topic Grocery store over charge in Community Chat

Grocery store over charge

SeaMaiden — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 23:48:35 GMT

I understand mistakes happen with over charges at grocery stores. But this time I am boiling mad.

We shop at a local Safeway most of the time. Last Saturday they had Broccoli on sale for $1.49 a pound. My husband did the shopping that day and when I checked the receipt when he got home, I saw that the broccoli was rang up at $2.99 a pound.

So the next day I went back to the store customer service desk and showed the clerk the mistake...a $5.00 mistake! I told her that the price is wrong in their system and they need to fix it. She could have cared less...she was frazzled and short tempered when she handed me back the money due.

So this Saturday husband goes shopping....broccoli is still at $1.49 a pound. He mentions to the girl ringing him up that the broccoli price was wrong AGAIN... it rang up at $2.99 a pound 😡.

Husband went to the CS desk and explained the mistake AGAIN. Told the CS person at this was SECOND TIME we were over charged for the same thing. Another $5.00 overcharge.

I imagine in two weeks time 100's of people bought broccoli and never checked their receipt.....got ripped off for a mistake that should have been corrected last week!

I plan to send Safeway/ Albertsons Corporate an email about this ... they need to know that this is going on and tell them how up set I am about it. Someone is not doing their job.

Re: Grocery store over charge

OfCourse — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 23:53:35 GMT

I don't blame you for being annoyed. After the first overcharge, there was absolutely no excuse for them to have kept the wrong price in the system.

Re: Grocery store over charge

BirdieGal — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 23:56:11 GMT

My Safeway makes the same kind of mistakes all the time as well. I really do not like having to watch the item screen like a hawk to make sure the info is correct. That is their job, the store, not mine.

I always check my receipt before I walk out just in case I missed something in the ringing up process.

One day I put my membership card number in the pad and the clerk rang up my items. She gave me the total and I had not been checking the screen. She apparently forgot to push whatever she was supposed to push after I enter my number because none of the items got my club card price. I paid with my debit card then discovered my overcharge. She said all she could do was give me cash back. The difference was like $60.00

Now when I shop Safeway I write a check and if that ever happened again I would just write another check.

I also shop at Winco sometimes. They have things there that Safeway doesn't. They NEVER make mistakes. Ever. Customer service there is also top notch.

Re: Grocery store over charge

Mominohio — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 23:59:28 GMT

This happens on a regular basis at the store I frequent the most. I have to be very vigilant at the checkout.

And you are right, nobody working there cares one bit. They simply give the refund if you are astute enough to catch the error.

Service is poor most everywhere these days, and it is frustrating.

Re: Grocery store over charge

SeaMaiden — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:22 GMT

@BirdieGal $60.00!!! 😲

Re: Grocery store over charge

BirdieGal — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:01:26 GMT

@SeaMaiden

I KNOW RIGHT!?!?

Re: Grocery store over charge

NYC Susan — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:05:37 GMT

I would speak to the store manager before taking it any higher. In my experience, it's best (and more efficient) to bring it to his/her attention and provide the opportunity for the problem to be resolved. It's a simple error that most likely can be easily fixed, but not by talking to random CS people.

I never, ever leave a store without checking the receipt, and if I find a discrepancy, I immediately go to CS. 99% of the time, it's resolved there. I can count on one hand the amount of times I had to ask for a manager, but when I did the problem was taken care of immediately.

Re: Grocery store over charge

KathyPet — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:08:23 GMT

I think,you are barking up the wrong tree here.The individual stores do not enter prices for items. pricing info is entered into,the system at the corporate level. your beef is with them not your,local store

Re: Grocery store over charge

GCR18 — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:13:42 GMT

I like to buy in bulk, so my grocery store list is short. I make a list and add it up before I go. If the total isn't within a dollar or two, I ask did x or y ring up on sale. Sometimes you can't tell what the final price is because the savings come off at the end, not when the item is scanned. I still check the receipt though. It's very frustrating though when the prices aren't right.

Re: Grocery store over charge

QVCkitty1 — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:16:29 GMT

I had a friend who checked her receipt before leaving the store. There was almost always a mistake. Imagine how this adds up, and face it most of us don't check, and I'm sure the store counts on this.

Re: Grocery store over charge

blackhole99 — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:16:58 GMT

I shop at Walmart and this happens frequently, I watch every transaction and if the right price doesn't show up I call it to the cashiers attention right then and they make the correction. I go over my receipt when I get home too and if I find a mistake I call them right away. One time I bought an expensive case of mineral water and they only charged me for a 6 pk. I was distracted at the check out and didn't notice the mistake until I got home. I called the store the next day and explained to them what I though happened and that I'd send my son in to pay the balance which was 21 dollars on Monday because we lived out of the area. The person who I spoke to said to forget it, that it was their mistake and to enjoy the mineral water. He said most people would not call and report a mistake like that. I told him I thought that was stealing IMO and I heard him gasp on the other end. I'm sure the stores are stealing from the customers all the time, they don't call us when they make a mistake or credit our credit cards.

Re: Grocery store over charge

Annabellethecat66 — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:18:02 GMT

Try shopping at Harris/Teeter. They don't show the discount until the end of the tape. I go crazy trying to figure out what I was charged.

Every time after checkout or when it's rung up I'll say, "Wait! I only want it if it's on sale". They say, "It will show it at the end of the tape".

Well, by then the person behind me is almost on top of me waiting to be checked out. Everyone is in a freaking hurry it drives me crazy.

As my Grandma would say, "More money than brains". Evidently, they don't check the tape and don't care, but I do. Every penny adds up.

Just think ladies, it's maybe $5 here and there but think about how many people they check out and most people don't take the time to look at the tapes or check them out!

