It is a fact that online shopping comes with numerous advantages that are too enticing to ignore. From a wider range of product options to convenience, flexibility, etc., purchasing goods online can be a lifesaver. That’s especially true for people like Jill McCormick, an Ohio woman who takes care of a daughter living with disabilities.
Since Jill is a working-class lady, it’s pretty challenging juggling between her job and taking care of a child with special needs. So, like any reasonable person in her situation, she needed to find ways to make her life easier. To save time, she decided to do her shopping online. She placed an order for items from Kroger through Instacart.
Choosing Kroger was a no-brainer. As one of the most popular and top-performing supermarkets in the country, Jill felt they were more than capable of fulfilling her shopping needs. Well, that was until they messed up her order by charging thousands of dollars more than her actual purchase. While no one is above mistakes, this one was too costly for her to let it slide.
Jill explained that she ordered groceries worth $282 from the retail giants. The items were supposed to be delivered by Instacart, a popular grocery delivery service in the county. Shockingly, as she waited for her groceries to get to her, she received a bank notification of a $2,783.25 charge for her items — almost ten times her actual order!
According to her, her heart stopped at that point. “I’m thinking panic mode…something is happening, and I have to react very quickly, and I didn’t even know where to start,” she said. When she reviewed the order, she discovered that items like 15 bottles of Gain laundry detergent, six packs of Butterball turkey bacon, and five bottles of Dawn Platinum dish soap, etc., which she never ordered were added to her list. She also never received the items.
Recalling the events of the day, Jill stated that she was chatting with her designated shopper not long before she received the exorbitant bank charge. Although the shopper assured her that the charge would be canceled, it wasn’t. It wasn’t until almost an hour later of trying to reach customer service without progress that Instacart eventually canceled the order.
Reacting to the sad event, a Kroger spokesperson stated that the company was aware of the mistake. According to the representative, “We understand a customer was overcharged for an order placed on August 9, 2023. We rectified the incident as soon as it was brought to our attention with an expedited refund to the customer’s original form of payment and a gift card to apologize for the inconvenience.” Meanwhile, Instacart refused to honor requests for their side of the story.
Although Kroger offered Jill a $250 gift card for her troubles, she wasn’t pacified and has resolved never to order groceries online from Kroger anymore. “I’m not looking for that (the gift card), I’m looking for a fix and outcome,” she said.
We hope that this incident will make the companies involved more proactive in preventing similar occurrences in the future.
