Tesco Clubcard tattooed dad refuses to shop at supermarket after prices soar
A dad-of-three who made his Tesco Clubcard permanent by tattooing its barcode on his wrist has revealed he no longer shops at the supermarket, branding its prices too high.
A man who went to extreme lengths to make sure he never forgot his Tesco Clubcard has revealed he has now ditched the supermarket – claiming its prices have gone through the roof.
Dad-of-three Dean Mayhew, 34, famously had his Clubcard barcode tattooed on his wrist in July 2022, allowing him to scan his loyalty card directly at the till.
But the scaffolder, from Bideford, north Devon, says the novelty has worn off after he decided Tesco had become far too expensive for his family. He said: "I don't even shop at Tesco anymore,” adding that the Clubcard was not good value. “You might get a couple of products a little bit cheaper but they're the ones no one wants anyway."
Dean had the unusual tattoo inked by artist Dan Rossetter, 39, at A Star Tattoo in Chessington, Surrey, on July 16, 2022. Having considered the idea for months, he wasted no time putting it to the test, heading straight to his nearest Tesco Express to see if the barcode would scan. And it worked perfectly.
Dean told Sell Us Your Story: "Sometimes when I go in there, the cashier doesn't believe it's real – I have to tell them 'just scan it please!' and they're shocked."
But the bargain-hunting dad claims his weekly food bill eventually became too much to stomach. He said a midweek shop for just a few days' food was costing his family around £200, adding that he has not done a weekly shop at Tesco for more than a year. Instead, he now heads to Morrisons or Asda, which he says offer better value.
Research by Which? comparing 93 popular groceries across eight major supermarkets found an average basket cost £186.71 at Asda, against £193.45 at Tesco. With a Clubcard, Tesco's total fell to £187.71.
Despite his supermarket switch, Dean still occasionally puts his unusual ink to use when grabbing a lunchtime meal deal. He said: "Every now and then I get a meal deal from Tesco. No one can complain about a meal deal, you know, £3.50 for a drink, crisps and sandwich."
And while he may have fallen out of love with Tesco, Dean insists he has no regrets about his unusual tattoo. "It's in the past, you know. And it's a conversation starter. It's just a laugh isn't it."