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TONIGHT AT 11: Exposing ways you're overcharged

Posted at 4:50 AM, Feb 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-08 23:38:39-05

How often do you check your receipts? Do you just crinkle them up and throw them in your purse or wallet or the trash? If you don't pay attention, you may be overcharged and not even know it.

"Watch your pennies. You have to watch your receipts," explained Amy McGowen.

As a business owner, McGowen is used to tracking money closely. She does it professionally and personally.

"How much did they get you for this time?" Jenn Strathman asked.

"Four dollars," McGowen explained. "It's $4 that's not yours to take."

"I guess it's easier to steal 10 cents from a million people than it is to take a million dollars from one person," explained Martin Jacobson.

Jacobson is another consumer who contacted the Consumer Watchdog after he overpaid for an item.

"How does it make you feel to be nickeled and dimed by a company?" Strathman asked.

"You feel stressed. You feel aggravated. You want to do something about it," Jacobson said. "I hope people take note of their receipts. Put their foot down and do something about it."

We're helping you do something about it by revealing the ways you are nickeled and dimed in your daily life. We'll show you where to look on your receipt to make sure you are not losing nickels and dimes in your daily life. It eventually adds up.

"That's $2 that could be in your pocket. Yet here is a company taking it times thousands of other customers. So someone else is making all that money off that two-dollar transaction," Jacobson said.

Monday on NewsChannel 5 at 11 the Consumer Watchdog is showing you how to make sure you're not nickeled and dimed.