Being short-changed in shops ...

Eyeore

Had this recently with my niece at London aquarium, she gave £10 for a £2.99 purchase and got change for £5, until I politely pointed out that she had given £10, the lady sheepishishly apologised and gave my niece the fiver! Was not impressed!

lil_me

Someone I used to work with in a supermarket, very busy one, pocketed 50p-£1 every sale she used to make & bragged about it openly. She would leave it in then take it out across the day. Supervisors would check her till if they seen her dipping but it was never short. At 16 I was too scared to say anything & be deemed a trouble maker. Our wages were about £3 per hour, she'd keep double her wages from change. Not uncommon unfortunately, bars are worse!

Horseunderwater

Many years back I worked in Boots the chemist and was taught to take the money and leave it in the clip on the till. Then back count the change to nearest 1p,5p,10p,50p till I reached a whole pound, then the lower denomination notes followed until the £10 or which ever note was reached. You then had to count it out into each customers hand until the total of the note was reached and that way you could not make a mistake. Once customer happy, note was popped into till tray and closed. I still use that method today and it came in useful as a bus driver. I too know almost without looking if change is right as I know which coins should be used to get there. But I still check as I put it in purse.
Frances

Softstuff

One of the supermarkets here has started the insidious practice of asking if you want a receipt and not automatically just giving you one. Of course I want a receipt, I've had bad meat, reduced items put through as full price, random items I haven't purchased appear on the bill and multibuys not go through. But then a cynical mind would think that's why they're trying not to give you a receipt.

OrkneyStar

Softstuff wrote: »

One of the supermarkets here has started the insidious practice of asking if you want a receipt and not automatically just giving you one. Of course I want a receipt, I've had bad meat, reduced items put through as full price, random items I haven't purchased appear on the bill and multibuys not go through. But then a cynical mind would think that's why they're trying not to give you a receipt.

I too generally take a receipt for more than 5 things, but for less than that I will quite often say no, as I have added it up in my head and don't need another bit of paper to dispose of! Our local Coop is the main shop with the 'do you want a receipt' policy and most of the staff are not bothered either way. If I have a larger shop, and perhaps some offers/reductions I will get one though, just to check it is all ok.

A couple of months back someone gave me change of £10 when I knew I had only given her £5, so of course I told her as tbh it would have been dishonest not to. She was quite surprised but thanked me!

Moorhen

I always check my change.

Sometimes I am short changed and I ask politely for the money back and always get it.

Sometimes I am given too much change and I hand the extra back, generally to the grateful astonishment of the cashier. I have been known to go back into shops and pay for things that they have failed to charge me for. I did this once in our local branch of L*SH and they were so grateful that they gave me free gifts that were worth far more than the item I had gone back to pay for!:D

azureblue_2

I am so glad so many of you have joined in this thread and proved that it is not just happening to me. I will remember to use the "Here's a tenner" method to forestall inaccuracies too. For 6 years I ran my own shop, health foods in Kent, and maybe that is why I am more aware of the wrong change. But I do hate dishonesty, always have, and this common casual thieving really is a sad reflection of society today.
On a similar theme, small local shops are being raided every week here since half the street lights have been switched off to save the county council money. I feel so sorry for the shop assistants who have to experience this harrowing thuggery. It seems we have peaked as a country about 5 years ago and it's all down hill now. Oh dear. Chin up. Soldier on.

GreyQueen

I check my change at the till (saddo that I am) and rarely get caught out. Mr T shorted me be a whole £1 coin once; I mentioned it to the young lad cashier, he silently handed me the £1 without so much as a muttered "Sorry." He didn't last long in the job.

One thing I would suggest is to watch out if in case you are short-changed by the ATM machines. Years ago, I got a bank statement and saw the balance was a bit high so I went to the ATM and withdrew £200 and walked down the street to my building society; handed over my card and said I'd like to pay in £200 please.

The teller counted it; £180. I was baffled; he counted it several times but it was still short by one £20 note. I went back to the bank to explain. They sent a snotty deputy manager out who duly noted the numbers of the bank notes I did have (they were all brand-new notes with sequential numbers btw). He said that they couldn't get into their ATM machine until they cashed-up after closing time, but if I came back the following day, they'd have been able to see if there was a spare £20 stuck in the mechanics.

I went back. There had been no spare (I suppose someone could have got an extra one) and they basically implied that I was trying it on. Since I'd no more do that than levitate, I explained politely but firmly that I was £20 down on the transaction and I expected my £20 or I'd close the account.

I got it, but it was horrible to have my honesty impugned when I was the wronged party. So, from that day onwards, I always use ATMs inside branches, and count my cash under the eyes of the security cameras and if there is a discrepancy (there never has been again) I'll be able to challenge it.

Thing was, if I hadn't been paying the cash into another organisation, I doubt I would have noticed.:(

You do have to watch that offers are rung up, tho; I have had discounted items rung up at both full and reduced price before now.....kinda negates the purpose of scrimping....;)

catch_me_if_you_can

I tend to pay by card everywhere now anyway but used to love the expression on a cashier's face when I would give them say, £10 "and here's the 10p" for purchases totalling £7.10 for example. They would often look at the odd coinage as if I had just put a dog poo in their hand :rotfl:

One girl actually said, "we can't accept tips" when I did that in a card shop... :eek: the girl serving on the next till nearly wet herself laughing!

BitterAndTwisted

Oh, so true about handing over the small change when paying with a note. The numpties on the till can't work out how to ring up the money given to them properly. I blame those machines which work out the change to be given back to the customer. It means few of them ever have to think, so they've completely stopped thinking.

I always check my change and scrutinise the till-receipt before I leave the store. One particular supermarket near me has assistants who often scan things twice and another doesn't seem to be able to apply some of the discounts offered. I'm much too skint to let any of those pass.