A shopper went viral when she shared how she got Walgreens to honor a sale price at the cash register.
TikToker Bren (@brennasbakery) continued her streak of viral videos, explaining how stores often charge people more than advertised. The video has been viewed over 156,000 times as of publication.
In the video, Bren encouraged shoppers to know the scanner laws in their state. Scanner laws are different in each state. Essentially, they ensure that customers pay the correct price. If an item is listed for a lower price than what is charged at the register, it is the store’s responsibility to adjust it to the advertised price.
While shopping for dog food at Walgreens, Bren said she noticed she was being charged the original price of $14.99 rather than a listed sale price of $9.99. According to Bren, when she pointed out the price discrepancy, the cashier said the sale had expired and removed the sale tag from the aisle.
“I was like, ‘Nope,’” Bren said. “And I was super nice about it. I wasn’t mean, but I was like, ‘Ah, actually, scanner laws. Like, I have a picture of it. … I know it stinks. You guys are understaffed, maybe? I don’t really know, but … I get this for $9.99.”
While Bren noted that customers citing scanner laws “sucks” for cashiers because they have to manually update item prices, she said it’s also helpful to them in the long run. “Ultimately, it is helping cashiers because … corporate’s gonna start seeing that issue more often where it’s like, ‘Why are we … allowing these things to happen?’” she said.
Bren’s closing advice to customers was to look up the scanner laws in their state and mention them at the register if an item isn’t ringing up at its advertised price.
@brennasbakery SCANNER LAW in use. Not my favorite thing to have to use this, but i did. And you should know about it 💕 #scannerlaws #bigcorporationsareunethical #fyp #checkyourprices ♬ original sound – Bren
Many users elaborated on how scanner laws work.
“I work retail, even if we are understaffed and forget to pull a sign, we have to honor the price that was advertised even if the item is not on sale!” one said.
“Once I saved $5k on a car because the window price was lower than the internet and where I live, the lower price is the sale price,” another shared.
Making sure the sale price and final cost match may seem like extra work. However, it can save a lot of money in the long run. As one commenter noted, “I don’t think ppl understand how nefarious this is. Additional $1-$4 per item adds up- and some stores it’s a lot of items!!”
Additionally, corporations don’t mind when people point out the mistake.
In an email to NBC 5, Walmart explained, “We also encourage customers to bring pricing inaccuracies to our associates’ attention, and we will happily address the matter.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Bren and Walgreens via email for further information.
