Self service till errors help!

Tescophobic

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help me please and that I'm posting in the right place?! I had a most embarrassing and upsetting incident in a Tesco store earlier today. I was in a rush so I used the self service tills but boy do I now wish hadn't! I scanned my items and then put £10 cash into the machine to pay but basically the stupid thing was saying I hadn't paid! I called a member of staff over who said she'd need to get her boss. After waiting an eternity another staff member came and looked inside the cash box to see there was a £10 in there but she said she couldn't be sure it was mine! By this point I was getting irate and felt I was being accused of lying. She said they would need to check something first and said the boss would be along soon. After waiting again the 'boss' came over and basically said they would need to take my details and phone me on Monday to confirm that this till was £10 up and then I'd be able to come back and pick it up! By this point I was astounded and upset - so I would have to leave the store without my shopping and more importantly, without MY money?! I explained through my tears that I felt vilified and questioned the accuracy of the till anyway as the initial member of staff had said "oh no not this till again!" I explained my concerns that the till could produce my change for the next customer or any other other number of errors, which may result in an inaccurate takings account. But he was adamant this was the protocol and simply suggested I use their in store cash machine to draw more money out to purchase the goods! I explained it was the only cash I had on me and I hadn't got my bank card on me. The change I should have got was also my bus fare home. It was only when the other member of staff came back from the office saying she had checked the receipts that confirmed the £10 was mine that I actually got my change. She explained it had only been checked previously 30 minutes ago so it was easy to see there were no other transactions on this till. My main points are, just what rights did I have, and could the store legally expect me to leave without my own money and not have to give it back to me for 2 whole days?! And what was to stop the store from just not contacting me and claiming they knew nothing of the transaction? Ok maybe the last question is just down to my paranoia and complete lack of trust in any company!

wealdroam

You had to explain through your tears?
Oh dear... we are talking about £10 here.

Something similar happened to me and I said "I'll wait while you do your checks".

I was ushered to the cafeteria and offered a cup of coffee or tea while I waited.

About ten minutes later I was handed my shopping with the expected change.

Southend1

This kind of thing happens all the time in shops. Normal procedure is to check what's in the till against sales to see if the till is up by the amount the customer is disputing. Sometimes the customer is right, sometimes they were mistaken about what money they handed over and sometimes they are lying to try to defraud the shop. Unfortunately because of the second and third categories the stores can't just believe everyone who says they were shortchanged, they need to keep an open mind and do the till check as described. So it was nothing personal and although it can be embarrassing, just remember store staff see this kind of thing happen on a daily basis so they're probably thinking more about what's for dinner when they get home from work than they are about judging you!

Tescophobic

Wealdroam - £10 is a lot of money when you have nothing else on you and you're relying on the change to get you home. The lengthy wait had also caused me to miss a bus and I then had another 45 minute wait once I had left the store. If I had left empty handed I would've had an 8 mile walk home! Oh and did I forgot to mention I'm pregnant! It was also more the point that they were initially telling me they would only be able to phone me 2 days later to confirm/deny any error! I can appreciate that some people try it on and that shops need to investigate, but 2 days?! It was just the whole 'I don't really care' attitude I got from the staff too but I doubt they'd want to walk out of a store without their own money. Ah well, I won't be going there again so I'll put it down to experience!

Pollycat

Tescophobic wrote: »

Oh and did I forgot to mention I'm pregnant!

And this is relevant because.......?

Valli

I'm at a loss really as to why you're asking for help?

You've got your money back. You didn't leave the store without it because you stood your ground.

What 'help' do you want?

j0nathon2

Pollycat wrote:

And this is relevant because.......?

An eight mile walk during later stages of pregnancy is hardly advisable, nor is not having the food/drink/shopping that would be held back for two days. I don't know, or need to know, what stage of pregnancy, just saying it could be relevant.

Valli wrote:

What 'help' do you want?

Tescophobic wrote: »

My main points are, just what rights did I have, and could the store legally expect me to leave without my own money and not have to give it back to me for 2 whole days?!

It seems to me like some of these self service machines are a gamble; the main problem is that in smaller stores and/or at night, you are almost forced to use them unless you can find a member of staff who is willing to open a normal till or use the machine for you (which defeats their purpose really).

Pollycat

Valli wrote: »

I'm at a loss really as to why you're asking for help?

You've got your money back. You didn't leave the store without it because you stood your ground.

What 'help' do you want?

I can understand the OP wanting answers to these 2 points below (in case the same thing ever happened again):

Tescophobic wrote: »

My main points are, just what rights did I have, and could the store legally expect me to leave without my own money and not have to give it back to me for 2 whole days?!

But this is just paranoia

Tescophobic wrote: »

And what was to stop the store from just not contacting me and claiming they knew nothing of the transaction? Ok maybe the last question is just down to my paranoia and complete lack of trust in any company!

Pollycat

j0nathon2 wrote: »

An eight mile walk during later stages of pregnancy is hardly advisable, nor is not having the food/drink/shopping that would be held back for two days.

And where does the OP say she is in 'the latter stages of pregnancy'?

Not having food/drink/shopping is 'hardly advisable'?

I'd say it might be pretty inconvenient but not 'hardly advisable'.

j0nathon2

Pollycat wrote: »

And where does the OP say she is in 'the latter stages of pregnancy'?

She doesn't; I edited my post to reflect we don't know already, I was just stating how it may be relevant.

And, is it advisable not to eat or drink for two days, not have painkillers or medication in the cupboard, not have soap to get washed with?

Again, I don't know anything about the OP or what they bought, but there can be a relevance, and I think the question is therefore valid.

Unfortunately not everybody has an abundance of money, and therefore products in their cupboards, and to somebody £10 could be their last £10 for the week or month.

Pollycat

j0nathon2 wrote: »

She doesn't; I edited my post to reflect we don't know already, I was just stating how it may be relevant.

And, is it advisable not to eat or drink for two days, not have painkillers or medication in the cupboard, not have soap to get washed with?

Again, I don't know anything about the OP or what they bought, but there can be a relevance, and I think the question is therefore valid.

Unfortunately not everybody has an abundance of money, and therefore products in their cupboards, and to somebody £10 could be their last £10 for the week or month.

But we don't know what the OP bought in the store and we don't know what the OP has in her cupboards and we don't know if that £10 was the OP's last one for the week or month.
To go back to your previous post, we don't even know if the OP would have had to walk 8 miles home.

And I still can't see where the fact that she's pregnant has any relevance.