0:00:02 > 0:00:05There's a lot we don't know about the food on our plates
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and the shops and the labels don't always tell you the whole story.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Sometimes, there's just too many offers
0:00:10 > 0:00:14and when you really look at them, you're not really saving that much.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Whether you're staying in or going out, you've told us
0:00:17 > 0:00:21you can feel ripped off by the promises made for what you eat
0:00:21 > 0:00:23and what you pay for it.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26If you buy six, it's cheaper.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29But I don't want to buy six, I want to buy one.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31From claims that don't stack up
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to the secrets behind the packaging,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37we'll uncover the truth about Britain's food,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42so you can be sure you're getting what you expect at the right price.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47Your food, your money. This is Rip-Off Britain.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Hello and welcome to Rip-Off Britain
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and our special series on food and drink.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Today, we're looking, in particular,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59at how to get the best value for money,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and if you fancy you've got a keen eye for a bargain,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06well, get ready to meet a true master of the art,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08a woman who has slashed the cost of her weekly shop
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and she's going to be letting us into the secret
0:01:11 > 0:01:12of exactly how she does it.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Believe me, you certainly do not want to miss that, nor do I.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17And if you follow her example,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20it really is extraordinary how much you could actually save.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23As ever, we'll also be getting answers on some of the topics
0:01:23 > 0:01:25you've asked us to investigate on your behalf
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and we'll be identifying plenty of other ways
0:01:27 > 0:01:30to make sure you're getting the best deal
0:01:30 > 0:01:31instead of paying over the odds.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Because we know, from all of the letters and emails that you send us,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38just how important it is for you to come away from any purchase
0:01:38 > 0:01:41or shopping trip feeling that you paid a fair price
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and that you're getting your money's worth.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46So, we've got plenty of tips on the way to help you decide
0:01:46 > 0:01:49when it really IS worth splashing out on something
0:01:49 > 0:01:52and when, perhaps, it might not be.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Coming up, the booze cruise is back,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59but how much does nipping over to France
0:01:59 > 0:02:01to stock up on drinks really save?
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Today, I've probably saved in the region of about £100,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06probably a bit more, but about that.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Today, we must have saved a good few hundred quid.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It's been worth the trip and it's a good fun day out.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15And hampers chock full of delicious goodies
0:02:15 > 0:02:19may seem the perfect gift, but how much could you save
0:02:19 > 0:02:21if you bought the treats inside on their own
0:02:21 > 0:02:23without the fancy packaging?
0:02:23 > 0:02:26The individual items are very rarely worth the amount
0:02:26 > 0:02:28you're being asked to pay as part of a hamper.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Now, who wouldn't want to reduce the cost of their weekly shop?
0:02:36 > 0:02:39But forget the special offers and promotions.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41According to the woman we're about to meet,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44there's a much better way to make some serious savings.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Her method is simple and, indeed, some of you may already be doing it
0:02:48 > 0:02:53up to a point, but I bet most of you don't go to the lengths she does.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54So, if you follow her example
0:02:54 > 0:02:57and have a bit of space to spare in your freezer,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01here's how you, too, really could be quids in.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07This mobile phone footage is graphic proof
0:03:07 > 0:03:10of just how far some people will go to grab a bargain.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13You're unlikely to see shoppers scrabbling and scrapping
0:03:13 > 0:03:16over cut-price meat like this every day,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19but wherever you shop, you will spot eager bargain-hunters
0:03:19 > 0:03:23descending on the cheapest part of the supermarket, the reduced aisle,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26to see which foods are being marked down in price,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29sometimes from pounds to pennies, including this lot.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36Yes, I do. I look for some reduced, if possible, to save money.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Some branded pizzas should be about £5.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Sometimes they go down to half-price.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Probably on the meat counters, when they reduce the...
0:03:46 > 0:03:52And fish, usually on a Saturday after the Friday.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Asda's good. They sell, like, five packs of doughnuts
0:03:54 > 0:03:56for about 5p, don't they?
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Whether the items have been reduced
0:03:59 > 0:04:02because they're approaching their use-by date, are seasonal,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06or are in damaged packaging, the bargains can be massive.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09While it used to be the case that the best reductions could be grabbed
0:04:09 > 0:04:13just before the stores closed, with so many supermarkets now open late
0:04:13 > 0:04:16or even round-the-clock, that's all changed.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21And that's a development which former lorry driver Ilona Richards
0:04:21 > 0:04:24from Lincolnshire is happy to exploit.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27She likes to keep every aspect of her life in tiptop condition,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29so when it comes to her food shopping,
0:04:29 > 0:04:34it's not just the calories she's counting, it's the pennies too.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38It's very important for me to keep track of how much money
0:04:38 > 0:04:43I spend on food, so I'm constantly looking for reductions,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I'm looking for bargains, special offers,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48in every single shop I go in.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And she's become so successful at finding discounts
0:04:53 > 0:04:56that Ilona, who dubs herself the Mean Queen,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00says she rarely spends more than £15 a week on food,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03without compromising on quality.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05That doesn't mean that you eat rubbish.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11I like to play around with the food that I've bought which is cheap.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I don't go with a shopping list and I will buy whatever is cheap
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and then make something from that.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22So, Ilona has perfected the art of maximising those markdowns
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and, as a result, every week, she brings home some big bargains.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It's not very often you get bargains like this, is it?
0:05:29 > 0:05:31But I know where to look for them.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34There's 1.75kg of potatoes
0:05:34 > 0:05:39reduced from £1.50 to 15p.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Now, that's a fantastic bargain!
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I've got seven of these in my freezer.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I was really lucky to find these in the supermarket.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50They'd been reduced to 50p.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Now, normal price is around about £2,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57but I thought I'd got a real bargain there
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and I'm really chuffed with that.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05To be honest, it's like a game and it's a game that I want to win.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Ilona reckons that, over the years,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11she's saved herself thousands of pounds.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14To demonstrate how she does it, we've set her a challenge.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17We've given her a total of £20 and asked her to see
0:06:17 > 0:06:21how many marked-down prices she can find for under a fiver
0:06:21 > 0:06:24in the local branch of each of the biggest four supermarkets -
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons -
0:06:27 > 0:06:30and Ilona has a well-honed strategy.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Whenever I go in a supermarket, no matter what supermarket it is,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I know where the reduced sections are
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and that will be my first port of call.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48But bagging the best bargains isn't as simple as it might seem.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Shop too early and the reductions may be thin on the ground.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Most supermarkets cut their prices more as the day goes on.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56But leave it too late
0:06:56 > 0:06:59and all the best offers may have been snapped up.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06I would expect to get 90% off if I go shopping after 7.30.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09But it really depends how much there is.
0:07:09 > 0:07:15You can never guarantee that there is going to be a lot of bargains
0:07:15 > 0:07:18because earlier shoppers might have taken it all.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20So, that's the gamble with it really.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25But it's a gamble that, once again, appears to have paid off.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26Later in the programme, we'll see
0:07:26 > 0:07:29how Ilona got on with challenge we set
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and get ready to be seriously impressed
0:07:31 > 0:07:35when you see just how many bargains she was able to bag this time.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39It's amazing! I'm very happy with this result.
0:07:42 > 0:07:4520 years or so ago, popping across the English Channel
0:07:45 > 0:07:50just to stock up on cheaper wine, beer and spirits was all the rage.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53It was nicknamed the booze cruise and it was so popular with us Brits
0:07:53 > 0:07:56that the coastline all along the Port of Calais
0:07:56 > 0:07:59was absolutely chock-a-block with warehouses
0:07:59 > 0:08:02that were full to their roofs with every kind of drink you can imagine,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05all at prices a lot less than you would pay for
0:08:05 > 0:08:07here, in the United Kingdom.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09But then, in 2007,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12the pound lost some of its value against the euro
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and the world economy, in general, slowed down,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and the booze cruise, well, it effectively sank without a trace.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22But over the past two years the booze cruise has enjoyed
0:08:22 > 0:08:24something of a comeback
0:08:24 > 0:08:26and, I have to say, that's made an awful lot of people
0:08:26 > 0:08:30on both sides of the English Channel very happy indeed.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36The '90s may have been the era of Cool Britannia
0:08:36 > 0:08:40but back then, France was definitely the place to go
0:08:40 > 0:08:43if you were looking to stock up on cut-price drink.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46We come in a van. We come in a van, five of us,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48so all our quotas for everything is taken up
0:08:48 > 0:08:50and maybe even a little bit more.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- We'll be back.- I think we'll be back, yeah. With a bigger van.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58And now, despite recent wobbles,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00the pound remains strong against the euro,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03meaning that the booze cruise has made a comeback,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06with Brits, once again, crossing the Channel in their thousands
0:09:06 > 0:09:09to stock up on their favourite tipple.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12It's a trip Joanne from Surrey used to do a lot.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16We used to go quite a lot in the late '90s. It was like the heyday.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Everybody used to go to Calais.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22And she's delighted to be, once again, regularly making the trip.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25We probably go two or three times a year now
0:09:25 > 0:09:28and it saves a lot of money. We can buy different produce
0:09:28 > 0:09:31that we can't buy in the supermarkets at home.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36The size of the savings to be made obviously hinges largely
0:09:36 > 0:09:39on the exchange rate, which can be rather unpredictable.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43It's dipped from the eight-year high that it reached in June, 2015,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45and has also been affected by uncertainty
0:09:45 > 0:09:48over the outcome of the EU referendum.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50But while that means that the savings that you'll make
0:09:50 > 0:09:54can vary from day to day, there is another key reason
0:09:54 > 0:09:58why wines bought in the UK are usually more expensive.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And that's the amount of duty you'll pay on them,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03as wine writer Jamie Goode explains.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Now you'll spend £2.05 for every bottle of wine you buy.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09That goes straight to the government.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12And then you put VAT on top of that, which is 20%,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15so suddenly you're seeing that on an average bottle of wine
0:10:15 > 0:10:18at the sort of average price that people pay for wine,
0:10:18 > 0:10:2155% of the price of that wine is going in tax.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25What's happened is that the euro has got weaker,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28the pound has got stronger and the tax in Europe
0:10:28 > 0:10:30is very, very low on booze,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33so suddenly it's made the equation work again in our favour
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and so, as long as you're buying a reasonable amount of booze,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40then it's worth crossing the Channel and stocking up.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45And while you may face a bit of scrutiny from customs
0:10:45 > 0:10:49if you're buying more than 90 litres, which is 120 bottles,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51there is no legal limit on what you buy,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54provided, that is, that you're not selling it on.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57And, of course, providing you can fit it in your car!
