Mum shocked after being charged £47 for two bags of pick and mix at Winter Wonderland

2 December 2022, 10:55

The woman was left astounded at the cost of two bags of pix and mix. Picture: Alamy

The mum-of-two has now been offered a full refund from the company who charged the family just under £50 for two bags of sweets.

A mum from Mountain Ash has shared her shock after being charged £47 for two bags of pix and mix at Cardiff Winter Wonderland.

Rhiannon Brown, a health care worker, was at the Christmas attraction on 19th November when her two young children asked to get some sweets.

While Rhiannon said that she and her husband expected things to be pricey at Winter Wonderland, she was astounded when the staff at The Great British Fudge Company asked her for £47.26 for the two bags, which she said were half full.

Listen now on Global Player: Heart Xmas brings you all the best festive songs

The mum said that the fee, which they ended up paying, really "put a downer on the day".

Rhiannon and her family try and go to Cardiff Winter Wonderland every year. Picture: Alamy

Speaking about the incident, Rhiannon said: "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 round, 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, 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.

"We both made sure the kids never went over board. The bags were nowhere near half full, but nobody knows what 100g of sweets looks like."

The Great British Fudge Company have offered the family a full refund. Picture: Alamy

She went on: "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.

"It really put a downer on the day we had had. Nobody nowadays can afford to spend £47 on a pick n mix."

Rhiannon said that the company should have bags on display showing how much they would cost on average so people aren't shocked when they go to pay.

She added: "They had one weighing scales from what I could see attached to the till where people were queuing to pay, so it wouldn't be as easy as weighing as you go.

"I would definitely go back to Winter Wonderland - we loved it and yes, it's pricey but expected. But I can't say I'll be returning to this company."

Related video:

Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer turn on Christmas with Heart Breakfast

The Great British Fudge Company have since offered Rhiannon a full refund for the pix and mix.

They also released a statement which reads: "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."