TLC's Extreme Couponing - Extremely WRONG

We at $aving Toward A Better Life and Luxury Living Frugal Style  feel very strongly about this issue! Coupon fraud hurts everyone. You can see the other posts pertaining to this issue and TLC here and here

It came out not too long after last week's episode aired that Jaime Kirlew has in the past knowingly committed coupon fraud, videoed it and posted it on the internet and taught coupon classes where she taught other people how to commit the coupon fraud as well!  One of the methods she teaches is to "decode" the coupons.  Coupons have UPCs just like products do.  For the register to take a coupon it has to be "coded" to work the product UPC.  Sometimes coupons will scan and be accepted by the register for the wrong product because it has the same "code" - usually these are products within the same brand.  Just because the register doesn't kick the coupon out doesn't mean it's right to use a Crest toothpaste coupon to buy a Crest toothbrush.  The coupon should be used for the product listed on the coupon - any other use is fraud.

Jaime posted videos online showing her couponing "practices".  Although she took them off her own site, nothing that has been put on the internet can ever truly be erased.  Here is one video:



Here is what it wrong in this video:

• Her Olay Coupon She used a $5/1 Olay coupons.... while that may seem like a problem the only OLAY coupon for $5 was off of OLAY Regenerist!  She used them on ANY Olay products.  WRONG!

Lucky Charms- She bought the single serve ones and used printable coupons on them.  Every printable on cereals I have seen has always had a size restriction and the single serve have never been included.

   

She argues with the cashier about her coupons and why they do not scan, well they are not scanning because she used THE WRONG coupons!  (Not that she used too many)

   

THERE IS NO SUCH COUPON AS $5 OFF WINDEX!!!!!

These are not the only coupon fraud issues in this video - however fraud is fraud no matter how much or how little!

TLC should have never allowed this person on the show.  They need to hire coupon experts to run background checks and analyze a couponer's methods before allowing them on the show!  TLC is playing a part (can't decide if it's knowingly or unknowingly) in (1) giving couponer's a bad name, (2) giving stores a reason to make it more difficult to coupon correctly and (3) making manufacturer's less likely to be so generous with the coupons they put out.

Thank you Jill at Supercouponing.com for e-mailing the links to these videos.

TLC's Extreme Couponing or Extreme Fraud?

Yesterday, we dissected the concept behind the show and all the flaws that it had (it's impractical, it doesn't actually teach you how to do the couponing, it sheds a bad light on couponers and makes us all look like hoarders, etc...)

I also mentioned a case of outright coupon fraud on last week's new episode. 

Lauren at Luxury Living, Frugal Style has been doing some research on this particular segment of the last week's show and the "bloggers" featured on it.

I wish TLC had done their homework before selecting people, like Jaime Kirlew, who has shown that their coupon ethics and usage of coupons, is not always ethical or legal, there have been many blogs posting about this person. Using coupons on products that they are not intended for is FRAUD and STEALING! In my opinion by having this person on the show, TLC is saying that unethical coupon usage, fraud and stealing are acceptable!

Would you support Etsy if they allowed offensive material to be sold?

Jade at Hungry at the Speed of Life has contacted Etsy about some horribly offensive and downright abhorrent material being sold by one user in the name of "artistic expression". 

These items are in clear violation of Etsy's own terms of use but even after being reported, Etsy stands by this sellers right to sell his items.

What are they?  Greeting cards with messages like "Congratulations on being raped" and "Congratulations!  You've got breast cancer" and "Congratulations, your kid has downs syndrome" with an offensive picture and caption.

You can read the e-mails she has sent to and received from Etsy regarding the matter here.

If you are a member of Etsy, please join us in contacting Etsy.  I've already sent them my e-mail!