ARTICLES

Know Your Rights As A Consumer

Written by: Holly | January 2007

It’s becoming more and more important for us to be aware of our rights as consumers in order to protect ourselves from being taken advantage of and even in more serious situations from being the victims of fraud.

We have been running an interesting study here at ShopAware and have found that in many of our visits to retail, we have witnessed incorrect pricing or advertising within the stores. This seems to be more prevalent within the grocery, department and drugstore sectors (likely due to the sheer volume of products offered) but it’s important to keep an eye out everywhere.

The most common issues that we have come across are that of items being mis-labeled or mis-priced and issues of false advertising. We have found that in many cases, the price of the item that is listed on the shelf is not the price that comes up on the cash register. This is not to say that we think this is done with the intent to steal from the consumer. It’s completely understandable that with the thousands of products out there, things are going to be mis-priced on occasion. It is likely that these are merely cases of staff error through mistaken information and lack of attention to detail, however it can come at a considerable cost to the consumer if gone unnoticed.

The best way to ensure that you are charged the right amount is by watching your items as they are scanned through the register or check your receipts before you leave the store. If you notice that an item has been scanned incorrectly and has a different posted price on the shelf, then you are legally entitled to the posted or advertised price of that item. If you have difficulty in receiving that price from the cashier, then ask to speak with a manager for assistance. It shouldn’t have to be your responsibility to check prices but unfortunately it is necessary if you don’t want to over pay for your items.

This situation has become so prevalent that the Quebec government has implemented a law to further protect consumers and to fine businesses who have incorrect pricing and advertising of their products. A number of retailers have voluntarily implemented correct pricing policies, however, in most cases, it is the consumer’s responsibility to ask for the benefit (it won’t just be offered to you). A business’ decision to implement these policies is a good sign that correct pricing is a priority to them and that they are keeping their customers in high stead.

For those of us not living in Quebec, we must take the initiative to protect ourselves by paying attention to the transactions that we make and by speaking out and standing up for our rights as consumers. We can also help by passing the word along to others, so if you have had similar situations come up, post a review on ShopAware.com and let people know which stores made it right, and which ones gave you a hard time. We will continue to investigate these issues and report them to you, our valued readers.