Asda Price Guarantee to be scrapped... marking the end of 'wombling'

With the Asda Price Guarantee, you can get money back on your next shop if comparable items on your receipt are not at least 10% cheaper than at Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

Asda says the scheme, which has run since 2010, will continue as normal until 3 October – you won't be able to redeem vouchers after then.

The news will come as a particular disappointment to 'womblers' – those who pick up other shoppers' discarded receipts and use them to get money off their shopping via a price guarantee. Asda was one of the last major supermarkets not to have explicitly banned this practice, and it's been claimed its decision now means "the end of wombling as we know it".

Asda's announcement comes after Tesco axed its Brand Guarantee scheme in July.

See our 35 Supermarket Shopping Tips for tools and tricks to save on your food bills. Also check out our blog on Yellow Sticker Reductions.

How does Asda's price guarantee work?

Here's a summary of how the Asda scheme works:

1. To claim the vouchers, you must first sign up for an Asda online shopping account.

2. Then enter the barcode number from your receipt on Asda's website. You must do this at least three hours, and no more than 28 days, after the receipt was issued. You must also do it by 3 October.

3. If your shop wasn't 10% cheaper than comparable items at Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose, you'll be offered a voucher worth the difference for money off your next shop.

4. Print off the voucher, which is valid for 28 days or until 3 October (whichever is earliest), to take with the original receipt to the checkout when you next go shopping.

See the Asda website T&Cs for full info, including what a comparable item is and how exactly the difference is calculated.

Why is Asda scrapping the guarantee?

Asda said in a statement on its website that the decision to scrap the guarantee had been "difficult".

It added: "It's a decision we've not taken lightly because we love it dearly, but in reality, we know our customers don't love it enough for us to keep it.

"Instead they want us to focus our investment on lowering our prices, and they'll let us know if we're falling out of step with the competition."

‘Another price match scheme bites the dust’

MoneySavingExpert news and features editor Steve Nowottny said: "Price match schemes used to be a staple of supermarket money saving, and there were clever ways to take them to the max such as by divvying up your trolley into bargain and full-price items.

"But sadly that now seems to be largely a thing of the past, with Tesco scrapping its Brand Guarantee scheme in July and now Asda's the latest to bite the dust.

"While supermarkets of course insist they will lower prices across the board instead, such savings are much less tangible and harder to quantify – and so many savvy shoppers will see the end of price-matching as a real blow."