Roger-Luc Chayer
The Price Accuracy Policy is a law administered by the Office de la Protection du Consommateur du Québec which aims to give consumers the means to deal with unfair commercial methods. For example, before the advent of this policy, some merchants had a bad habit of labeling several items lower than the actual price and most consumers did not notice it, such as in grocery stores, and when they discovered errors, the merchants replied that they were errors on the part of their employees and were not bound by anything!
However, since the arrival of politics, the rules of the game have been tightened, always to the benefit of customers and consumers. Not many people know about Quebec’s price accuracy policy because although merchants are required to post it in a visible place near checkouts, the text is still very small and frankly it’s not to help to make it known. Here are the most important things to know…
According to the OPC site, which publishes the detailed policy, “Merchants who exempt themselves from the individual product labeling rule must indicate prices on shelves and use a scanner. They are required to apply the Price Accuracy Policy. This policy provides for compensation if the price claimed at checkout is higher than the price indicated in store. The merchant must: 1- give you the good for free, if the item is advertised at $10 or less; 2- sell you the property at the advertised price, reduced by $10, if it is advertised at more than 10.
You are not entitled to this compensation if the error is in your favour, i.e. if the price recorded at the checkout is lower than the price indicated in store. You buy identical goods and the same price error is found on these goods? The merchant must correct each error, but the return of the goods for free or the $10 reduction applies to one of the goods only. Do you realize the pricing error afterwards? You can go back to the merchant and claim compensation under the policy. »
But some merchants still try to circumvent the law and often give as a reason for not honoring the policy that the product was misplaced. Faced with such a situation, it is recommended to take a photo of the product on the shelf, with the price indicated, to show it to the manager and to demand compliance with the policy, because if there is indeed an error, it is not the customer’s fault and that is exactly the purpose of the Price Accuracy Policy, to force merchants to quote exact prices!
However, there are certain exceptions: the policy does not apply to clothing, products without a barcode such as bulk, cow’s milk, tobacco products, beer, wine and spirits sold in grocery stores or in a convenience store ( except at the SAQ), if the application of the policy results in the product being sold below the minimum price provided for by law, and certain medications.