Tesco self-checkout rip-off

Tiglet

I've been in the habit of using the self checkouts at Tesco as a handy way of getting rid of handfuls of small change.

A couple of days ago I went shopping with pretty much exactly the right amount of small change to pay for the things I needed. I counted the money into the machine but it said I was about a pound short of what I'd paid in. The reject tray was empty so I selected "cancel payment" from the screen, expecting that it would just cough up the money I'd paid in.

Instead, it just paid out coins to the value that it had counted, leaving me about a pound out of pocket. I went back the next day and Customer Services gave me a full refund. They just asked me how much I'd lost and gave me it without checking the machine. (I'd brought the receipt so that they could identify the exact transaction but they weren't interested).

I think the problem is that the machine can only count coins at a certain speed. Feed in coins faster than that rate and it quite happily swallows them, but doesn't count them. When the machine is emptied there is too much cash in it but, as the machine hasn't counted the extra coins, there's no way the staff can pin down who any extra cash belongs to. That's why they don't check the machine if you complain that it has swallowed your money.

ISTM that this is something that they are aware of, but are keeping quiet about. I've no reason to believe that this is restricted to Tesco as they seem to use similar equipment to Sainsbury's (for example).


Has anybody else noticed this?

Astaroth

Why did you go back the next day and not say it there and then when they would have been able to check the machine?

It is all to easy for someone to walk into a shop after the incident and claim they have been short changed... as per the signs you see in corner shops, count your change before leaving the building

Tiglet

I probably should have done, but I went home to double check exactly how much I'd lost.

I wasn't posting to whine about losing my money, though. I was trying to alert people to how easy it is to lose money in these machines and that when it happens you get no indication at all that it's happened.

leadhead

Tiglet wrote:

Has anybody else noticed this?

Now that you mention it, on 2 seperate occasions I have thought I had put "too much" money in.......I'll be more vigilant in future.

C_Ronaldo

ive payed by crad whenever ive used these machines

jillie1974

I've noticed at my local ASDA that sometimes it doesnt give you the correct change!
most of the time its only 1p or 2p but it all adds up over year!

Mark7799

I don't like using them full stop. Surely, the more we use them, the more will be put in and the fewer staff will be employed? I've also noticed TEsco staff doing their shopping go to tills rather than self-service and wondered why? Do they HAVE to have their shopping cleared by a human for their protection?

Voyager2002

Mark7799 wrote:

I don't like using them full stop. Surely, the more we use them, the more will be put in and the fewer staff will be employed? I've also noticed TEsco staff doing their shopping go to tills rather than self-service and wondered why? Do they HAVE to have their shopping cleared by a human for their protection?

I find that staff scan things more quickly: these machines take too long to register each purchase.

Honeydog

I had a right old problem with one which meant it charged us twice and I ended up having to go back for a refund which took nearly an hour as they had to verify I wasn't ripping them off. Problem was young inexperiecned member of staff working on it wasn't fully trained or didn't care enough to sort our problem out there and then.

I will never use one again.

In fact unlesss I am really short of time I don't use Tesco that much anymore.

Ellie2758

Mark7799 wrote:

I don't like using them full stop. Surely, the more we use them, the more will be put in and the fewer staff will be employed? I've also noticed TEsco staff doing their shopping go to tills rather than self-service and wondered why? Do they HAVE to have their shopping cleared by a human for their protection?

Possibly they have to go to a human to get their staff discount taken off...