0:10:57 > 0:11:00So, to see if the savings really do outweigh the costs,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03we followed Joanne on one of her trips across the Channel.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The first charge you might expect her to come across
0:11:06 > 0:11:08would be to pay for the Eurotunnel.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13But, today, that is not something that she'll be shelling out on.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Mine, today, is completely free because the wine shop that I visit,
0:11:17 > 0:11:24if you spend over £300 on wine, your tunnel crossing is completely free.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Several stores in Calais have similar deals
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and, once Joanne has arrived in France,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38there's another saving when she fills up her car.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So, I always drive over
0:11:40 > 0:11:43with about a quarter of a tank, quite empty,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48so that when I get here I can refill my car with diesel here
0:11:48 > 0:11:51cos even the cost of diesel's cheaper over here
0:11:51 > 0:11:54than it is in the UK, so a further cost saving.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Within a few minutes' drive from the port,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00there's a multitude of wine supermarkets,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03including big French names like Carrefour,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05as well as familiar stores, such as Majestic,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08leaving Joanne spoilt for choice.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I've seen, already five or six different wine warehouses
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and now, look, it says...
0:12:19 > 0:12:22And there are so many within close distance to each other
0:12:22 > 0:12:25that it's very easy to shop around.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Today, Joanne has made a preorder at the Calais Wine Superstore.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Things got so bad when booze cruising went out of fashion,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38that the store closed its doors for several months
0:12:38 > 0:12:41but now, in common with other rival stores,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44British visitors are back with a vengeance.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Ross Mclear moved here from Northern Ireland four years ago.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50When I first came in it was a smaller shop,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53definitely not as many customers as what we're seeing now.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56It's definitely been an increase in the last couple of years,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58just more and more people coming over.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02The euro rate's better, the prices of things you can get over here,
0:13:02 > 0:13:03in all areas, are really good.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07About 99% of the customers coming in here are all British.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- Hello.- Hi.- You all right?
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Joanne wastes no time in seeking advice from Ross
0:13:11 > 0:13:13on the best bargains.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17If I was to buy that particular wine in the UK,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19how much would it cost in the UK?
0:13:19 > 0:13:21You'd be talking around a tenner a bottle.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23The saving's about £6.50 on a bottle there.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I'm sure I've seen that particular bottle
0:13:26 > 0:13:28in the supermarkets in the UK for about £10.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33- Would that be right?- Yeah, absolutely, the saving on it's £8,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36so you're talking over a tenner a bottle at home.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37As with any great-sounding deal,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41the advertised savings on some of these bottles may not always be
0:13:41 > 0:13:43quite as good as they seem.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Several of these wines can often be found
0:13:45 > 0:13:48on special offer in UK supermarkets.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52And while that can bring the cost back home right down
0:13:52 > 0:13:56to as low as half of what's claimed to be the usual UK price,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59thanks to our higher rate of tax on alcohol,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01even the best promotions are unlikely to match
0:14:01 > 0:14:03what you'd pay in stores like this.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Case in point - this wine that Joanne has found on offer,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10priced at £1.29.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14How can you make money on a bottle of wine for £1.29?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Where's the profit?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18You get a lot of people asking that but, as I say,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21it comes down to the duty again and the tax,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24compared to what you'd save and what it's going to cost
0:14:24 > 0:14:25to bring it into the UK.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28But not only that, it's the mass production. It's a Spanish wine
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and there's quite a lot of production that's done in Spain,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34so we're able to buy in quantity and drive the price down
0:14:34 > 0:14:36and that's why we can get it in so cheap.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41To make sure you're getting the deal you think you are,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44it's easy to compare prices before deciding
0:14:44 > 0:14:46whether it's worth making the trip
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and that's because most of the brands you'll typically find
0:14:49 > 0:14:52in stores like this are familiar mid-range bottles
0:14:52 > 0:14:54widely available in the UK.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56What makes it even easier to compare prices
0:14:56 > 0:15:01is that all the wine here is priced in pounds as well as euros.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05I'm just curious as to why all the prices are in UK sterling.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07We prefer, if a customer's going to be paying in sterling,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09they're not going to lose out on any rates
0:15:09 > 0:15:11that are maybe changing at the time.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14It's your currency, so you know what you're spending.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Yeah, so it's better for me, financially, to pay in UK sterling.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Absolutely, yeah.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Joanne is not alone in taking the trip over
0:15:24 > 0:15:26to stock up on alcohol at cheap prices.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28The car park is full of Brits
0:15:28 > 0:15:32who've hopped over to find their favourite vino.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37I would say today we've saved, between us, probably about £50.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Today, we must have saved a good few hundred quid.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Today, I've probably saved in the region of about £100.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46And, as Joanne heads to the checkout,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Ross is confident that she's saved more than even she had imagined.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54- So, how much is that?- It's £527.19.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And, just out of interest, can you calculate there
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- how much is my saving if I'd have bought this in the UK?- Yeah.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03You've got saving there. It's nearly double what you spent. It's amazing.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Now, in fact, if Joanne had shopped around back home,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11she could have got some of those wines a little cheaper.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14But even with the very best offers that we could find,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18her trip to France would still have saved her at least £300...
