quesstion. Is it legal for retailers to take some coupons and not others? I understand not taking fake coupons. But it just doesn’t seem right that they can choose which coupon they feel like taking. Are there ever times where they wouldn’t get reimbursed for a legit coupon? My experience with coupons lately has been half really easy and half really difficult. I never know what I’m going to get. I had a $1/1 Dove Men’s Care Coupon, took it to Walgreen’s when I saw a sale on the Body Wash my husband likes. It was a printable but wouldn’t scan, so the cashier said she wouldn’t take it. But then I took it to Publix and it scanned just fine. Sorry for the rant, but I am just getting a little frustrated.
I have had the same problem with printable coupons at Walgreens. These were legit coupons, but they would not scan. The cashier said that Walgreen’s policy is if the coupon does not scan they will NOT take it. This is very frustrating and why I don’t shop much at Walgreens. How many times have you gone through a self-checkout and a product you were buying would not scan. Scanners are not perfect.
As far as I am concerned Wags does not have a cpn policy. Every store is its own little world and they do as they please.