Letter: Shops ‘steal’ money

I AM so sick of going into shops and (because this government has done away with first the 1c and 2c, and now the 5c pieces as well) not getting the correct change.

When I complain, I just get told there are no more of whatever the denomination is so they cannot give me the correct change. They act as if they are doing me a favour by even asking me if I want them to give a 10c piece instead.

The fact that these companies are “stealing” my money is of no concern to them.

Yes, I know that 5c is not a big deal, but imagine if every shop you went into for a year did that to you, it would mount up. These companies have thousands of people going in and out every day/month and this money will really mount up for them.

The amount for a year at 5c per 1 000 people per day is R18 250. This is a fair amount of money in anyone’s book, money for nothing.

These companies do not even blush when they tell you they do not have the 5c pieces. Surely they should take all of this into account and price their stuff accordingly so that their customers get the correct change.

Our money is being downgraded regularly because of the antics of our president and the economy, so the man in the street needs every penny to make ends meet and cannot afford to be robbed of 5c every time he goes shopping. This is a disgusting practise.