If Wal-Mart's price scanners are wrong, you can get $3

A little holiday cheer from our friends at Wal-Mart. The world's biggest retailer has come to terms with California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and San Diego District Atty. Bonnie Dumanis over concerns that customers were getting ripped off due to "price-scanning errors" at the cash register. Wal-Mart now promises to give back $3 to customers any time a pricing mistake is discovered. If the mispriced item sells for less than $3, you get it free.

"We found price-scanning errors in Wal-Mart stores across California," Brown said in a statement. "Consumers saw one price in the aisles, but were charged a higher price at the cash register." He added that the settlement "will help consumers as the holiday season approaches."

The investigation has been going on for nearly three years. The attorney general's office said it found price-scanning errors at 164 Wal-Mart outlets in 30 counties statewide. On average, customers who were overcharged paid an extra $8.40 at the checkout.

Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the pricing errors were purely accidental. "Wal-Mart strives for 100% pricing accuracy," he said. "If we find pricing inaccuracies, we're committed to making it right for customers."

But Christine Gasparac, a spokeswoman for Brown, said state investigators concluded that "these were systemic problems," not just run-of-the-mill mistakes.

The refund program begins immediately and will last for four years, she said. But it's up to shoppers to spot any disparity between what a product is listed for on the shelf and what's rung up by the price scanner. "It all depends on how vigilant a shopper you are," Gasparac said.

As if holiday shopping wasn't hassle enough already.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Amy Sancetta / Associated Press
A shopper works her way through the aisles at the Wal-Mart store in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, on Nov. 13.

Comments

[Tammy Sapp]

These guys are way behind the times. Walmart's in Alabama have been doing this for the last ten years, at least.

[FRANCIS TAFELSKI]

It seems someone has a personal vendeta against Walmart. I have been shopping at Walmart for a number of years. I find their customer service and return policies far above all the rest. There are times that the price may ring up incorrectly. I have found that someone has often put an item back in the wrong place on the shelf. Sometimes the price has been marked down and it is actually lower than the price I expected to pay. But I would say in all cases its usually a human error and not a scanning error.

But what about all the other stores, Kmart, Costco, Sears, etc. Don't these stores have the same problem? Why single out Walmart?

I won't mention the problems I encountered recently trying to get a under warranty replacement part at Sears a few days ago. It would take up a couple pages and raise my blood pressure just recalling the experience.

Let's try to be fair and accurate in your reporting. There's a reason Walmart is # 1.

Sincerely,

Francis Tafelski