6 ms·

Unfortunately, this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for. You couldn't just walk out of

by hippo22 10mo ago

Unfortunately, this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for. You couldn't just walk out of the store with the items. You'd need to either: 1. Buy the items and sue. 2. Take the items without paying, likely get the police called on you, and defend yourself in criminal and civil court.

michaelmrose 10mo ago
If you walk out and it goes to court you will surely lose. You may have started with the right to get it for nothing but you cannot realize that right by force. Self-help is almost always illegal in any case of disagreement between parties.
- mynameismon 10mo ago
  Yeah, but someone living paycheck-to-paycheck and shopping at dollar stores is likely not someone who can afford filing a lawsuit.
  - bombcar 10mo ago
    If it’s common enough it sounds like it could be some fun pastime for lawyers.
mschuster91 10mo ago
> Unfortunately, this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for. Here in Europe, we have consumer protection agencies. Get wronged? Shoot them off an email and they'll take care of it. And overcharging at the cash register? That gets handled by the responsible authorities. Again, call them, tell them what happened and it can get real messy real fast.
- zdragnar 10mo ago
  We have such agencies over here as well. Most states have some sort of weights and measures agency that handles inaccurate price scanning complaints. I can't say how effective they are at remediating small figure issues, but no company wants to hear from them regardless.
- js2 10mo ago
  I was having trouble getting Verizon to unlock an iPhone that had been purchased (not financed) from Best Buy and that had been on Verizon's network for more than two years. Verizon support said only BB could unlock it[^1]. I thought that was poppycock. I filled out a form on the FCC's web site just before midnight. By 8 AM, the FCC had forwarded the complaint to Verizon. By 9 AM Verizon executive relations called me. 30 minutes later the phone was unlocked. Which is all to say, for some things, the US also has consumer protection and it's great when it works. [^1]: Apparently only Apple sells unlocked iPhones. iPhones purchased at other retailers carrier-lock themselves at activation. At least on Verizon they're supposed to automatically unlock after 60 days. When that doesn't happen, you get stuck in Verizon's mindless customer support swamp[^2,^3]. [^2]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/17ae8l2/verizon_says_the_phone_i_purchased_outright_from/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/17ae8l2/verizon_sa... [^3]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/1buemp5/why_is_it_locked/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/1buemp5/why_is_it_...
  - raw_anon_1111 10mo ago
    I bet you didn’t try that this year when every single part of the federal government is actively trying to harm people.
    - deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
  - LorenPechtel 10mo ago
    Yeah, I've had a similar experience with a phone company trying to hold a number hostage. Yes, the bill was unpaid, but I was not the one liable. (My phone on a company account, the company was going under.) Letter to the regulators, very promptly fixed.
- venturecruelty 10mo ago
  We have those agencies as well. They've been steadily gutted since their inception, and the courts (well, the Court) don't care.
  - zeroonetwothree 10mo ago
    You may be referring to the CFPB but states tend to have their own agencies that have nothing to do with SCOTUS or the federal government.
    - venturecruelty 10mo ago
      And yet, here we are, with the terrible state of affairs for consumers.
jkaplowitz 10mo ago
Theoretically there is a third option, stay in the store near the cash register and call the police to come deal with it on the spot before the purchase. The problem is that they probably won't bother coming, and if they do, they won't come quickly enough to make it worth waiting for them given the amount of money at stake. Edit: Yeah, I did say before the purchase, but I should have said after the purchase when they pay the legally correct price but the store accuses them of shoplifting and tries to detain them. And I know it's often infeasibly hard to pay the legally correct price from a logistical perspective without the cashier's cooperator, especially if you want to pay with a card. It is clearly possible to put at least the right amount of cash on the counter, ask for the change, and attempt to leave if they refuse, but that doesn't guarantee ever getting the change. Anyway, I did list this option as (purely) theoretical and not as actually practical.
- sejje 10mo ago
  Call the police to come deal with...mispriced items? That's not the job of police, sorry. Not in the US anyway.
  - jkaplowitz 10mo ago
    Call the police to stop a store from criminally restraining the freedom of a customer to leave with their purchase after the customer pays the legally mandated maximum price which is often the lower of shelf and scanner price, yes. That's not going to be a high enforcement priority for the police, but it's absolutely a crime if the store does that.
    - gruez 10mo ago
      >Call the police to stop a store from criminally restraining the freedom of a customer [...] Realistically no store is going chase after the customer for that, but that doesn't mean the average shopper is going to risk arrest/banned (for what the store essentially sees as shoplifting) to send a $2 message over the price difference. And all of this assumes your novel legal theory is actually correct.
JumpCrisscross 10mo ago
> this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for Massachusetts has a strong consumer arm at its AGO [1] and consumer regulator [2]. The problem is less one of cost of litigation than education about available options. (And the time to pursue them.) [1] https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint [2] https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-consumer-affairs-and-business-regulation https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-consumer-affairs-and-bus...
jefftk 10mo ago
3. Point at the sign, which is posted at every register, and ask for your discount. If they say no you ask for the manager. I've done this several times, and never had an issue (but sometimes it takes a little while).
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
gnulinux 10mo ago
You live in Massachusetts and speak from experience? Because this law seems to work quite well in MA as it's a particularly popular law.

by hippo22 10mo ago

michaelmrose 10mo ago

If you walk out and it goes to court you will surely lose. You may have started with the right to get it for nothing but you cannot realize that right by force. Self-help is almost always illegal in any case of disagreement between parties.

mynameismon 10mo ago
Yeah, but someone living paycheck-to-paycheck and shopping at dollar stores is likely not someone who can afford filing a lawsuit.
- bombcar 10mo ago
  If it’s common enough it sounds like it could be some fun pastime for lawyers.

mschuster91 10mo ago

> Unfortunately, this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for. Here in Europe, we have consumer protection agencies. Get wronged? Shoot them off an email and they'll take care of it. And overcharging at the cash register? That gets handled by the responsible authorities. Again, call them, tell them what happened and it can get real messy real fast.

zdragnar 10mo ago
We have such agencies over here as well. Most states have some sort of weights and measures agency that handles inaccurate price scanning complaints. I can't say how effective they are at remediating small figure issues, but no company wants to hear from them regardless.
js2 10mo ago
I was having trouble getting Verizon to unlock an iPhone that had been purchased (not financed) from Best Buy and that had been on Verizon's network for more than two years. Verizon support said only BB could unlock it[^1]. I thought that was poppycock. I filled out a form on the FCC's web site just before midnight. By 8 AM, the FCC had forwarded the complaint to Verizon. By 9 AM Verizon executive relations called me. 30 minutes later the phone was unlocked. Which is all to say, for some things, the US also has consumer protection and it's great when it works. [^1]: Apparently only Apple sells unlocked iPhones. iPhones purchased at other retailers carrier-lock themselves at activation. At least on Verizon they're supposed to automatically unlock after 60 days. When that doesn't happen, you get stuck in Verizon's mindless customer support swamp[^2,^3]. [^2]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/17ae8l2/verizon_says_the_phone_i_purchased_outright_from/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/17ae8l2/verizon_sa... [^3]: https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/1buemp5/why_is_it_locked/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Bestbuy/comments/1buemp5/why_is_it_...
- raw_anon_1111 10mo ago
  I bet you didn’t try that this year when every single part of the federal government is actively trying to harm people.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
- LorenPechtel 10mo ago
  Yeah, I've had a similar experience with a phone company trying to hold a number hostage. Yes, the bill was unpaid, but I was not the one liable. (My phone on a company account, the company was going under.) Letter to the regulators, very promptly fixed.
venturecruelty 10mo ago
We have those agencies as well. They've been steadily gutted since their inception, and the courts (well, the Court) don't care.
- zeroonetwothree 10mo ago
  You may be referring to the CFPB but states tend to have their own agencies that have nothing to do with SCOTUS or the federal government.
  - venturecruelty 10mo ago
    And yet, here we are, with the terrible state of affairs for consumers.

jkaplowitz 10mo ago

Theoretically there is a third option, stay in the store near the cash register and call the police to come deal with it on the spot before the purchase. The problem is that they probably won't bother coming, and if they do, they won't come quickly enough to make it worth waiting for them given the amount of money at stake. Edit: Yeah, I did say before the purchase, but I should have said after the purchase when they pay the legally correct price but the store accuses them of shoplifting and tries to detain them. And I know it's often infeasibly hard to pay the legally correct price from a logistical perspective without the cashier's cooperator, especially if you want to pay with a card. It is clearly possible to put at least the right amount of cash on the counter, ask for the change, and attempt to leave if they refuse, but that doesn't guarantee ever getting the change. Anyway, I did list this option as (purely) theoretical and not as actually practical.

sejje 10mo ago
Call the police to come deal with...mispriced items? That's not the job of police, sorry. Not in the US anyway.
- jkaplowitz 10mo ago
  Call the police to stop a store from criminally restraining the freedom of a customer to leave with their purchase after the customer pays the legally mandated maximum price which is often the lower of shelf and scanner price, yes. That's not going to be a high enforcement priority for the police, but it's absolutely a crime if the store does that.
  - gruez 10mo ago
    >Call the police to stop a store from criminally restraining the freedom of a customer [...] Realistically no store is going chase after the customer for that, but that doesn't mean the average shopper is going to risk arrest/banned (for what the store essentially sees as shoplifting) to send a $2 message over the price difference. And all of this assumes your novel legal theory is actually correct.

JumpCrisscross 10mo ago

> this type of conflict can only be adjudicated by courts, which low-income people don't have the time and money for Massachusetts has a strong consumer arm at its AGO [1] and consumer regulator [2]. The problem is less one of cost of litigation than education about available options. (And the time to pursue them.) [1] https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint [2] https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-consumer-affairs-and-business-regulation https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-consumer-affairs-and-bus...

jefftk 10mo ago

3. Point at the sign, which is posted at every register, and ask for your discount. If they say no you ask for the manager. I've done this several times, and never had an issue (but sometimes it takes a little while).

deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]

gnulinux 10mo ago

You live in Massachusetts and speak from experience? Because this law seems to work quite well in MA as it's a particularly popular law.