Asda and Sainsbury’s anger customers by hiking delivery costs in shake-up of charges

ASDA and Sainsbury’s have both hiked the prices of some of their delivery slots, leaving shoppers furious. 

Sainsbury’s customers face an increase of up to £1.50 for its cheapest one-hour slots, with prices quadrupling to £2 instead of 50p.

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However, the supermarket is also introducing new £1 saver slots but these have a four-hour delivery window.

Asda customers, meanwhile, will pay up to £1 more for its priciest slots, which are now capped at £7 each instead of £6.

Customers from both supermarkets have been reacting with fury over the price increases.

One Sainsbury’s shopper tweeted: “Placed an order online as I have done every week since the first lockdown so disappointed to see you’ve increased your delivery charges.”

Another Sainsbury’s customer said: “Your delivery charge has increased from £2.50 to £4.50 for the same Monday slot. Seriously?”

A third tweeted: “Since April due to my vulnerability I require delivery service, as do many disabled and elderly customers.

“I saw yesterday that the majority of your delivery slots are now £4, which is a large increase in cost at a time when everyone is struggling financially.”

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An Asda shopper, meanwhile, said: “I’ve been shielding since March and using Asda online for shopping, which has always been free delivery over £40.

“But now two days before new lockdown you have started charging for delivery. I was wondering why? Seems a strange time to in increase price.”

Another tweeted: “Why have Asda decided to put the price of the morning delivery slots up? £7! For a morning slot. That’s ridiculous price.”

A third said: “I can’t help noticing the cost of your delivery slots have significantly increased recently.

“I organise delivery for my elderly parents and I’m horrified at how much more they will be paying for their regular midweek slot compared to a week or two ago.”

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The price restructure comes months after Tesco confirmed it was scrapping its cheap delivery slots.

The change from Tesco, which came into force from August, has left some customers paying £2.50 more for delivery.

We explain the increases for Asda and Sainsbury’s shoppers, as first reported by Money Saving Expert:

Sainsbury’s delivery: What is changing?

Sainsbury’s one-hour delivery slots used to range from 50p to £7, depending on the time and day of the week you choose.

But the price increase means shoppers now pay between £2 and £7 – an increase of £1.50 for its cheapest slots.

However, the supermarket told The Sun that it’s also introduced new £1 saver slots with a four-hour window for more flexible shoppers.

Saver slots allow you reserve a four-hour delivery space, with the supermarket telling you the exact hour of delivery on the day

Orders above £40 typically cost between £2 and £4.50, while those under £40 are a flat £7. 

Sainsbury’s will continue to offer free delivery on orders over £100, while it’s £25 minimum spend will also remain unchanged.

There’s also no price increase on its mid-week and anytime delivery passes.

For its mid-week pass, shoppers can get three months’ of delivery for £10, six months for £18, or one year for £30.

Anytime passes start from £20 for three months, £35 for six months, or £60 for one year.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told The Sun: “Since March we have more than doubled our groceries online capacity.

“We can now serve around 750,000 customers a week with home delivery and click & collect and we continue to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers.”

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Asda delivery: What is changing?

Asda used to charge between £1 and £6 for delivery, again depending on the time and day you choose.

This has now gone up to between £1 and £7 – which means its priciest slots now cost up to £1 more.

In other changes, the supermarket has started charging vulnerable customers for delivery, plus its standard additional charge on smaller orders.

Due to the coronavirus crisis, vulnerable shoppers were given free delivery with no minimum order charge – but this stopped on November 1.

Asda charges £3 on all orders under £40 – this now applies to all customers.

The supermarket hasn’t said how many vulnerable shoppers will be affected by the move, but it told The Sun that it’s provided free delivery to  2.6million people since the start of lockdown.

Asda will also axe its recurring delivery slots between 19 December and 2 January 2021, which could impact some shoppers in the run-up to Christmas.

Through its recurring delivery slots, Asda reserves times for regular customers who book a delivery for the same time and day each week.

While some delivery dates before Christmas are affected, the supermarket told The Sun that it doesn’t deliver on Christmas eve, Christmas Day or Boxing day.

Asda told The Sun that its prices remain the same for renewing delivery pass customers.

Passes cost £5 a month, £35 for six months, or £55 for the year.

Asda temporarily stopped issuing new passes at the start of the first coronavirus lockdown.

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The price hikes comes as the coronavirus pandemic has seen a surge in households relying on online shopping.

But luckily all of the leading grocers have dramatically increased the number of slots available to keep up with demand.

We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about when to book Christmas delivery slots at all the major supermarkets.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk