In mid-March customers were reportedly charged the wrong price at the self-checkout kiosk at 1.6K Walmart locations across the United States. The pricing errors that occurred from March 19th, and continued for several days, are now being blamed on technical difficulties.
While the traditional lanes were not affected by the errors described, thousands of customers paid inflated prices, while others were undercharged, according to Bloomberg, who first reported the incident.
The items impacted by this were a variety of food, clothing and appliances in the stores.
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Walmart Self Checkout Kiosk Charged Customers Incorrect Prices For Several Days
The error was discovered on March 19th, when Walmart received an internal warning and information technology staff was reportedly working to fix the malfunction for more than two days.
While the retail supergiant has not confirmed how many people were affected, Walmart officials did say they are working to make it right.
"We've made it a priority to refund customers who were overcharged, and we did not take action on the undercharges with our customers," said Walmart spokesperson Mischa Dunton, in a statement provided to Reuters.
Dunton detailed in a statement to Bloomberg that after the issue was resolved, more than 80% of the overcharged customers had been reimbursed, however, the company did not confirm which of its 5K stores nationwide have been affected.
The "potential overcharge" of the affected customers was 1.88% of the "total basket charge," according to information provided to Bloomberg by Dunton.
Even though Walmart is working to remedy the overcharges caused by the error, according to legal experts who spoke with Bloomberg, the superstore chain could still face legal consequences.
"Because Walmart is such a large retailer, even a small mistake like this can cause millions and millions of dollars in illegal overcharges," said Christopher Peterson, a former attorney with the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
He detailed that if the overcharges are verified they are "clearly illegal under the consumer protection laws of just about every state and the federal government."
