Food Lion ~ Question: FL policy on store and maufacturer coupons?

[thriftywife03]

I was just wondering what Food Lion's policy was on store and manufacturer coupons. I know that their policy has changed back and forth on this issue. Can anyone tell me what their current policy is on using them together? Is it still ok as long as neither coupon states otherwise?

I don't want to do anything wrong. Thanks.

[jrobertson911]

You can use them together as long as neither coupon prohibits it. You'll find their promotional store coupons (booklets, etc) often have this exclusion on them, but the FLIPS rarely do any more. Hope that helps!

[thriftywife03]

Ok. Thanks.

So here's my question. Have you seen the "cow" at FL? He must be FL's version of the "penguin" at HT. :)
Mr. Cow is also sponsored by the NC Frozen Food Council.

Instead of a tummy full of tearpad coupons, Mr. Cow has a single sheet (folded to make a book) of 11 coupons. They are all store coupons. Several of these coupons are for the same coupons as the penguin.

For example, here's the wording on two coupons:

$1.00/1 Best Life Butter manufacturer coupon (Mr. Penguin)

Retailer: Send to .....You will be paid one dollar....plus $0.08...Cash value 1/100 cent. One coupon per item purchased. Void where prohibited or otherwise restricted. Copyright.... Best life is a trademark owned by Best Life Corporation.

$1.00/1 Best Life butter store coupon (Mr. Cow)

One coupon per customer, per day.
Good only at FL. Limit one coupon per item. Limit one use per purchase of specified product, per transaction, per person, per day. Do not double or triple. Void if copied, sold.....Void if coupon exceeds retail value of item. Not applicable towards....... No cash value.

There are coupons for Sorrento, Best life, Kraft, Sargento and others.

What am I looking for? "cannot be combined with any other coupon or offer"? or because they both say "one coupon per item", does that mean that you can't stack them? Best Life is $1.99 at my FL so I'm sure that it would not work for that item. It would exceed the item by one penny.

I'm not sure about the others though. More importantly, I was wondering what wording to watch for on either/both coupons.

Thanks.

[jrobertson911]

The wording to watch for is something like "cannot be combined with any other coupon" or "no other coupon may be used with this coupon" (those are the ones I have specifically seen on FL store coupons). The one coupon per item is standard on all coupons so that you don't use multiple of the same coupon on one item. I would say you are fine using the MQ with the store coupon.

[thriftywife03]

Yay! Thank you for your help.

Now here's another question:

Can I use those two coupons to get free butter? The coupons together exceed the amount of the item, not the store coupon alone.

Once again- I want to do what is right more than I want free butter.

Sorry to keep bothering you. You've been a big help.


(Is there anywhere that this stacking policy is stated? So I could print it out. Thanks.)

[jrobertson911]

They don't have up-to-date written policies unfortunately. It's really up to the store manager's discretion, although emails received from FL customer service state you can stack as long as neither coupon prohibits it.

The store coupon would probably be the kicker. Food Lion does not allow for overage, so if one or more of the coupons would create overage, you cannot use them (or in your situation, you could only use one b/c the other would cause the coupon price to exceed the retail price of the item). The FLIPS specifically state void if coupon value exceeds the retail value of the item.

The only way I could think this would work is if your store allows for adjusting the manufacturer coupon down. You would scan the store coupon first and then have the MQ entered for the remaining amount of the item (item=1.99, SQ=1.00, a $1 MQ would be entered for $.99). This is a YMMV, however.

[CKMW]

Any correspondence I've received from Food Lion has always stated: "we accept ONE coupon per item," and combining FLIPs w/mfr. q's is prohibited by every store I shop at. :(

[jrobertson911]

Apparently the policy changed back about a year ago because I too had been getting the emails that said you can't combine FLIP's and MQ's until last summer when everyone started reporting customer service was telling them the new policy was "as long as neither prohibits it". I think this is a YMMV though since they don't have any firm written policy posted on their website.

[FoodLionInsider]

Hi everyone. I have information about Food Lion's Coupon Acceptance Policy (Updated 10-08-09).

Food Lion only accepts coupons in date and product or purchase requirements have been met.

Food Lion accepts:
-Coupons that have not expired
-Coupons for purchased items (obviously)
-One coupon per item
-Manufacturer coupons-coupons generally found in newspapers, newsletters, product locations, or the internet for a specific value
-Store coupons-coupons generated by Food Lion or any individual brand
-Internet coupons-coupons printed from an internet website
-Catalina coupons-coupons printed at the register

Food Lion does not:
-Accept competitor coupons (coupons from other retailers)
-Accept Internet coupons for "free" items
-Give cash back for coupons of any kind

Coupons for Free Items:
-Food Lion accepts manufacturer and store coupons for free items
-Food Lion does not accept internet coupons for free items

Stores may use their discretion with the coupon policy. I have heard of some stores that don't accept printable Internet coupons. Some stores are very wary of any coupon use because of the abundance of counterfeit coupons circulating online. From the retailer perspective, the Company does not get credit for fraudulent coupons. It is dead loss.

I hope that information helps. If you have any questions, let me know.

Best regards,
Your neighborhood Food Lion associate.

[Shy2481]

FL's policy is one coupon per item. They may not have it on their site but you can email them for it. The butter coupon you are speaking of says one coupon per item, which to mean means just that 1 coupon per item.