Well, well, well… Extremeing Couponing star J’amie Kirlew has finally responded in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal regarding allegations of committing coupon fraud, as seen on her television appearance on the series premier episode of Extreme Couponing, which aired on April 6th on TLC. She appeared on the first episode of TLC’s 12-part series and cut nearly $14,000 off her grocery bill last year by clipping coupons. She stockpiled over 100 cleaning wipes, 450 rolls of toilet paper and 250 paper towels at her home in Montgomery Village, Md.
Here’s the full exclusive interview with Kirlew:
How have you been since the show aired?
Kirlew: My episode still airs and I still have a crazy amount of cruelness online. I have received anonymous emails. The attack was just relentless. The national response has been so incredibly cruel with some people saying, “Please remove J’aime from your show.” People have purchased ads with my name online. Everyone else is profiting off this, and used this story to direct people to their websites and to buy their e-book and DVD. But I’ve had a lot of positive comments and emails.
How has TLC been with the media backlash?
TLC didn’t prepare me whatsoever. I felt like a fish thrown amongst the sharks. The channel was the publicity liaison to hook me up with the various media outlets that want to speak to me. In no way shape or form do I feel like they have helped me in how to respond.
(TLC declined to comment, but told Pay Dirt last month: “Any of the cast’s strategies are unique and their own to comment on.”)
You matched barcodes, as long as they worked, rather than products, right?
Yes.
Do you believe that was the right thing to do?
Yes, I believe that I have done nothing wrong. I’ve even had managers take my purchase and check me out. They’ve told me, “If the coupon goes through at my register, I’m getting reimbursed for it.” I have never been approached by anyone in authority telling me to do something different.
Will you change your methods now that manufacturers are changing the barcode system?
I do not intend to change my shopping habits unless or until the code changes. If it is in fact a problem, the new GS1 barcode should resolve all of these issues.
And what about the comments from the Coupon Information Corporation?
Regarding those individuals that Mr. Miller is looking for, I don’t fall into that category. I’ve never copied coupons, I’ve never created my own coupons, I’ve never redeemed any other coupon other than what comes in the coupon inserts from the newspapers or legitimate online, printable manufacturer coupons.
How did you get started clipping coupons?
I knew nothing about couponing until my husband took a pay cut. I saw BeCentsAble on Good Morning America. I contacted them and purchased their DVD and got started.
Is this where you learned to match codes as well as products?
The DVD had one step called “Coupon Strategies: Reading Coupons,” which specifies that you must match the first five numbers on the bar code on the product and the bar code on the coupon and that, if these numbers match, your coupon will scan.
(BeCentsAble founder Chrissy Pate told Pay Dirt that their code matching strategy was designed to match products not pictured on the coupon, but ones that were still specified for use by the coupon: Pate says, “We had no idea people were misinterpreting what we were saying. Some coupons put the most expensive Tylenol picture on coupon, but the coupon was designed to be used for other Tylenol bottles too. We changed our DVD and sent out lots of correspondence not to talk about barcodes because this was being misunderstood.”)
What do you want from this interview?
I want to stop being the Scapegoat. I used a Buddig Deli cut for a 12/16 ounce packet for a 2 ounce packet because the numbers matched. The coupons went through at the register and I did not have any problem.
Bud Miller, the executive director, of the Alexandria, Va.-based Coupon Information Corporation, which represents the manufacturers of coupons issued in the U.S., says it’s not a gray area: “Coupons are a contract and the controlling barcodes are merely a method of processing coupons, so any use of a coupon to produce a product other than stated in the plain language of the coupon is considered fraudulent.” Manufacturers are now changing their barcode system to prevent coupons being used for other products that work with the same barcode.
As couponers, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with J’amie? Is she at fault? If not, who’s to blame?
(Source: WSJ)
Comments on this entry are closed.
I don’t know how she justifies how she shops. The coupon specifically SAYS that the coupon is good for the product specified in the picture. She is definitely not being honest about it and giving the rest of us a bad image! Be honest about it and nobody has to suffer the consequences.
Coupons (a lot of the times) show pictures of the most expensive. You don’t have to buy the exact product in the picture. I sense a lot of jealousy!!! Get it together and be an adult. GROW UP!!! If you don’t like what someone else is doing, then keep it to yourself. It is her life….not yours.
When a coupon states “on any”, then no, you don’t have to buy the item pictured, but using a $10 Crest white-strip coupon on Bounty towels is nothing short of theft. That has nothing to do with jealousy, so maybe you need to be an adult and grow up. I don’t like one bit what she’s doing, and I will not keep it to myself. It’s because of people like her that cause the stores to change their coupon policy, which in turn causes the rest of us to pay higher prices.
Thank You Melissa so well said and i will keep my opinion to myself but I think she new what she was doing because she had watched the video and it basically told how the bar codes worked an all it took was 1 tell tell if you were on the right track and BOOM! she took it and ran with it.
Actually, for instance that Budding coupon that she was talking about.. i had it. It specified the size you were supposed to use it on. I believe it was 12-16 oz, not 2 oz. She is committing coupon fraud. She cannot use a coupon for something when it specifically states on the coupon that it is to be used for another product. She is using a loophole to rip off stores and manufacturers. No one would be jealous of this woman.
She is at fault for using coupons in the wrong manner- I have seen video’s of her in target telling them- just push the K1 button (over ride) for the majority of her coupons- so much for her theory of if they scan they are fine!!! I do not agree with her tactics, nor do I endorse them. She should be ashamed of herself and what she is teaching those in her classes- for which she charges $$, Sells her own DVD’s, etc. She is profiting big time from this- don’t let her fool you!
She is admitting to fraud!
I agree 100%!
She knew she wasn’t buying the right product.
If a coupon is good for a certain size,type, etc. and she knowingly used if for something else…
She knew she was doing wrong and didn’t care! Still doesn’t care.
She might as well just start Making fake Dollar bills!! lol
I would too like to learn how to coupon…its NOT a bad thing. I think its great she wants to share her expertise with us. I say Go J’amie!! 🙂
the Best way to “start” is at a Walgreens because has their monthly coupon booklet/catalog in the front of the store, grab it.. find your item that you have a manufactures cpn for (ex). 50 cents off, in their booklet they also have a cpn for $1.00 off… you can use both, called stacking.. even on BOGO use (2) 50 cents off coupons for the BOGO and they can be free depending on how much.. so worth it ..using cpns.. 🙂
Using coupons is not a bad thing. Buying something other than what the coupon states is a BAD thing…
She’s not showing her “expertise”. She’s cheating plain and simple.
She admits it! There are many other sources that show how to coupon the right way.
Yea she is sharing her expertise on how to be convicted for fraud keep learning from her and you 2 can be cellmates LOL . . .
Janet, what don’t you understand about the concept of fraud here? The wording on the coupon is the governing language. That means if the coupon states that it can be used for a specific minimum size of a particular product(s), you CANNOT use it for a smaller or trial size or any other product not listed. THAT IS FRAUD. Manufacturers most likely will not reimburse the retailer the cost of the item because the retailer didn’t sell the item. If all couponers did this, retailers would lose money and jack up the prices of items just like they do to recoup the costs of shoplifting. Committing fraud with coupons in the manner that J’aime does is tantamount to shoplifting and will result in changes that will affect people who actually need to and rely on using coupons to put food on the table, like my family. So, you might want to rethink your cavalier attitude.
Isn’t fraud a felony? I think she should be punished.
First off no one MADE her do this so how is she a scapegoat? Now if TLC came to her & asked her to use coupons wrong than I could see her point, but they didn’t.
Secondly, she contacted the store to see if she could use these coupons in this manner & they told her that she couldn’t. Why did she still try & why wasn’t she stopped? Something sounds fishy there.
Third, her reasoning would be like a bank robber thinking that robbing a bank isn’t a big deal because it’s insured by the FDIC.
Lastly, she has been busted doing this before & was told then that it was wrong. She stated that she didn’t know better but yet she keeps right on doing the same thing over & over & over again. There are plenty of extreme couponers who have a stock pile bigger than her’s & they used coupons correctly. What she is doing isn’t special, any idiot can walk into a store & steal. I hope that stores & manufacturers will finally take action against her. I am sick of people like her ruining it for the rest of us who try to use coupon correctly.
This is a classic case of “What can I get away with?” These kinds of people don’t care who gets hurt as long as they can get what they want and not get into trouble. She is not taking responsability for her own actions and clearly gives the challenge, “If you want me to stop, then make it impossible for me to do this, otherwise, I’ll just keep going even if you tell me I’m not supposed to.” Grow up lady!
She has clearly figured out how to get away with it
Yet when I offer my target and man q at target, they’re scrutinized with a magnifying glass every time.
Disgusting, she is why the stores are changing their policies etc. She and other folks who scam the system, the very system that is supposed to assist us with saving money. She should be in jail.
I think she is selfish. why would she need 450 rolls of toilet paper? My husband was mad that we had 96 rolls ( two 48 roll packs). She should be donating some of it or not buying so much! No wonder people don’t like her.
totally agree, not only that i have heard people saying they had to throw away meat that was kept in there freezer too long from stockpiling to much.
they should be giving that stuff to the needy or leave it in the store for someone else to buy that will actually eat it.
There is nothing worse then going to the store and trying to buy items you have legite coupons for and the shelf is empty from people stock piling to much.
Coupons, no matter what is pictured have a WRITTEN DESCRIPTION, if the description did not match what she was buying it was FRAUD and is a CRIME. All this woman has done now is make it harder for us legitimate couponers (non-extreme, just mega)to get thru the check out. She is a crook and should be prosecuted.
I totally agree with you. Alot of stores have problems with coupon shoppers because of a few thieves out there that can’t read.
As far as I know, the picture is not whats important, it`s the writing on the coupon. She is in the wrong and the bad thing is, she knows it and still thinks she is in the right. I got mad when I saw her show, she is one of those ppl taking advantage of the system and thats why so many store change theyr policys and look at you funny when you walk up with your coupons. DO IT THE RIGHT WAY!!!!!
She knowingly used a coupon for the wrong product and was scamming. To me it’s no different than stealing.We all save money couponing and are honest with the stores, manufactuers, and most importantly ourselves. Justify it any way you want J’aime but your wrong.
i think the whole show is wrong… these people abuse the system and are greedy about it… it’s a rush, i get it… BUT find how to get a rush and live with maybe 10 boxes of noodles stocked in your pantry rather than 100!! as a couponer myself, i will not watch this show… it portrays a negative image to us normal couponers.
If I am to believe Jamie than she was simply ignorant. If she truly misunderstood what she was learning regarding bar codes, then fine. However, once it is brought to light and you CONTINUE to fraudulently use the bar code strategy, you should be punished.
Ignorance is acceptable until you learn right from wrong, then you have to take responsibility and be held accountable.
Ignorance is not an acceptable legal defense. Regardless of how she spins it, her actions constitute fraud. She knows this and admits that she will continue her actions until she is stopped. As a result, stores all over the country are changing coupon policies and ending double/triple coupon days. Let’s all send her ‘thank you’ cards. 🙂
Hmmm….as it might be said down here in the South, “ole girl done messed up”. First of all, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that when you use a coupon, you use it for the item(s) that is/are specified. Just because the bar code scans doesn’t mean that you can use that Q on a completely different item. Next, she has admitted publicly that she is committing coupon fraud and should face the consequences. If Store Managers are not concerned that they are assisting in committing fraud, well, they need to be looking for somewhere else to work. With that being said, she was wrong. She knows she was wrong and she is going to continue to be wrong until someone makes a believer out of her. It’s folks like this that makes it hard for folks that try to be honest couponers.
Amen girl! This southern girl will not cheat using coupons!
I have always used coupons and i have never thought about bar codes i used they coupon for what it was for (Bar Codes) shows that she was scamming and knew it Ole Girl goin to jail
I am totally against this and was disgusted by it in the beginning…but BeCentsAble kinda just told off on themselves of where she misiterpreted…i think it is pretty common sense about the pix….the wording will say….for use on this, this, this, and that….i think that company has some blame to take themselves…tey knew what they were talking about w/ the barcode situation…..and SHE should have known that what they were teaching was cheating…i think they both have gotten the bad reviews they each deserve. It is similar to the letters/emails you get that say a Nigerian prince needs you to cash a check for them and you will get a large sum of money…you KNOW it isn’t right *(little do u know ur getting screwed bc the check will bounce and u’ll be way overdrawn)* but hte premise is you KNOW that it isn;t fair for you to get 1,000 bucks just for cashing a check…but you do it out of greed….which is what her and becentsable were doing/teaching….oh well, their scheme will be blotted out once the new coupon scanners start being used 🙂
Her practices are going to punish all couponers. 🙁 If she used the coupons as is legal (and yes, sometimes it does show the most expensive bottle of Tylenol, but the wording explains that it can be used on any Tylenol or something of that sort–it’s not hard to just pay attention to the plain text wording rather than matching barcodes), couponers all over the U.S. wouldn’t be facing new coupon rules coming down the pipe, which could change couponing as we know it. So sad.
She has caused problems for the rest of us who use our coupons correctly. Now stores believe that we are trying to use the coupons incorrectly, and we have to prove that we are doing it the right way. Integrity is always more important than money. No amount of money can buy integrity.
well put! Integrity has become a foreign concept to too many people in the world (not everyone though!)
Pretty soon companies are going to stop with coupons altogether if this kind of stuff keeps up. Why do people have to go and wreck a good thing?
What ‘s done is done. She should be made to donate some of the items to local shelters and food banks. On the coupon the picture sometimes has nothing to do with what size item you can purchase of that product. You have to read the coupon. Having a stockpile of nonfood and food items within in reason is a good idea. With they way things are today you never know what can happen down the road.
My question is why does any sane and rational person need to stockpile a hundred boxes of wipes? My biggest gripe is when people stockpile so much, that when other people go into the store to purchase an item, there isn’t any left. It drives me nuts. Not to mention it gives those of us who coupon in a rational (and legal) manner a bad name!
there are some people that just have to beat the system. ms. kirlew is one of them. her ego got the best of her when she was able to get her 15 minutes of fame. she didn’t think anyone else would notice what she was doing? i understand the fear that comes from the loss of income.however that does not give you the right to cheat.
way to justify being a thief… jerk
I think that purposefully using a coupon for an item OTHER THAN IT SPECIFIES – even if the codes match up, is wrong. period. If the coupon is 50 cents off of 12 oz package, it is NOT for a 2 oz package EVEN if the codes match! This whole crazy-coupon-craze has go to stop or people who use them legitimately (like most of us) will lose out on the savings that we currently enjoy.
TLC isn’t doing any of us a favor by exploiting the issue and making couponers look like crazed cheaters.
The big problem with this is that it is not just her being punished for this. In the end all couponers get punished for her wrong doing. The stores end up changing their coupon policies when stuff like this happens. For instance here in Cincinnati Ohio Kroger stores recently changed their policy just because of extreme couponers like herself. So it is frusterating when the ones of us out there are doing it correct get punished in the long run.
Using Coupons to buy a 2oz package when it clearly states 12/16 oz is dishonest. The coupon might work ona 2oz package but it is still going against what is written on the coupon even if the barcodes do match up..that is the reason barcodes will probably be changed…people are just not honest. I would not doubt if coupons eventually disappeared altogether due to mis-use and dishonesty…What will happen when the stores are tired of it? We all will lose over someone being greedy.
It’s people like her that are affecting ALL of us ‘honest’ couponers. Stores are opting out of accepting coupons or changing their policies because of this. I think if she would’ve said “I honestly didn’t know….blah blah” and that was the end of it, it wouldn’t be so disappointing. But the fact of her admiting she will knowlingly KEEP DOING IT makes her a thief and a DCH! (those of you who also follow KCL know what DCH means!)
I know the economy is tough and we are ALL in the same boat, but NEVER would I do something illegal just to get some ‘free’ items. 🙁
It is amazing she continues to deny any illegal activity. The evidence is plain for anyone to see. It’s the same as stealing. No wonder stores are restricting their coupon policies and manufacturers are changing their bar codes. If more people copied J’amie’s ways they’d go bankrupt.
