Coupon Fraud, Just because you can do it doesn't make it right!

I was going to wait till tomorrow, but the kids are asleep, the hubby is asleep, and the dogs and cat are actually behaving, it's a rare opportunity of peace here in the Ruczynski household.

I am a member of a group on Facebook, a coupon swapping group. It's awesome, helpful, and a group of awesome women. But either from ignorance of desperation, it happened. I got a fraudulent coupon! The thing is I didn't even look close enough to see that it happened! Someone, and I don't even know for sure who it was, had printed me off Enfagrow coupons 2 of them.. I just know that I had $20 worth of Enfagrow checks, and 2 $5 off Enfagrow coupons. I went to Walmart with a plan. I matched Meijer's ad for prices with the 1 Enfagrow (lowered the price by a dollar, and $4/10 Beech Nut 3rd foods for Abby and I also price matched 2 Tubs of enfamil. My plan was to buy 2 Tubs of Enfagrow. Didn't happen. As I was going through the Tobacco Aisle check out (easiest when you have coupons, the Managers are right there and they usually get called) the Manager and I were checking off my coupons when she noticed it. My Enfagrow coupons, they were the same. All the numbers, letters, everything. I had been Frauded, I almost frauded them! I explained myself, and luckily this Manager has seen me there before and I am always honest and thankful for the help and time I take, she understood. I got lucky! It is an arrestable offense! I am just hoping that now they are not "watching" me closer. I didn't mean to do it and I corrected it as soon as I realized what had happened. But still, I felt embarrassed, guilty, and upset.

So, Today I am talking about this. Coupon Fraud is the same as theft. If you copy, change, or alter the coupon in any way, shape, or form, you are essentially stealing from the store. If you get caught, not only are you chancing charges being filed, you are also taking a chance on your luck to be able to use coupons at that store again. If to many people commit coupon fraud, eventually the stores are going to get stricter and stricter on their coupon policies, making it more and more difficult to save money. When you pass on copied or altered coupons, you can hurt someone else's chances of being able to coupon properly.

While I am extremely grateful for these wonderful ladies in the group I am in, I was also disappointed that this could happen. I am hoping that it is just plain ignorance that allowed this to happen . In the mean time, I will be double and triple checking any coupons that I receive!