Woman warned she's breaking the law after sharing supermarket self-checkout 'trick'
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Grace Cary/Getty/Images By Tang Ming Tung/Getty
A hack an Aussie woman swears by to save money at the supermarket has one tiny problem... it's totally illegal.
The woman shared a controversial supermarket hack she carries out every time she needs to do her weekly grocery shop.
And whilst it might save her a few pennies per week, she has also divided her followers by revealing that it's actually against the law.
While some are relying on vouchers and coupons at the checkout, others are simply limiting their ingredients altogether in a bid to save money.
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Though for one woman, the self checkout counter has become her best friend since her purse strings were tightened.
And being that these devices are becoming more popular than actual, in-person shop assistants, she's discovered that they're sometimes be intermittent and susceptible to manipulation.
The woman confessed all in News.com.au's Sisters In Law segment, which allows readers to discuss their legal with sisters and lawyers, Alison and Jillian Barrett.
Well, this woman was talking about her friend, who uses a rather interesting tactic in the Aussie shop Coles and Woolies.
She wrote: "My friend recently told me that when she uses the self-serve checkout at Woolies and Coles she regularly puts through more expensive veg – such as avocados – as brown onions.
"She says it’s not stealing as you’re still paying for something and that the supermarkets work the cost of 'self-check-out fraud' into their prices."
The woman added: "She also claims everyone does it! I’m sure it’s stealing but she won’t listen to me. What are the laws around lying on a supermarket self-checkout machine and could she be imprisoned?"
Well, the answer from the experts was pretty emphatic - her friend is in fact breaking the law.
The experts wrote on news.com.au: "It doesn’t matter how your friend tries to justify her behaviour, her deceitful conduct in intentionally not paying full price is against the law.
"This is a huge problem in Australia, with the cost of theft for retailers estimated to be a few billion dollars each year.
"This dishonest behaviour unfortunately affects us all by pushing up grocery prices.
"Supermarkets place trust in their customers to make honest and accurate transactions at the self-serve check-outs.
"Your friend’s technique of using the self-service checkout to pass off more expensive items as cheaper ones cheats the system by underpaying.
"Her fraudulent behaviour is just one of many tricks employed by self-service thieves to avoid payment."