I can’t believe she’s not being prosecuted.
the store makes there money because they send those coupons off to the manuafacturer to collect that money………its not right for the manuf. to pay the store on items the customer never even purchased.
Actually, the store does not make their money. The manufacture knows what was sold and will not pay when the store takes a coupon that is being used fraudulently. Then the store has to raise prices for everyone to try to recoup that cost.
I kept watching and wondering how one could gather such a large stockpile of paper goods for little or nothing. I know our single income household could use it. At the same time, I’m not about to cheat the system. I have a hard enough time when I use coupons the right way and have to fight to get them to work. Makes me sick.
If she bought something that was not included based on the WORDING on the coupon, then I say FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD.
Ok friends….I withdraw my comment from earlier…Yes,she does need to be in handcuffs…I researched this and theres no way she can double coupons (most say this cant be double or one per user) its illegal
I have decided I know why these people coupon to the extreme! It has to do with the overage. They don’t have the money to begin with, so they have to buy mass quantities of any given product in order to be able to afford the groceries they actually needed. That is my theory:-)
I don’t see her being at fault. I believe it’s the company that had a bad system and needs to fix it. She just figured out the flaw and worked it. I know if a company has a super cheap product for sale (even if it is a mistake), I will take advantage of it. I have to say, I would have done what she did if I knew about it. I think it’s using your smarts. ; ) If it was a problem, the company should have done something about it a long time ago. The only reason they are fixing it now is because she has made it public on national tv that she works the system. If I find a glitch or a way to score something for my family cheaper, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to steal, but I’ll take advantage of a great deal or whatever if I can. : )
I think as couponers it’s important to follow the rules and laws that we need to in order to prevent future problems from arising…look at it this way….what will happen if they prevent us from using coupons because of people that are doing these “dirty deeds”. Bad apples can ruin the whole batch and we’ve seen this time and time again. People breaking the laws, will only cause them to be more strict and harsh, which will place limits on our coupons and products that we can purchase. These stores are doing us a favor by allowing up to receive free products…keep this crap up…and we’ll be lucky to get anything half price!
Very well put! I am a new couponer after becoming disablied and having people ruin this very good thing for the rest of us is horrible to see. I have to admit I was slightly put off couponing further after hearing what occurred here because I did not want to be associated with it. But I have decided that there are so many others that do it for the right reasons I refuse to let this bad act effect my ability to help my family. I would say after admitting to fraud the only reasonable action would be to charge her to show that is is not tolerated.
People like her make all couponers look bad, we are just trying to save on our grocery bill, she is not a scapegoat, she is a cheater.
She works as a part-time paralegal and should have the intelligence to understand the fine print on the coupons. I will not do business with lawyers whose employee is doing an obvious fraudulent activity. The law firm that hired her needs to fire her.
I am sure stores are now ON ALERT everytime she comes in.
Um, guess what? The store doesn’t make their money. READ THE COUPON. Coupons clearly state what products and what sizes the coupons apply to. They also state how much the retailer will be reimbursed for selling the product. The retailer actually has to SELL the product, not another product or the wrong size. Even if the coupons slipped through the system and the manufacturer reimbursed the retailers, somewhere down the line it will catch up. This is tantamount to SHOPLIFTING, THEFT. It will ultimately catch up in the system somewhere and result in changes that affect the rest of us who need to use and rely on coupons. Neither my husband nor I would rather sit on our fat butts, which neither of us has. My husband lost his job because of the economy and I’ve got severe restrictive lung disease from radiation and chemo when I was in my 20s. I would give just about anything to be healthy and able to earn an income. My husband can’t stand being unemployed. Unless YOU think it’s O.K. to steal, then she HAS done something wrong, not only wrong, but ILLEGAL.
Coupon fraud is when you use a coupon for an item that it is not intended for. Reading bar codes so the register doesn’t “beep” in order to get away with using a coupon for an item that it is not intended for is very much so a fraudulent use of coupons. It doesn’t come down to whether a coupon scans or not in order for the companies she is scamming to be reimbursed. If that is what she is being told, they are very much mistaken.