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Thanks a lot. Bye, Ross. Thanks for your help.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22..less than the store claimed,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25but still a significant bit of extra cash in her pocket.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28And there are also bargains to be had in the other wine cellars
0:16:28 > 0:16:30dotted along the Calais coast.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37For example this wine cost £6.35 in local supermarket Carrefour
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and £6.99 in the Calais branch of Majestic.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45The absolute cheapest we could find in the UK was £7.50,
0:16:45 > 0:16:50although, more often, it was at least a couple of pounds more.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Interestingly, the same bottle in a British branch of Majestic
0:16:53 > 0:16:57was £9.99, £3 more than over the Channel.
0:16:58 > 0:17:05This bottle of bubbly cost £12.99 in France and £25 in the UK.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09And these beers, in a case of 12 from Carrefour,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12work out at 38p a bottle, whereas the same bottle,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17in a pack of ten from Tesco, back in Blighty, would cost 60p a bottle.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18When we checked,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21the only better deal we could find in the UK supermarkets
0:17:21 > 0:17:25was this champagne on offer at Tesco, which was £25,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28just 32p less than we found it in France.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Now, all of these deals are only worth it
0:17:32 > 0:17:34if it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg
0:17:34 > 0:17:36to get to Calais in the first place.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Of course, Joanne, who only lives an hour and half from Folkestone,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42won't have to spend as much getting to Calais
0:17:42 > 0:17:44as if she lived much further away.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Any extra costs and time that you'll spend on the journey
0:17:48 > 0:17:51might make a booze cruise a lot less appealing.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54But if Channel hopping shopping is something
0:17:54 > 0:17:57that tickles your taste buds then, as ever,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00it is worth doing your homework before you set off.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Most of the places you're going to buy from will have websites.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Check the prices and you can work out
0:18:05 > 0:18:08whether you're really going to be saving any money or not.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10What you've got to factor in are your transport costs,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14also the incidental costs of the day, like meals and drinks.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16If you're looking just to save money,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19then I think it's worth doing your sums before you plan a trip.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25So, the best advice is plan ahead and do check carefully
0:18:25 > 0:18:27the prices of the wines in which you're most interested.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And remember, there are extra savings to be made
0:18:30 > 0:18:34if, as Joanne found, you travel to one of the many stores
0:18:34 > 0:18:37who offer to pay your Eurotunnel or ferry ticket
0:18:37 > 0:18:39if you're going to be buying and preordering
0:18:39 > 0:18:41over a certain amount of alcohol.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43So, as long as the pound stays strong enough
0:18:43 > 0:18:45for it to work out good value,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Joanne will continue to make the crossing
0:18:48 > 0:18:49whenever she needs to stock up.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So, today, with the savings I've made,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55it's been absolutely well worth the journey
0:18:55 > 0:18:57so, without doubt, I'll be coming back.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Still to come on Rip-Off Britain, at which of the four big supermarkets
0:19:10 > 0:19:14will our bargain-hunting shopper, Ilona, find the best reductions?
0:19:14 > 0:19:19When you shop like I do, you never know what you're going to find
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and it is a bit of a gamble.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Let's be absolutely honest, it's an age-old dilemma -
0:19:26 > 0:19:29what do you buy the person who's got everything
0:19:29 > 0:19:31or, indeed, wants nothing?
0:19:31 > 0:19:33I think it's a nightmare, but books or vouchers might not be
0:19:33 > 0:19:35the treat you want to give this year.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Instead, when it comes to birthdays or all those celebrations,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40many of us will opt for the perfect foodie gift -
0:19:40 > 0:19:44in other words, a hamper, chock-full of luxurious-looking goodies.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47You might be prepared to splash out a bit more for the convenience
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and all that carefully-arranged packaging.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52But get ready for a bit of a shock
0:19:52 > 0:19:54because when you hear just how much extra you might be paying
0:19:54 > 0:19:58for your hamper than if you were buying its contents separately,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01you might start to wonder if it really IS such a perfect gift.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05There was a time when hampers were reserved
0:20:05 > 0:20:09for that great British summer institution, the picnic.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12But now they're just as likely to be a year-round gift,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15packed with luxuriously indulgent food items.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Fortnum & Mason, the Queen's food supplier,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22has reported their hamper sales are at a 300-year high,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26so it appears to be a business that's booming.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28It's lovely. You never know what's going to be in them.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32They're attractive to the eye and you think, "Ooh, that looks nice."
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Quite a pleasant present to receive.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It's exciting to dip into it and take all the straw out
0:20:39 > 0:20:40and think, "Ooh, lovely!"
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Now, when it's such a lovely present and the foods are so delicious,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48you might think, "What's not to like?"
0:20:48 > 0:20:52And you'd probably expect that you'd have to shell out a bit more
0:20:52 > 0:20:55to get such top-of-the-range foods all carefully put together
0:20:55 > 0:20:58in a nice box tied up with all those fancy ribbons.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03I would be prepared to spend quite a bit of money on a hamper,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06especially if I'm giving it as a gift to somebody.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10It saves you time from making it yourself and setting it up.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12But take away the basket, the luxury trappings
0:21:12 > 0:21:14and the convenience of it all,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18how much of a mark-up are you left paying for the goods inside?
