Tesco threatens journalist with arrest for writing down prices

A Guardian journalist who was researching prices at a Tesco supermarket was threatened with arrest for writing down prices as he walked around. The security guard who questioned him claimed that it was illegal to write down prices at Tesco's. The manager later allowed as how it wasn't illegal, merely against store policy.

Of course, Tesco can set any policy it wants for its premises (provided those policies don't violate other laws, such as laws regarding discriminating on the basis of disability, race or sex). But Tesco's customers can also ask pointed questions about those policies, such as, "If Tesco's prices are so great, why are they afraid of having people know what they are?" In this case, Tesco's had priced its bulk water so that it was more expensive than individual bottles — just the sort of thing you might want a pad and paper handy to work out before you gave them your money.

And, of course, it's legal to do anything inside a Tesco that would be legal on the street outside, and Tesco's only remedy for violations of its policies is to ask you to leave.




Now it's illegal to write down prices in a Tesco supermarket

(Thanks, @sicckid1972!)

(Image: Tesco, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from loopzilla's photostream)