Smart Spending: Are you Being Overcharged at the Register?

Have you ever been overcharged at the checkout line? Maybe your pasta scanned at $1.50 a box, even though the ad clearly showed that it was on sale for $1 per box. Do you catch price scan errors each time they occur?Â

You may find it hard to believe, but during a May 2008 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspection in Raleigh, NC, one national big box chain store overcharged customers on 10% of transactions! The law actually allows registers to overcharge on up to 2% of purchases – which is still too much for me (http://www.wral.com/business/story/2882841/). Can you imagine being overcharged on 10% of the items in a full cart?

What’s a shopper to do? Watch the scanner like a hawk and review your receipt before you leave the store. While items are being scanned, watch the price on the register screen. Although this can be hard to do when the kids are shopping with you, at least check your receipt before you leave the store. If you are overcharged, make sure you get a refund on the amount you overpaid.

Many stores offer a fabulous incentive to scrutinize your receipt – the Price Scan Guarantee (also known as a Scan Right Guarantee). If you are overcharged for an item, you will receive a refund for the entire amount you paid for the item plus you get to keep the product. So, the product ends up being free. Most stores require that you have already paid for the item and that you go to the customer service desk for a refund. If you purchased multiples of an item (4 boxes of the $1 pasta, for instance), most stores with a price scan guarantee will give you one for free and you will be refunded the difference of the wrong price and the correct price for the other multiples.

Wondering who has this wonderful price scan guarantee? Many stores, actually. In my area of North Carolina, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Kroger and Lowe’s Foods (the grocer, not the home improvement store) all offer the guarantee. I have read that Publix has a price scan guarantee as well. Wal-Mart used to offer a $3 refund on your order when an item scanned incorrectly, but they stopped offering that guarantee in April of 2008. They will adjust the price to the correct price if it scans incorrectly, of course.Â

The next time you are in your favorite grocery store, ask the customer service person if they offer a price scan guarantee when an item scans incorrectly. Then make sure you watch the scanner and check your receipt before you leave the store so you don’t pay any more for your pasta than you should. Remember, it’s your money – spend it wisely!