My father-in-law gave me the secret to getting free groceries at the store – I was shocked when it actually worked

My 85-year-old father-in-law is a bit of a stickler for rules.

He reads CHOICE Magazine religiously and understands his rights when it comes to consumer law.

When he told me recently about how supermarkets will give you an item for free if it scans higher at the checkout, I had my doubts initially.

But then I tried it on for size myself when a box of raspberries scanned higher than the advertised price, and to my absolute shock, he was dead right.

How to score free groceries

“It usually happens when there’s a special on, although it happens sometimes when the specials have finished but they haven’t changed the label on the shelves,” said Frank Noble, 85, of Porepunkah.

“It’s happened with a shaver kit, oranges, mixed fruit, garlic bread, cheese when there was a deal when you bought two for a reduced price and the single price came up.”

With today’s cost-of-living pressures, shoppers need to be savvier than ever, and Frank said he’s made a habit of being a smart shopper. 

He always checks the unit price of items on the shelf to compare which is the most economical and he pays close attention when his groceries are being scanned to ensure the price is right.

“If something scans at a different price, I usually let the staff member know that the item has scanned incorrectly and they refer me to a senior person,” Frank said.

“They won’t do it unless you ask.

“I think if the supermarkets are going to have a reduced price, then it should be passed on to the customer. 

“If there’s a reduced price, the obligation is for the cash register to reflect that.”

Customers are entitled to the item for free

Woolworths Supermarkets is a signatory to what’s called the Scanning Code of Practice. 

Under the Code, customers are entitled to receive an item free of charge if the scanned price of an item is greater than the shelf price displayed.

Exceptions under the Code are products with a shelf price greater than $50, as well as tobacco products. These products will be adjusted to reflect the shelf price.

You can head on over to Woolworths to check the price of products. Woolworths has the same base pricing for products in its supermarkets as online. 

“Our store teams work hard every week to ensure all our shelf tickets are up to date,” a Woolworths spokesperson confirmed to Kidspot. 

“Now and then, human errors can unfortunately occur, however we are committed to ensuring our customers are not disadvantaged in these instances.”

The same goes at Coles and ALDI. 

“All Coles Supermarkets apply ‘Our Promise on Price Scanning’ to ensure confidence in the pricing accuracy at our registers,” a Coles spokesperson also said.

“If an item scans at a higher price than the advertised or ticketed shelf price for that item, we will give the customer that item free.” 

ALDI’s website says the following:

“If a regular product scans at a price higher than that displayed, you are entitled to receive the first item free. All subsequent items will be charged at the lower price.

“If a Special Buys™ product scans at a price higher than the price displayed, ALDI will refund the difference between the scanned price and ticketed price.”

Frank said he understood that errors happened sometimes, and the fact that supermarkets made it right was all that mattered.

“I’m loyal to Woolworths because they live up to their policy, no problems at all,” he said.