Horrible shop experience. Short-changed.

theonlywayisup

consumer345exp wrote: »

theonlywayisup, you say
"it's about the level of detail you've supplied and the lack of when it mattered.." ???

I said I didn't count the money at the till. What more detail can I give than that?

You are posting questions of doubt, but nothing about the person who took the money from me. I can see what you think of me.

I'm out.

School should be back. Truant? :rotfl:

IAmWales

Do you have an anxiety disorder consumer? Your reaction to the issue is disproportionate, and the way you acted could have made you appear to not be genuine.

You complain that the assistant asked for your phone number, that's what any shop worker would do in this situation. If you were uncomfortable you could have said you'll call them instead.

It's disappointing that you're down £5, but unless they find a discrepancy in their takings there is unfortunately nothing you can do about it.

steampowered

It is unfortunate.

But you did walk away from the till with £2 in your hand rather than £7. You should check your change before leaving the till.

When I was working tills as a teenager, I remember the opposite experience. A customer claimed they gave me £20; I entered £10 on the till. I was pretty sure the customer had gave me £10. I assumed the customer was lying so I probably wasn't polite.

The till was cashed and it turned out I was actually mistaken - so apologised to the customer profusely. This kind of thing does happen.

It might be better to forget about the £5 and chalk this one up to experience.

stuartJo1989

Wouldn't be surprised if that paid for a round of drinks for the two girls! :beer:

The bottom line is that you should have immediately brought up the issue, when the money was clearly still in your hand. Sadly, if your money makes its way into your pocket/you walk out the shop then it turns into a 'your word against theirs' situation!

Sorry pal, but it has all happened to us at some point in our lives. Just write it off and move on. And be more careful with your change next time.

If, however, you still want to pursue this then I would recommend either:

1. Write to their head office, naming people if you can, and really go to town on them. If you do it POLITELY and CONCISELY (no rambling like your post here and no name calling or angriness) then they *might* give you a goodwill voucher or something like that. They may also launch an investigation, but I doubt there will be any evidence to implicate anyone.

2. Take them to small claims court armed with your evidence (I would 1000% NOT recommend this, but its about the only other legal recourse you have IF they entertain it!)

Silvertabby

Cashiers do make mistakes, but not all deal with it politely.

Some time ago I bought a few little things from a supermarket and didn't check my change straight away. Like the OP, I noticed the error before I left the shop and returned to the cashier. Before I had the chance to say why my change was wrong, she started on a right rant, shouting that 'errors can't be rectified after the customer has left the till'.

Ok, I said, if you don't want the extra £5 you have given me, I'll put it in this charity box. The look on her face when I put the fiver into the collection box was worth far more than £5!

[Deleted User]

Or weren't baseball fans...

photome

consumer345exp wrote: »

theonlywayisup, you say
"it's about the level of detail you've supplied and the lack of when it mattered.." ???

I said I didn't count the money at the till. What more detail can I give than that?

You are posting questions of doubt, but nothing about the person who took the money from me. I can see what you think of me.

I suspect most people believe you BUT even it was only 10 seconds and you emptied everything that still doesnt mean you didnt get your fiver.

just saying.

what you should have done as you now realise is check your change at the till.

yes it is a long ramble with too much detail

what is your next step, i think from your Op they couldnt call you as you left the wrong number

Laz123

I've informed the FBI for you.

SouthUKMan

Some of you are awful. Yes the op posted a long post...but it's not exactly a crime to do so.

How about some practical advice such as...

1) Have you established the name of the shop manager / owner and made contact with them? If not, find out their name and write them a very concise account of what happened - date and time you were in the shop, the amount of money you handed over, the amount of change you received, and the fact you want the issue resolved to your satisfaction. Leave out all the rest out of the detail you posted above - with all respect, that wont get you anywhere and will only detract from the key point of your complaint. Send you letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy of your receipt.

2) Does the shop have CCTV cameras covering the tills? Again, find out who the manager is and politely outline the nature of your complaint and state that you "genuinely believe that I was short changed by £5 and as such it is reasonable to ask to review the CCTV footage."

3) Is the store a member of a local trade group or body such as a Chambers of Commerce? If so you could approach them for advice and maybe they could have a quiet word.

4) I assume by your description of 'small stationery store' that it is an independent shop - but if it isn't there is likely to be a regional manager or head office you could approach with your complaint. I understand there is a principle at stake here - and it is not so much about the £5 - so you are likely to find that a good business will offer you a goodwill gesture.

Hope that helps

stuartJo1989

SouthUKMan wrote: »

Some of you are awful. Yes the op posted a long post...but it's not exactly a crime to do so.

How about some practical advice such as...

1) Have you established the name of the shop manager / owner and made contact with them? If not, find out their name and write them a very concise account of what happened - date and time you were in the shop, the amount of money you handed over, the amount of change you received, and the fact you want the issue resolved to your satisfaction. Leave out all the rest out of the detail you posted above - with all respect, that wont get you anywhere and will only detract from the key point of your complaint. Send you letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy of your receipt.

2) Does the shop have CCTV cameras covering the tills? Again, find out who the manager is and politely outline the nature of your complaint and state that you "genuinely believe that I was short changed by £5 and as such it is reasonable to ask to review the CCTV footage."

3) Is the store a member of a local trade group or body such as a Chambers of Commerce? If so you could approach them for advice and maybe they could have a quiet word.

4) I assume by your description of 'small stationery store' that it is an independent shop - but if it isn't there is likely to be a regional manager or head office you could approach with your complaint. I understand there is a principle at stake here - and it is not so much about the £5 - so you are likely to find that a good business will offer you a goodwill gesture.

Hope that helps

I offered similar advice as well....

BUT one must bear in mind that taking too much action has the potential to cost OP more than the £5 they are seeking. They also aren't guaranteed to get the £5 back if they follow your 4 steps above.

Losses could include:

- Stationary (ironic :rotfl: ) to be able to write and send a letter, if email isn't preferred.

- You also mentioned "Recorded Delivery" in your post but Royal Mail's website states "Prices start at £1.75 for letters up to 100g" - so subtract £1.75 from that £5....

- Phone calls or travel costs to the associated entities you mentioned (shop, trade group, chambers of commerce). Phone costs will be fairly negligible but any travel costs are going to tip you over the £5

- The time you spend contacting various companies. Could you instead work 1 hour extra and make £7.50 or more?

- Possible associated costs for OP to obtain the CCTV evidence (iirc a company can charge up to £10 for them)


So I'm all for OP sending a clear + concise email to head office, but much more than that will be a colossal waste of time and money!