For many consumers, it is one of life's little annoyances: not getting exact change after you pay at the supermarket checkout. While many shoppers suspect the stores are turning a profit on the spare coins, the chains say that in fact the opposite is true.
ABU DHABI // When Alison Magnall goes grocery shopping, she never gets the right change in coins.
And because the amount is so small - 5 or 10 fils - she never bothers to ask for it.
But the British expatriate cannot help but wonder how much money the supermarkets might be gaining from her being short-changed every time she shops.
"I sometimes think about whether the cashiers get the extra coins at the end of the day or whether it goes to the people at the top," Ms Magnall said.
Ms Magnall, who lives in Abu Dhabi and does her grocery shopping at Mushrif Mall's LuLu Hypermarket, said it was an issue that should be dealt with.
"Supermarkets should set their prices at denominations of 25 or 50 fils, instead of these prices that mean we'll never get the right amount back," she said.
Donnie Hart, who has lived in the UAE for six years, said that cashiers often did not give him the correct change.
"The customers always lose, I reckon," the Scottish expatriate said.
The UAE has coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 fils and 1 dirham. The 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are struck in bronze but are so rarely seen or used that many do not realise they exist.
Yet supermarkets and shops across the UAE have products with prices set at figures such as Dh0.40 or Dh0.95.
A spokesman from LuLu said "most customers do not bother" with the small change.
"What will they do with the 5 or 10 fils coin? They don't want to stuff their wallet with all the small coins so that it's bulging," he said.
"Rounding up is common practice. You might lose 5 fils today but you'll gain 10 fils tomorrow. It's a part of business. You lose some, you gain some."
The spokesman said that LuLu rounds up for customers' sake and ends up losing money when making change.
Yousuf Sultan, an Emirati from Abu Dhabi, said getting incorrect change bothered him.
Mr Sultan said he "always asks for it", so he could give it to workers who pack his shopping bags.
"It used to be a problem before, a few years ago, when the small coins had more value, but we'd get a piece of gum or something small like that instead," he said.
Uzma Khalil, from Pakistan, used to buy her weekly groceries at the supermarket with cash but she too did not get the correct change. She now pays with her credit card "so I don't lose money".
A spokesman from Spinneys said its cashiers are "strictly informed" to round up. "Our policy is to be fair to the customers, so we always give them the benefit," he said.
He said the issue was that there was a short supply of small coins from the UAE Central Bank.
"We request the coins from our bank, Emirates NBD, but their reply is that the Central Bank is short on these coins," he said.
For its part, the Central Bank said the issue is not a lack of circulation, but a lack of demand for small coins.
"We put the small denominations in the market for people to use them but the problem lies with the supermarkets who don't request the small amounts," said Sultan Rashid, assistant executive director of the banking operations and payment systems department.
Carrefour declined to comment, and Geant said its policy was to round up to 25 fils if the amount is more than 10 fils.
If the amount is less than 10 fils, the customer does not get any change, said Ranjith Punja, the supermarket chain's merchandise manager.
"By the end of the day we are not left with any extra money - in fact, we are short," Mr Punja said. "But we absorb this loss."
molson@thenational.ae
For more in this series, visit thenational.ae/consumerwatch
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SCORES
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1Â in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out)
bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7Â in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Rating: 4.5/5
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.Â
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.Â
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.Â
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.Â
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Naga
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