A woman has been warned she's breaking the law after confessing to a "cheeky" supermarket self-checkout move.
The shopper admitted she often pays less than she should be for her vegetables, and people were less than impressed.
The woman wrote into News.com.au 's Sisters In Law, which allows people to put their legal conundrums to sisters and lawyers Alison and Jillian Barrett about a disagreement she had with a friend.
As reported by the Daily Record she said that when her friend uses the self-service checkouts, she regularly puts more expensive fruit and veg - such as an avocado - through the system a brown onion instead.
The shopper believes that it isn't stealing as she's still paying something for it, and claimed the supermarkets work the cost of self-checkout fraud into its prices because "everyone does it".
The lawyers replied: "It doesn’t matter how your friend tries to justify her behaviour, her deceitful conduct in intentionally not paying full price is against the law.
"Your friend’s technique of using the self-service checkout to pass off more expensive items as cheaper ones cheats the system by underpaying. Her fraudulent behaviour is just one of many tricks employed by self-service thieves to avoid payment."
Alison and Jillian, based in Australia, said the 'tricks' are costing supermarkets a fortune every year and is actually pushing up the prices of groceries as a result.
Self-checkouts can weigh items to check you're being truthful, and supermarkets often employ staff and security guards to ensure they are being used correctly - but they also rely on the honesty of their customers.
They warned that "an excuse like getting avocados confused with brown onions is likely not going to cut it" if her friend is eventually caught, and she could being left facing a range of punishments.
