Coupon Fraud on TLC?

Okay, this is the question I have been asking myself since viewing the first two Extreme Couponing shows on TLC... "How the heck do you get $2,000 worth of groceries for a mere hundred?"

And yes, I am still on my coupon rant from yesterday!

I have gotten pretty good at couponing over the last six months with stacking coupons on top of sale items, but despite that, I keep wondering how this select group of people called 'extreme couponers' are able to buy thousands of dollars worth of items for pennies on the dollar or even get them for free.  In my case, even with an item on sale plus 2 coupons, the item only goes down in price a certain percent. It takes a lot of work to find the right cereal on sale at the time I have a coupons for it, and sometimes it simply doesn't work out that way.

Well, what do you know!!!  Here I am looking around on the Internet at some couponing sites, and check out what I discovered.  People are starting to question the TLC show, or rather the shoppers that have been profiled on the show, as to whether or not "Coupon Fraud" is being used in order to obtain items at these rock bottom prices.  Now, keep in mind, I am not in any way accusing anyone of anything.  This is simply information I came across while surfing the net.

According to the website Jill Cataldo (changing the way you shop forever), people had their guard up about one of the extreme couponers right from the get-go.  I am not going to make reference to this extreme couponer by name, but I am going to refer you to a few blog postings I read, so you can read them and draw your own conclusions.

It all seems real clear to me, and I think I have the answer to that question I kept asking myself.... "How the heck do they do it?"

TLC's Extreme Couponing raising controversy as new season approaches

Was coupon fraud shown on TLC's Extreme Couponing?

My guess is that we haven't heard the end of this..... especially if coupon fraud really did occur.

You might be wondering what the consequences are for coupon fraud. Well, there is a corporation called Coupon Information Corporation and they work directly with manufactures to help monitor the proper use of coupons. There is a lot of interesting information on their website, some of which I will pass along to you:

FACTS about Couponing Fraud from Coupon Information Corporation

• Coupon fraud occurs whenever someone intentionally uses a coupon for a product that he/she has NOT purchased or otherwise fails to satisfy the terms and conditions for redemption, when a retailer submits coupons for products they have not sold or that were not properly redeemed by a consumer in connection with a retail purchase; or when coupons are altered/counterfeited. These activities are almost always in violation of Federal, State or local laws. (hmmm... sounds like the TLC shopper might should be concerned if she knowingly used coupons for products not listed on the coupon, even if they were from the same manufacture)
• Not one defendant has been acquitted in a CIC related coupon fraud case since operations began in 1986 (sounds like you don't want them investigating you)
• Penalties for those convicted of coupon fraud related crimes vary by each case and the number of laws violated.As of this date, Longest prison sentence: 17 years
  Highest financial penalty: $5 million
  Prison sentences of three to five years are not uncommon. Financial penalties generally vary, but have often been in excess of $200,000

If you think you have a coupon that is too good to be true, they say it probably is.  You can visit this website to see a list of the most current fraudulent coupons.

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Extreme Couponing

You heard it here first.  I am coining a new disorder.  It's called Obsessive Couponing Disorder.  After watching the first two Extreme Couponing shows on TLC, I think this diagnosis is quite fitting.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for couponing. I actually started couponing about six months ago myself. I am just a typical mom looking to save a few bucks on our weekly grocery bill.  What's my couponing system? I visit lots of couponing sites to see what coupons I can print, review the weekly sales ads, usually buy the Sunday paper for the coupons, and might do a few other things in order to get a hot deal.  I even have a very small stockpile of some basics like mustard, laundry detergent, cereal, and such. I said small, meaning that I have about 5 bottles of mustard, 10 bottles of laundry detergent, and about 10 boxes of cereal (the family does go through about 3-4 boxes a week). BUT, I would not say that I qualify as one of TLC's extreme couponers, otherwise known as an Obsessed Couponer, and honestly, I don't think I want to be.  I will say that I have enjoyed watching the show, but I compare it to the likes of the other shows on TLC that I enjoy, such as Hoarding- Buried Alive and My Strange Addiction.

For the record, let me say again that I love saving money! But that's the extent of it. Couponing doesn't rule my life, I don't run out at 11:30 in the evening just to save fifty cents, I don't have the attitude of, "Why buy 1 toothbrush when you can buy an entire grocery buggie full", and I don't have a stockpile so big that I have to add $30,000 to my home owner's insurance.

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Definition of extreme:  of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average

Definition of obsession:  the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

If you haven't viewed TLC's show Extreme Couponing, just watch this video clip and see if you think this qualifies more as an "extremely obsessed couponer" than simply an extreme couponer. 

I really feel sorry for the husband in this clip. 

After watching these first two episodes, I have come to a conclusion. If you experience any of these symptoms, you might have Obsessive Couponing Disorder.

Signs that you have Obsessive Couponing Disorder

1. Your entire life revolves around couponing. For example, you spend 70 hours a week on couponing.
2. Your stockpiling takes over your entire house.  For example, your child has 100 rolls of toilet paper under their bed, in addition to the 250 rolls in the shower, and you seem to think he doesn't even know they are there.
3. You have to break your grocery trip into 18 different transactions in order to make it work, and you get agitated with the cashier when they accidentally scan an item in transaction 1 that was intended to be in transaction 2.
4. You clear the shelves of 62 bottles of mustard when your husband doesn't even like mustard.
5. When you add an 11th commandment that states, " Thou shalt not pay retail."
6. You spend 4 hours in the checkout line at the grocery store buying food you know your family won't eat.
7. You figure it's best to go ahead and clear the shelves because you have the coupons.... despite the fact that you aren't leaving items for the next customer.
8. The cash register actually freezes up because too many items have been scanned.
9. You get a feeling of exhilaration when you get a standing ovation at the checkout lane, and you finish it off with a tap dance.
10. You start getting heart palpitations when you watch the total get higher and higher before your coupons have been scanned.
11. You refer to your grocery shopping trip as a 'haul'.
12. You use terms while shopping, such as, "cart issue", "just start grabbing", "I lost count", "moving truck".

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