Why you should check your supermarket receipts for errors

A shopper has revealed why you should always check your dockets, citing a little-known policy that lets you take home grocery items for free.

There’s nothing more annoying than when you get home from grocery shopping and discover you’ve been charged incorrectly for an item.

But while many of us might think it’s too much hassle to take the item back to store and get the price corrected, two shoppers have revealed how Coles and Woolworths store policy actually means you’ll get the item for free.

In a TikTok video that’s been viewed 171,000 times, @deet2020 shared how her brother had been charged the full price of $7.50 for a packet of sausages at Mount Druitt Coles in Sydney rather than the yellow ticketed discount of $5.63.

The TikTok user got her brother to take back a packet of sausages that he had been charged full price for rather than the discounted price. Picture: TikTok/@deet2020

Dee got him to take the meat back to store with the receipt, where he was then able to get the product for free as well as his money back because he was incorrectly charged.

“If you buy anything from Coles or Woolies and the price is different to what’s advertised, you get a FULL REFUND plus the item for FREE!” she captioned the video.

“Check your receipts people!”

The video had over 200 comments, with several shoppers saying they had “no idea” about the price policy.

“Not all superheroes wear capes,” one person joked.

But others were surprised to find out this wasn’t common knowledge among shoppers as they had known about the policy for years and “always check my receipt after shopping”.

“My mum has done this for years, works at both Coles and Woolies,” one person wrote.

“Yes it’s called the scanning code of practice, it’s not new,” another commented.

Dee also shared the receipts showing her brother had been able to get a refund and the item for free. Picture: TikTok/@deet2020.

Dee said in the comments she had decided to make a video about it as there was “thousands of people out there who don’t know, so hopefully this helps someone”.

But others still weren’t sold on it, arguing it was too much hassle to return to store and they’d rather just get the price fixed while items were being scanned even if it meant missing out on a freebie.

“I work at a supermarket 95 per cent of people are happy with the price difference in return,” one commenter wrote.

“Or they just let it go because it’s like $2.”

A Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au: “All Coles Supermarkets apply ‘Our Promise on Price Scanning’ to ensure confidence in the pricing accuracy at our registers.

“ 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.
“Our Promise on Price Scanning goes above and beyond the requirements of the Australian Consumer Law, which requires businesses to refund the difference between any overcharged amount and the correct price of the item.”

Woolworths also has the same policy on incorrectly scanned items. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

WHAT IS THE SCANNING CODE OF PRACTICE?

Coles, Aldi and Woolworths have signed up to the Scanning Code of Practice, a voluntary code in which signatories agree to provide a refund and the item for free if a customer is charged the wrong price.

But Choice reports there are some exceptions to the rule: Alcohol, cigarettes and items worth $50 or more are excluded, and the policy does not include products without a barcode.

Details about the policy can also be found on Coles’ website, where the supermarket states: “If a single item scans at a higher price than the advertised or ticketed shelf price for that item, we will give you that item FREE.”