Walmart customers in Texas had to pay too much at the self-checkout

With food prices rising over the past four years, consumers are having to really stretch every penny to make ends meet and pay their bills. It’s no illusion that everything seems to be getting more and more expensive.

If you compare 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic in America, with today’s food costs, overall prices have increased by 24.6%.

Depending on who you talk to in Louisiana, shopping at Walmart is either a necessary evil or the greatest shopping experience in the world. With around 138 Walmart stores in the state, we’re pretty sure people from Shreveport to New Orleans and from Lake Charles to Lafayette and Monroe have all visited the mega-retailer at some point in the last few weeks.

And since you’ve shopped at Walmart in the last few weeks, I think it’s pretty safe to assume you’ve paid for your purchases at a self-checkout kiosk. You’ve probably heard rumors that self-checkouts are being eliminated. Walmart says this is to prevent losses, but perhaps it’s also to avoid embarrassing tech glitches like the one the giant retailer admits to.

Bloomberg was the first to report that in about 1,600 Walmart stores across the country, customers were not being charged the correct price for their purchases. In many cases, the price was too high. There were also cases where customers underpaid at the self-checkout counter. Here is one woman’s experience:

This “technical error” was first reported on March 19, 2024. It reportedly lasted “at least several days.” Walmart confirmed the error in a statement provided to Reuters. The retailer cannot say for sure how many customers were affected. Nor can Walmart confirm which stores were affected.

However, since the “problem” was reportedly caused by an internal system error that blocked or delayed the transmission of pricing data to the self-checkout kiosks, it’s pretty safe to assume that many of you reading this report overpaid on your Walmart shopping spree.

Earlier this year, Walmart reached a $45 million settlement with Walmart over the cost of certain citrus fruits.

What do I do if I was overcharged at a Walmart self-checkout kiosk?

There is a good answer and a bad answer to this question. The good news is that Walmart says 80% of customers who were overcharged received a full refund. These customers likely used a credit card and the refund was sent directly to the card you used. Check your bank statement to see if this was the case.

The only other option you have is if you had kept your receipts. Then perhaps you could prove what you were charged for and on what date that amount was charged. This would be one of those scenarios where you really have to decide if it is worth your while.

You may spend hours trying to prove that you were only overcharged by a few cents, but then again, it could have been way too much, so call and good luck with Walmart customer service, they are always so nice when you ask for your money back.