‘Check your receipt,’ shoppers warned as 14 stores fined for scanning error with ‘high rate of overcharging’ in US state

SHOPPERS have been urged to check their receipts after multiple stores were slapped with fines for scanning errors.

Customers at three retail chains across North Carolina should pore through their proof of purchase if they have shopped at the 14 outlets which were hit with heavy fees.

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The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of price-scanner systems to verify that customers are charged accurately.

Stores which are guilty of even a low percentage of error rates face a follow up inspection at a later date.

If they fail the subsequent check-up, fines are passed out and follow-up inspections are carried out every 60 days until the error rate drops below the threshold.

“Many of the stores facing fines in the first quarter of 2024 had multiple failed inspections and a high rate of overcharging errors,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

“Overcharges cost consumers so we remain vigilant in inspecting stores to save people money.

"Remember it is always a good practice to check your receipt as well as the price on the shelf to make sure you are paying the correct amount and alert managers if the prices don’t match.”

NOT THE ONLY ONE

This comes after Target was accused of overcharging customers at several locations.

The retail giant faced scrutiny after a new report claimed several stores in California made shoppers pay a bit extra for some merchandise.

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Price inspection reports collected by the Marion County Department of Agriculture, Weights, and Measures from 2023 and into 2024 revealed shocking data, per SFGate.

They claimed that a Target store in Novato, about 30 miles north of San Francisco, specifically overcharged on cocktail mixers and containers that did not qualify for the California Redemption Value, a benefit for recyclable packaging that could be returned for a refund.

According to the data included in the report, the Novato Target also did not pass several re-inspections.

Other Target locations in several states have also reportedly paid settlement amounts or penalties to the department after failed inspections and accusations of overcharging customers.

As The U.S. Sun previously reported, a store in North Carolina paid the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services a whopping $14,755 in fines.

The Target location failed price inspections seven times between September 2022 and 2023.

It paid the fines in October last year and later passed inspections in November into the New Year, per Charlotte NBC affiliate WCNC.

Safeway has also been included in recent overcharging claims across California from the reports gathered by SFGate.

A location for the brand, also in Novato, was accused of charging customers an extra dollar for Oreos, instant coffee, and some soap products.