Man uses 'Scanner Law' to get discounted meat; is told 'someone might lose their job.'
AITA for buying $500 of mismarked Prime Rib?
I was visiting my local grocery store on Sunday, (in Michigan) with the intention of buying a couple of pounds of chicken wings and 2 steaks for my wife and I.
As the meat department clerk was weighing and preparing my wings, I looked at the Prime Rib, and the very large (think 12/13 pounds a piece) Prime Rib sections were listed with the dollar amount and then '/ea'. I thought this was peculiar, because that just seemed off to me- it should have said 'dollar amount/lb'.
I snapped a photo of the price tag, and then I took a flyer, and I said 'hey! I have a big party coming up. I need all of your Prime Rib.' He looked at me like I was crazy, and began the process of packaging up 6 of the whole prime ribs. I cook for a Veterans' group on Saturdays, and this would not only go far, but It would save a ton of money on their budget.
I went up to the register, and the meat rang up for over $140/per package. I scanned each of them, I paid the price, and I walked right over to Customer service. The customer service attendant got very wide eyed, and called over a manager.
I walked with the manager over to the meat area, where the price was still displayed as $17.99 EACH, and I let him know that due to the Scanner Law, I just want the difference, with the $5.00 added to each.
The manager was livid. They completed the refund of the difference, and he said to me 'this could very well lead to someone losing their job'. At that point, I said 'you can't be serious. I'll return the meat. Nobody needs to lose their job'. The manager responded with 'maybe you shouldn't have taken advantage of the fact that somebody made a mistake, because it's already too late'.
So, am I the asshole here for taking advantage of the incorrect price?
Info:
The Scanner Law requires that when a consumer is charged more than the displayed price, the seller may avoid a lawsuit by paying the buyer an amount equal to the difference between the displayed price and the price charged, plus an amount equal to ten times that difference with a minimum of $1.00 and a maximum of $5.00.
If the seller does not pay you both the refund and the bonus, you may bring a lawsuit to recover your actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney fees up to $300.00. You may instead file a complaint in a small claims court without an attorney.
Clarification from OP:
I said 'local' as in the local grocery store I do business at. This is the biggest grocery store in the USA in question.
Here's how people judged the situation:
LadyBangarang writes:
INFO: Are you going to tell the veterans about the “deal“ you got, or are you going to let them think that you spent $700 on a meal for them?
TMZSports OP responded:
No I’d submit the receipt and they would realize the savings.
ReasonableCookie9369 writes:
As far as the firing goes, that's not on you. You don't know the employee's work history leading up to this. More likely than not the manager was just trying to make you feel like an ass.
SaltyBacon23 writes:
We lucked out at Costco and got brisket for the price of pork shoulder. We were getting full briskets for like $35. I took them up and asked the cashier if that was right. He, and the manager, said no but that's how it's marked so it's your lucky day. Walked out with 10 briskets for like $300.
BeatrixFarrand writes:
Yeah dude. YTA. You took advantage of a mistake - by taking up ALL the mismarked items - and f**ked the business over. I mean... do you feel good? I had a customer recently pull something like that with an interpretation of fine print. It fucked me over for the next few months, and I'm not sleeping at night because I'm so worried.
Blucola333 writes:
Yes most definitely YTA. Weights and measures violations are a big deal. You could have pointed out the discrepancy before buying all that meat. The person who coded the ticket might have been new, human error and all that.
Odd_Task8211 writes:
YTA. You knew the price was wrong. What you did was ethically little better than stealing.