Does Harvey Norman Calculate % Discounts Correctly?

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savag3

188 posts

Master Geek

#380166 15-Sep-2010 14:53

Anyone affected should complain to the Commerce Commission. This is likely to be something they would prosecute over. They have prosecuted supermarkets if I recall correctly for charging incorrect prices. The more people who complain the more likely they are to investigate.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29763 posts

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#380173 15-Sep-2010 15:03

this error ranges from simple cashier miseducation to serious serious serious misleading fraud - comm comm territory.

Bung

6485 posts

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Subscriber

#380174 15-Sep-2010 15:11

joker97: this error ranges from simple cashier miseducation to serious serious serious misleading fraud - comm comm territory.

Why jump straight to a Govt investigation of organised fraud, why doesn't Wreck90 just ring the store and ask for an explanation? Other customers have probably already done so.

robbyp

1199 posts

Uber Geek

#380198 15-Sep-2010 15:38

savag3: Anyone affected should complain to the Commerce Commission. This is likely to be something they would prosecute over. They have prosecuted supermarkets if I recall correctly for charging incorrect prices. The more people who complain the more likely they are to investigate.

Thats a little hard. They are permitted to make human errors under the contractural mistakes act, as long as they aren't widespread and common. Best thing to do is phone them, and tell them that you were overcharged, even if it was just $2.50. It would be closer $4 as you have paid tax on your wages to earn that. They should give you something for the inconvenience and error, and tell you that their staff will be sent away for training on basic maths.

tardtasticx

3075 posts

Uber Geek

#380260 15-Sep-2010 18:02

robbyp:
savag3: Anyone affected should complain to the Commerce Commission. This is likely to be something they would prosecute over. They have prosecuted supermarkets if I recall correctly for charging incorrect prices. The more people who complain the more likely they are to investigate.

Thats a little hard. They are permitted to make human errors under the contractural mistakes act, as long as they aren't widespread and common. Best thing to do is phone them, and tell them that you were overcharged, even if it was just $2.50. It would be closer $4 as you have paid tax on your wages to earn that. They should give you something for the inconvenience and error, and tell you that their staff will be sent away for training on basic maths.

How the hell doesnt that staff member know this stuff though? I learnt basic percentages in year 6. I've got enough credits to pass level 2 this year already but I no one will employ me for whatever reason. So people who have better qualifications and know basic math can't get a job but someone who cant tell cars from trucks can?

manta

249 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#380308 15-Sep-2010 20:17

From my experiences of HN I'm sure that they would not leave their check-out staff to work out a % discount unless they are even more innumerate than their staff, which I find hard to believe.

To increase X by 25% you would multiply X by 1.25 so you could understand the mistake that to decrease X by 25% you'd divide by 1.25 but for a national company to make this mistake is a bit poor!

joff_nz

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#380344 15-Sep-2010 21:57

Wow there are a lot of people in here that just need to settle. Just call the store, or head office if you prefer and let them know. It sounds to me like it was a mistake. Theres not some big harvey norman conspiracy where they convince there checkout chicks to rip people off with jedi mind tricks and creative accounting, just someone whose maths is not so brilliant.

If you don't get anywhere then sure take it further but man talk about jumping the gun.

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Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#380362 15-Sep-2010 22:27

I have to agree.
The culture of ripping on others mistakes is a little bit difficult to take from time to time.
To the OP, you're owed $2.50, get in touch tomorrow and if they don't resolve the problem - then it's time to open a can of cyber-whoopass!

wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#380468 16-Sep-2010 08:37

I don't really care that much. If it were a more expensive item I'd have discussed this further.

I was sure she was wrong, and she was sure that she was right. She looked quite defiant when I told her that $40 is not 25% off. And, $2.50 is not a battle I wanted to pursue. Call me a wimp :)

Thinking of it, I think she may have manually calculated the price.It took some time for her to process the transaction. If it was a simple scan and leave the computer to calculate the price it would not have taken so long.

ahmad

1937 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#380713 16-Sep-2010 15:52

sbiddle: It's clearly wrong in this case but with it's not uncommon to find retailers who get discounts wrong. One common one is "we'll pay your GST" where retailers simply deduct 12.5% off the retail price which is infact incorrect.

This is mathematically incorrect but in the customer's favour. It's presumably a better marketing gimmick to say "pay no GST" than to say "Get 12.5% off".

Also, can you imagine all the (invalid) complaints they would have to deal with when customers lined up at the manager's desk complaining they only got an 11.1% discount?