Commissary Overage Denied

dtsalvador · 04-04-2008, 05:41:29 PM

I wasn't allowed to use the Glucerna $2, $3 or Monistat $4 coupons yesterday at Maxwell AFB Commissary. After much debate and waiting for an assistant manager to show up, they decided that the older Regulation dated 2/2007 that rescinded the overage rule the first time was the one that applied. I didn't have the number of the DeCA reg(my bad) with me and I couldn't convince them that Reg 40-6 (or whatever it is) was dated 6/2007 reinstating coupon overage, saying coupons had to be scanned at face value. The assistant manager DID ALLOW me to use 10 $2 Glucerna coupons, keying in the $1.34 value of the item instead of $2, and 3 $3 coupons with a value of $2.68 instead of $3. I returned my monistat wipes and KY jelly. I stood at the register for over 30 minutes, waiting for this to be settled. The top managers were "unavailable". I've been doing the overage thing for the past year with no trouble-now this. They acted like I was trying to scam the commissary rather than simply following the commissary's own regulation regarding coupon overage. I was not and am not a happy camper-what a waste of my time, not to mention all of the people staring at me. Of course this was the day I chose to break in my new 3 inch wedge sandals, so I stood a proud 5'11" for everyone to stare at!!! I did email the manager last night, asking if she could verify the regulation on this matter. or did I need to email DeCA, to get a ruling from them. No answer so far, but we'll see. Sorry this is so long, but I Plan my shopping trips very carefully and i do not like to have people think I am a crook, incorrectly using my coupons. The issue arose because the register kept showing coupon exceeds the value of the item. The Cashier said she could not manually enter the value of the coupon, but when they changed the prices of the coupons to reflect the price of the item rather than the value of the coupon, they manually entered them then. LOUD SCREAM!!!
Sorry this is so long, but I knew you would understand!!!

EmmysMum · 04-04-2008, 07:54:35 PM

Seriously, go to Commissaries.com and click on the contact us link. Choose the appropriate info regarding your visit to your commissary and then tell them what happened to you.

You will get a response pretty quickly (at least in my experience) and it will be forwarded to your commissary as well. I find that I get better results when I email DeCA directly.

It's in the Directive dated June 5, 2007 that allows for overage. It's Directive 40-6, Chapter 7-4, item N. I have an email from DeCA where I asked about overage directly and they responded that "Valid coupons will be entered at the value stated on the coupon" (the actual quote from the directive as well), and stated that Yes, I should get face value of the coupon towards my purchase regardless of the price of the product.

What your commissary is doing is BS and against DeCA policy. They are using an OLD directive that was rescinded by the June 5, 2007 directive.

I hope you get results soon and get those cruddy assistant managers straightened out!

hisredhead · 04-10-2008, 11:11:08 AM

You should deffinelty contact DeCa, but don't e-mail the manager, go in and speak to someone face to face. I hope you kept your reciept because if you take it in you can insist that they give you a refund for the FULL amount of the coupons since the item price was manually entered. By doing that the cashiere actually earned your commissary a profit which is illeagal because Congress set rules so that Deca does not make any gains or losses. This is actually explained in the directive.

I highly reccomend going in to speak to the store manager in person. I had to do this a couple weeks ago. Be sure to take a copy of the directive with you and the coupons you were using if you have any left. Don't speak to anyone execpt the store manager. I really hope you set them straight. I just really don't understand why cashieres consider themselves the 'coupon police' and why they have to make us feel like criminals for using q's to our advantage. Best of luck!

jeweltea · 04-10-2008, 02:09:43 PM

Originally Posted by hisredhead

By doing that the cashiere actually earned your commissary a profit which is illeagal because Congress set rules so that Deca does not make any gains or losses. This is actually explained in the directive.

