Tesco takes on Asda with price guarantee

The group lowered prices on more than 1,000 items from today to up the ante against its resurgent competitor.

It is promising to pay shoppers double the difference on products found cheaper at Asda.

How does the price guarantee work?

Tesco will pay the money back if a basket of shopping you buy would have been cheaper at Asda. If Asda is £1 cheaper you will get £2 back in Tesco vouchers which can be used in-store or online.

This applies to items bought either in-store or at online at Tesco.

This is the supermarket's attempt to fight back against a similar Asda price guarantee, which launched in January.

The Tesco guarantee is only against Asda items, not those at other supermarkets such as Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Which products are included?

The price drop will cover a range of typical grocery items such as fruit and veg, meat, medicine and cleaning products.

For example, Persil Powder Bio 4.25kg previously cost £12.26, but it has been reduced to £9.00.

The amount of the price drop depends on the item and can be anything from a few pence to pounds. Tesco's Medium Sliced White Bread (800g), for example, only has 5p knocked off.

What's the catch?

The price guarantee is only available on comparable grocery items that are either exactly the same or of a similar quality.

They musn't differ by more than 10% in size, weight and volume. Other items cannot be used in the price comparison.

In addition, items bought at Tesco Express, Tesco petrol station and Tesco Homeplus stores are excluded from any comparison.

How do you get money back?

Follow this step-by-step process to see if you qualify:

1. Customers must save their Tesco receipt.

2. Visit Tesco Pricecheck website and click on 'check my shopping'.

3. Enter the range of numbers at the bottom of the receipt (see Tesco's explanation of the numbers) and your email address. If it was an online purchase, also enter your postcode.

4. Claims must be made within 28 days of purchase or within 28 days of delivery, if bought online.

5. Tesco will reply with an email within 36 hours with a link to the comparison results. Clicking on this link shows whether or not the shop was cheaper than Asda.

6. If Tesco was more expensive, it will give a voucher by email for double the difference.

7. There is a maximum £100 per month that Tesco will issue in vouchers.

How do I use my voucher?

1. You must print the voucher out if using it in a store or quote the code if used online.

2. To use it, you must have the original receipt with you.

3. Vouchers cannot be used on the lottery, fuel, tobacco, infant formula, Tesco cafés, Tesco pharmacies, gift cards and mobile phone top ups.

Further Reading/ Key Links

Cut costs: Supermarket Shopping Guide, Cheap Online Shopping