Shoppers urged to stay vigilant after shocking self-checkout mistake at Woolworths

Errors at the checkout can be frustrating, but what happens when a simple mistake leads to a major shock at the register?

A routine shopping trip turned into an unexpected ordeal for one Queensland mum, sparking questions about how reliable these systems really are.

Her experience has left other shoppers rethinking their approach and raising concerns about a common feature many rely on daily.


A Woolworths shopper has issued a warning about the importance of double-checking the self-serve checkout screen before paying for items.


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Shopper warns: always check your self-checkout screen. Image source: Pexel/Gustavo Fring


Bek, a Queensland mum, recently visited her local Woolworths and was stunned when her shopping total reached approximately $80 after scanning just a few items.

‘I looked and the *Gabby’s Dollhouse* colouring book said $48 and it was a quantity of eight, so, like, eight of them, instead of one,’ she said.

Bek called over staff to assist, but the issue persisted.


She added: ‘I called the staff over and they tried to enter it manually. And it kept changing it to eight. They couldn’t figure out why.’

The colouring book should have cost just $6, but the system read it as eight items, inflating the price to nearly $50.

While staff resolved the issue, it remains unclear what caused the glitch.


Other shoppers shared similar experiences with the self-serve checkouts.

One said: ‘That happened with me a few months ago now…I didn’t know until I paid for it and it seemed expensive to what I went for.’

Another added: ‘It happened when I scanned a Redbull can. It came up as a 4 pack of them.’


A third recounted an incident at a staffed checkout.

‘This happened to me through the serviced checkout, on two occasions the girl scanned incorrectly and I was charged extra for items I didn’t buy,’ they said.

A Woolworths spokesperson addressed the issue in a statement.


‘This is an isolated issue, related to the barcode on one of the pencil sets we sell,’ they said.

‘Our team is correcting the scanning error on this barcode to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

‘We’re glad to see that our team was able to quickly rectify this issue in-store and the customer was only charged for the correct quantity.’


Shoppers who notice discrepancies at the self-serve checkout are encouraged to alert a staff member immediately.

The incident has made Bek more vigilant about her purchases.
‘It definitely makes me more cautious,’ she said.

‘I was always for self-serve checkouts because it’s quick and easy…But now, I would actually prefer to see more checkout staff.’

Key Takeaways
  • A Queensland mum was stunned when her Woolworths self-checkout bill came to nearly $80, despite scanning only a few items.
  • The issue arose when a single item was mistakenly scanned as multiple, inflating the price significantly.
  • Other shoppers shared similar experiences, with some encountering pricing errors on both self-serve and staffed checkouts.
  • Woolworths acknowledged the glitch, assuring customers that the issue would be fixed and urging vigilance at checkouts.

Have you ever been caught off guard by a scanning error? Share your experiences in the comments below.
 

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never use self serve check out because
A-- it does others lout of work
B-- why should I pack my self
C--- there is no discount for doing the the job myself--I am paying the same price as when I use a check out and some one is doing all the work for me
B-How does your goods get in your trolley? Got a servant to do it for you? 🙄
 
Haven't seen a negative SDC post about self checkouts for a week or more and all the usual sheep with their boring responses. "I'm not using them" "Put people out of a job" Blah blah blah 😂😂😂

All this is was about one person that had something that couldn't scan properly. So what? Big deal. 99.9% of the time nothing goes wrong.

Self serve is king. 😁
 
So what! They can afford it and if it's the shops fault so be it.
What a selfish attitude. And that's one of the reasons why shopping is so expensive.🙄

They don't just say never mind we can afford it, they add it to the prices!!!
 
As I said in one of my earlier comments both Woolworths and Cole's place their stock and pricing on the shelves misrepresenting the one which is actually on special so you pick up the more expensive product. It is a deliberate ploy and they need to stop it and also we need to be on our A game and be very careful. This is where we get ripped off deliberately.
No they don't, but it makes a good made up story.
 
Here's a tip: check as you put the items though, wether self check out or assisted check out and always check you receipt before you leave the store
 
And you are perfect???
He maybe isn't and I don't understand why the narky comment and I assume this hasn't happened to you.. As a Computer Professional the sort of lax attitude to releasing software that is poorly tested if at all (especially software affecting the public) is piss poor, "Oh it was a minor software glitch we've fixed it now (only after 300 people were adversely affected)"
 
Good old technology telling us what to do (again). Take away all self service machines and give actual people their jobs back. It would take away the stress and angst machines cause in people's lives.
 
I have been overcharged on numerous occasions for groceries from WW but haven't picked it up until at home when going through my receipt as I'm putting my groceries away. I know the prices are incorrect as I do up my grocery list with the prices on it, so I then return to WW and show them the discrepancy and they then honour their policy, and I get a refund for the incorrectly priced item. It usually occurs with their grocery items on special that haven't been entered onto the system or due to circumstances beyond their control when there's been a change of the barcode at the factory that they haven't been notified of.
 
Sometime in November last year we were at Woolies in SA and we brought some cereal, it had a sticker on saying 5 dollars, when it went through it was 10 dollars, my husband said it has a sign that says 5 dollars, and he showed one of the staff where it was, the staff member called someone else and then came back and said the sign is wrong that should have been taken off a few days ago, so we had ten dollars taken off our bill and got the cereal for free. If they have made a mistake and their policy is to give you back the money and the item for free that is their policy, you haven't lied, you haven't cheated them out of anything. You have to watch all the time to make sure that it is scanned at the correct price.
 
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Yes I Bought a V they were 2 for $6.50 when I paid they came up to $8 so they gave me a Full refund then I went to another Coles 3 days later and they rang up at $8 again so they Charged me $4 for 1 I rang and spoke to the Manager and he said it was right it said $4 for 1 but I said he was Incorrect how can they Charge me $4 for the first When it should have been Free or at least $3.25 I was angry the lady doing it and 2 other ladies were very rude and it was like it was come out of their pocket
 
This constantly happens when I go through a serviced checkout. While I’m shopping, I write down the price from the tag on the shelf then add it up before I get to the checkout. Every time the total comes up, its alway $5 or $6 dollars more. I can’t understand what’s going on.
 
This constantly happens when I go through a serviced checkout. While I’m shopping, I write down the price from the tag on the shelf then add it up before I get to the checkout. Every time the total comes up, its alway $5 or $6 dollars more. I can’t understand what’s going on.
They are ripping you off that's what's going on, they know it's happening but they know full well not many people out there like you check.
 

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