How much Attention do you pay to what you are being charged.

[Dean2]

I have started paying much closer attention to what I am charged by the computers that are now in every store, restaurant and retail outlets. Over the past 3 years I have consistently found errors on these supposedly foolproof computers. It isn't just items with the wrong price attached to the bar code, it is discounts that don't calculate correctly, a string of charges that don't add up correctly, rewards points that aren't put onto the account and hidden surcharges that are not itemized on the bill.

I would estimate that at least 15% of the receipts I have looked at have errors on them. The latest one was today and it was out 30%. The purchase totaled $5.68 plus GST and came out of the computer at 7.84. Overall $2 is not a lot of money but if they get away with that on a couple of hundred customers a day, that is some serious coin. On top of that I have found other receipts where the errors are not just 10 or 20 dollars; I recently had one Canadian Tire bill where the error was over $300.

The most annoying part is the twenty somethings on the tills just want to argue that this is what the computer says, it must be right. I have often had to get quite heated to get them to call a supervisor over to correct the situation. The number of places where the clerks just want to argue with you rather than try and listen to what the customer is saying is mind boggling.

My suggestion, pay close attention to what you are being charged in restaurants and retail outlets. You will be amazed how often they are overcharging you. I originally thought it was accidental but it is common enough I am beginning to wonder.

[lannie]

How often are you under charged? Percentage? The 15 % includes both under and over charges?

[Joe Black]

CT is real bad for that, when they have those sale stickers on the isle. i've had to go and get the sticker as proof on two different occasions. one time, they took the sale sign and just threw in the garbage at the till while i stood there. guess to much of a hassle to change it in the computer to match.

Any other store that has stuff on sale also needs to be checked. i just look at the register as its gets rung through.

[Bigwoodsman]

Stopped in at Peppers Truck Stop a couple of weeks back for bait and a coffee.

Grabbed a package of maggots, a package of mealworms, and a tray of smelts, along with a medium coffee. Run through the till 47.00 plus change. I usually just tap and go, but 47.00. They doubled everything but the coffee.

BW

[owlhoot]

I try and add up the approximate total on my way to the till, if our totals don't match I will ask why, Its hard to do with a lot of items,

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by Joe Black

CT is real bad for that, when they have those sale stickers on the isle. i've had to go and get the sticker as proof on two different occasions. one time, they took the sale sign and just threw in the garbage at the till while i stood there. guess to much of a hassle to change it in the computer to match.

I have found CT notoriously bad for this as well, now when I grab something that is on a good 'clearance price', I always take pictures of the item and the price, with clearance tag shown....saved me having to do their job on a number of occasions and run back to the aisle in question, while the line up of annoyed people look at me like I'm a time wasting penny pinching unprintable person...which I actually kinda am. CT really needs to shape up though.

As an aside, I do watch my receipts pretty closely and have often caught errors. My wife, not so much. She went to Mucho Burrito one day while she was out, figured she'd grab me something for supper as she had been busy, ran the credit card and left. A week or so later, I'm looking at my accounts online, and notice my balance is unusually high on one of my cards. I open it up, and there is a charge from Mucho Burrito for....$18,897.37......??

I called them, and they had been expecting my call. The total on the order was actually only $18.89, but somehow the girl at the counter had made a slight error. I told them I could have flown to Cabo First Class and got a better Burrito for a lot less money than that. They reversed total charge, and didn't charge me for the meal, but it had to go through their corporate office in Edmonton...All was good. Now my wife pays closer attention.

The one that I like is when the computer isn't making the 'mistake', but rather a clerk at a convenience store. You give them cash, and they 'accidentally' short your change $5 or $10, really casually like and quickly turn to help the next customer. Then they look at you all offended when you call them out on it. I've never failed to get the correct change back (actually saw it come out of a back pocket once!)....and I've never received an apology for the 'mistake' yet. There is a pattern to those type of mistakes I have noticed, but I'm not getting into that...because I know better than to open certain cans of worms.

[dicknormal]

Originally Posted by lannie

How often are you under charged? Percentage? The 15 % includes both under and over charges?

All the honest people that are under charged are who make up the long lines at customer service. They complain the most. lol

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by lannie

How often are you under charged? Percentage? The 15 % includes both under and over charges?

Every single time I have been overcharged is usually due to missing the sale price. Never been undercharged that I ever remember

[FCLightning]

Originally Posted by lannie

How often are you under charged? Percentage? The 15 % includes both under and over charges?

I have never been undercharged. Lots of times sale items do not come up sale price. Many times shelf price is different than till price. Not all retailers ascribe to the voluntary code of practice https://www.retailcouncil.org/scanne...accuracy-code/ CT is one that has signed on - but certainly doesn't stop them from inaccurate pricing.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by lannie

How often are you under charged? Percentage? The 15 % includes both under and over charges?

I have been undercharged quite a few times. I ALWAYS try to get them to charge me the correct amount. When they INSIST the computer is right I have even gone to a manager to straighten it out but after a couple of those I now call it good enough at the clerk level and quit arguing. Only willing to try and help them out so far, my time has value. If they are overcharging me I don't care how much they insist the computer is right, I will push it till they correct the error.

