Check Your Receipts–Computers Can Be Stupid, Too
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: food, frugality

I have the fine folks at Safeway to thank for supplying the official caffeinated beverage of the Punny Money 24-Hour Blog Marathon. That’s because an error appeared on my receipt when I stopped by today; instead of charging the sale price of $1 for a 2-liter bottle of Vault, their computers assessed me the full price of $1.69.
I noticed the discrepancy right after swiping my credit card, but I completed the transaction and moved to the customer service desk so I didn’t hold up everyone else in the express line. Like many grocery stores, my Safeway has a policy of refunding the full purchase price in the event of a pricing error against you.
If your store has a similar policy, it can really pay off to keep an eye on the prices for which your items scan. Don’t hesitate to question any transactions where you’re not sure if you received the correct price. And before you walk out of the store, take a quick look over your receipt to see if you spot any obvious errors. You might question whether a 30-cent error is worth the effort of getting back in line to get a refund, but imagine how much money you could lose over the course of a lifetime to such mistakes.

3 Responses »
1.
lpkitten
May 11th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
i have had a history of checkout errors at Target. Twice I was under charged. I bought 2 like items and was only charged for 1 of them. In one case it was $10 and in the other the item was $20. Another time I was over charged. Again it was for 2 like items but I was charged for 3, each item was $10. All were pretty substantial errors. So, whenever I shop at Target I am extra vigilant and while I am shopping I try to keep a running count in my head of what my total should be so I know if it is way off.
2.
Tricia
May 11th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
I don’t know if it’s still in place and I’m not sure if it is in just Michigan or not, but you could get a bounty if you are overcharged on an item when it is scanned. You would get the overcharged amount back, but you would also get more back too. I think it was 10 times the total overcharge up to $5.00 (my memory is failing at the moment).
I never took the bounty, but when I worked at a grocery store cashier some people asked for it when overcharged and if they requested they had to be given it.
By the way, keep up the marathon - you’re doing great!
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[...] Get your supplies. Can you believe I never even opened that precious bottle of Vault cola? All it took me to get through the marathon was a short nap immediately before, regular meals, and a couple glasses of Mountain Dew we had stashed in the back of the fridge. Coffee was never an option for me (can’t stand the stuff), but it might be just what you need to pull off your marathon. [...]
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