Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- Nancy Ramsden was trying on a new sweater when she noticed an original price tag was covered by a sticker that charged $10 more.
“If there is a manufacturer’s suggested [retail price], why are they hiding it under a higher price?” Ramsden wants to know.
Ramsden also noticed her new pants still had the original tag, uncovered, but they rang up $10 higher at the register.
A spokesperson for Macy’s told NewsChannel 9:
"As you may recall from extensive media coverage at the time, there were huge increases in worldwide commodity prices (primarily involving cotton) in late 2010 and early 2011. This caused an increase in the prices of goods made from those higher-cost commodities. In July 2011, we began receiving shipments of new higher-priced goods in some categories. In some isolated cases, these new goods incorrectly included old tags with old prices (keep in mind that tags are pre-printed and attached to goods before they are shipped from the manufacturer). So beginning in July, we at Macy’s needed to add new original price labels to those goods that were improperly marked. We did that by placing stickers with the correct prices over the outdated prices previously printed on the label."
The company says they may have missed adding a new tag to the jeans or it may have been removed somehow. Nonetheless, they agreed to refund the $10 difference.
The confusion made Nancy look twice at her receipts and she found three other problems. Clothes clearly marked with newer sales tags also rang up higher at the register. All together, she and her boyfriend had paid about $20 more than expected. All of the items were bought on the same day, from two different Macy's stores.
"As much as I bought, I didn't notice it at the time. I went home. I noticed it later on,” Ramsden said. "I said fine, you know, so they got me on that one. I should have paid attention."
But she wants to warn other shoppers to check their receipts before removing any tags.
"We currently are checking our files to determine how this could have happened. In the meantime, we also are reaching out to the customer to refund the difference in price," wrote Macy's spokesperson Jim Suzuki. "Pricing issues are very rare, and we also want to be sure our prices are correct, clearly marked and can be trusted by the customer."
In general, there are no refunds if older tags are clearly marked with a new sticker. But, Macy's agreed, Nancy will get money back for the jeans and those sales items that rang up incorrectly.