[AndrewM]

Originally Posted by Dean2

I have been undercharged quite a few times. I ALWAYS try to get them to charge me the correct amount. When they INSIST the computer is right I have even gone to a manager to straighten it out but after a couple of those I now call it good enough at the clerk level and quit arguing. Only willing to try and help them out so far, my time has value. If they are overcharging me I don't care how much they insist the computer is right, I will push it till they correct the error.

Do you push them on the scanning code of practice to make sure you are rewarded for the errors you find?

[Redfrog]

People make mistakes. Apologize, fix it and move on. Unfortunately that is a concept lost on out local IGA. If I spend more than 30 bux there I can be assured of an error of at least a couple bux. Argue about, charge the correct price and move on to the next customer. Trouble is it is not rectified in the computer so overcharges continue until someone else complains.
Head office says policy to give the item no charge when a computer error is made. Local IGA says 'We no do that".
Flyer products are either not available because "We no order that". Or it's mislabeled or misplaced.

Tough on the consumer when it's the only game in town.

[bat119]

You must be diligent, store prices are constantly changing, employees forget to take or put up signs and price tags I've caught mistakes on several occasions.

[58thecat]

Do it all the time, pay attention, after all it is your hard earned cash and if you don't after 50 years or so well you could have a lot of mad money to enjoy....but people are generally too lazy to pay attention, just like investing, too lazy.....to pay attention.....but we now have smart phones to correct all.

[AndrewM]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

People make mistakes. Apologize, fix it and move on. Unfortunately that is a concept lost on out local IGA. If I spend more than 30 bux there I can be assured of an error of at least a couple bux. Argue about, charge the correct price and move on to the next customer. Trouble is it is not rectified in the computer so overcharges continue until someone else complains.
Head office says policy to give the item no charge when a computer error is made. Local IGA says 'We no do that".
Flyer products are either not available because "We no order that". Or it's mislabeled or misplaced.

Tough on the consumer when it's the only game in town.

You forgot the expired items still on the shelf! haha

[smith88]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

I have found CT notoriously bad for this as well, now when I grab something that is on a good 'clearance price', I always take pictures of the item and the price, with clearance tag shown....saved me having to do their job on a number of occasions and run back to the aisle in question, while the line up of annoyed people look at me like I'm a time wasting penny pinching unprintable person...which I actually kinda am. CT really needs to shape up though.

As an aside, I do watch my receipts pretty closely and have often caught errors. My wife, not so much. She went to Mucho Burrito one day while she was out, figured she'd grab me something for supper as she had been busy, ran the credit card and left. A week or so later, I'm looking at my accounts online, and notice my balance is unusually high on one of my cards. I open it up, and there is a charge from Mucho Burrito for....$18,897.37......??

I called them, and they had been expecting my call. The total on the order was actually only $18.89, but somehow the girl at the counter had made a slight error. I told them I could have flown to Cabo First Class and got a better Burrito for a lot less money than that. They reversed total charge, and didn't charge me for the meal, but it had to go through their corporate office in Edmonton...All was good. Now my wife pays closer attention.

The one that I like is when the computer isn't making the 'mistake', but rather a clerk at a convenience store. You give them cash, and they 'accidentally' short your change $5 or $10, really casually like and quickly turn to help the next customer. Then they look at you all offended when you call them out on it. I've never failed to get the correct change back (actually saw it come out of a back pocket once!)....and I've never received an apology for the 'mistake' yet. There is a pattern to those type of mistakes I have noticed, but I'm not getting into that...because I know better than to open certain cans of worms.

Wow that is some transaction limit you have on your card

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by smith88

Wow that is some transaction limit you have on your card

Yes, it certainly is. I have built three houses using a couple different cards to charge all materials on, really racked up the Airmiles doing that. The limit reflects how I use it, and how I pay the balance in full every statement. They love to increase my limit without letting me know. I let them, makes no difference to me. Any disputed charges or fraudulent charges (those have happened) are very quickly reversed and dealt with. They like me.

[dodger]

Did the tap thing at Taco Time - denied - tried again - denied - was going to tap again when I noticed the debit machine had $8000.00 instead of the $8.00 I was thinking I was paying.

One can only laugh.

Dodger.

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

You forgot the expired items still on the shelf! haha

Yep, Most stores have a produce section they have a compost section.

[Ken07AOVette]

I most often notice it when it is a service item.

I took my boat to a dealer to have it winterised, watched him start at 11am and he was done at 12:30. Just exactly in time for him to go for lunch. Went to pay the bill, and was charged 3.0 hrs labor. They did reverse it, but she said 'I just go by what the mechanic tells me for time on'. She was not happy I caught and questioned her bill.


MASSIVE SCAM.

When I am working these types of accounts I have to really get the Client to verify hours spent. 'Book time' does not apply in all cases and certainly does not justify ripping people off.



(Flameproof bunker gear donned, have at it mechanics that own businesses.)

