I have moved your post to an existing thread which also covers the topic of scanned pricing errors.
This is what is called multiple pricing, and is covered by Choice here:
This particular example Woolworths doesn’t have to give a customer the product for free, but the customer is obliged to pay the lowest price displayed.
The price for three pack of Butter Menthols is $5, and may have been that for some time. Either an old label appears on the shelf or another label has been mistaken for the price of the multipack. If the label is different to that scanned, then you are entitled to get the of the first product purchased reimbursed (in effect be given it free), with any other purchased at the same time at the displayed shelf price.
You have deliberately visited multiple Woolworths in attempt to profiteer from the butter menthol pricing. I personally wouldn’t do this I believe that this is unethical and against the spirit of the SCOP and exploiting the goodwill of Woolworths.
If you mentioned to the cashier that the price should be $3 on scanning of the item, they do have the opportunity to correct the price before finalising for payment. I wouldn’t be disclosing the discrepancy until after it has been scanned and placed into a bag/payment. Otherwise, it could be argued that the scanning hasn’t been completed or intention to purchase. While Choice indicates that payment doesn’t need to be made, a reasonable person would expect there is an intention to kake a purchase. For example, if one checked a shelf price using a retailer’s website and found there was a discrepancy, a reasonable person wouldn’t expect the SCOP to apply if the product was taken to a register to confirm the discrepancy. This doesn’t show intent to purchase and potentially be mislead by paying a different price to that displayed.
Shelf pricing is currently a manual process and can lead unintentional (human) errors. Scan pricing is mostly centralised set and requires local computer systems to identify changes and print out shelf prices to match the change. These systems are not fail safe.
The risks of incorrect shelf pricing increases where a a product has multiple displays in store - one shelf price may be done but others missed. This is particularly the case for lollies, cold and flu remedies in cooler months and drinks which appear hanging in aisles, displayed at end of aisle shelving or at registers.
Indicating that you think there could be some criminality is unlikely and errors are most likely to be human error or oversight.
Human error/oversight may be reduced in the future if electronic labelling becomes widely adopted.
