Troubleshooters: Computer glitch causes double charges at multiple ShopRite locations

GALLOWAY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Customers of a popular grocery store chain need to check their statements as many were double-charged last month.

A couple in Galloway, New Jersey, reached out to the Action News Troubleshooters because not only were they charged twice, they were having trouble getting their money back.

It turns out the issue impacted many customers at numerous ShopRite locations.

"Gasoline is $5 a gallon," said Bruce Waldman. "I just spoke to the electric company this morning. They told me the prices just went up 30%. They raised my bill 30%."

Right now, every penny counts more than ever, so when the Waldmans were double charged for their $115 bill at ShopRite, it upset them.

"It's a lot of money when you're retired," he said.

It happened when Carol Waldman went to the ShopRite in Galloway, New Jersey.

"She said, 'We did have a computer problem, but it seems to be okay now,'" Carol said.

So she put her card in the reader, but it didn't appear to work.

"Then she came around and put the card in, and it worked," she said. "I didn't realize I had been double charged until I got home."

Bruce Waldman made the discovery when he looked at the couple's bank account statement online.

"I noticed that there were two identical charges from ShopRite," he said.

The Waldmans told the Troubleshooters they called ShopRite to get a refund two and a half weeks ago.

"We got the runaround," said Carol.

The Waldmans said ShopRite told them it was their bank's problem.

The bank told them it was ShopRite's problem.

"It was very frustrating," said Carol.

The Troubleshooters contacted ShopRite, and they replied with a statement:

"Our credit and debit payment processor experienced a service issue on May 21 that impacted ShopRite stores and other retailers...

In some cases, customers later discovered charges that were not reflected at the time."

ShopRite said it is working with anyone who has an issue related to the service interruption and encourages customers to call 1-800-ShopRite for help.

And while ShopRite would not say how many customers were affected, Bruce Waldman said, according to a ShopRite manager:

"He admitted to me that there were literally thousands of people that had the same problem on that same day," he said.

ShopRite did call the Waldman's directly and is issuing them a refund.

The chain also said it apologizes for any inconvenience.

ShopRite Full Statement:

Our credit and debit payment processor experienced a service issue on May 21 that impacted ShopRite stores and other retailers. During this time period, credit and debit transactions were processing intermittently and at a reduced rate. In some cases, customers who had trouble processing their card later discovered credit card charges that were not reflected at the time. We are working with anyone who has an issue related to the service interruption on May 21, and we can certainly reach out to this customer if we have their contact information. We encourage the Waldmans to contact our ShopRite Customer Care Center, and we apologize for any inconvenience.