What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Delaware
In a grocery store, I had the choice of 2 very similar products but different prices. Product A was $.99 and B was $2.99. These were in similar bags, but the product in B was a different color. I wanted and picked up A.
When I returned home, I found that the store had charged me the price for product B and the price and description of product B was on my register tape But the product I had left the store with and now had in my house was A, thus creating a $2.00 overcharge. Product A was not anywhere on the register tape.
I called the store and brought it to their attention saying I would return that evening. As circumstances played out, I couldn't return to the store that night. I did seek out the manager I had spoken to on the next visit the following week. I'm disabled; leaving me limited times to get to the store.
I presented the manager the register tape indicating the erroneously charged error and the now empty bag of product A. I explained the bag was the bag I had picked up in his store the contents had been consumed.
He took the bag to the register scanner and returned to show me that the bag had scanned as product A. To me, that was no surprise, that was the crux of the claim; I bought A, but was charged for B. He denied the Adjustment of $2 because as he saw it, the bag A I brought to him scanned correctly therefore it was not the bag I left the store with and if the register tape said bag B, then I bought bag B. I asked him where he thought I got bag A. His response was he didn't know but it wasn't his store as I had claimed. At that point, it is my belief he identified me as a liar in front an individual who was with me and several employees who were clearly listening.
I left the store without satisfaction and feeling violated.
There is no doubt that this manager would have recognized me as a regular customer in this store for several years, leaving weekly with a full shopping cart. That would be roughly $6,000 per annum in business. There's no doubt in my mind this business manager was the only one in Delaware that day, when confronted with making a $2 adjustment chose to bash a regular customer and think it was good for his business.
He never considered the possibility that the original product A's UPC number didn't get scanned, but was a key entered by the checkout person. I don't know that happened, but neither does the manager. There's no way to tell the difference on that store's tape. The 10 digit UPC numbers for A and B differed only in the last 3 digits. It was my misfortune that day that the wrongly keyed numbered registered as B.
I made several calls to the store asking to speak to the owner of the business. Failing to get a response to calls, I wrote 2 letters addressed to the business owner explaining the situation and the opportunity to discuss the matter with him/her. No response.
Since, I have filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection division of the state's DOJ. The store's response vilified me claiming distortion and embellishments and reiterated the bag I brought into the store was not the bag I left the store with. If this weren't enough, the store threatens to sue me if I continued these libelous actions.
BTW, over the period of a year's shopping in that store, there was a least 12 instances where I brought checkout pricing errors to their attention. Was there ever a suggestion of fraud or deception implied to the store or in my complaint, no. Just the hope they would improve computer data entry.
Besides a grossly mishandled customer relations matter by an inept manager, is there any legal principle at play here? Has the manager voicing that my claims were untruthful in the store in front of witness and then reiterating the untruthful nature of my claim in the store's reply to my CP complaint constiture a form of slander? The written record is now on file in the AG's office as a public record, as I see it.
Thank you for your time,
Hank
In a grocery store, I had the choice of 2 very similar products but different prices. Product A was $.99 and B was $2.99. These were in similar bags, but the product in B was a different color. I wanted and picked up A.
When I returned home, I found that the store had charged me the price for product B and the price and description of product B was on my register tape But the product I had left the store with and now had in my house was A, thus creating a $2.00 overcharge. Product A was not anywhere on the register tape.
I called the store and brought it to their attention saying I would return that evening. As circumstances played out, I couldn't return to the store that night. I did seek out the manager I had spoken to on the next visit the following week. I'm disabled; leaving me limited times to get to the store.
I presented the manager the register tape indicating the erroneously charged error and the now empty bag of product A. I explained the bag was the bag I had picked up in his store the contents had been consumed.
He took the bag to the register scanner and returned to show me that the bag had scanned as product A. To me, that was no surprise, that was the crux of the claim; I bought A, but was charged for B. He denied the Adjustment of $2 because as he saw it, the bag A I brought to him scanned correctly therefore it was not the bag I left the store with and if the register tape said bag B, then I bought bag B. I asked him where he thought I got bag A. His response was he didn't know but it wasn't his store as I had claimed. At that point, it is my belief he identified me as a liar in front an individual who was with me and several employees who were clearly listening.
I left the store without satisfaction and feeling violated.
There is no doubt that this manager would have recognized me as a regular customer in this store for several years, leaving weekly with a full shopping cart. That would be roughly $6,000 per annum in business. There's no doubt in my mind this business manager was the only one in Delaware that day, when confronted with making a $2 adjustment chose to bash a regular customer and think it was good for his business.
He never considered the possibility that the original product A's UPC number didn't get scanned, but was a key entered by the checkout person. I don't know that happened, but neither does the manager. There's no way to tell the difference on that store's tape. The 10 digit UPC numbers for A and B differed only in the last 3 digits. It was my misfortune that day that the wrongly keyed numbered registered as B.
I made several calls to the store asking to speak to the owner of the business. Failing to get a response to calls, I wrote 2 letters addressed to the business owner explaining the situation and the opportunity to discuss the matter with him/her. No response.
Since, I have filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection division of the state's DOJ. The store's response vilified me claiming distortion and embellishments and reiterated the bag I brought into the store was not the bag I left the store with. If this weren't enough, the store threatens to sue me if I continued these libelous actions.
BTW, over the period of a year's shopping in that store, there was a least 12 instances where I brought checkout pricing errors to their attention. Was there ever a suggestion of fraud or deception implied to the store or in my complaint, no. Just the hope they would improve computer data entry.
Besides a grossly mishandled customer relations matter by an inept manager, is there any legal principle at play here? Has the manager voicing that my claims were untruthful in the store in front of witness and then reiterating the untruthful nature of my claim in the store's reply to my CP complaint constiture a form of slander? The written record is now on file in the AG's office as a public record, as I see it.
Thank you for your time,
Hank