0:21:19 > 0:21:21I've come to Bromley, near London,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23to a market where I'm opening my very own gift stall.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26That's quite a nice shape. It's good, very good.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29I'm going to put the hamper factor to the test.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32This is it - Gloria's Gifts.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35As you know, every entrepreneur has to start somewhere,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38so I think all I need is a bit of stock.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43We've bought a handful of hampers from big-name retailers
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and taken out all the individual products.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49So, without the packaging they came in,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52what do passing shoppers think that the goods are worth?
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I would like you to look at each section of food and tell me
0:21:56 > 0:21:58what you think, basically, they're worth.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02So, we have some toffees and cake and biscuits
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and different little bits and pieces. How much do you think?
0:22:05 > 0:22:08- £8.- £8 or £9.- OK.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Over here, you've got two bottles of wine,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15you've got sweet basil olives, a cake, crisps, things like that.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18So how much do you think this is worth?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- I would say £25.- £25.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24And in the middle, I don't know how well you know your beer...
0:22:24 > 0:22:29- I'm an expert.- So, you said £10 for that one? OK.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Last one here. You have some manuka honey fudge, some chocolates.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- So how much for that one?- £8. - £8, OK.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Overall, once the nice presentation
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and gift wrap had been stripped away,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45the people we asked all underestimated the retail price
0:22:45 > 0:22:47of those luxury goods.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53So, it's time to bring back all those fancy extras and packaging
0:22:53 > 0:22:55to see what a difference that makes
0:22:55 > 0:22:57to people's perceptions of the price.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00What do they think the goods are worth now?
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Let's have a look at this one, for example,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- in the nice little wicker basket. What do you think?- £15?
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- £15, you thought? Right. What do you think, Lucy?- I'm going £20.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12- £20. Are you agreeing with that? - I agree with that, yeah.- OK.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It seems that the packaging really has bumped up
0:23:15 > 0:23:18how much people think the goods are now worth.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21On average, those we asked thought that this John Lewis hamper
0:23:21 > 0:23:27would cost about £31, only slightly less than its actual price of £35.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30But what's inside, if bought separately,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34would have had a total cost of just £21.07,
0:23:34 > 0:23:35so once our shoppers know that,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38do they think the difference is a price worth paying?
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- Oh. I think it's dear. - Expensive?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Now, we couldn't find an individual price for everything in each hamper.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Some products can only be found in multipacks, for example.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51So, in some cases,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54we compared the cost of the closest product we could find.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Whilst it makes sense that the cost of the packaging itself
0:23:57 > 0:24:00will obviously bump up the overall price,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03it's interesting to see how much shoppers instinctively thought
0:24:03 > 0:24:05the ingredients were worth,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07once they were nicely presented in a hamper.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10This rather neat little basket, which has got wine, sweets,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14jelly babies, tea, chocolate,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16biscuits, including the basket, of course?
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- About £35.- About £35.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24The average guess for the cost of this Debenhams hamper was £31
0:24:24 > 0:24:27but it actually retails at £40.99.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32That's despite the contents selling for just £22.39 on their own.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Big difference, eh? OK, what about the middle?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Michael, this is where you come into your own.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42- You've got a lot of beer and nuts and things.- £20?- £20?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47On average, our shoppers thought this lagers of the world package
0:24:47 > 0:24:49would cost around £26
0:24:49 > 0:24:53but it actually retails for more than double that, at almost £60,
0:24:53 > 0:24:59even though you can buy the contents inside separately for just £11.02.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- Goodness!- What do you think of that? - That's outrageous.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04- Outrageous?- It is.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06So, now we come to the slightly bigger hamper.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09You've got, obviously, a very nice basket, apart from anything else.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15Cake, you've got olives, crisps, tea, biscuits, wine...
0:25:15 > 0:25:18- £65.- £55.- £55 for the basket.- £75.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- £75?!- What do you want to settle on? - £60.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25£60 it is, OK.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30The average guess for this Waitrose Weekend Feast Hamper was £62.50,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34which was about half the actual retail price of £100.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37But buying pretty much the same products separately
0:25:37 > 0:25:40would total just around £57.73.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- No!- No?- No.- You're still not buying any of them?- Still not buying, no.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49No takers. So, all our shoppers totally underestimated
0:25:49 > 0:25:52just how much extra that hamper factor adds
0:25:52 > 0:25:54to the price of all those goodies.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57But what is the hamper factor?
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Why are we all so dazzled by a few ribbons and some straw
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and, of course, that wicker basket?
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I've invited financial expert Sarah Pennells to help shed some light
0:26:08 > 0:26:11onto what makes hampers just so attractive.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Why do you think we like hampers so much?
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I think it's partly because, when we buy hampers,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19it is often as a present for a special occasion,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22for something like Christmas or Mother's Day,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24and I think we often have a different mentality then
0:26:24 > 0:26:26than when we're buying food normally.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29It's partly because of the way they're presented.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32It feels like a treat, like it's luxury and, frankly,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35who has the time to add up what the individual items cost
0:26:35 > 0:26:38and to work out that they're actually a really bad deal?
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Do you think, then, people are attracted in by the word "luxury"?
