Have you been scammed at the checkout? tell us your story

geordie_joe

aaronmanz wrote: »

Most normal people would not put their job at risk by decieving customers let alone the company they work for just for a few quid! :T

Depends on what you call normal. Many people will look for a way to make more money, even if it is dishonestly getting it from others. There's also the factor of getting caught, if people thought they would get caught every time they did something wrong they would never do anything wrong.

With things like this it normally comes down to one person saying they made a genuine mistake and the other saying they did it deliberately. So the people think they are unlikely to get caught.

archie9uk

aaronmanz wrote: »

Most normal people would not put their job at risk by decieving customers let alone the company they work for just for a few quid! :T

It might only be a few quid each time, but if they do it enough times it would soon add up.

anamenottaken

partyprincess wrote: »

A few weeks ago I paid for a bag of crisps costing about 40p with a £10 note because I had no change. When the man gave me the change he gave me 9 £1 coins and some silver despite the fact that I could see fivers in the till. As he gave me the change he started making conversation with me. I put the coins into my purse without checking.

So are you saying he didn't give you 9 £1 coins but only 8 £1 coins?

the-mango

THIS happens a few times to me in a local tesco i even wrote to tesco to complain but they never wrote back!!
I do always check now as I know which particularly lady it is - she must know that I'm always in a hurry in a morning and takes advantage of this.

krazykidskate

I had this in a nightclub once where i was just given a handful of copper as my change, luckily i wasn't too drunk to notice. In Italy I had it where obvious substitutions of certain coins were made because i was from UK and they knew i wasn't familiar with Euros. It was so obvious and in both cases was just given an apology and my correct change. It seems to be done in situations where people are unable or unlikely to be able to complain so they have nothing to lose by trying it on :mad:

geordie_joe

krazykidskate wrote: »

It seems to be done in situations where people are unable or unlikely to be able to complain so they have nothing to lose by trying it on :mad:

Exactly!

They can try it on, and if caught just apologise and correct it.

There is no difference between someone genuinely making a mistake and giving you the wrong change, then correcting it when you speak up, and someone deliberately giving you the wrong change then correcting it when you speak up.

You may know it was deliberate, and the other person will know too, but they say "hey, I made a mistake, but corrected it when it was pointed out....what more can I do".

This is why they try it on, they know an apology and correcting the "mistake" will get them off the hook when caught.

What can the customer do about it, complain to the manager that the barman made a mistake then corrected it?

jillymit

I've experienced being given change from a ten pound note when I've actually given a twenty.
Once when I've not noticed until I've got to the next shop :mad: and once when the cashier has said oops and then given me the right change when I complained.
If I use a bigger note to pay for a smaller item now I try and remember to say, "sorry I've only got a tenner" (or a twenty) That way less 'mistakes' get made and I kind of remind myself to check the change IYKWIM.

partyprincess

anamenottaken wrote: »

So are you saying he didn't give you 9 £1 coins but only 8 £1 coins?

Yes! Sorry have edited the post!

rickbonar

galaxynicole wrote: »

My friend was done like that in a bar. She had got £20 out of the cash machine and it gave her £20 notes. We ordered two drinks and he gave her the change for a £10. We asked him where the rest of the change was? and he said we'd only given him £10. We kicked up a fuss, they got the manager out and he said that if they were over by £10 that night and they would ring us. Guess what? They never did.

Now if dealing with any pub, I learn the numbers on £20 note and so I can quote it. Though I try and avoid having £20 out with me.

The exact scenario that happened to me first time in a bar, that’s it I didn’t have any £10s as I’d only just got the money from the cashpoint with receipt.


Same thing about counting up the till overnight and that the manager would phone me ... They never did either, and they could easily have left a message on the mobile voicemail.


Second recent time was in a supermarket .. the disturbing thing about this is that the managing assistant showed me the £20s in the till and my sequenced note wasn't there. As for the cctv "members of the public aren't allowed to be shown this".



I thought as much; in this guys case he clearly perfected his technique.

smj43

I work in a supermarket and I have seen/heard this happen many times before. I will tell you exactly how it works so you can avoid getting conned.

I know it's usually small amounts (no more than £1), any more and there is too much of a risk of getting caught out. So all of the people who have said about being given change for a £10 when they gave a £20, it's most likely a geniune error, or the person carrying it out is insane.

The person carrying out the scam will not do it to everyone and will not do it all the time. You could visit the same person twice and not get scammed at all, or once, or both times. It's totally random, depending on the conditions.

The 'ideal' conditions are when the customers bill is for example, £3.30, and they hand over a £20. The change would be £16.70, you will be given a £10 note, 5 £1 coins, 2 50 pences and a 20 pence. You may be thinking why the awkward amount of change? Well that's all to confuse you. It will look like the right amount when it's given to you, yet it's 50p short. You will usually be given the change and the cashier will say something like "sorry, I don't have any fives", again to distract you.

When you have left and it's been a suitable amount of time, it's is unlikely you have noticed and will not come back. The cashier can then palm the coins while getting another customers change and then slip it into their pocket. It's very hard to detect on CCTV and usually goes unnoticed. Do it to 20 people in a day and that's £10 profit. There is very little risk of getting caught and if the person does come back, they will simply appologise and hand back your change. After all, they could make it back on the next person.

I advise everyone check their change and try not to hand over large notes. The best thing to do of course would be to pay by card. It happens ALOT.