The price isn't always right: Supermarket errors leave shoppers fuming

Friday, 25 February 2022

Supermarkets are awash with signs advertising “special” prices and urging customers to “stock up and save” with multi-buy offers.

But eagle-eyed shoppers say the deals don’t always stack up at the checkout, with some items scanning at higher prices than those shown on the shelf.

Christchurch shopper Steve Davis​ estimated the normal price of an item was charged rather than the “special” price shown on its shelf tag once in every four shopping trips across various supermarkets.

That included a 1 kilogram pack of bacon shown to cost $18 but scanned at $24, and 89 cent cat food tins charged at $1.29, he told Stuff.

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“In calling these incidents to the stores' attention, the standard response is, ‘Sorry, they must have forgotten to change it in the system’,” Davis said.

He had also seen cashiers mis-select imported produce items for locally grown, confuse peanuts with pine nuts, and confuse pineapple with pomegranate.

“On other occasions, I've seen on the receipt that single items were inadvertently scanned twice. Oddly, I have never found an error made in my favour,” he said.

Davis said all customers should look closely at their receipts to catch incidences of incorrect pricing.

Davis isn’t alone in his frustration. Earlier this week, both of New Zealand’s supermarket companies, Countdown and Foodstuffs, faced online criticism over pricing errors.

An Auckland New World, part of the Foodstuffs stable which also includes Pak ‘n Save and Four Square, was called out after a Reddit user shared a photo showing beef sirloin steak on sale for $6.66, despite the original sticker pricing it at $6.21.

Closer inspection revealed the discounted price had been applied to the wrong product and should have been on a packet of scotch fillet steak.

In Countdown’s case, a can of Wattie's spaghetti with sausages was shown on special at $3.90 for Onecard Club members. But the original price label read $3.70, making the “special” price 20 cents higher.

A Countdown spokeswoman said the regular price of the spaghetti had increased to $4.30 late last year due to increased costs from suppliers.

The Wellington store where the mistake was identified had been “a bit slow in updating their on-shelf pricing” and the error would be corrected, she said.

Both Countdown and Foodstuffs acknowledged pricing errors were always possible and encouraged customers to point them out.

The Countdown spokeswoman said it aimed to ensure prices were clear, accurate and unambiguous.

“The average Countdown store stocks around 25,000 different products, and we always aim to make sure our shelf ticket prices and system prices are correct.

“However, there’s always a chance of error when tickets on-shelf are manually maintained and updated, whether that’s due to human error by our team, or where a ticket has fallen off the shelf and is accidentally put back in the wrong place.”

Countdown was looking at ways its systems could be improved, including by rolling out electronic price labels in more stores. The electronic system allows shelf labels to update automatically when there is a price change, rather than being manually updated.

When a product was charged at a higher price than stated on the shelf label, Countdown would refund the price paid, and the customer could keep the item free of charge, she said.

Foodstuffs spokeswoman Emma Wooster​, said specials were loaded electronically into its systems and individual stores were responsible for ensuring price integrity.

“There's always the potential for system or human error of course, so when we make a mistake we always want to make things right, and we appreciate the opportunity to resolve it when it’s bought to our attention,” she said.

“Customers who experienced a pricing discrepancy should contact their store for a refund, or Foodstuffs’ customer service team for support.”

Supermarket pricing has been in the spotlight recently, as the Commerce Commission conducted a market study of the $22 billion groceries industry. It is due to publish its final recommendations for the sector on March 8.

A commission spokeswoman said 127 consumers contacted the commission in 2021 alleging they were charged a higher price at the checkout than advertising or in-store labels led them to believe would be payable.

In 2020, 121 consumers alleged they had been overcharged, and so far this year the commission had been contacted by 17 people.

“Businesses must ensure its customers are charged the right price. When a customer sees a price sticker on a good or shelf, it is reasonable for them to expect that that is the price they will be charged at the till.

“A business that displays a price which is not the actual price charged is likely to be misleading consumers about the true cost of goods and risks breaching the Fair Trading Act,” she said.

“Pricing integrity concerns – where the price consumers are charged differs from the advertised or ticketed price – are not isolated to supermarkets. We regularly remind businesses of their obligations and encourage them to make sure they have systems and processes in place to ensure that consumers are charged correctly and are not misled.”

In 2020, Pak ‘n Save Mangere was fined $78,000 for discrepancies between the promotional price displayed or advertised, and the price charged at the till after pleading guilty to six charges of making false or misleading representations about price.

Action had also been taken against other types of traders for misleading representations around price, including Vodafone in 2020.

“We encourage consumers who are charged more than the advertised or ticketed price to go back to the retailer for a refund. If a consumer thinks they have been misled, they can make a complaint to the commission,” the spokeswoman said.