What is the scanner price accuracy code?
The code is a voluntary policy introduced in 2002 to provide shoppers – in certain circumstances – with redress if they have been wrongly charged. Also called the Scanning Code of Practice, it is supported by three industry groups: the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers and the Neighborhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
How it works
If an item is advertised as less than $10 and goes wrong, the code specifies that the buyer should receive the item for free. If you buy multiple copies of the same item, the code says the customer gets the first one for free and all subsequent items at the price they should have been charged.
If the mispriced item costs more than $10, customers will receive $10 off the displayed price. If more than one is purchased, the customer will receive $10 off the first item. The price that should have been charged for each subsequent item must apply.
Shoppers can receive their discount by reporting incorrect charges to cashiers or a customer service desk, says Kalie Belanger, a senior coordinator of membership engagement and services at the Retail Council of Canada.
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What it applies to
The code only applies to items with a barcode, universal product code, or a price lookup. A UPC is the 12-digit number code that identifies products and is scanned at the cash register. The PLU usually consists of four or five digits and identifies bulk products.
However, the code does not apply to items priced by weight. That means if a grocery store sells apples for a few cents per pound and you enter a code at the checkout to reveal the price, the code doesn’t apply. (For a pre-packaged, fixed-price bag of apples scanned with a barcode, the code can be enforced, Belanger said.)
The code does not apply to items that have prices physically linked to them: merchandise with sale or clearance stickers, percentage off stickers, clothing with hang tags or sewn-in price tags, and electronics or books with printed price labels on them.
The code also does not apply to government-regulated items such as tobacco or alcohol, or to prescription drugs or cosmetics kept behind the counter.
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Where it applies
The code applies in most of Canada, but not in certain provinces or territories such as Quebec, where legislation already provides redress if customers have been incorrectly charged.
It will only be applied at retailers that sign the code, including Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Costco, Giant Tiger, Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Metro, Rona, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sobeys, Home Depot Canada and Walmart Canada.
To find out if the place you’re shopping has signed the code, look for signage at the front of the store or ask a cashier, says Santo Ligotti, the council’s vice president of marketing and member services.
If a flyer specifically states that a promotion is only available at certain locations and the store you are shopping at is not listed, the code does not apply. However, if the location is listed, it does apply. If it is not stated which stores the flyer applies to, it is assumed that it applies to all stores and the code applies.
An important caveat
Retailers can limit the number of items in a single transaction to which they apply the code, Ligotti said.
He has noticed that this caveat has become increasingly important as retailers have noticed that some customers are searching every shelf in the store to find mispriced items and reporting them online to others in the hope that they too can benefit before the error is corrected.
“There are times when they deny the code because sometimes this is people’s hobby, but (that behavior) is outside the intent of the code,” Ligotti said.
Frequently asked questions
Can the code help me with a product that is on the wrong display and has a lower price?
No, the code only applies if the product matches the shelf label.
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