Were you overcharged at the checkout?

If the product’s price is under $10, you may be entitled to get it for free.

Under the Scanner Price Accuracy Code, managed by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), when the scanned price of an item is higher than the displayed price, the customer is entitled to receive the item free of charge when it is worth less than $10, or get a $10 reduction if it is more than $10.

It applies to all scanned merchandise sold in participating stores with a Universal Product Code (scannable barcode found on product packaging), and Price Look-Up (labelling system for bulk fresh fruits & vegetables). While the Code is voluntary, more than 7,000 stores across Canada have signed on since it was created including big-box stores, pharmacies, grocery chains, and independent grocery stores.

“It’s a good business practice because what I think it demonstrates to the consumer, on the part of the retailer, is they’re committed to price accuracy. And honestly, retailers want to know if products aren’t scanning correctly,” said Gary Sands, senior vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. “An independent grocer is on an overall margin of 2%. That is a very, very low margin. So it’s in the grocer’s interest to have scanner accuracy.”

If you’ve never heard of this Code before, you are not alone.

Theoretically, there should be signage at the door or stickers beside each cash register, but the Code was implemented in 2002 at a time when a change in technology and rise in self-checkouts was not anticipated.

Still, it’s easy for consumers to overlook the signage, and if they’re distracted or not paying attention, whether the scanned price matches the price on the store shelves.

And what about consumers who use self-checkout?

The RCC says it is impractical to put the sticker, as it was approved, on a self-checkout. Shoppers who notice a discrepancy while scanning their own items can go to the customer service counter.

“Our perspective is we would still want them to point it out because either the tag or the computer is wrong, and one of the two needs to be corrected,” said Greg Wilson, the Retail Council of Canada’s director of government relations for B.C. Overall, Wilson said he doesn’t think self-checkouts have had any impact on the use of the Code.

“People thought the barcode itself wouldn’t scan properly by the machine – they didn’t trust the technology. The purpose of the Code, was to reassure consumers when this came in. Is it necessary in its current form? Probably, it’s outdated. But look: thousands and thousands of consumers across the country, probably every day, are getting the benefit.”

Shoppers who notice an item is scanning incorrectly should notify the cashier. The RCC says the vast majority of problems are resolved at the store level. Shoppers who aren’t pleased with a store’s response can contact the Scanner Price Accuracy Code Complaints Line at 1-866-499-4599. The Code does not apply to retailers in Quebec, where the government has regulated scanner accuracy.