CHARITY SHOP IS SLAMMED BY CUSTOMERS FOR SELLING EMPTY MARMALADE JARS

Spotted by eagle-eyed shopper in a British Heart Foundation store in Newham
In comparison, an unopened jar of the fruit preserve currently retails for £2.20

A charity shop has left customers fuming after it was caught selling empty marmalade jars for more than the price of a full one.

The Bonne Maman second-hand item, priced at £2.50, was spotted by eagle-eyed shopper Laura McInerney, 41, in a British Heart Foundation store in Newham, London.

In comparison, an unopened jar of the fruit preserve currently retails for £2.20 from Ocado, discounted from £3.50.

High street supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Tesco sell theirs at a slightly higher price, at £3.30, but they also contain the actual marmalade.

In addition to the jar, Laura, from West Ham, also found a Barclays-branded notebook being sold for £4 in the store, that she claims is given away for 'free' at corporate events.

After sharing her findings on X, Laura's post has racked up 14,000 likes and over 500 retweets so far.

Laura, co-founder of Teacher Tapp, said: 'I understand charities face big costs at the moment, so it makes sense they want to maximise income from their shops.

'But I worry people won't keep going if there's no bargains to be had anymore.

'Especially when so many people who live locally don't have a lot of spare cash because rent and food prices have gone through the roof.'

Laura's tweet was captioned: 'Charity shops have gone weirdly expensive. £2.50 for an empty Bonne Mamman jar?!?'

She also shared images of the other items including the notebook and a Disney photo album from 2011 being sold at £6.

Laura added: 'My mind is blown.'

Fellow bargain hunters have flocked to the comment section to share their reactions, with many flagging the same issue in other charity shops.

One X user said: 'Just done a round at charity shops near me. Madness, the prices are more expensive than buying new.'

'You can buy it new with jam included at that price,' another added.

A third said: 'I've noticed this too. I've seen them charging more than you can buy the things new in stores lol', while a fourth joked: 'I'm rich! I've got thousands!'

The British Heart Foundation replied to Laura on Twitter, saying: 'Hi Laura, thank you for bringing this to our attention.

'It looks like we have made a mistake here and we will rectify asap. Our shop team are looking into this as we speak. Thank you for the feedback.'

2024-04-16T17:58:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd