Sir,
Recently I went to a supermarket in Mysore and purchased a few things. After coming home, I took a look at the receipt and saw the word "Jaggery" on it. Since I had not purchased any jaggery, I started wondering how it got printed on the receipt. I checked all the things listed on the receipt with the things I had actually bought and I found out that a packet of dried peas which I had bought was not listed on the receipt. On closer scrutiny, I found that the number printed under the bar code on the pea packet was 9031223 while the number against the entry "Jaggery" on the receipt was 9031233 (one digit difference). The price of the pea packet was Rs. 18 while I had been charged Rs. 46 for the jaggery I had not bought.
When I went to the store to get the refund of Rs. 28, I was told that even if the bar code on the packet is slightly damaged, the bar code scanner can not read it. This happens quite often. Then, the person at the counter has to punch in the number (beneath the bar code) manually for the computer which generates the receipt. Naturally, mistakes happen in the punching and the item bought does not get billed. Instead the customer is billed for an item he did not purchase.
Many people are under the impression that since the receipt is generated by a computer, it is always correct. But this impression is wrong. Consumers should check the receipt to make sure that they are not wrongly billed.
When I went to the store to get the refund of Rs. 28, I was told that even if the bar code on the packet is slightly damaged, the bar code scanner can not read it. This happens quite often. Then, the person at the counter has to punch in the number (beneath the bar code) manually for the computer which generates the receipt. Naturally, mistakes happen in the punching and the item bought does not get billed. Instead the customer is billed for an item he did not purchase.
Many people are under the impression that since the receipt is generated by a computer, it is always correct. But this impression is wrong. Consumers should check the receipt to make sure that they are not wrongly billed.
B.Vaikunth Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat