Tesco has been accused of quietly reducing the size of its toilet rolls – by increasing the size of the HOLE in the middle.
Keen-eyed shoppers reckon the cardboard tube in the centre has expanded by 1cm while the overall width has remained the same.
The revelation comes after a number of brands and supermarkets have reduced the size of products or raised prices to offset the affects of Brexit.
Tesco insists there has been no change to the nine-pack of Luxury Soft Toilet Tissue and the price has remained the same at £3.35.
But shoppers reckon they have got a bum deal and have taken to Facebook to voice their anger.
Mum-of-two Sadie Parker, 27, said: “I was topping up the shelf in my toilet when I noticed that the holes in this week’s toilet rolls were so much bigger.
“My husband put one of last week’s rolls on top of this week’s and you can see that the new one has a hole that is about a centimetre bigger than the older one.
“We can get through a whole nine pack within a week so it is important that we aren’t losing out – we don’t want to be caught short.
“Between the four of us we normally get through quite a lot of toilet roll, when both my daughters are at home it can be a roll a day.
“My husband and I were trying to feel the toilet rolls to see how compact they were and they didn’t feel any different.”
In a random test conducted yesterday (Mon), the ‘old’ version featured 224 sheets but the ‘new’ ones with a larger hole had 208, 210, and 220 respectively.
A fall from 224 to 208 represents a seven per cent reduction in product.
Tesco argues that the weight of the toilet roll has not altered and the change is down to “deceptive packaging”.
But mum-of-two Mrs Parker, a loyal Tesco shopper from Bracknell, Berks., said: “I think that’s a load of nonsense.
“Tesco has said to me that it was deceptively wrapped and it would be sold by its weight but I’m not that convinced.
“Obviously I’m not going to boycott Tesco just because of this, they are normally great, but it does look like they’re ripping customers off.
“I normally find Tesco quite good and I’ve done my weekly shop there for years.
“Tesco’s luxury brand is only a few pence cheaper than Andrex, so if it turns out that I’m getting less than I might as well switch.”
Another customer, Gerard Henderson, wrote: “You could drive a bus through the cardboard tube in the middle of the white ones.
“They weigh less too. Looks like you are ripping us off, Tesco.”
A Tesco spokesperson commented on Mrs Parker’s post: “I have had a little look into this, and there has been no changes to this product since 2014.
“I am afraid this may be due to how it was packaged, or it could be deceptively wrapped.
“This product would be sold by its weight so you would still be getting the same amount of toilet paper as always.”
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
