Man frustrated after Tesco self-checkout allegedly took his money twice. Then staff said the machine does it all the time: ‘absolute ridiculous’

A Tesco shopper said a self-checkout machine still asked him for money after he had already put in the full cash amount for a kettle. Lee, who posts on TikTok as @leeseekstruthuk, described the trip in a video that had reached 48,800 views.

He said he bought a kettle for work that cost £40 and paid in cash with one £20 note and two £10 notes. He stated that the screen then showed £20 still due.

Lee said he checked his wallet because he was sure he had put in the right money. In the caption, he called it “Absolute ridiculous management at this @Tesco” and said he was almost £20 down.

Staff opened the machine after the shopper said the balance still showed unpaid

Lee said he called a Tesco employee over and told her the machine was still asking for £20 even though he believed he had already paid. He said he had never known that to happen at any self-service till and that he tends not to use those machines.

On-screen text reads, “Tesco almost robbed me.” A woman is seen in the background, her back to the camera, bending down to look at the open cash unit. Lee said the employee did not say much at first and just started looking at the machine. He then asked whether she had seen the problem before.

He said she replied, “Oh yeah, this machine does it all the time.” Lee said he was surprised that a machine described that way was still in use and had not been taken out of service. Self-checkout frustrations can lead to unexpected encounters, like when an Ohio woman got stuck waiting at a Kroger self-checkout and witnessed a stranger’s relationship unfold.

He asked how many forgetful people, vulnerable people, and older shoppers might have paid extra without realizing they had already put the money in. He said the only way staff confirmed he had paid was by checking the store cameras. Lee ended the video by saying, “Sort it out, Tesco. F–k me.”

Viewers left comments about self-checkouts and similar disputes. One person wrote that stores do not repair the machines because they are not treated as broken. “thay dont repair it bcs its not broken. For them its 110% fully working!” they wrote.

Another commenter said a machine that does the same thing all the time should not stay in service. “If it does it ALL the time, it shouldn’t be in service!!” they wrote. The self-checkout experience can be perplexing, as seen when a woman uses Apple Pay at Target and later suspects her purchase was taken for free.

A third person said the same thing had happened at Aldi. They wrote that staff argued and said it would take a long time to open the machine and count the cash, then added, “I told them I’ve got all day. I got my money back.”

Other commenters said they refuse self-service tills. One wrote, “I refuse to use self service full stop and definitely avoid Tesco.” Another wrote, “Simple, don’t use self service. I never have and never will. More jobs would be available if no-one used them.”