Recently I went to dinner at a national restaurant chain. The items ordered were from a special menu price where you get an entree, a side, and a dessert for one set price plus a couple of beverages were ordered.

When I received the bill, I reviewed it to make sure the items were there and each item was billed correctly. Everything was listed correctly and I was about to put my credit card in the portfolio to pay, but then something felt off. You would think that the computer can calculate a subtotal, but when I added the items in my head there was an over charge of almost 4% that was not shown on the receipt. I broke out the calculator thinking maybe the old noggin is starting to fail me.

I added the items on the calculator which confirmed I was right. I brought it to the waitress' attention and she took it to the back, fixed it to the correct subtotal, and apologized. She blamed it on a new system they installed a few weeks ago. You have to figure they were just trying to pad their profits by doing this. Most people do not add up each item to confirm the subtotal is right. It seems like they were overcharging people for at least three weeks with the phantom charge that makes the subtotal higher.

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

I've noticed a lot of overcharging at Walmart and Sam's where the shelf price is one thing, but the register lists a higher price. This happens to me like 25% of the time I go to Walmart and Sam's.

Sounds like the 4% might have been a surcharge for paying with a credit card.

I've noticed shelf prices at Walmart not matching what rings up. I bring it to the cashier's attention and they fix it with an override.

@wrosie wrote:

Sounds like the 4% might have been a surcharge for paying with a credit card.

I've noticed shelf prices at Walmart not matching what rings up. I bring it to the cashier's attention and they fix it with an override.

@wrosie No it was not a surcharge for using a credit card because they had no idea how I was going to pay. They brought the bill to the table and the subtotal was not calculated correctly. When there is a surcharge for using a credit card, the fee is listed on the receipt with a line item description.

The waitress corrected the mistake and brought me a new bill at the correct subtotal which was lower.

Someone else pointed out that maybe they bring you the higher priced bill and then pocket the difference of the high vs low subtotals with sales tax when you add the tip to the total. It is odd that when I added the items on the receipt, it came out to a lower sum than what was on the bill.

I always try to watch what is getting charged at the register, and I hate that we're in an era where getting a receipt isn't always standard practice. I haven't experienced random fees like what you've described, but I have experienced cashiering mistakes or overcharges compared to shelf price.

@heywave wrote:

I've noticed a lot of overcharging at Walmart and Sam's where the shelf price is one thing, but the register lists a higher price. This happens to me like 25% of the time I go to Walmart and Sam's.

I've had this happen quite a bit at Walmart. Sometimes a get a "feel" for an item's price, that it might be different at the register. Case in point: Last week I bought a Leap Frog toy item for my granddaughter's 1 year old birthday. The shelf tag was showing a sale price of $17.88, so I took a picture. Sure enough, at the self-check register, it rang up a dollar more at $18.88, than the tag price. I asked the associate to correct it. I find it happens with some of their crackers too!

I always check at grocery stores. At least three times a week. I'm getting something for free because it's incorrectly ringing up at the register. Both Publix, and Ingles give you a free item as long as it's not alcohol & up to a certain dollar limit. I am not sure at Kroger's official policy. I think it's supposed to be free but a lot of the times I just get the difference back.