A total of eight supermarket chains in the UK have agreed to make sure that the special offers and price promotions offered by them are fair and clear to the customers following an investigation launched by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The OFT launched an investigation after customers in the UK expressed concerns that these offers are confusing and misleading. The eight super markets will now code these promotions in order to make them fair and understandable.

Under the new code, the supermarkets will not be allowed to claim that multi-buy packs of food are better value deals if the products can be purchased cheaper separately in the store. The stores will also be barred from increasing the price of a product just to decrease it later and claim that it is offering a discount to the customers.

The new code will also be restricted from keeping products on discount for a time that is longer than the time for which the product was priced higher. Retail chains often put about 4 in 10 products on some type of offers but research has shown that several multi-buy, 3-for-2 or buy-one-get-one-free offers do not offer products cheaper than they can be purchased separately.

Clive Maxwell, the chief executive of the OFT said that several customers are highly doubtful of the special offers being offered by the supermarkets.

"Household budgets across the country are under pressure and shoppers should be able to trust that special offers and promotions really are bargains. Prices and promotions need to be fair and meaningful so shoppers can make the right decisions," he said.