A woman has revealed her rage this week after visiting popular Christmas event Winter Wonderland in Cardiff – and being charged £47 for sweets.
The Christmas market and fun fair has something for everyone from ice skating to a giant wheel and traditional craft stalls.
But one mum was gobsmacked at the price of some sweet snacks when she visited with her husband and two children.
READ MORE: Full list of UK Christmas markets going ahead in 2022 as Leeds and Glasgow cancel events
Rhiannon Brown went to Cardiff's Winter Wonderland on November 19 and was drawn to the Great British Fudge Company stall.
Rhiannon, a healthcare worker, agreed her children could get some pick-and-mix knowing it would be expensive.
However she didn’t expect to be charged a whopping £47 for the treats.
Great British Fudge Company has said that they have been in contact with Rhiannon and have offered her a full refund since.
They also explained that they were working on ways to improve their services so they could avoid similar issues in the future.
Rhiannon told Wales Online : "We know full well that you're going to spend money when you go to these places.
"We try to go to Cardiff's Winter Wonderland every year. This time around, we just went for a little look around and the kids wanted to go on some rides.
"We bought 40 tokens for £40 for them to have 20 each, and then we had crepes which were £7 each – pricey but again we expected it.
"Then, as we were walking out to leave the Great British Fudge Company was there all lit up and it looked amazing.
"The kids run to it asking for sweets, so I said okay. I helped my youngest to do hers and my husband said don’t go mad on the sweets – it’s £2.79 for 100g."
She added: "We both made sure the kids never went overboard. The bags were nowhere near half full, but nobody knows what 100g of sweets looks like. As my husband was paying, my little girl started eating the sweets so I couldn’t have put some back if I wanted to.
"I didn’t hear the woman say the price to my husband but I could tell by his reaction it was high so I asked him how much.
"He said £47.26, and I said: 'What, you can’t be serious?'. I think we were just shocked we knew it was going to be expensive but I was thinking maybe £20-£23. He just paid and we left."
The mum posted about her horror on social media.
She added: "It really put a downer on the day we had had. Nobody nowadays can afford to spend £47 on a pick n mix.
"I feel like they should maybe display a couple of display bags of sweets saying how much this would cost you on average, so people are aware. Nobody knows what 100g of sweets looks like.
In a statement, the spokesperson for Great British Fudge Company told WalesOnline: "We can confirm we have now been in touch with Rhiannon Brown when she responded to our appeal to please contact us about her complaint with regards to her experience when purchasing 1.6kg of sweets for £47.00 at our unit in Cardiff.
"Rhiannon has explained to us that she was aware of the price displayed of £2.79 per 100g, but was still shocked at the final price when weighed. She also explained that she chose to pay for the goods so as not to disappoint the children and because they had already started eating them.
"We would never have forced anyone to pay for something they did not want or were unhappy with and would have accepted, as many have said they did, if she left the bag or asked for some items to be removed.
"We are unable to confirm from the image you sent what that amount of sweets would have been as this is just one bag and as Rhiannon explained her children had already started eating some of the items.
"We can confirm that the scales are checked and set with no way to adjust them once we are set up so for the total to be £47 this would have been just over 1.6kg of sweets in two bags.
"We have offered Rhiannon a full refund, and explained that we are already working to improve our service so we can avoid issues going forward: clearer signage explaining weighing and pricing to customers, retraining our staff to be able to offer better assistance to avoid similar incidents going forward, adding some pre-mixed priced bags minimise issues and lines waiting to weigh sweets.
"We are very sorry that Rhiannon felt she was obliged to pay and hope that she accepts our offer to refund."
One of our own reporters visited the Winter Wonderland festive event in Hyde Park, London, and loved the ice-themed bars and rides, but not the prices.
She raved about the food choices and fabulous rides.
However the prices at the London event were also a downside as you can see in her review.
READ NEXT:
Brits could face Christmas travel chaos as Border Force staff threaten strikes
Get 10 days off in a row over Christmas using just three days of annual leave
Disneyland Paris is going all out for its Halloween and Christmas parties this year
Best UK Christmas markets for 2022 – skating rinks, ice bars and Korean hot dogs
Source: Read Full Article