Echo reporter Kevin Clark on why you should always check your supermarket bill as till error adds almost £40 to shopping cost

Kevin and wife Rose called in at the Sainsbury’s store in Silksworth on Saturday night for a quick shop.

Kevin was initially taken aback by how much the total came to – but checking the receipt revealed the couple had been overcharged for a ready meal by more than ten times.

"We only had three bags – and one of them was mainly filled by a box of cereal – but the final bill for 25 items came to more than £100,” said Kevin.

"I know the cost of living has been rising but that seemed ridiculously expensive for what we’d bought – at first I assumed we’d picked up a lot of individual items that each cost more than I’d thought, but scanning the receipt I found we’d been charged £42.94 for a £3.75 pair of chicken schnitzels.”

The item was a new addition to the store’s range and Kevin initially assumed there must simply have been an error in entering it onto the shop’s IT system.

But when he took the package to customer service to arrange a refund, it scanned at the correct price.

"Thankfully, I had the hard copy of the receipt, so not only did I spot the mistake in the first place but I was able to prove that we had been overcharged and by just how much,” he said.

"But no-one was able to explain why the till had randomly decided to add £39.19 to our bill.

"I quite often don’t bother to get a receipt – luckily this time, we had gone to one of the staffed tills and were given a copy.

"I’ll certainly be getting a receipt each time and paying closer attention from now on and I’d urge everyone to do the same.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We have apologised to Mr Clark after a brief system issue at our Sunderland superstore meant he was charged incorrectly for his shop with us.

"This issue was identified and fixed quickly and we’ve made sure Mr Clark was charged the correct amount.”

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