3 On Your Side: Issues With Target Coupons
PHILADELPHIA (CBS3) - Coupon clippers beware! Depending on where you shop, you may be shortchanged at the register.
As 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan reports, one of the nation's biggest retailers is having problems processing coupons and shoppers may not even realize it.
Back in June, Amy Gunderson started noticing something strange when she shopped at Target. The mother of four was getting short-changed when using coupons at checkout!
"At first I thought, 'what the heck?'" said Gunderson.
When she used a coupon for $4 off 10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones, Target only took $1.99 off her bill.
And on another trip, she used a different coupon.
"At Target I should have gotten $5 off, I got $2.04 off," said Gunderson.
And when 3 On Your Side spot-checked four Target stores using our hidden cameras, the registers didn't ring up our coupons properly either!
We were short-changed in Cherry Hill and when the same thing was happening in Voorhees, we brought it to their attention.
And in Deptford and South Philly, the cashiers fortunately caught the registers mistake.
The problem seems to affect manufacturer's coupons where you have to purchase multiple items.
When we shopped, the register only took off the value of one item, not the full value of the coupon.
For example, the Smart Ones were priced at 1.80 a piece. I had a coupon for $3.00 off six.
At checkout, the register took off $1.80 the price of one meal -- but didn't roll over the remaining 1.20 savings to the others.
When using a coupon for $1.50 off three cans of Campbell's soup, the Target registers took off just $1.27, the price of one can, shorting us 23 cents.
Some Target shoppers are surprised.
"I usually watch to make sure I get everything," said coupon user, Eileen Brusco.
"I would have said something because I really watch my money," said coupon user Jacquelyn Tillery.
When Amy brought it to the attention of customer service, she got her money. But getting Target to fix the register problem is easier said than done.
"It's happened across the country, different stores."
With no Target fix in sight, Amy wants to warn others.
"If you are not paying attention, you're not getting the value of the coupon you're submitting," said Gunderson.
Target has been aware of this problem for at least a month. They tell us that they're working on a fix, but can't say when this will be resolved.
They claim that the stores are aware of the situation, but that didn't appear to be the case at the stores we visited.
Meantime, if you use coupons at Target, be sure check your receipt before leaving the store.
