That is not the case when it is a scanning error. With a few exceptions when it is mispriced in the scanning system as compared to the advertised or posted price they give a full refund and the first instance of product in your basket is free, subsequent products in your basket at the advertised or posted price.
If the error was a human error (no bar codes), eg mistaking dirty potatoes (eg $3/kg) for kipflers (eg $7/kg) etc, it is only refunding the difference - although sometimes they will give a full refund anyway.
hi Phil T,
unfortunately, you are not correct about Woolworths scanning / pricing errorsā¦
. for example, on the following 2 occasions WHEN I did NOT catch the āerrorā before I paid, I spent from 20-to-30minutes to obtain a Refund from the āCigarette-Counterā.
ā¦ (1) 14/8/22, the CheckOut Operator had Over-charged me for the WRONG ITEM - the Zuccini should have been @ $4.50kg -vs-Incorrect-Charging of Leb-Cucumbers@ $11.90 kg.
ā¦ (2) 10/6/22, staff had put the Wrong Item in the 1/2price display at the Fish-Freezer section - the PACKET Description MATCHED the Display - but, the Item scanned at the āFull Priceā -
ie. $30.82 charged - but should have been $15.40ā¦
it is a NIGHTMARE having to get a Pricing-Refund !!!
. barely an apologyā¦
. and a time wasterā¦
WHEN I Notice before I pay that the scan is WRONG at the Check-Out - 90% of the Time, I will just NOT get that Item - unless there is a āReduced priceā clearly marked on the itemā¦
Please re-read. You were charged for the wrong item, not a scanning price error.
(or zucchini mistaken for Lebanese cucumbers )
One could argue it was not the wrong item, it was an incorrect price being displayed, but either way if the packet matched the signage you should have received $30.82 refund and the item.
OTOH if it was a packet that did not match anything in/about the display (perhaps another customer or staff member put it there but it did not belong, as example) the refund+free policy would not apply.
As for time queueing at the counter, another topic.
Not just exasperating, costly too: if it had happened to me I would have had to pay $8.00 for the second hour at the car parking at the Woolies I shop in, because the first hour is free but the cost increases the longer you stay. And try to explain to the automatic boom gate machine that it wasnāt your fault you stayed 20-30 minutes over the free hour
Good article, Jodie18. Weāve all seen and experienced it. The ends of aisles are generally reserved for specials. Woolworths know that, and they know thatās the customer expectation. And do Woolworths want to hit headlines AGAIN for their business practices. Probably not. And itās doubtful even 100 customers paying the full price would have any notable profit impact. So maybe Woolworths would be better placed to have their staff acknowledge the obvious impact of their action rather than adopt a dig-in defensive response.
Iāve spotted a similar thing with Woolworthsā online shopping. They have a āhalf priceā promo section and within that section they show products that are not half price, but rather āonline exclusive specialā etc. they do show the correct price with the actual product, but gain the marketing advantage of getting attention to that promotion by including it in a halfprice section of the website have reported it to the ACCC twice, no action taken.
Thanks for highlighting this Jodie18.
I have experienced similar situations many times, and I think it is deliberate, or at least, ignoring a problem that does not hurt them but the consumer.
Best way to revenge is to shop at ALDI
They absolutely do give you a full refund. I think some of the junior staff have not been taught this, but I have always received full refunds. This will not happen with a scanned mark down product (eg close to use by date) with stickers on them if you incorrectly scan the bar code. You have to scan the sticker barcode. Otherwise full refund on the first scanned item. Not on multiples of the same product.
I have had numerous conversations with the local Woollies store Manager. Short answer - they donāt give a rats. They expect you to read every single labels fine print, knowing full well that nobody has that amount of time on their hands. They also put labels in the wrong spot, eg just like your issue with one type of tea, during Covid I had an argument about cheese on special, label in wrong spot. Nobody was going to stand around taking a closer look at labels in the early days of Covid, grabbed the cheese & it scanned at almost double the price, but didnāt notice that until I checked the receipt before leaving the store. I took it to the service desk and his response was āwe are not doing change of mind refunds during Covidā I told him I didnāt want a refund, I havenāt even left the store since the transaction 2 minutes ago, I wanted it at the price on the label and suggested he go check the item. He came back with oh the label has been put in the wrong spot, its not on special, he still kept going with his āno change of mind refundsā until I requested he call the store manager. He did the refund.
I remember the price of every item that goes in my trolley, and check the docket before I leave the store (unless Iāve managed to drag my husband along to load the trolley while I monitor the checkout) I imagine most people who do the weekly shopping remember pricesā¦ or maybe because I was in accounting for decades and remember numbers.
From the photo, thatās is definitely ādeceptive conductā. The store should have let you have it at the shelf marked price. When shelf pricing (instead of item pricing) was introduced years ago (principally to save them money) the retailers all undertook to behave responsibly and make sure that their pricing is unambiguous. Nowadays, they are using it as a tool to to deceive customers.
I would lodge a complaint on the ACCC website. That was the regulator agreed to retailers employing shelf pricing instead of item. Consumers are definitely at a disadvantage here. Who has time to read all the fine print on each label when they have marked the whole shelf āSpecialā in large bold letters.
Although price of twinnings has been steadily increasing from the $11.00 it seemed to stay at for many years, the amount of times itās on special at half price means I havenāt paid full price for the variety we buy, 80 pk Amysm which is stronger so only 80 per pack.
Iām a Coles shopper but get hubby to pick up from Woolies when he goes to beach on weekends.
I donāt know if itās the tea co or supermarket driving these competitive prices but keep it coming!!
I got hubby to get a pkt same week you did and Woollies Kingscliffe NSW had them all half price? Maybe it was result of incompetent staff doing whatever they felt like?
Welcome to the community @China,
We follow a similar strategy and always keep one extra box of our two favourites in the pantry, waiting for the half price specials. Same question as to how come there is such a large discount. Do most consumers pay full price and not notice?
The end of row shelving by my observation is used for specials, overflow product, and miscellaneous items. Price labelling is sometimes absent or only evident where the product is also placed in an aisle. Iāve learnt to check carefully, as itās also a prime dumping spot for customers who have changed their mind about a product. Especially if they see a similar product or different flavour on special vs the full priced one in their trolley.
