Walmart Accused of Overcharging Customers Using Self-Checkout: Report

A new report shows that Walmart allegedly charged customers using self-checkout at more than 1,600 stores.

Overcharging in the event of a self-checkout incident

A Bloomberg News report found that sometime in mid-March, Walmart customers using self-checkout were allegedly both undercharged and overcharged. The newspaper bases the article on documents relating to the alleged incident.

Bloomberg News says the alleged incorrect prices were the result of an “internal system failure” that prevented correct pricing information from reaching self-checkouts.

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No estimates have been made of the number of customers affected by the price confusion. It is now reported that the incident occurred in over 1,600 Walmart stores across the United States.

Bloomberg News also reports that various Walmart stores experienced additional “technical issues” in February and March that impacted photography and video orders.

How Walmart handles the incident

While the exact moment when customers were affected by the issue is a bit unclear, Supermarket News called it a “several days issue.” Items for which customers were overcharged included household appliances, food and clothing.

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Walmart has since responded to the reports, saying it has taken action to refund customers who may have been overcharged for products during the March incident that affected more than 1,600 stores.

The report comes at an interesting time for Walmart as it continues to upgrade hundreds of stores across the United States

Supermarket News previously reported that Walmart plans to invest millions in expanding its lanes and self-checkout technology. The retail giant has since withdrawn the project in favor of removing self-checkout stations after analyzing shopping patterns and customer and employee feedback.