0:26:41 > 0:26:44We're being told we're buying into something that's really premium,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46it's a treat, it's not the kind of thing
0:26:46 > 0:26:49we'd normally buy for ourselves on a day-to-day basis. That's all fine.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52The fact is, once you take away the wicker basket or the shiny box,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56you realise that the individual items are very rarely worth
0:26:56 > 0:26:58the amount you're being asked to pay as part of a hamper.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01But of course, the cost of the products
0:27:01 > 0:27:03is only part of the picture.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06The baskets in which they come have become very desirable
0:27:06 > 0:27:07in their own right,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10with people more than willing to pay extra for the packaging
0:27:10 > 0:27:14which, let's face it, will last longer than the actual goods inside.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16With these hampers,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19a lot of the costs sometimes goes on the packaging
0:27:19 > 0:27:20or on selling the idea,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23not on the ingredients that make up the hamper.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I think the idea of them is great.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I'm a real foodie, so I would love it if somebody gave me
0:27:28 > 0:27:31a collection of things I probably wouldn't buy on an everyday basis,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34but I wouldn't like it if I'd known they'd paid double
0:27:34 > 0:27:36just for getting a nice box.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40We spoke to the companies behind the hampers we used on our stall.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Debenhams didn't want to comment,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44but John Lewis and Waitrose both told us
0:27:44 > 0:27:46theirs offer real quality and value
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and that the price reflects the effort
0:27:49 > 0:27:51that's gone into carefully selecting,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55packing and presenting the products to make a "perfect ready-made gift",
0:27:55 > 0:27:59as well the cost of the basket or box and, of course, free delivery.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03They also stress how much time and effort hampers save the consumer.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Diverse Hampers, which sells its lagers of the world product
0:28:06 > 0:28:10through Not On The High Street, said its price is based on the...
0:28:14 > 0:28:16..the high quality wooden packaging
0:28:16 > 0:28:19and UK-wide couriered delivery included in the cost.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Meanwhile, some of those retailers pointed out
0:28:24 > 0:28:27that they also sell unfilled hampers, so that you can buy
0:28:27 > 0:28:31and put together your own selection of treats, which is an idea
0:28:31 > 0:28:34that Sarah Pennells enthusiastically recommends.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37There's nothing inherently unfair
0:28:37 > 0:28:39about shops charging a lot for hampers,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42as long as they're upfront with the cost,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45because they never really market them as being a budget-buy
0:28:45 > 0:28:47or a way of saving money.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49They're always marketed as being a luxury treat.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52But I would say, don't assume you're going to get
0:28:52 > 0:28:55anything like good value if you buy a hamper.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56If you want to buy a hamper for someone,
0:28:56 > 0:29:00I'd really advise you to save your money and put it together yourself.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It's really not difficult to put together.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06You can buy decorative boxes and bags for a fraction of the price
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and you'll know you'll have saved some money along the way.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Whether you're nipping somewhere just for a coffee and a cake
0:29:19 > 0:29:21or sitting down for a full three-course meal,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23eating out can be an expensive outing,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26so we asked personal finance expert Sarah Pennells
0:29:26 > 0:29:30to see if she could serve up some ways of cutting the cost.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?
0:29:32 > 0:29:35There are a few out there if you know where to look
0:29:35 > 0:29:38and don't mind the fact that some of them come with strings attached.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Many of us spend a small fortune on coffee
0:29:45 > 0:29:48and it's thought that we buy over two billion cups of it every year.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50But at several big-name stores,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52there's a way you can usually get a coffee
0:29:52 > 0:29:54without it costing you a bean.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Now, personally, I like to soak up the atmosphere
0:29:57 > 0:29:59of an independent coffee shop like this one,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01but did you know that, if you're on the move,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05a couple of companies, including Waitrose and IKEA,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09have loyalty card schemes where you can claim a free tea or coffee
0:30:09 > 0:30:10while you're in the store?
0:30:10 > 0:30:13These offers do come with terms and conditions.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16You can only claim one free drink a day
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and the IKEA offer is only available Monday to Friday.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Waitrose recently tightened up the rules,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25after what they said was abuse of the scheme.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28In some stores, to qualify, you'll need to buy something,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30but if you were going to do that anyway,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33a free coffee could give you a very welcome boost.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37And if drinking for free sounds good, eating free is even better.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40You'll often find online vouchers and loyalty schemes
0:30:40 > 0:30:41that offer the occasional freebie,
0:30:41 > 0:30:45but there are some restaurants that regularly let kids eat for free,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47if you choose your moment.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Oh, thank you very much.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54If you eat out with the whole family, the bill can soon mount up,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57but there are ways you can cut the costs without ditching the kids.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01For example, if you want breakfast, both Beefeater and Brewers Fayre
0:31:01 > 0:31:04will let up to two kids eat for free,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07as long as an adult pays the breakfast at the same time.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Several chain restaurants and big pub companies may also offer
0:31:13 > 0:31:16free kids' meals, sometimes even for Sunday lunch.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20But if you fancy getting an entire adult meal for nothing,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24you could try becoming a mystery shopper for a free supper.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Companies pay you to check out a restaurant or a cafe.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31You will have to make notes and complete a report after the meal
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and you'll usually have to claim back the cost of the meal
0:31:34 > 0:31:36after you've dined there,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38but it can be a great way of eating out
0:31:38 > 0:31:40in places to which you'd never normally go.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43So, if going undercover takes your fancy,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46then GFK and ABA are two of the biggest names in the business
0:31:46 > 0:31:48and worth checking out.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50But, as always, watch out for the scam companies.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53You shouldn't be asked for an upfront fee
0:31:53 > 0:31:55to take part in these schemes.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58If you are, then it's likely to be one to avoid.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01All you have to do is sign up online.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Make sure you do some research to check out the company first.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07You'll then be sent your assignment and a budget.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09It's normally a meal for two
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and you have to claim the money back afterwards,
0:32:12 > 0:32:14but who's complaining if it's all for free?
