A Perth mother of four expressed her anger after a $450 online grocery order with Coles resulted in an unexpected charge of $504.70 due to Western Australia’s different timezone. The shopper, who wished to remain anonymous, noticed the discrepancy when her bank statement showed a larger amount than the $450.37 indicated on her online receipt.
Upon contacting Coles, she was informed that her order was processed in Eastern Standard Time, which caused her to miss the promotional cut-off time that ends at 11:59 pm AEST. The mother found this explanation unacceptable, stating, “I am absolutely disgusted…that’s not what I was under the impression I was going to be paying.”
In response to her complaint, Coles offered a $54 voucher, but she opted to cancel her order and request a refund instead. She questioned why Coles would rather lose a significant sale than acknowledge the mistake. A Coles spokesperson said they were investigating the matter and apologised to the customer, clarifying that cut-off times for weekly specials were detailed on their website. The mother hopes to raise awareness of this timezone issue to prevent others from experiencing similar situations, highlighting that it wasn’t mentioned in the information about Coles’ specials.