An Aussie Aldi shopper has been left scratching her head after a mystery charge of just over $20 was added to her shopping. It has prompted a consumer expert to remind shoppers to always check their receipts before leaving a store.
The Aldi customer shared her experience anonymously in an online mums group and said she spotted a charge on her bill labelled "groceries 10 per cent". She only noticed it after she had already left the store having spent $269.25, including the mystery charge of $20.60.
"The GST is different and goes at the bottom. I don't really know what I have paid $20.60 for," she said in a post asking other mums if they had seen similar charges.
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Some fellow Aussies responded to the woman and questioned whether the charge was the GST, but many urged her to go back for a refund. There were also several former and current Aldi employees sharing their theories.
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One, who identified herself as an Aldi store manager, said it was likely an error made by the cashier.
“A button has been incorrectly pressed. Take the receipt back and you will be given a refund,” she wrote.
A previous employee added: "There is a small button on our register that says 0% GST and another 10% GST. These buttons are hardly used but can be mistakenly pushed during scanning or punching in codes for produce. Take the receipt back to the shop and they will refund."
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What was Aldi's response?
When approached by Yahoo Finance, Aldi chose not to comment on the mystery charge, but spokespeople have previously said that any customers with queries about prices can contact Aldi directly via their help centre.
Yahoo Finance understands that with certain products, such as a clearance item, a bespoke code is used for inputting a specific price point.
Consider going to self check-outs to keep eye on prices
Christine Seib, editor-in-chief at Canstar Blue said while shoppers may choose to decline receipts to save paper or avoid having a “pocket full of them”, it’s important to accept and check the docket, or alternatively consider going to a self-serve checkout.
“About a third of shoppers already choose to check out their own groceries, according to Canstar Blue’s latest research,” Seib told Yahoo Finance.
“Self-service lets you see and assess the cost of each item and remove it or query the cost before it goes in your shopping bag. If you’re not already doing so, it could be worth considering if being incorrectly charged is a concern. Likewise, if you buy your groceries online, your receipt will be stored in your online account for review at any time.”
Other Aldi staff commenting on the post said the extra charge was likely related to a Special Buy or meat product with no barcode, which was manually entered.
Another employee said: "If you purchased meat of the same value, we sometimes have to process it using a button on our registers if the barcode or code isn't working. Check your meat items first and see what it is that you could've been charged for."
“It is a meat pack that's not scanning or something in the special buys without a barcode. If they don't have a code you can push this button and manually put the price in. It happens a lot with the free range chicken,” another wrote.
Why receipts are important
Seib said receipts aren’t only useful for checking to make sure shoppers haven’t been over or double charged for goods or have missed out on a discount, they are also required for returning a purchase or registering a warranty.
“There are a few ways to get a receipt you can check, without having to carry around paper receipts,” she said.
“Some stores offer to email you a receipt, so you could consider setting up a specific email account just for receipts to keep them all in one place and prevent them clogging up your main inbox.
"Plus some bank apps and rewards apps have a ‘smart receipts’ or e-receipts feature in partnership with selected retailers that lets you store receipts in the app.”
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