I’ve always pointed out items that weren’t charged. I’ve also walked back into stores to pay for things on the bottom rack of my cart or that I stupidly stuck in my pocket out of absent mindedness. I’ve never had a moments regret about that. Nor have I ever felt compelled to write someone for advice about whether I had done the right thing. Whether gains are ill gotten isn’t determined by the victims status, but by the gainer’s intent.
Having said that, I’m not Abraham Lincoln. If I drive 10 miles for something and find that they have made a $2 error to my favor when I get home, I’m not going to spend an hour and $3 in gas to get it back to them. I consider that a business mistake on their part that I’m not obligated to lose money on. And believe me, you can’t just give them $2 the next time you are there. They won’t take it. But if its an uncharged item, you can have them ring it up for you next time.
I once discovered that I had failed to leave a tip for a substantial bill (did the math wrong), and did call the next day to ensure the waiter got the intended tip, but that was 100% my fault and a substantial issue of net profit for the waiter.
Ah, I see you made essentially the same point ahead of me.
Exactly, based on how much I spend at wallmart on a monthly basis if I walked out with a DVD without noticing I failed to pay for it and managed to get home with it (doubtful). I doubt I’d go through the trouble of raising the issue. It’s not worth my trouble for a 7-10$ dvd. I have walked out of the store with merchandise only to return to pay for it when I determined it wasn’t included in the bill. I’ve also left items at check out which I’ve paid for, and not bothered to come back for them.
It really all depends on the nominal value of the item.