Mother charged £15 for pumpkins after forking out £38 for Halloween farm event

• An Edinburgh mother felt ‘robbed’ after being charged £15 for two pumpkins
• She thought they were £4 each but ended up paying £53 in total for the visit
• Have you been ripped off for Halloween? Email [email protected] 

An Edinburgh mother says she was shocked to be charged £15 for pumpkins after forking out £38 for a special Halloween farm event.

The mother visited Craigie’s Farm on Saturday with her children and was excited for a fun day out which they do every year together.

But the regular visitor said she was left feeling ‘robbed’ when she was charged £15 – including a 10 per cent discount – for two pumpkins on top of the money she had already paid for the event.

The Edinburgh local, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was baffled when she was charged £53 at the checkout as she thought the medium-sized pumpkins were £4 each.

The loyal customer hit out at the business for prioritising ‘profit over customer experience’ and feels they’re now ‘all about the money’.    

These are the two pumpkins the Edinburgh mother paid £15 for at the Halloween event

The mother visited Craigie’s Farm on Saturday with her children for a fun day out together

The family visited popular Craigie’s Farm to take part in their Halloween event, Spooky Tunnels.    

The website selling tickets for the event reads: ‘Tickets include entry into the picking fields, just pay for what you pick!’ 

The Edinburgh mother said she made sure to avoid the ‘monster’ pumpkins because they were being advertised for £20 each, so the family chose medium ones instead.

She said she remembers these being advertised for between £3 and £4 but Craigie’s Farm have admitted that all the pumpkins that are grown on the farm are priced to reflect the ‘true cost of nurturing them from seed’.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, the mother said: ‘We have been visiting Craigie’s Farm for a few years in a row now and it’s always been such a nice experience. 

READ MORE – Global chocolate shortage hits ahead of Halloween 

‘We actually got a discount which meant we got 10 per cent off our booking. We opted to book on to the spooky tunnels event for the younger ones.

‘So we paid the money for that which was £11 per adult and £8 per child. We did the event and then went and picked our pumpkins afterwards.

‘I noticed that there was a chalkboard sign showing all of the prices. I glanced at it and saw at the bottom that monster pumpkins were prices at £20 which I made sure to avoid. 

‘In my head I thought we would leave with two medium pumpkins which I think were around £4 each – at least that was what the board said.

‘We chose our pumpkins, queued to pay and when we were served, they measured the size of the pumpkins to see how big they were. 

‘He said the total would be £15 including the 10 per cent discount. I tapped my card and it wasn’t until afterwards that I thought about how much I had been charged.

‘The price we paid wasn’t accurate with what was on the price board… I ended up getting so annoyed because I just felt like it was so much to be charged for two pumpkins.’

In total, the family were charged £53 for their day out, which left the mother ‘disappointed’ looking back on the day.  

However, she admitted that her daughter really enjoyed the ‘spooky tunnels’ event and that it was the price of the pumpkins that have let her down. 

After being a loyal customer for years, she believes Craigie’s farm is now focusing on ‘profit over customer experience’.

She said: ‘I feel really disappointed after what was already an expensive day out to then have to fork out on two pumpkins is just so upsetting, especially since it wasn’t the price I was expecting. 

‘Of course, if I had thought about it at the checkout I would have questioned it.

‘It’s a totally trivial thing – you know you are going to spend money when you go to these sorts of things but I have left like feeling like I have been robbed. Their prices just don’t add up.

‘As someone who has been going to Craigie’s farm for years since it first opened it now just feels like they don’t have the customer in mind and it’s all about the money.’

A spokesperson from Craigie’s Farm said: ‘We’re delighted to hear that she and her family enjoyed our Halloween experience. 

‘Our spooky tunnels, interactive characters, storytellers, games, illuminations, and other spooky treats have been a huge hit, earning fantastic five-star reviews on TripAdvisor. We’re grateful for the support of all our visitors, who help our family business employ 85 people in the local area.

‘In response to her concern about the cost of the pumpkins, all our pumpkins are grown on our farm, and the prices reflect the true cost and effort of nurturing them from seed. 

‘While we always aim to provide value, it’s unfair to compare our pick-your-own pumpkins and the experience that provides with those found at a supermarket.’

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