As of August 1, the automatic printing of receipts is over. A measure supposed to fight against waste, but which has several pitfalls for consumers. Here they are.
This is a major change in consumer habits. From August 1, the automatic printing of your receipts, it’s over. This measure, which was initially supposed to come into force on April 1, aims to reduce the production of waste since 30 billion slips are printed each year.
The customer can still have a paper ticket but he must explicitly request it from the merchant. He can also obtain a dematerialized ticket by SMS or email. But consumer associations point to several risks linked to the entry into force of this measure and which could harm the portfolio of households.
The 5 perverse effects of the end of the receipt
Checkout errors
First identified risk: possible errors at the checkout which are not so rare. The receipt also makes it possible to verify the accuracy of the transaction amount, a far from trivial precaution to avoid errors at the checkout, such as not taking into account a promotion, recalls a press release published by 12 consumer associations.
Fraud
The associations also point to the risk of contactless payment scams in the event of non-printing. On payment terminals, it is entirely possible for the merchant to type in the amount to be paid without the customer seeing it displayed. The ticket is then his only means of verifying that he is paying the amount he owes the professional, underlines Matthieu Robin, former researcher at UFC-Que Choisir.
Here are the 4 exceptions the end of the mandatory receipt
Repayment difficulties
Another pitfall to anticipate: the absence of a receipt may lead to difficulties in claiming legal or commercial guaranteesor for the reimbursement in the event of a food product recallor even proceed changing a productwarn the associations.
The legal guarantee of conformity is a legal one, the seller cannot avoid it. It must be invoked within two years following the delivery of the goods. Proof of purchase and its date is therefore essential for its implementation. Without the receipt, proof of the date of purchase is not impossible to provide but will be much more complicatedexplains Franoise Hebert-Winmart, jurist at the National Consumer Institute.
In the absence of a loyalty card that keeps the history of purchases made, you can try to trace the payment in your account statements. Or ask the store to do the research. The store is not obligated to perform these searches for you. For these reasons, for all purchases that may require an exchange or the application of a guarantee, if you do not have a loyalty card from the brand, always ask for the receipt and keep it carefullyrecommends this specialist.
Here is the official list of purchases that escape the end of the receipt