When is red not red?

When is red not red? When it is wine, it seems.

At least, that is the explanation given by Woolworths for not giving a 25 per cent discount to one local resident who bought six bottles of red wine to take advantage of a special offer recently.

Woolworths has told Mr Mark Snell of Umina that, although his bottle said "Red" in large letters, it was not red wine and did not qualify for the special.

This was because it was "sparkling red".

Mr Snell, who is Peninsula News' editor, said he bought the wine along with other liquour at the Woolworths bottle shop in Woy Woy because of a poster in the window advertising the red wine special.

He said he did not realise until he got home and did the arithmetic that he had not been given the discount.

"I was not told at the counter that the wine I had selected was not eligible."

Mr Snell said he did not ask because "it just did not occur to me that a bottle of wine with the word 'Red' on it in large letters would not be considered to be 'red wine'."

Mr Snell said he looked up the special on the internet and found some "fine print" which said the offer did not apply to "sparkling reds".

He lodged a complaint through the Woolworths web site.

In the reply, Woolworths convenience liquor-wine promotional manager Mr Justin Heffernan said: "Historically Woolworths Liquor have not included sparkling red in our Red Wine Sale and because of this, it is clearly stated in the disclaimer in all of our press, catalogues and in store POS or posters regarding this offer.

"I am happy to tell you that in future for any Red Wine Sale promotion we will be including sparkling red wines in this promotion."

Mr Snell said the reply he received did not offer a refund or a replacement.

Woolworths media relations manager Ms Siobhan Quinn told Peninsula News: "Any customer who is unhappy with their purchase can return the product to our stores for a refund or replacement.

"We apologise to this customer for their experience, as the offer of a refund or replacement should have been made."

Ms Quinn said: "Red, white and sparkling are the three commonly-accepted categories across the wine industry and our in store wine categories and promotions reflect this.

"The terms and conditions on the red wine promotion clearly state that sparkling wines are not included in the offer."

Mr Snell said the advertisement was clearly misleading.

"My guess is that I am not the only one who has been misled.

"Fine print should not be used as a way to contradict the impression created by an advertisement or to avoid responsibility for creating a misleading impression."

He said that in this case there was a lot of fine print to wade through.

"The fine print actually says twice that the discount applies to 'any red wine purchased' before it goes on to say that it does not apply to 'sparkling red'," said Mr Snell.

"As a customer off the street, I should not have to be familiar with how an industry works to know what it is I will be paying for a particular product or what an offer actually means."

Mr Snell said that the words "not sparkling reds" should have been included in the advertisement's sub-heading.

However, Mr Snell said he was happy that Woolworths would include sparking red wines in future red wine sales.

He said that the company had a reputation as a responsible trader and he expected it would continue to be so in future.

Media Statement, 12 Jul 2012

Siobhan Quinn, Woolworths

Email, 5 Jul 2012

Mark Snell, Umina

Photo: Mark Snell