When Wal-Mart initially installed the self-checkout, they had staff standing by to help the customers (until they would work out the quirks in their new system). I ran my card once. The clerk had to come over to help, as they were having to help with many of the customers who were checking out at the new self-checkout systems. She went to run the card again. I said, "I've already swiped it" (in my gut I immediately was leary that it could charge me again for the second swipe). She said it was ok. When she'd swiped it again, she still could not get the transaction completed. There was no problem with my account; as I had more than ample money in my checking to cover my purchase, plus overdraft protection anyway. After the second time with the system stalling (or whatever the problem was), she wanted to swipe it again. I told her that I needed to be sure it doesn't charge me again. She said, "Oh, it won't." Somehow, in my gut, I just had a feeling it might be charging me for every swipe. Altogether, she swiped it 3 times. She finally got the transaction to complete, and handed me the receipt. I always use the debit feature, to come straight from my checking balance; so the accounting available balance is instant, whereas a credit takes numerous days to process through the system. When she handed me my receipt I was charged around $300, rather than what should have been around $90 for the merchandise, which I could see initially on my receipt had this amount. It's like it charged that and then added the additional amount because it had been triple swiped. The total charge was simply around the $300.
I thought to myself that this will be a simple tranaction that can be momentarily corrected. I pointed the total out to her and that it had triple charged me and that I needed the 2 extra charges credit back to my account. She tried to "play around with the system" for just a short bit, to no avail. Then, when she, obviously, didn't know what to do, she told me I'd "have to get my bank to take care of that." I've been with the same bank for 20 years; and I knew that this was not the banks place to correct. I also knew that if I'VE submission of my security passcode that the bank honors whatever charge has been deducted from my account. I told her I have to have this credited back to my account before I leave the store.
I asked for a supervisor to come and correct the transaction. The cashier supervisor "played around" with the system for a while longer than the cashier, but couldn't get it corrected. My teen was with me and she was an athelete with a busy, tight schedule between school athletics and her high school courses.By this point, we'd been at the cash stand for a half an hour. I'm thinking that I have to prepare dinner, and my daughter has homework to do and we need to get home. We usually liked to have at least a little quality time in the evening to just chill together outside the routine daily demands. Then I told them that I need to get home to do things and I needed a manager who could get this reconciled.
A manager came, and between the 3 of them, it took another 2 hours to finally get the error corrected, and a receipt in my hand where they had credited my debit card for the 2 extra charges from my checking account. I'd shopped at Wal-Mart alot and spent quite a bit of money there, as much as $5,000 or more each year. I was so disgusted from this incident it was over 2 months before I went back to any Wal-mart; and then it was late evening when something unexpected came up that we had to have, and no place else was open. I'd like to add that I was very leary at the beginning of this transaction error because I'd had a previous problem with a phone-in pizza order.in this instance the girl over the phone was having problems with the system where she kept asking me to repeat my bank card number, because she was "having some problem with the computer." I'd asked her if she was running it back through and that I needed to make sure it didn't charge me repetitively. She said no, there would be no charge until she had finalized the transaction. I've used my bank card for so long that I also knew that the bank has a computerized security feature. If my bank's computer identified an out of the norm attempt on my debit card, it will reject a transaction. Then, if I had an emergency, or needed to get gas, I could be stuck not being able to use my bank card until I follow up with the bank to advise them that my card is safe. When I got my bank statement, I was actually triple charged for the pizza. I'd called the pizza restaurant and spoke to the manager, who pulled the transaction in the system and readily could see what had happened. He promptly credited me the 2 extra charges and gave me a confirmation. Always make sure you get receipts, and or confirmation numbers (if a phone transaction), and the name and phone number of the agent handling the matter. I learned from these two experiences: follow your gut and do not simply take the word of a store clerk, particularly with Wal-Mart. They are often not well trained and simply do not know. You must protect yourself by ensuring that your personal monies are in tact.
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