Right, this one’s got me proper wound up. I popped into M&S last week for bits and bobs. Nothing special; just the same overpriced sandwiches and a bag of Percy Pigs to keep the kids quiet.
I got to the car, looked at my receipt, and almost choked on my coffee. They had charged me twice for the same sandwich. £4.50 down the drain for not checking properly at the till.
Turns out I’m not alone. There’s been a lot of talk online about the Marks and Spencer receipt errors lately. One Yorkshire customer realised they’d been charged completely wrong prices after looking at their receipt in the parking lot.
The Latest M&S Pricing Drama
An M&S shopper urges others to check their receipts after discovering a shocking price discrepancy following a recent purchase at the renowned high street store. This comes right after M&S has been dealing with massive tech problems since April.
My mate Jim is in retail IT. He says these system errors are a nightmare for major chains. “Everything’s connected now,” he said over a pint last Friday. “One dodgy update and all of a sudden your tills are taking money off people for stuff that they haven’t even purchased,” he said.
That’s precisely what’s been going on at M&S. The Marks and Spencer receipt error predicament deepened when their cyber incident began to wreak havoc with payments and pricing systems.
My Own Horror Story
I recently purchased school uniform bits for my daughter. Two polo shirts at £8, and some grey trousers for £12. Should’ve been £28 total.
The receipt showed £44. I stood there like a mug, trying to figure out where the extra sixteen quid had appeared from. Their system had, in fact, overcharged me for three polo shirts instead of two and also, somehow, decided to throw in an extra pair of tights that I never picked up.
The staff was wonderful about it. Full refund, very apologetic. But had I not inspected my receipt at once, I’d have been £16 worse off and none the wiser.
What’s Actually Going Wrong
M&S is not out to deliberately rip anyone off. The pricing mistakes appear to be carried over from the cyber problems the company has been contending with since spring. Marks & Spencer has reported that a “severe” cyberattack triggered by “human error” will cost the company as much as £300 million, with the effects likely to last until July.
That’s mental money, isn’t it? No wonder their tills are playing up when their entire system’s been compromised.
But here is what really gets my goat: it is the customers who are the ones suffering. We’re the people standing in checkouts asking why our shopping is more expensive than we thought. It’s us that have to traipse back to customer services for refunds.
The Check Your Receipt Movement
Smart shoppers are fighting back. Social media’s awash with people sharing stories of their M&S receipt ordeals. For example, a woman in Leeds discovered she had been charged £18 for a sandwich that was priced at £4.50. Another man found he’d somehow bought five pairs of the same socks when he’d only picked up one packet.
It is simple advice but very important; you need to check every line of your receipt before you leave the store. It’s not enough to just look at the sum as I once did. Actually read through each item.
What M&S Should Be Doing
Look, I get it. Tech problems happen. So cyber attacks are proper serious business. But M&S really does need to sort this pricing chaos out and sharpish.
They could post signs advising customers about possible receipt errors. Teach employees to ask patrons to review their receipts. Maybe even provide automatic refunds when errors get flagged up in the pricing.
Other retailers have kept their tills accurate even when dealing with technical problems. There’s no reason that customers should be charged the wrong prices week after week.
My New Shopping Strategy
Now I’m paranoid about every receipt. Not just M&S but everywhere. Last month I caught Tesco trying to charge me for organic carrots when I’d bought normal ones. That’s an extra £2 I’d have lost if I hadn’t been paying attention.
My new rule is simple. Check the receipt before leaving any shop. Compare what’s on paper with what’s in your bags. It takes thirty seconds and could save you serious cash.
I’ve started taking photos of price tags too, especially for expensive items. If there’s a discrepancy, I’ve got proof of what the shelf price actually said.
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