LETTERS – Make sure you get a receipt

I am writing this letter to remind readers to always obtain a receipt when paying for shopping at a self service till.

On January 16 I planned to visit a friend in Holbeach Hospital. I do not drive so planned to catch a bus to Holbeach. I had then arranged a Call Connect bus to the hospital.

As I had about 25 minutes to spare before my bus was due I decided to go into Sainsbury’s and buy some cakes for her as a little treat.

I found a box of Battenberg cakes and took them to the self service check out.

I rang them through the till, paid, obtained my receipt and left the store.

As I began to walk toward the bus station I heard a shop assistant calling ‘excuse me’. I stopped to see who or what she wanted. She asked if I had just purchased a Battenburg cake. I told her yes and she said: ‘Well you didn’t pay for it’. I told her that I had. She then asked to see my receipt. I handed her the receipt, she looked at it and said: ‘Well you must have scanned it through twice’, turned and walked back to the store.

I was left feeling very embarrassed and upset by the incident and her attitude towards me.

If I had not been going to catch a bus I would have returned to the store and spoken to a manager about this. I have been into the store since and spoken to a duty manager.

Whilst he agreed that the member of staff should have at least apologised to me, he tells me the self service tills can pick up an item twice, even when you have paid for it and placed it into your own shopping bag. I am therefore making all your readers aware of this, and letting them know they should always obtain a receipt when paying at the self service check outs. Otherwise they may find themselves in an even more embarrassing situation than I did.

After all, if this happens to you, you will be told that you must have rung an item through twice, and certainly do not expect an apology.

It seems the word sorry is not in the vocabulary of some of the Sainsbury’s assistants.

I dread to think what would have happened if I had chosen not to obtain a receipt.

Jennifer Jarvis
Winsover Road
Spalding