Hey Walmart, it's the PRINCIPLE of the thing!

[SandrA9810]

It says Walmart is in compliance with state tax laws, yet she hasn't lost a lawsuit yet?

Makes no sense

Don't all stores charge you taxes for the full price before the coupons? I went to CVS yesterday and used a two for one coupon on Dove shampoo. It was on sale and for some reason the two bottles rang up as free but I still paid 36 cents in tax.

There's not supposed to be any sales tax on coupon price. So case in point, like the receipt they showed.

Lysol item - $10
Coupon - $5
Tax - .60 on the full $10, not just the $5 she paid for the item.

If they changed their computer system to reflect "lysol coupon", they would not be allowed to charge sales tax on the coupon. But because the receipt just says "coupon" with no indications of what product it is for, they can get away with charging sales tax on the whole amount of the item.

If it was a general $5 off your next $10 purchase on anything at Walmart, then they could charge sales tax on all items bought in the store, because the coupon is not directly related to an item.


Safeway and Target are pretty good about showing which coupon reflects to which product, but makes a bigger pain when checking out because the computer system denies the coupons more often. Even if you are buying one of the three products available with the coupon.

 

[Chris the CPA]

There's not supposed to be any sales tax on coupon price. So case in point, like the receipt they showed.

Lysol item - $10
Coupon - $5
Tax - .60 on the full $10, not just the $5 she paid for the item.

If they changed their computer system to reflect "lysol coupon", they would not be allowed to charge sales tax on the coupon. But because the receipt just says "coupon" with no indications of what product it is for, they can get away with charging sales tax on the whole amount of the item.

If it was a general $5 off your next $10 purchase on anything at Walmart, then they could charge sales tax on all items bought in the store, because the coupon is not directly related to an item.


Safeway and Target are pretty good about showing which coupon reflects to which product, but makes a bigger pain when checking out because the computer system denies the coupons more often. Even if you are buying one of the three products available with the coupon.

This is not necessarily true. Some states treat coupons as cash payment thereby charging sales tax on everything purchased.

 

[kamik86]

My husband works at Target and they are bad about this.

Here are some of the common ones.
- Target doesn't want to pay people to switch over sales stuff so sometimes they make the people in the store that should be helping customers do it the night before. This means that the sales prices are up before the item is really on sale.
- The people that take the signs down didn't finish everything so the signs from the last sale are still up even though the sale ended.
- Someone messed up the pricing but everyone is busy but the managers who don't want to work so they don't fix it.
- Target corporate had the wrong info and none of the workers care to fix it because this job sucks and they don't care anyway.

I couldn't tell you how many times my husband could have gotten great deals if target employees were allowed to get the price on the sign when it was wrong. Once he got me to get it for him but most of the time nothing happens. None of the employees want to mention it because they don't get the discount and management won't do something with it so if the person just ends up with more work to do since they will make that person fix it.

 

[SandrA9810]

I know each state is different, and different rules apply when it comes to coupons. But listening to the video, that is the rules for PA. I know once you leave PA, the rules could be anything regarding the use of coupons and sales tax. Some times there's clauses on the coupon saying you are responsible for any eligible sales tax.
Since PA tax law says that you do not have to pay sales tax on the coupon discount if the register shows what product it is for. She is being overcharged on her sales tax.

At least that's how I understood it. So there's a loop hole for the consumer and for the retailer. It's just who ever notices it first, and wants to fight for it.

 

[SandrA9810]

Duplicate

 

[IUTBAM]

Because sometimes it takes a lawsuit (and in this case multiple lawsuits) for a company to fix a problem. She noticed the $.02, but how many people DIDN'T? The article mentions she always sues for the least amount possible; she is a consumer advocate and is doing this to make a point.

EXACTLY!

I try to watch the register, but they start ringing things up before I have my cart unloaded, so I miss things. What ticks me off is that the employees AND management knew the price was wrong (for DAYS) and did nothing about it. They are ripping people off plain and simple.

 

[pannm]

I agree with some people here that people are WAYYYYYY TOO sue crazy now days...BUT the fact is that for the most part the others are RIGHT. It's not that this lady LOST 2 CENTS. This lady doesn't care about 2 cents, she's suing for the 'consumer as a whole" idea...she gets over charged 2 cents, the lady behind her checking out gets over charged 20 cents, the average consumer at walmart GETS OVER CHARGED. And it does REALLY add up for Walmart!

I have been keeping track of prices very carefully at my local Walmart, because NOT ONCE have I gone in there where at LEAST one item of mine has rung up incorrectly. In fact, I keep a price book and update it when prices change. Over the last 12 visits to my local walmart ON AVERAGE I get over charged by 32 cents PER VISIT. SURE, that is next to nothing...and many of those times I didn't catch it until I got home, so I started paying more attention the last 6-7 times i've been in there.