This is different, but I think similar (in a way). Two days before Christmas I received a call from Wellsfargo telling me that my account had been stolen and someone had taken out $483. Here's what happened. When I used my debit card at a gas station someone broke into the tank and took the magnetic tape so they had the card number and the pin numbers and went crazy.

Well, they then went to a money machine a few miles away to a mom and pop one (kind of like a 7-11) and withdrew $483. Well guess what! It has to be over $500 for it to be followed up by the police and Wellsfargo because then it becomes a felony!

The investigator kept saying to me, "I don't understand why you're so upset. We've already refunded the money in your account".

I said, "OK, so with me it was $483 now multiply that by how many others used that tank over how many days before it was found out"!

So, nothing was being done. They know the gas station. They know he place that was used. They could find out who it was pretty easily, I think so.

Also, figure this. It was 2 days before Christmas. I have several other debit cards but this one I couldn't use until they sent me a new one! There are people who only have one card they use!

People just aren't interested in fixing the problem, I honestly believe everyone must just have more money than they need so they don't follow up and act like the person who cares is an idiot.

I hope others see what I posted as similar because I do. I think it comes down to people not following through on a problem and just not caring. Thus others seem to get away with everything.

I totally agree with all of you. Perhaps if more people complained something would get done, but probably not.

Re: Grocery store over charge

NYC Susan — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:21:27 GMT

@QVCkitty1 wrote:
I had a friend who checked her receipt before leaving the store. There was almost always a mistake. Imagine how this adds up, and face it most of us don't check, and I'm sure the store counts on this.

I'm always surprised when I hear that people don't check their receipts before leaving the store. Why would they not? I always watch as each item is rung up, and I always check the receipt after that. It takes just a minute. I've rarely found errors, but I like knowing when I leave that I paid what I should have paid.

Re: Grocery store over charge

software — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:39:44 GMT

@KathyPet wrote:
I think,you are barking up the wrong tree here.The individual stores do not enter prices for items. pricing info is entered into,the system at the corporate level. your beef is with them not your,local store

You are correct about the pricing is not done at the store but the managers can change it quickly themselves, they are on a computer server and can use a code and get permission to make changes. They are allowed to do this for several reasons, this being one of them.

But I agree, it should have been reported and corrected at the corp level within 24 hours.

Re: Grocery store over charge

DiAnne — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:45:35 GMT

I don't usually check the receipt unless the total seems high.

Re: Grocery store over charge

pommom — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:52:50 GMT

I double check the receipt when I get home after putting up the groceries. There have been numerous times when I spot an overcharge. I shop at Krogers.

One time I got charged $18 for pork chops on sale for $8.99. I immediately took the chops back with my receipt. She checked the ad and gave me back my $18. I told her I would like to purchase the chops again at the sale price and she informed me that if the computer isn't linked to the cash registers, the customer gets the product for free.

$18 in my pocket. BTW, this is their policy regardless of the product purchased at full price while on sale. You keep the product and they give you a 100% refund.

Re: Grocery store over charge

GSPgirl — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 01:01:50 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
I understand mistakes happen with over charges at grocery stores. But this time I am boiling mad.

We shop at a local Safeway most of the time. Last Saturday they had Broccoli on sale for $1.49 a pound. My husband did the shopping that day and when I checked the receipt when he got home, I saw that the broccoli was rang up at $2.99 a pound.

So the next day I went back to the store customer service desk and showed the clerk the mistake...a $5.00 mistake! I told her that the price is wrong in their system and they need to fix it. She could have cared less...she was frazzled and short tempered when she handed me back the money due.

So this Saturday husband goes shopping....broccoli is still at $1.49 a pound. He mentions to the girl ringing him up that the broccoli price was wrong AGAIN... it rang up at $2.99 a pound 😡.

Husband went to the CS desk and explained the mistake AGAIN. Told the CS person at this was SECOND TIME we were over charged for the same thing. Another $5.00 overcharge.

I imagine in two weeks time 100's of people bought broccoli and never checked their receipt.....got ripped off for a mistake that should have been corrected last week!

I plan to send Safeway/ Albertsons Corporate an email about this ... they need to know that this is going on and tell them how up set I am about it. Someone is not doing their job.

Too bad. Safeway used to have great service in CA. However, I live in the south now and we don’t have Safeway or Albertsons. We have Harris Teeter and if you find a mistake they give you double the money back.

Re: Grocery store over charge

Scooby Doo — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 01:08:17 GMT

@pommom wrote:
I double check the receipt when I get home after putting up the groceries. There have been numerous times when I spot an overcharge. I shop at Krogers.

One time I got charged $18 for pork chops on sale for $8.99. I immediately took the chops back with my receipt. She checked the ad and gave me back my $18. I told her I would like to purchase the chops again at the sale price and she informed me that if the computer isn't linked to the cash registers, the customer gets the product for free.

$18 in my pocket. BTW, this is their policy regardless of the product purchased at full price while on sale. You keep the product and they give you a 100% refund.

They would have discarded the meat anyway. Once it leaves the store you cannot put it back on the shelf. That's a health code violation.

Re: Grocery store over charge

coffee drinker — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 01:09:08 GMT

In our stores, (CT) if you are overcharged for an item, it's free for the first item and price difference for subsequent items the same product. I believe it's up to $20. I can remember buying a large pkg of toilet paper that was approx. $10 or $12. It rang up 1 cent more than the advertised price and I got it for free. I've done this many times.

Re: Grocery store over charge

software — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 01:24:02 GMT

I love my Piggly Wiggly.

The scanned price shows up on a large computer monitor. My store does a cost-plus type pricing, it's so easy to verify before I pay