The other day I was at Target making a purchase. I went to my car and checked my receipt like I usually do, and noticed that I had been charged $3.39 on an item that was on sale for $2. I bought two of these products, and I was overcharged on both of them. Thankfully, I was shopping alone, so it wasn’t a huge hassle to go back in. I remembered that there was a law that required the seller to reimburse you up to 10x the amount overcharged (max. $5). Before I even needed to remind the cashier of this law, I was refunded the difference of $1.39 per item PLUS a $5 bounty bonus, as they called it, for each item I was overcharged on, so a total of $10. That was definitely worth a walk back into the store!
This was a good reminder to always check receipts. It’s more common than we think to be overcharged. Many states have laws regarding the amount you must be compensated for these errors. Here’s the Michigan law:
“You must notify the seller that you were overcharged, within 30 days of the transaction, either in person or in writing. Within two days of receiving your notice, the seller may choose to refund you the difference between the amount charged and the price displayed plus a “bonus” of ten times the difference, with a minimum of $1.00 and a maximum of $5.00. If the seller does not pay you both the refund and the bonus, you may bring a lawsuit to recover your actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees up to $300.00.” Source: Michigan Scanner Law Michigan.gov
If you live outside of Michigan, just google “<your state> scanner law” and you should be able to find information.
Have you ever been compensated for a receipt error?
