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Are you being overcharged too?!

By August 30, 2016March 28th, 2017No Comments

I guess we can call this part 2 of my “almost getting ripped off” adventures. Fresh off my bank shorting me on a deposit (my last post), I was over charged by two stores. If it’s happening to me, it’s probably happening to you.

For the record, I believe these were inadvertent mistakes and not intentional scams but I’m aware that I could be wrong about that. I also don’t think this experience is unique to these stores. I name them here, not to shame them but to share my story and show that I’m not talking about some obscure mom and pop operation. These are stores you’ve probably shopped in.
The first of these incidents happened at Target. The second was at WholeFoods.

At Target I bought five items and when the total amount appeared on the screen, I instantly felt something was wrong. Having no shame about looking cheap I asked the clerk, “What did I buy? How much did this stuff cost?”

The clerk scrolled through my purchases when we noticed that he had charged me twice for my detergent. He seemed genuinely apologetic and removed the charge while my faith in my own intuition renewed itself.

The following week at WholeFoods I didn’t notice anything was wrong at the checkout counter. I was buying too many things to have any sense that I was being overcharged. At home, after I put all my groceries away, I looked through the lengthy receipt.

That’s when I noticed that I was charged for two jars of pasta sauce when I only bought one. I called the store and they told me to come in. I was concerned that they’d think I was lying – how was I supposed to prove that I didn’t buy two jars? I went to customer service and they refunded me, no questions asked.

With just these two transactions I almost lost $20. It’s not a ton but I’d prefer not to be ripped off at all. Keep in mind that in order to lose those $20 I had to earn about $25 (because of income taxes). It adds up.

I know that this has happened before and will likely happen again. I’ll continue to be on the look out and I encourage you to do the same. Pay attention at the register and watch your products get scanned. I know it’s not as exciting as checking Facebook but being distracted could cost you. Don’t be afraid to speak up if something feels off or if you catch a mistake. For this reason (and several others), it’s important to keep receipts for all your purchases.
You can look at it like getting paid to NOT stare at your phone 🙂

Chelsea

Author Chelsea

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