Have you ever been shopping when you find an item, read its displayed price and decide to buy that item but then when you checkout the cashier scans it for a different price? a much higher price? Yes it happens to all of us and the cashier does one of two things… either apologizes for the wrong price and says he/she’ll charge you the lower displayed price or the cashier just acts like a total %$# and says the display price is wrong.
Well in both cases believe it or not, many well known stores in Canada should give you the item for FREE! Many chains are members in Canada’s Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code.
How does the code work?
If the scanned price of an non-price ticketed item is higher than the shelf price or any other displayed price, the customer is entitled to receive the item free, up to a $10 maximum. When the item has a price tagged, the lowest price applies. When identical items are incorrectly priced, the second one will be sold at the correct price. Under this code you are eligible
What does the code cover?
The Code covers all scanned merchandise at participating retail outlets where the “Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code†sign is displayed at the store entrance or checkout. Note that you’ve probably seen this sign before but never knew what it is. A&P have it posted on every checkout isle.
What happens if two or more identical non-price ticketed items are incorrectly scanned?
Customers are entitled to the first item free (up to a maximum of $10) and the subsequent item(s) at the correct price.
Which stores participate in this code?
Here’s a rough list of participating stores. Please feel free to notify of additions/deletions to this list:
the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS)
Shoppers Drug Mart
The Groupe Jean Coutu (NB and Ont only)
Lawton Drug Stores
London Drugs
Lovell Drugs
Pharma-save (BC and Sask)
the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD)
Canada Safeway Limited
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company of Canada Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited
Sobeys Inc.
Metro Inc.
Thrifty Foods
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
Co-op Atlantic
Federated Co-operatives Limited
the Retail Council of Canada (RCC)
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
The Home Depot Canada
Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd.
Toys r Us
Shoppers Drug Mart
Wal*Mart Canada Corp.
Giant Tiger Stores Ltd.
The North West Company
Best Buy/Future Shop ( in implementation stage)
2 Home Hardware franchisees
the Federation of Independent Grocers (FIC)
Thrifty Foods
Overwaitea Food Group
The Harry Watson Group
Longos Brothers Fruit Markets
As well as over 1000 independent locations
Where can I get more details?
http://www.ccgd.ca/en/PriceAcc.html
^ That sucks AiE, but it’s good that you will no longer give that store business. Stores that voluntarily participate in SCOP are great and it’s great to know they take responsibility if an item rings up wrong.
so if this happends what do you say? do you have to say the name of the policy? or do you just let them know it was wrong and what they need to do? i cant remember the name of the policy and have missed out on using it! lol
@ Becca
They sometimes don’t do the SCOP and just adjust the price. Make sure to tell them you want them to do the SCOP. They should have a sign somewhere that says they follow the scop show them that.
If a cashier doesn’t know what to do ask for a manager.
Does it also apply when the item is tagged at a lower price then it rung up at the register? We didn’t relize it until we got home that we were charged more.could I go back to the store and get the item for free?
What do you mean tagged? If the item has a price tag individually affixed to it no it doesn’t fall under the Scanners Code.
It happened to me at Canadian Tire. They had a T-fall frying pan for $9.99 (original price was $35.) The register scanned it at $35 so I told them about their sign. When the girl confirmed what I was saying I also told her now I got $10 off because it was scanned wrong. She called her manager who said I will get the $35 pan for free! That was the best deal ever. At this point I saw them rushing to adjust registers.
Another story at Walmart. They had a rice cooker on sale $14.99. It scanned at register for reg. price $19.99 didn’t notice. Came home and when I noticed their mistake went to back to customer service where I had to argue with assistant Manager that I now get the item for $4.99. He was a jerk about it but did it anyways. The next morning, I went in thinking $14.99 is still a good deal so I was going to buy another one as a gift for my Mom. Guess what? Their registers were still incorrect and I scored another one for $4.99. How stupid can they get? I should’ve sent my friends to buy more. hahaha but I didn’t because I’m nice. Keep your eyes open at the register and never hesitate to make them follow through with their posted policy.
Lol! I was at Lowes buying bags of concrete. Their price was 7.99, but it scanned in at 8.79. I told the cashier that according to the scop, I get them for free and looked around for a sign, but there were none posted. I went to customer service and they said they would honour the scop and called the cashier. Store management was summoned to the till, and they said that compliance with the scop was voluntary and they would only give me 10% off. I said that this was bs and that the scop was a consumer protection to prevent companies from stealing from consumers by way of inaccurate databases. I then told the manager that I would be happy to obtain my concrete at full price at home depot and that I would be filing a complaint against them for not honouring the scop. He quickly assured me that would not be necessary and rung through my 8 bags for 8 cents and asked me if I would like help loading the bags into my car!