If the AVERAGE consumer is like me (I'm assuming MANY are), they are getting over charged EACH VISIT. Walmart KNOWS it...(so does Target) they know it and they LOVE it, because they make a profit of THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars off of it each year!

Thousands (if not millions) of people shop in the USA locations each day...definately in the MILLIONS world wide. If walmart gets away with charging people, lets say 15 cents OVER what they are supposed to EACH VISIT, that's a TON OF PROFIT

So, I believe that this lady is correct in taking walmart on with this. It stinks that she was only over charged by 2 cents, because now EVERYONE who doesn't understand what the true meaning behind it is- is going to judge her and say she's crazy for suing for so little. It's not the AMOUNT that matters, it's the accountablility that these types of stores should learn that they have to live by.

I'm sick of walmart 'nickle and dime' overage and I have a serious lack of respect for their company, so I say GOOD FOR THIS LADY! Hopefully something comes of it. Walmart isn't just making 'innocent' mistakes of over charging people, they know what they are doing.

 

[disney67]

this happends alot at walmart , I'm a big after holiday stock up person and i always go when they drop prices to 50% and 75% off and i have learned to watch the register really good cause there have been many times i saw the wrong prices come up . Oh there was another incident when silly bands were big they had a sign up 2.99 which was 2.00 cheaper then anyone else half wrang up 2.99 the othe half was ringing up 3.99 i was like what da %^&& and when the head register person came over i said do you guys ever get these prices right . but i was not lucky enough to get it free .

Imagine if they would put up a sign if there is a mistake on something scanned you get it free I think walmart would be out of business just a thought nothing else

 

[Yoshi]

I know each state is different, and different rules apply when it comes to coupons. But listening to the video, that is the rules for PA. I know once you leave PA, the rules could be anything regarding the use of coupons and sales tax. Some times there's clauses on the coupon saying you are responsible for any eligible sales tax.
Since PA tax law says that you do not have to pay sales tax on the coupon discount if the register shows what product it is for. She is being overcharged on her sales tax.

At least that's how I understood it. So there's a loop hole for the consumer and for the retailer. It's just who ever notices it first, and wants to fight for it.

That happened to me at Walmart (and KMart), I also live in PA and they always charge tax on the precoupon price of an item. I have tried to argue with them before but it never does any good. I know they are wrong since Target, Costco and other stores always charge me the tax on after coupon price or in the case of a free item, no tax (with Costco, this applies to items with a manufacturer's instant rebate rather than a coupon). I remember years ago when a Toys R Us ad had a manufacturer's coupon in it, it even said in fine print that the tax is calculated on the pre coupon price except in PA and some other states.

 

[Alesia]

If a store keeps overcharging you, just stop going to that store. Find another one. Frivolous lawsuits cost all of us money.

 

[DWGal210]

I expect nothing more from Wal Mart, I hate that store. I would gladly spend more money elsewhere, than to give them a dime of my business.

Yup. Me too. No store is perfect all the time but Wal-Mart seems to be a frequent offender.

The last time I went to Wal-Mart, I had to SEARCH for an employee to ask about an item, because at least at our store, nothing is stocked where you think it would be. After 10 minutes of trying to locate a human in a blue vest, I left. I think that was about 9-10 months ago.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Recently, Walmart charged me $7.51 for a cucumber. I'm just happy when I leave with all my bags, (sometimes they like to keep one to give to the person behind me.)

I hear ya on that one.. that happened to me frequently there.. which is why I won't go there that much anymore. Then when you go back and tell them, they give you the 3rd degree as if you are the one ripping them off....

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I disagree, How is Walmart supposed to know it's not the right price if no one tells them??? A little common sense goes a long way, or it used to

Wal-Mart is the one who sets the prices.. they are the ones who should know it is not correct., the consumer is not the one who should be telling the stores their computerized registers are not correct. Their computers should all be corrected once the price change takes effect.. seems they are incorrect a little too often to be just a boo-boo Either they have very incompetent employees who do their data entry or they just don't give a darn about it being correct.

 

[okeydokey]

If a store keeps overcharging you, just stop going to that store. Find another one. Frivolous lawsuits cost all of us money.

A store continuing to overcharge us when they know the prices are wrong are costing us all money.

 

[Alesia]

A store continuing to overcharge us when they know the prices are wrong are costing us all money.

Not really. Years ago I got tired of Super K overcharging me every time I went there, so I stopped going there. Period. After that, I wasn't losing money - they were. It's a problem that is very easy to solve yourself. If you know a store is constantly overcharging you and you still continue to shop there, you're really just asking for it.

 

[funnygarcia]

In some areas you might not have the option to just shop somewhere else. In a rural area, Walmart might be the ONLY store available. In urban areas, the store that overcharges may be the only choice if it's closest to your home and you do not have a car.

