Self-serve checkouts at supermarket giant Woolworths are weighing the same products differently and charging varying prices, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
A customer purchasing fruit at a Woolworths store in Sydney was surprised to find his fruit was weighed and priced differently depending on which checkout he used.
The man weighed a watermelon at one register which marked it as $6.42 while the same piece of fruit was priced at $6.43 at the next checkout – with a 42g weight difference.
The man weighed a watermelon at one register which marked it as $6.42 while the same piece of fruit was priced at $6.43 at the next checkout
A customer purchasing fruit at a Woolworths store in Sydney was surprised to find his fruit was weighed and priced differently depending on which checkout he used
A pink-lady apple was also weighed and priced at 84c but was then priced at 86c at another register, with a 0.05g weight difference.
It may seem like an insignificant difference in price – however if a customer is paying in cash, a one cent disparity can change to five cents in the rounding-up process.
And a bag of apples priced at 2c extra per piece could be up to 20c more expensive, while an entire trolley full of fresh produce could have significant price difference.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia that any ‘weight variance’ found on self-serve checkouts is flagged immediately to the scale suppliers.
‘Our store teams check the accuracy of self-serve weight scales as part of their daily routines. If they spot any weight variance, they’ll report it to our scale supplier to rectify,’ the statement read.
Another customer also noticed the weight disparity while shopping at a Woolworths in South Australia.
A pink-lady apple was also weighed and priced at 84c but was then priced at 86c at another register
Another customer also noticed the weight disparity while shopping for bananas at a Woolworths in South Australia (Stock image)
Robyn Kay complained to the supermarket that the same banana was weighed at different amounts four different times.
‘One banana on scales at self serve. First weight – 497 grams 90 cents. Called assistant. Weighed no less than 4 different weights. Ended up being 32 cents!’ she said.
‘We were given the one banana at no charge (just as well). Front of store manager explained how scales are reset every day and cleaned. The filth in the front of the scales was months old and I pointed it out. Clearly the scales must be faulty.
I wonder how many other times I have been overcharged when it’s been a bag of bananas or a bag of apples. Only noticed this because I though 90c was a very expensive banana.’
It follows a recent spate of theft occurring at self-serve checkouts in Woolworths and Coles stores.
The stores are targeted by thieves who ‘save’ money by failing to scan certain items, put through expensive goods as cheap products such as fruit or noodles, or even swapping barcodes.
Robyn Kay complained to the supermarket that the same banana was weighed at different numbers four different times
It follows a recent spate of theft occurring at self-serve checkouts in Woolworths and Coles stores
In 2016, a staggering $4.5 billion worth of retail theft occurred in Australia alone.
In February last year a mother from Ipswich, Queensland was caught red-handed after she stole $4,500 worth of groceries from Coles and Woolworths by scanning every single item as a packet of 72 cent noodles.
The woman glued the barcode of cut price fried noodles onto expensive slabs of meat, $200 coffee machines and other household products over a three-month period.
Her plot was foiled by a Woolworths employee who watched her at a checkout and she was sentenced to a nine month suspended jail sentence.
A ‘poor’ German backpacker was fined $100 this week after he failed to scan through expensive meat, bacon and cheese while at a self-serve register.
The man was caught after he only scanned through a portion of his groceries and attempted to bag unpaid items, a method used by many checkout thieves.