I recently went to FreshCo where they have the scop. When I walked in there were bags of Lays chips as well as boxes of indiv snack packs stacked together with three signs all saying $1.99. These were the only signs there and they stated Lays chips on them. When I pointed out the scop to the cashier, she had no clue. Then she asked a manager who was off duty and she said “those chips would never be that price” because they scanned at $6.99 and not at $1.99. I told her that they should be free because the only price listed for the chips was $1.99, but they argued with me and said I should have checked the grams listed on the price poster. As there was no price poster for the boxes of chips and no price tag on them, shouldn’t they have been free, since the only displayed price was 1.99?
last night I was overcharged at Shoppers Drug Mart in Ontario for cat litter. The shelf had a sale sticker for $6.49 and the register rang up at $6.99. I loaded up my car and then went back in with litter and receipt. The supervisor instructed the cashier to refund me .50c. I explained that the item should be for free, as I am overcharged and it is less than $10. The supervisor explained to me that the policy is for regular items that are priced wrong and I should not get the item for free just because it’s “an old sale item and somebody forgot to remove the sticker and I’m entitled to .50c.” While trying to process her reasoning, she looked at me and said, “Well obviously you’re not going to be happy unless I refund you the whole amount.” I felt like a crook. Today I phoned Head Office who informed me I was correct. Even though I rec’d the item for free, I felt it necessary they call the store and educate them on their own policy as it is not my job to do so.
And so here it is October 10, 2011 and in the nearly 5 years people have been leaving posts on this page I see nothing has change. We still get overcharged, clerks still roll their eyes, supervisors/managers still are beligerent, customer’s are still getting angry, humiliated and disgusted. I would like to do more than just complain about this in a post. I wrote CBC marketplace — hopefully they will do a story on this and hopefully it will be the retailer that is going to be embarassed.…… I wonder how long I can hold my breath.….…..
PRINT OFF THE PAGE — that is what i did, and then show it to them, this will shut them up very fast as it is the LAW they have to and if they still refuse get their name of all the people who told you no and report them to their head office and they will get reprimanded and they will call the store that gave you problems and deal with them … trust me it works, once you actually show them the proof they will do it as they don’t want you to report them to their head office. Best of luck to everyone!!!
I was really annoyed today with Home Outfitters! Apparently they don’t practice the Scanning Code. My $19 item rang up at $24 and I said “oh I get $10 off for the scanning code of practice. It said it was $19 on the shelf and there is the sticker on the box.’ the cashier said “oh we don’t practice that. Our store doesn’t. its not the law.” I didn’t want to stand there and argue, but I am trying to find out WHERE it says that retailers HAVE to honor the Code. I want to go back there and say “see!!” give me my $10!! But I do like this scanning code practice when it works!!
This Scanning code also applys when a product scans even at a lower price then the displayed price!!! And Most stores follow under this practice — You just have to stand your ground! I love the scanning code!!
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what if hst charged where not required do i get 10 dollars off
Try this.… throw computer out the window cry about it for awhile go to a friends house log on using her/his computer and shop til you drop. Remembering of course to order your Macbook pro to replace the PC you through out the window.
A big thing a lot of people are ignoring about this code is the word VOLUNTARY, its not mandatory a retailer give you 10$ off or the item free it is completely VOLUNTARY and at their discretion so if you’re a royal a$$ about the situation I’d bank on you getting squat.
It is only voluntary for the company to comply not for each individual store to follow. If the company has agreed to be part of the code, each store must follow it regardless.
To add to this I was just in Zellers today and not only did they not scan the item correctly but they refused to adhere to the discount advertised on the rack saying that those products should not be on that rack because they were new items. Ok so why put them there? I will not be shopped at Zellers again. They are a big waste of time and a joke as a Canadian company.
Bought a box of candy at Shoppers Drug Mart recently. Cashier accidently scanned item twice. Checked receipt while I was still in the store and found the error.Returned to cashier who refunded for one item. was I entitled to receive the candy for free plus a full refund. I’m not really greedy, just don’t know what the policy is.
What is the item is a bottle/case of pop???
1. do we get the taxes free too?
2. What about the bottle deposit?
3. What about the enviro fee?
at superstore I got them to refund the taxes but didn’t go for more because I’m not sure they should give more.
Wow, marvelous weblog layout! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you made blogging look easy. The full look of your website is great, let alone the content material!
Days new flyers come out, that’s when there is the chance of the registers and shelf/sign pricing differing since someone has to get around to changing this. At the store I work at, the day of a new flyer, we’ll adjust if the register is coming up higher than the flyer, to the flyer price. The manager then informs that department manager or department associate so the changes can be made. But if the next day (now Day 2 of the flyer) the issue is still there, then we will give the item (up to $10) free because by then it’s the store’s error. It can also happen when the store gets a lits of price changes to be made. It takes time to get things changed —- and after all we are all human.