When coupons are submitted for reimbursement, the corporation must provide documentation to support it’s request for the reimbursement. For instance, Target submits 2000 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotion coupons, but their documentation shows they only sold 500 Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotions, guess what? Target will only be reimbursed for the 500 coupons… Also, if the coupon has the expiration date cut off, (like so many unethical couponers do), the coupon is invalid and will not be submitted.
A last comment, do people not realize that companies can track printable internet coupons back to the IP address of the computer they came from? Photocopying internet coupons is not only illegal, but will get your IP blacklisted?
And, Ms. Kirlew, it’s because of people like you that give all the ethical couponers a bad name, why coupons will one day no longer be accepted, and why the abuse of the Register Reward program is prompting Walgreens to discontinue it within the next year or so – if not sooner.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US ALL A BAD NAME.
Kirlew keeps making up lies and forgets what she has said. First she said that she learned how to coupon from a friend and was hooked. Then she says that she learned from becentable while watching GMA one morning. Then she says that all her coupons went through on the show, but yet as you watch the show all the coupons beeped. So they did not go through. This woman constantly talks in circles and forgets what she has said.
Also on a radio talk show last week when asked a question about her trip on the show, about how she had a conversation with the spokesman for Safeway. And she was told that she could not use her coupons the way she always did. She stated that the conversation never happened. This show and this woman is going to ruin it for everyone
Hello! My name is Whitney Harris and I’m a broadcast journalism student at the University of Maryland. I recently shot an interview with J’aime Kirlew about coupon use for a one of my classes and I was wondering if anyone else in the Washington, DC area would also like to do a brief interview in the next few days as well. If so, please email me asap at [email protected]
If coupon code matching was crime, then Jamie would have been prosecuted. She did it on national TV and nothing was done and nothing has been doing and nothing will be done. It’s a gray area at best. I have personally witnessed managers having NO problem with coupon code matching, which means that they still get reimbursed.
Making copies of coupons is a crime and creating your own coupons is a crime, but product code matching is not.
It’s not hard to figure out that the manufacturers are just simply switching out the product picture on the coupons and changing the expiration date. They just rotate what product they want to push each week. What does this mean? It means that all the coupons of the same family and some of the same manufacturer will work on all their products. They are selling their products so why do they care? Answer — They don’t. It’s a multi-million dollar industry and stopping people from purchasing THEIR products is just not good business sense.
If they really wanted to stop this practice, it’s probably a an hours worth of software coding at best to make each product have a unique coupon code, yet curiously they haven’t changed it. Why? Because money is being made!
Why hasn’t this Jamie chick gotten into trouble? — Because millions are being made from the sales of their products!
All these Jesus freaks who spout their high horse crap on here makes me just laugh. If you aren’t smart enough to work the system, then go home. Smart business people work the gray areas. Just look at all the fortune 500 companies who are not paying ANY taxes on billions of dollars due to gray areas. Look at all these companies who just got out of the TARP program early in order to avoid having to pay penalties for paying their execs bonuses – Again a gray area.
Seriously people read a newspaper and find out what is going on in the world. Coupons are put out for you to purchase that company’s products. As long as the coupon works for one of “their” products then why would they have a problem? They don’t because they are making sales. Any and all comments to my post will be ignored because if you just morally disagree that doesn’t make you right.
cheating a system makes something great go away for everyone.
she lives in my “backyard” and now i know why i can have so many problems in my area shopping with my q’s. many call me an ECer due to my 50% – 90% each trip. but each is done legally, with the correct q’s. i can understand if there were a few opps q’s (we all have had the opps wrong q in the pile atleast once) but come on. if they say that decoding the barcodes is fraud then it is. you shouldnt be doing that. i know what safeway she shopped at for the show. it is in damascus, md about 15 minutes from me. a smaller town and store. i would hate to know how those honest couopners are being treated in that store. and the target store she shopped at in gaithersburg i heard got an email of her videos that showed the fraud and that they have a file on her. so now i would hate to go to that target (only 15 mins from me as well and bigger than the target down the street) and try to use coupons there, they must think we are all using them fraudulently.
i have a stockpile and love it to death. but my stockpile and feeding my family isnt worth me going to jail or even arrested over a coupon.