And how often are you undercharged? LOL really????


I also see it with quantity lines on receipts, mainly at grocery stores. The Wife goes over every bill at home, it is amazing how much she has caught.

[oilngas]

Thanks for this, I'm going to pay a lot more attention.

[Fish along]

Good thread , I should be a lot more diligent when paying with my card many times I hardly notice and just do the pin and go,from now on I'm going to record these transactions and match them with my monthly bill.I could be paying through the nose.

[leeelmer]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

I most often notice it when it is a service item.

I took my boat to a dealer to have it winterised, watched him start at 11am and he was done at 12:30. Just exactly in time for him to go for lunch. Went to pay the bill, and was charged 3.0 hrs labor. They did reverse it, but she said 'I just go by what the mechanic tells me for time on'. She was not happy I caught and questioned her bill.


MASSIVE SCAM.

When I am working these types of accounts I have to really get the Client to verify hours spent. 'Book time' does not apply in all cases and certainly does not justify ripping people off.



(Flameproof bunker gear donned, have at it mechanics that own businesses.)

And how often are you undercharged? LOL really????


I also see it with quantity lines on receipts, mainly at grocery stores. The Wife goes over every bill at home, it is amazing how much she has caught.

When i ran a big shop we always quoted 'book time' but would charge less if we took alot less. Also made sure customers knew ahead of time that if we ran into stripped busted bolts. Rusted stuff we would charge straight time.
There is a large scam alot of dealers do and its called double dipping on flat rate. For example if you need ball joints on your dodge. As well as wheel bearings.
Well the wheel bearings are removed to change ball joints but i have seen many places that will charge you 4.8 hrs to do the ball joints plus 3.5 for wheel bearings. That in my opinion is steeling.

[Freedom55]

I try to watch as items pass the scanner but some of those girls are too quick for me so I question every transaction by looking over my receipt after I have passed through. Every time. Every where. I also try not to hold up the flow of the line-up behind me by taking my complaint to the customer service desk.

I have found, particularly at CT, that often times the price of an item is higher than expected only because the wrong item has been placed on a hook labelled at a lower price, usually by another consumer.

Living on a fixed income will do that to you but if you have a loathing for taxes as deep as mine then you find yourself looking at the total tax amount on every receipt and either eliminating those taxable items or (at the very least) reducing those wasted dollars.

Free

[Weedy1]

Ever notice when using a Tap Machine the price of the item being purchased doesn't come up for a few seconds. Countless people are using these machines without even knowing what they're paying, they tap their card before seeing what the price is. This should be illegal, the price should have to be displayed first then the tap feature displayed. There is a lot of burger and coffee joints making a few extra percent every year due to this.

Drive thrus are also famous for displaying one price on their outside menus and charging another once at the drive thru window.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Weedy1

Ever notice when using a Tap Machine the price of the item being purchased doesn't come up for a few seconds. Countless people are using these machines without even knowing what they're paying, they tap their card before seeing what the price is. This should be illegal, the price should have to be displayed first then the tap feature displayed. There is a lot of burger and coffee joints making a few extra percent every year due to this.

Drive thrus are also famous for displaying one price on their outside menus and charging another once at the drive thru window.

I don't use drive thrus very often but your heads up on those makes a lot of sense. Next time I use one I am going to double check the pricing. The other big money saver at Burger joints are the coupons they regularly have. A&W always has coupons on their website that makes much of their food 50% off, so does McDonalds, DQ, KFC etc. You don't get the special prices unless you present the coupon on your phone. Gone are the days when the specials were on a poster in the window and everyone got the deals.

[Skoaltender]

Originally Posted by Bigwoodsman

Stopped in at Peppers Truck Stop a couple of weeks back for bait and a coffee.

Grabbed a package of maggots, a package of mealworms, and a tray of smelts, along with a medium coffee. Run through the till 47.00 plus change. I usually just tap and go, but 47.00. They doubled everything but the coffee.

BW

You go to peppers and you don’t get the pepperoni in the cheese bun?!? What he hell us wrong with you!!

[Rastus]

Went to TSC Store a few years ago and bought some grass seed or something and they overcharge me. The item was right at the checkout for $18.00 and I was charged $36.00 because someone had never put the new price in. When I argued with the cashier and told them the item was right in front of him, he said I would have to go back to the Customer Service Desk, I went back and stood in line until it was my turn and argued with them until they sent a store employee with me to the item which was next too the cashier. When he looked at the item and my receipt and said in a voice that could be heard that I had been overcharged. By this time I had been in the store a good hour I went back and they were going to issue me a credit for $18.00, I said issue me a credit for everything, about $200.00 worth and I have never been back since.

[TreeGuy]

Diversity is our strength...


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[Big Grey Wolf]

Very busy buying lumber etc etc big trailer loads when building my home, so could not even hope to review sales slips. Now that just doing some minor build in basement and being a pensioner " More time than money" last two purchases at two Windsor Plywood stores, both bills had major errors of over charge by near $100. Clerk was very snooty when I asked for correction. Guys take a minute to look at your receipts.