However, a customer must expect that the cashier has to get confirmation from someone on the floor as to what the price is on the shelf/sign. Otherwise, what’s stopping a customer from saying one price, only to find out it wasn’t anywhere near that price. And remember, the shelf/sign price must be FOR THAT PRODUCT. Too many customers don’t even read — other than the price — what the shelf says. Customers are constantly pushing things around, moving things here and there, dropping things they no longer want where they are (as they are too lazy to take them back to where they got them from) — making it difficult for another customer (and the cashier) when, of course, the register is not going to come up with the same price as the shelf BECAUSE THAT’S NOT THE PRODUCT THAT BELONGS THERE! All products have UPC codes. The shelves show the UPC, as well as a brief description and the size.…so make sure it is the correct product. I watched a woman one day moving all the loaves of bread around to get (or to see, not sure) what was at the back of the shelf. Did she move all that she moved in the first place back to their original positions? No. So, if what she was looking for was the one on sale for $1.47, then Joe Blow comes along, sees the sign (but doesn’t look at the shelf sticker to see if it’s the same product), picks it up, the price is not going to be the same at the register as it isn’t the one that is one sale.
I have had the worst problems with the Zellers in my area. It seems like every time I go shopping there, I get home to see I have been over-charged for at least one item. They do not have the screen that allows customers to see what was rung in and how much it was rung in for. It is also a long bus ride for me to get to, so not worth going back to complain. I don’t really shop there anymore, because of this.
I must comment on some of the posters in here though… there are quite a few who still don’t seem to really understand that the code IS VOLUNTARY unless you are in Quebec. I do agree that the stores SHOULD follow the code, and I believe it SHOULD be law across Canada, but it is not yet… so either complain to the government with detailed info, or chill out a bit. :-p
Many times the problem is that the cashiers are poorly trained mainly because there is such a high turnover rate and the training is not very good.
However as a cashier many of us are so reluctant to give scanning code because the customer is rude and obnoxious about the situation.
I know I am more than happy to give scanning code to a pleasant, polite customer. But when I have someone so rude they talk to me and treat me as if I did it on purpose and have no clue what I’m doing, i do everything and anything I can to avoid giving scanning code.
If they think I know nothing, I’ll act like it then.
Cashiers are also so reluctant to give scanning codes because they get customers that are not only rude, but then they turn around and tell everyone around them to run back and get some as they’ll get it free too. Where I work this money IS basically coming out of our pockets since it helps decrease our end of year bonus.
I happen to work at Zellers and have for years. We have an old school unupdated system, yes most of the pricing mistakes are in fact human error as we do have to scan every single item individually just to change the price. Our signs happen to go out the night before and yes customers DO flip the signs out of curiousity. You all jump to blame the cashiers. The cashiers have nothing to do with pricing or signing, and I don’t much blame the underpaid that have to deal with customers stupidity who put up the signs and change the prices. You constantly distract those who are assigned those jobs.
I am a cash lead at zellers, so I hear all of the customers complaints on a daily basis, and yes most of the time it is the CUSTOMERS STUPIDITY. Read your signs correctly, read them fully match the items, don’t just pick up the item next to it. And for everyone complaining about how we don’t follow the policy, it’s because ITS NOT IN OUR POLICY. The Scanning Code of Conduct is a voluntary policy, especially for privately owned companies which we have been for years.
So next time you think about bitching to the cashiers about how an item came up wrong and you should get it for free, think about the fact that a) we’re underpaid and all losing our jobs, we don’t exactly want to be there let alone deal with you, and b) do your research, the stores that participate must have a sign saying they participate in the policy, it must be at the front doors. We have no such sign, nor have I seen such a sign in any other HBC store.
So ill do further research but what if there’s multiple *different* items scanned wrong on one order?? Am i still not enititled to each of those free? Extra Foods tonight would only give me on one item although i had 3 wrong scans! Going back tomorrow to the manager…the GIRL in charge didnt even like the fact that i was using coupons and i was getting a b1g1f on the bullseye…ah sweet victory for me tomorrow. Also the one item they did give me for free i didnt realize they didnt take off the transaction with the original higher price so i still paid for it!
Niki, I routinely get more than one free item. It’s one for every mispriced UPC code.
Hell if I wanted I could find 100’s of mispriced items in this one store I shop at but I usually only get around 4–7 wrong items when I shop.
Hello,
I have to admit I didn’t have time to read ALL of these comments, but, does anyone have experience of when a single store item has two different price stickers on it?
I had thought that the store *must* honor the lower price, but I don’t really know. Certainly the store in question (independent) had NO intention of doing that. They said “No Way. Ever.”. The clerk then quickly became angry, and actually quite threatening. I left saying that they would hear about this. But again, I don’t know what the deal really is on this/
Thanks for any help,
Martin
I think what you are all missing here is that the code is VOLUNTARY.
If the store does not display a sign saying they participate in the act, then they do not have to give you the discount. Read the article.
In my place of employement, we used to have a sign up, we no longer do. I have had customers tell me that this is “the law”, lol.
Thanks to this article, I now know I do not need to give anyone a discount, if I don’t want to.