I've had issues at Target on rare occasions, mostly someone forgot to take down a sign or they restock with the wrong product size... I've learned to "read" the signs to determine sales stop dates and compare UPC codes on the shelf tag with the product on display. Scan-scan-scan... at least at Target there are enough scanners to do quick price checks.

Walmart, not so easy to price check as there are only two scanners in the entire store... and you are lucky if they actually WORK.

I was recently overcharged 50 cents, I remarked to the clerk that the price on the shelf didn't match.. BIG sigh and rolling eyes, mumble, mumble...
Never mind, I will pay the extra freaking 50 cents to avoid the hassle. Have a nice day!


hee heee, I kinda liked the screw up someone in the meat dept did at Super Target. They put $2 off peelies on short dated chicken thighs, the natural pricey kind, AND they did a "price cut" to $2.99 (you bet I scanned that sucker!)

Yep I paid 99 cents per 20 oz package!
So sometimes those price errors work in your favor.

 

[SandrA9810]

hee heee, I kinda liked the screw up someone in the meat dept did at Super Target. They put $2 off peelies on short dated chicken thighs, the natural pricey kind, AND they did a "price cut" to $2.99 (you bet I scanned that sucker!)

Yep I paid 99 cents per 20 oz package!
So sometimes those price errors work in your favor.

It's nice when it works in the consumer's favor... but that's like 1 in a million chances. Not every million customers that they're stealing from.


And a consumer advocate is after the best interest of every consumer, it's not just the ones that watch everything to a T. I pay attention to prices, but I don't think I'd ever notice a 2 cent different. There's plenty of people that just don't pay attention to it either for one reason or another.

 

[JennMouse32]

I read the other day about the woman who sued Walmart for being overcharged by 2 cents for an item (it scanned 2 cents higher than the shelf tag indicated). After what happened to me this morning, I completely understood where she's coming from! I'm often overcharged there, which is why I watch my receipts so carefully.

There was a display in the middle of the aisle ("action alley", I heard one Walmart employee call it) that indicated that the Walmart brand of potato chips had a price rollback from $1.98 to $1.00 a bag. So, I decided to stock up and buy four bags, since my DH and DS love those chips. I wasn't paying attention when the cashier rang my stuff up, but I looked over the receipt on my way out, and sure enough, I was charged $1.98 per bag! I went over to Customer Service and complained, and they were not the least bit surprised. They said it had been that way for FOUR days! FOUR DAYS they are misleading people! Not acceptable! The CS employees told me they've alerted management, and the price still hasn't been changed. They refunded my money and let me have all four bags for free, but it still ticks me off!

i work at walmart and you shouldnt be ticked at the regular employees its the department managers job.. not ours, nor is it in our power to change the prices. it annoys me when ppl blame us regular assoc. for things out of our hands and power.. you need to blame the right people.

 

[Mickeyflower]

So sometimes those price errors work in your favor.

Not picking on you, REALLY, but how often when the price error is in the consumers favor, do they say something? I know I don't but still, the road goes in both directions.

As someone who has worked in retail for 17 years for multiple large big box stores, the ability to change a price on a single item at the store level is not there. The only way a price is changed, is through the main office. For MANY MANY MANY reasons, there is a very limited number of people within a company with the ability to change a price in the computer. And, as many of us have experienced, the lack of concern or care from the checkers, would you trust them to honestly change prices? They would be changing TV prices to $1. It is not a simple run to the back and change the price, you can, as a manager, do all you can to make sure your employees know to over-ride the price at the register, post signs up to remind them, but magically, they will ALWAYS FORGET. For legal reasons, they have to post the advertised price of the product. If it is a misprint all the retailer has to do is post a sign on the door notifying the consumer of the error, and most people will not see it.

It will always fall onto the consumer to make sure we are paying what we are supposed to. Whether your talking about a penny on a bag of chips, or a few thousand for a car, know your product, know what your buying.

In closing I'd like to say my favorite quote "If common sense was so common, everyone would have it and we wouldn't need cops"

 

[Halbleib1]

I know each state is different, and different rules apply when it comes to coupons. But listening to the video, that is the rules for PA. I know once you leave PA, the rules could be anything regarding the use of coupons and sales tax. Some times there's clauses on the coupon saying you are responsible for any eligible sales tax.
Since PA tax law says that you do not have to pay sales tax on the coupon discount if the register shows what product it is for. She is being overcharged on her sales tax.

At least that's how I understood it. So there's a loop hole for the consumer and for the retailer. It's just who ever notices it first, and wants to fight for it.

Actually there was a story on our local news about how sales tax is charged and while the state does not require sales tax to be charged on the cost of coupons it is not against the law either. They basically just leave it up to the stores to decide. Some stores here do charge the tax while a good bit do not as well. If they do charge the tax it should be turned over to the state though because it is rung up as tax. The state needs to change the law to clearly state one way or the other what should be done.