Supermarkets short-change consumers at the counter

Ugo Okocha, a banker in Port Harcourt was on her way to a wedding one Saturday afternoon when she stopped at a big supermarket around Ada-George to purchase a gift for the bride who is a colleague. She was pressed for time but could not imagine appearing at the wedding with no gift.

Immediately she parked in front of the store, Okocha hurriedly alighted from her car and rushed inside the supermarket. She had a box of cutleries in mind so she picked one and headed for the counter. On getting to the counter, she discovered that the price had suddenly gone up.

Okocha said, ‘‘I went to buy a box of cutlery for someone’s wedding. The price on the item showed N8, 800. When I took it down to the counter, I was shocked to see that the price has changed to N10, 200’’

According to Okocha, her initial reaction was that of fury and left without purchasing the item.

‘‘I was so angry. The attendant kept apologising. He said they had a different price in their system but in the end, I left without buying,’’ she added.

For another consumer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, he noticed quite late that the price of one of the products he had purchased at a popular supermarket in Abuja was way above the price displayed on the shelves.

‘‘I saw an item with the price of N550 and I paid for it along with other items I bought. I found out after I had left the store that the price that was on the receipt was N770,’’he said.

Rhoda Olusayo, a civil servant in Lagos, said she observed that supermarkets are deliberately reducing the prices of items on their shelves so as to reflect that indeed they offer cheaper prices but in truth, they are cheating consumers.

‘‘Some stores are guilty of displaying a different price on their shelves and another which is always higher at the counter. Though they usually update prices of products on their system, they ignore doing same on their shelves,’’ Olusayo said.

Another consumer who does not want his name mentioned said, ‘‘when you point this out, they will you that the one in the machine supersedes the one on the shelf and I tell them that I picked it because of the price on the shelf. If that price is not correct then I’m dropping it. If the price changed, it shouldn’t be at the checkout counter I will be hearing that.’’

Consumers are advised to check their receipt whenever they visit any supermarket to avoid falling prey to those who intentionally stick a lower price on products and charge a higher price at the counter.

CHINWE AGBEZE