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Anything that saves you from spending the pounds is fine by me.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Earlier in the programme, we met Ilona,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31whose sheer skill at supermarket bargain-hunting
0:32:31 > 0:32:33meant the cost of her weekly shop
0:32:33 > 0:32:36is likely to be a fraction of yours and mine.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40She takes absolutely full advantage of those little yellow stickers
0:32:40 > 0:32:43that show you when food is being reduced in price.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45You probably look out for them already.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49But wait till you see exactly how much money she's been able to save.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54I'm constantly looking for reductions,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58I'm looking for bargains, special offers,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00in every single shop I go in.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04It's like a game and it's a game that I want to win.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Well, let's find out if she can do just that.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10We've armed Ilona with £20
0:33:10 > 0:33:12and asked her to visit her local branch
0:33:12 > 0:33:14of each of the top four supermarkets
0:33:14 > 0:33:17to see how many marked-down prices she can find
0:33:17 > 0:33:20for under a fiver in each.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22She's plotted a route around the stores,
0:33:22 > 0:33:23based on her previous experience
0:33:23 > 0:33:26of when the lowest prices are likely to be found.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Knowing the reductions don't typically start in earnest
0:33:29 > 0:33:33until late afternoon, her first stop, Sainsbury's, isn't until 6pm.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37That's swiftly followed by Asda at 6.30,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41then Morrisons and, finally, the supermarket she knows best, Tesco,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43which she hits at around 8.30.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47She's left each store with some encouragingly full-looking bags.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51So, once back home, it's time to unpack her haul
0:33:51 > 0:33:53and see what bargains she's managed to pick up.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56First on her journey and, perhaps because of that, the place
0:33:56 > 0:34:00where she found the smallest savings overall was sainsbury's.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05When you shop like I do, you never know what you're going to find
0:34:05 > 0:34:07and it is a bit of a gamble.
0:34:07 > 0:34:13Ilona spent our £5 on a total of seven items, including diced turkey,
0:34:13 > 0:34:15grapes, yoghurts and fruit.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18The original price would have been £11.05,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20but thanks to the markdowns,
0:34:20 > 0:34:25best of which were some wraps slashed from £2.50 to just 45p,
0:34:25 > 0:34:30the total cost of her shopping went down by more than half to £4.92.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35And she saved even more than that in the store she visited last, Tesco.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40Now, it's a bigger shop there, so there was a lot more to choose from.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44I've got lots of stickers with 90% off.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48These 22 items should have cost just over £20,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53but Ilona got them for £4.94, saving £15.10.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Her best bargains were with those 90% reductions,
0:34:57 > 0:35:03one of which took these organic limes from £1.75 to just 18p.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I'm really pleased with that.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Second best for savings on this particular trip was Morrisons.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I've got quite a big pile there as well
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and, again, really good savings,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20down to 10p, 20p, 30p for some items.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23And in some cases, even less.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Ilona bagged this pot of hummus for just 5p.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32The full-price cost of the 19 items she bought would have been £21.38
0:35:32 > 0:35:36but after the markdowns, she paid just £4.89,
0:35:36 > 0:35:38a saving of more than £16.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45However, it was at the second store she visited, Asda,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47where, on this occasion,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Ilona's fiver went further than anywhere else.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52In fact, she reckons she got enough shopping
0:35:52 > 0:35:54to feed a family for a week.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58These 21 products would have originally cost more than £25,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01but Ilona picked them up for a mere £4.96.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Her biggest bargain here was some carrots
0:36:04 > 0:36:10which were reduced from 56p to 4p, saving practically 93%.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Asda has the biggest pile of all.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18There was plenty to choose from at Asda and I was really pleased.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23I managed to get a real full trolleyload for my £5.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27So, you can see by each pile, the biggest one is Asda,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29so I got a lot more there.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31So, in total, Ilona saved...
0:36:44 > 0:36:47And she ended up with more than £77-worth of shopping
0:36:47 > 0:36:50for just £19.71.
0:36:50 > 0:36:56It's amazing. I have saved a massive £58.12,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58so you can see that it was worth
0:36:58 > 0:37:02all the effort of visiting these stores.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04I'm very happy with this result.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08It's lucky she's got the space to freeze all that stuff
0:37:08 > 0:37:10with dates about to expire
0:37:10 > 0:37:13but, of course, what markdowns you'll find depends on
0:37:13 > 0:37:16what an individual store has in stock and wants to shift quickly.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Ilona's results could have been completely different on another day
0:37:20 > 0:37:22or if she'd shopped in a different town
0:37:22 > 0:37:25but she doesn't believe it's all down to luck
0:37:25 > 0:37:27and reckons you can do some proper planning,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30so to identify what time your local store
0:37:30 > 0:37:32is likely to have the best reductions,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35she recommends simply ringing them up and asking,
0:37:35 > 0:37:37as she's doing now.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Yes, good evening. I wanted to come and do some shopping at your store.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46Could you tell me the best times to come to get some reduced prices?
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Asda start marking down in the morning
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and they do it continually throughout the day.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58The later you leave it, the better the savings will be.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01PHONE RINGS
0:38:01 > 0:38:05And what is the latest time? I don't want to get there too late.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Tesco start marking down about lunchtime
0:38:09 > 0:38:14and they continue to mark down throughout the afternoon.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18The better the bargains, the later it is.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21PHONE RINGS
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Right, thank you very much then. Yeah, thank you. Bye.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30Sainsbury's, the lady said it all depends how much stock they've got.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34If they've got a lot of stock, they will start early,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37but if they haven't got very much stock at all,
0:38:37 > 0:38:42it will just appear in dribs and drabs and there is no set time.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44PHONE RINGS
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Well, Morrisons are not picking up the phone
0:38:47 > 0:38:50so the only thing you can do in that situation
0:38:50 > 0:38:53is actually go there and have a look.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Ilona was simply calling her local branch of the main chains.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01So, to see if they have a national policy on markdowns,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03we contacted each store's head office
0:39:03 > 0:39:05and asked if they had any set rules
0:39:05 > 0:39:09on when staff should discount products and by how much.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Sainsbury's told us that its markdowns depend entirely
0:39:14 > 0:39:18on factors such as the type of product and the amount left to sell.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Staff may even take into account surprising factors,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22such as the weather, for example.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24If it's snowing, they might reduce
0:39:24 > 0:39:27the price of salads earlier in the day,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30so keep your eyes on the skies.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33At Asda, markdown fresh products can be picked up
0:39:33 > 0:39:35on the morning of their last day of sale,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38while each day's goods from the bakery are reduced later on,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42with all markdowns decided by head office.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Morrisons said that fresh food is marked down
0:39:45 > 0:39:47the night before it goes out of date,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50while bakery products are reduced on the same day.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Either way, evening is the time to grab the best bargains,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57with products sometimes marked down by as much as 99%.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01And finally, at Tesco, items are reduced in price
0:40:01 > 0:40:04on the day they go out of date or the day before,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07with the size of the reduction dependent
0:40:07 > 0:40:09on how much of the product is left.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Tesco also told us that in some stores, it's piloting a scheme
0:40:13 > 0:40:17whereby any such products still left on the shelves at the end of the day
0:40:17 > 0:40:19are distributed to charities in the local area.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25But if Ilona's success has made you want to dash off
0:40:25 > 0:40:27to do your own supermarket sweep,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31then remember these savings are obviously only available
0:40:31 > 0:40:36if you shop in the old-fashioned way - in person and not online.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39And remember, nothing's a bargain if you don't really need it
0:40:39 > 0:40:42or you don't think you'll be able to make use of it.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44But, provided you have the time to do it
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and don't mind the uncertainty of what you might find,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Ilona is convinced that shopping the way she does
0:40:49 > 0:40:53really is the key to bringing your costs right down.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56It's a mindset, actually.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59I don't go shopping, thinking, "Well, I want this and I want that."
0:40:59 > 0:41:04I go in search of this cheap food, which anybody can do.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08I'm nothing special, it's just that I'm determined,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12so if you want to be determined, then you can do the same thing.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23If you've got a story you'd like us to investigate,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26you can get in touch with us via our Facebook page,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28BBC Rip Off Britain,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32our website, bbc.co.uk/ripoffbritain
0:41:32 > 0:41:35or email...
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Or if you'd rather send us a letter, then our address is...
0:41:53 > 0:41:55I don't know about you two, but I have to say
0:41:55 > 0:41:58that after seeing the fantastic results that Ilona had
0:41:58 > 0:42:00with her shopping earlier in the programme,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04I imagine that quite a lot of us now are going to be keeping
0:42:04 > 0:42:07an even keener eye out for those tiny little yellow stickers
0:42:07 > 0:42:10telling us that something is being reduced.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12We've probably all picked up the odd bargain every now and then,
0:42:12 > 0:42:14but I would never have imagined
0:42:14 > 0:42:17that you could do ALL of your food shopping that way,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20provided, of course, that you've got enough big stores
0:42:20 > 0:42:22- right on your doorstep.- And enough shoe leather to keep you going.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24But she was absolutely fantastic.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28And I must admit, I really enjoy seeing all the different ideas
0:42:28 > 0:42:30that people come up with to save money.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32But it may well be you're sitting at home thinking,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35"Ilona's got nothing on me and the way I do it",
0:42:35 > 0:42:37so if you fancy yourself as a superconsumer,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40not just when it comes to food, but in any area,
0:42:40 > 0:42:42whether that means that you're especially good
0:42:42 > 0:42:43at getting your money back
0:42:43 > 0:42:46or you've won a real victory against all the odds,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49then we'd genuinely love to hear from you, so do please let us know.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Yes, because sharing your secrets could help others benefit too.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56I really hope you've already picked up
0:42:56 > 0:42:58some money-saving tips on the programme today
0:42:58 > 0:43:01cos, in the end, all the stories you ask us to look into
0:43:01 > 0:43:04come down to whether or not you've had the best value for money.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07So keep telling us when you don't think that's happened
0:43:07 > 0:43:10and we'll keep doing our best to find out if you're right.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13But that's all we've got time for for today.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15We'll be back very soon but, for now, thank you very much
0:43:15 > 0:43:19- for joining us and from all of us, goodbye.- Bye-bye.- Bye-bye.