‘Stay vigilant’: Coles shoppers discover discrepancies in self-serve registers

Are you a regular at Coles self-serve checkouts? If so, you might want to pay extra attention to your receipts.

Two Coles shoppers have recently raised concerns about serious issues with the supermarket's self-serve registers.



In one incident, a customer urged others to ‘stay vigilant’ when scanning groceries.

They said they were charged full price for two discounted items.

The error was only discovered after the customer had checked their receipt.


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Two Coles shoppers noticed they were charged differently for their items. Credit: Shutterstock


However, the shopper was asked to provide photographic evidence of the markdown before a refund could be issued.

'I ran into Coles yesterday and used the self-checkout. I was about to pay when I noticed the total looked a bit high,' the customer explained on social media.

'I was only buying three items, so it was easy to spot the error–two of the items that were supposed to be discounted did not scan at the discounted price.'

‘I flagged down the assistant, and she asked me what the prices were meant to be. When I said I [didn’t] know exactly, she asked if I could GO AND TAKE A PHOTO OF THE DISCOUNT PRICE TAGS AND COME BACK,’ they said.

‘I said “No”, and instead looked them up on my phone via the website and showed her, then she applied the discounts manually.’

‘How often can this be happening?’ they asked.



In another case, a shopper found that a piece of ginger and two capsicums were weighed incorrectly at the self-serve checkout, resulting in a significant price discrepancy.

The customer's home scales showed a weight difference of about 138 grams for both items compared to the Coles self-service scales.

The images showed that a ginger piece seemed heavier, 241 grams, on the Coles scales, but only 102 grams on his kitchen scales.

Also, two green capsicums appeared to weigh 581 grams on the Coles self-service scales but only 443 grams at home.

‘Both come with an error for about 138 grams. Any explanation?’ the customer asked on social media.

He explained that he had returned the items to the store, who agreed that the items had been weighed incorrectly on the self-service scales and gave him his money back.

‘They confirmed that the weight and price [were] wrongly charged, so they granted me the refund. I am really happy with the outcome,’ he said.



Coles has responded to these incidents, stating they have several policies and safeguards to protect customers against overcharging.

'At Coles Supermarkets, we have “Our Promise on Price Scanning” to ensure confidence in the pricing accuracy at our registers,’ a spokesperson said.

‘If a single item scans at a higher price than the advertised or ticketed shelf price for that item, we will give the customer that item free.’

‘We are disappointed to hear of this customer experience. We have processes in place to ensure that our marked-down items are charged correctly at the register.’

‘We would encourage our customers to let one of our friendly team members know if they see an issue that doesn’t seem right before checking out or on their receipt after they have checked out so that we can ensure any issues are rectified promptly,’ they added.

In the first incident, the customer was entitled to receive the item for free.



In the second case, Coles said several measures were taken to ensure the accuracy of register scales.

‘We at Coles, we have policies and procedures in place to monitor and maintain the accuracy of our scales to make sure that our customers are charged correctly, the spokesperson said.

‘Our team members are also monitoring the self-service checkouts throughout the day to identify any issues and reset them when needed.’

‘While we do have technology to flag issues that may arise at our self-service checkouts, we encourage our customers to let one of our friendly team members know if they see an issue that doesn’t seem right on their receipt or when weighing an item so we can make sure it is rectified promptly.’

You may check the shopper’s statement below:

Credit: @Arrowx1994Ye / Twitter


These incidents also happen in other supermarkets.

In a previous story, a Woolworths shopper was shocked to see their checkout screen displaying a different total when his shopping haul should have cost lower.

The shopper was ‘annoyed’ that his Woolies purchase ‘did not equate to the individual items’ he purchased. You can read more about the story here.
Key Takeaways

  • Two Coles shoppers have reported issues with being overcharged and incorrect weighing at self-serve registers.
  • A Coles spokesperson assured that the supermarket has policies in place to protect customers against overcharging and encourages shoppers to be vigilant.
  • One shopper was asked to provide photo evidence of discounted prices before receiving a manual discount at the self-serve checkout.
  • A customer received a refund after proving that fresh items were weighed incorrectly on the self-serve scales, with Coles reaffirming their commitment to accurate pricing and measures to maintain scale accuracy.
Have you experienced any issues with self-serve checkouts at Coles or any other supermarket? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below.
 
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Cole and Woolies.... Coles and Woolies that's all I hear..DON'T SHOP THERE!!!!
 
This is almost a weekly occurrence for me, with one occasion getting a refund of $22.

Supermarkets won't fix this until you hit them where it hurts....the pocket.

Don't have the price corrected at the checkout, pay the higher price, walk 5m to the service desk and get it for free. Then someone will fix the system price or remove the old shelf ticket which seems to be the more common cause.
 
As I don’t get paid by any store, I refuse to use self service. On a number of occasions when I have gone into a store very early and there has been no one on the till I have asked staff when the till will be open and then just wait. Staff on the tills can also make errors as well as checkout
Oh grow up. Get off this silly bandwagon.🥱🙄

If you do it yourself you won't get a mistake and it's quicker. And if there is something wrong it's quickly rectified.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: I'm Mal
Cole and Woolies.... Coles and Woolies that's all I hear..DON'T SHOP THERE!!!!
It should be like the UK, but there isn't room or enough people for about 10 major supermarkets here. And they get all the same negative feedback as here.
 
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The scales at the shop are supposed to be audited by trading standards officers as a routine requirement.
However, your own kitchen scales could vary for many reasons, heat and storage, damage the mechanisms. Try taring your scales using a block of butter. I have an old standard weight from my Mums scales that I use.
 
Talking about being vigilant I usually buy my look alike Drumsticks (the icecreams) Crowns from Aldi for $3.69 for a pack of four. Today bought a pack of Drumsticks from Coles on special for $4.75. Weighed one of the Aldi ones and it was 86 grams. The other one from coles was 71 grams. So you normally pay $9.50 for a pack of Drumsticks from Coles and you get less than what you get at Aldi where you pay $3.69. They taste just the same and you get more.
 
If you are reading this then you have a smart phone which usually has a calculator on it... also it has a camera that you can take photos with!
I keep a running total of my purchases and if the final docket charges 1 cent more I find the item and get it for free.
Also make sure you walk back with the person checking the aisle price as sometimes they have come back and said that I was wrong until I have shown them a pic I took of the tag... which means they've just removed an incorrect tag hmmm 🤔 but after seeing the pic you'll get it for nothing and they have egg on their face for their dishonesty.
if reading this you have a smartphone- mmm, no I don't. This is on my laptop at home! But I have made them go back and check, if they come back and say I'm wrong, I go back with them. They looked at wrong label! I have also said you dont honour what's advertised, which they can access, I dont have to be the one to prove the shelf label was not ordered, They need to prove it. And of they dont agree, leave the product behind,.
 
I always watch the screen when scanning items and twice the staff member present has fixed it when on sale items scanned at full price. Just watch the screen folks, it saves problems.
 
The free policy if overcharged only applies after you have paid. Pay your bill first then lodge a complaint.
 
Oh grow up. Get off this silly bandwagon.🥱🙄

If you do it yourself you won't get a mistake and it's quicker. And if there is something wrong it's quickly rectified.
How about you grow up freedy50.
its not a bandwagon and if you want to be one of the happy sheep who doesn’t want service then go ahead and use self serve.
I totally agree with Grahamclarke. I refuse to use self serve and if it’s the only option available I make the human attendant do it for me. If they refuse I walk out and go to the next shop.
Just the same as I will boycott any shop that refuses to take cash!
 
All self serve checkouts in any store won’t scan the reduced price you need a sales assistant to adjust the price. Therefore if you purchase reduced items best to go through the tills.
Rubbish, they scan the lower price, occasionally when the ticket on the shelf hasn't been removed you get charged the higher price, that's when you go to the service desk and get it for free.
 
How about you grow up freedy50.
its not a bandwagon and if you want to be one of the happy sheep who doesn’t want service then go ahead and use self serve.
I totally agree with Grahamclarke. I refuse to use self serve and if it’s the only option available I make the human attendant do it for me. If they refuse I walk out and go to the next shop.
Just the same as I will boycott any shop that refuses to take cash!
What a pain you are. Too entitled to do it yourself.
 
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How about you grow up freedy50.
its not a bandwagon and if you want to be one of the happy sheep who doesn’t want service then go ahead and use self serve.
I totally agree with Grahamclarke. I refuse to use self serve and if it’s the only option available I make the human attendant do it for me. If they refuse I walk out and go to the next shop.
Just the same as I will boycott any shop that refuses to take cash!
How on earth would I be a sheep when I make up my own mind if I want to waste my time queuing to pay for groceries or do it much quicker myself on self serve and pay by card?:rolleyes:

You just follow the other sheep that keep saying the same boring phrases "I'm never using self serve", "I dont work there", and also "Boycott shops that dont take cash".

And whats this about? "I make the human attendant do it for me". Are they a lower class than you referring to the shop staff like that? And if you have to lower your high standards and have to use self-serve then the idea is to do it yourself.
 
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Reactions: Greg350
How on earth would I be a sheep when I make up my own mind if I want to waste my time queuing to pay for groceries or do it much quicker myself on self serve and pay by card?:rolleyes:

You just follow the other sheep that keep saying the same boring phrases "I'm never using self serve", "I dont work there", and also "Boycott shops that dont take cash".

And whats this about? "I make the human attendant do it for me". Are they a lower class than you referring to the shop staff like that? And if you have to lower your high standards and have to use self-serve then the idea is to do it yourself.
Great reply. It's the the current trendy thing to whinge about, from what I see a few times a week at the supermarkets 95% of people are happy to use self service.
 
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Reactions: freedy50
No way will I use them, give me a happy face checkout chick any day, if we do their job then they should pay us, or have a big discount on all the products, eventually they will get rid of the checkout chick, and those poor girls and men will end up on the dole, so much for technology, some of it is good but a lot of it is bad.
 

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