Is this against their contract?

Question

There is a small shop in my office building that sells basic items like soda, chips, nylons, and cards. It is the only place that is close that sells soda, but it is always past the sell-by date. (It sometimes does taste nasty and everyone in the building knows he still sells it past-due) I mentioned it to the owner once and he just shrugged at me. I wanted a soda with lunch today so I went there and all of the sell-by dates were rubbed off! I took a chance and bought one and it tastes horrible. That really burns me.
Is displaying only out-of-date merchandise against his distribution contract with the soda companies? Is there anything my office can do to about it?

Answer 1

Your best course of action is to call the local company of the soda..ie..pepsi, coke,etc. They have very strict regulation on the rotation and stale dating of their product. They will send someone out right away and pull the product. The only problem that is happening in today's business world is that a small business can usually purchase soda's cheaper from a large box store or grocery stores than they can purchase it from the supplier and they will repackage it.(for example they will purchase a 12 pack in the grocery store for $3. and then break the pack down and sell single cans for 75cent to a dollar and make 7 to $10 . The parent company may elect to stop selling their product to the stores that continue to sell out dated product. This doesn't stop the smaller store from buying from the grocery store and reselling the product. The manufacturer will pull all refrigeration and display boxes from the store. If you don't get any results from the local distributor just call the parent company (phone numbers or websites can be found on the packaging of the soda)and I will guarantee that they will solve the problem. Word of mouth of bad product is a death sentence to large corporation. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Of course he should not sell goods with an expired date. This is bad business and eventually, he'll have no clients left. Return the soda and ask for your money back. If he refuses, threaten to bring him to the authorities. However, there is also a 'buyer beware' clause which points a good portion of the responsibility to the buyer. Clearly, If you see there's an expired date, don't buy the soda and if need be, do not patronize that store.

Answer 3

He's probably getting them real cheap that way. You could call the soda distributors and report him; they will not want inferior merchandise out on the market. You could also quit buying from him. Bring sodas from home. He has no incentive to change his buying habits right now.

Answer 4

First, I would go back to him and ask for your money back. If he refuses, report him to the local board of health. You could also try your state's Department of Weights & Measures. I'd also, report him to the management company that owns the office building...and put it in writing. Good luck !

Answer 5

It might be against their contract. You should report this to the building owner.