‘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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