This is very good information. I have not had a problem with overage yet but I sweat it out every time - especially when the cashier question that the coupon is for more than the item (like yesterday).
Thanks!
Doris

thestitcherbee · 04-10-2008, 04:08:05 PM

I'm sorry that happened to you. I had a similar incident a few weeks ago. They did end up giving me the overage but not without making me feel like a criminal/wasting lots of my time. I emailed DECA and they promptly emailed me back with the info, so I know have a printed email in my coupon file in case it happens again.

Kaymadmom · 04-10-2008, 08:02:38 PM

Originally Posted by hisredhead

By doing that the cashiere actually earned your commissary a profit which is illeagal because Congress set rules so that Deca does not make any gains or losses. This is actually explained in the directive.

Exactly! I tried to explain this to a cashier the other day and she just gave me this blank stare and refused to scan my coupons. It was humiliating. In all the commotion I didn't see her scan my other coupons so I asked her if she had scanned *all* of them and she lied and said she had. After reviewing my receipt I took the unscanned q's and demanded to see a manager. He was so angry with the cashier and promptly gave me a refund for $15. I saw him go over to her, so I hope she understands things now. I get all angry thinking about it!

hrborn · 04-19-2008, 01:34:12 AM

My husband just had this problem tonight and I have to e-mail DECA now. How frustrating...I have a lot of Excedrin Qs to use by 5/4....will I get a response within a week, based on your experiences? TIA.

blessedx5 · 04-20-2008, 08:49:23 PM

same thing happened to me last week and seems each week with a diffrent cashier. I try so hard to get the ones who know me and know the rules but sometimes they tell you what register to go to. The diffrent head cashiers change their tune too...drives me nuts....however when the olay overage was going on I saw atleast half of the cashiers and baggers going out with cases of olay and getting $12 overage on each case. When I was denied last week on the splenda, I told the head cashier who came over, if it was ok for all the cashiers and baggers to get overage using the olay coupons what was the problem with my overage...she quickly told the cashier my coupons were fine and she had to give me the full amount....I think I will be using that instance more often....

EmmysMum · 04-22-2008, 08:23:59 AM

Originally Posted by hrborn

My husband just had this problem tonight and I have to e-mail DECA now. How frustrating...I have a lot of Excedrin Qs to use by 5/4....will I get a response within a week, based on your experiences? TIA.

When I had to email because of similar issues, I had a response within just a couple of days.

Flat out, they should NOT be refusing your coupons because of overage. As long as your are buying the product specified and are following the guidelines on the coupon (it doesn't state one per person, for example), they MUST give you the overage, whether they like it or not.

The current directive states that, clear and simple.

I am sorry that so many of you are experiencing problems with this!

EmmysMum · 04-22-2008, 08:32:05 AM

Originally Posted by blessedx5

same thing happened to me last week and seems each week with a diffrent cashier. I try so hard to get the ones who know me and know the rules but sometimes they tell you what register to go to. The diffrent head cashiers change their tune too...drives me nuts....however when the olay overage was going on I saw atleast half of the cashiers and baggers going out with cases of olay and getting $12 overage on each case. When I was denied last week on the splenda, I told the head cashier who came over, if it was ok for all the cashiers and baggers to get overage using the olay coupons what was the problem with my overage...she quickly told the cashier my coupons were fine and she had to give me the full amount....I think I will be using that instance more often....

Unlike stores like WalMart, Target and CVS (to name a few), there is no "at the manager's discretion" on coupon acceptance at the Commissary.

The directive covers ALL commissaries and ALL commissaries are subject to that directive. Regardless of their personal beliefs, they MUST follow the directive. The directive states that all valid coupons must be entered for the face value of the coupon. That means that as long as you are abiding by the coupon's rules, you get the face value of the coupon entered, regardless of the purchase price of the item.

There should be no confusion or denial of overage based on the cashier/head cashier/manager's whims. Email DeCA and get it in writing. Arm yourself with that email and don't be afraid to whip it out and stand your ground when they try to deny you overage.

Sorry if I am beating a dead horse here, this is just something I am very passionate about, lol. We are entitled to that overage per the directive and managers have no say in coupon acceptance policy. Period.