08 April 2023 , 06:17
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One woman's money-saving trick landed her in some hot water as lawyers warned her that the supermarket self-service hack was ILLEGAL.
Everyone is looking to save a little extra cash right now, particularly on the weekly shop, but this may not be the best way to do it
A woman wrote into News.com.au 's Sisters In Law column about a disagreement she had with a friend.
The Sisters in Law column lets people write in and share their legal conundrums with sisters and lawyers Alison and Jillian Barrett.
The woman shared that when her friend used the self service checkout she regularly scans more expensive fruit and veg, like an avocado, as a brown onion instead.
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The friend believes that this isn't stealing as she is still paying something for it.
She also claimed the supermarkets included the cost of self-checkout fraud in their prices because "everyone does it".
The Barrett lawyers however disagreed and said the 'hack' was "fraud" and was actually against the law.
They said: "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.
"Your friend’s technique of using the self-service checkout to pass off more expensive items as cheaper ones cheat the system by underpaying.
"Her fraudulent behaviour is just one of many tricks employed by self-service thieves to avoid payment."
Alison and Jillian, who are based in Australia, said these types of "tricks" are costing supermarkets a fortune every year and are actually pushing up the prices of groceries as a result.
They warned that if the friend was caught doing this the excuse of "getting avocados confused with brown onions" would likely not cut it and she could face a range of severe repercussions from it.
In Australia, the legal experts said the act could either carry a fine, having to pay for the items and apologise to the store, or even criminal charges if she fails to comply or is a repeat offender.
They added: "You have to ask, is saving a few dollars on avocados worth the risk?"
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