The Scanner Price Accuracy Code is a Canadian retail voluntary practice managed by the

Retail Council of Canada The Retail Council of Canada (french: Conseil canadien du commerce de détail), founded in 1963, is a not-for-profit trade association representing retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, ...

and endorsed by the Competition Bureau. It was introduced in June 2002 as Canadian retailers were in the midst of updating their

point-of-sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoic ...

systems with

barcode reader A barcode reader is an optical scanner that can read printed barcodes, decode the data contained in the barcode to a computer. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor for translating optical impulses into ...

s to "foster consumer confidence" with the new systems. It provides consumers with compensation for items with an incorrectly scanned price. It was developed by the Retail Council of Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (now Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada), the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers and the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.

Code

The code applies only to retail shops that participate in the voluntary program. One of its key features is the "Item Free Scanner Policy". If the price of an item scans incorrectly during checkout at the point of sale, the customer is entitled to request a price adjustment; if the item's price is less than $10, they receive it for free, and if the item's price is at least $10, the customer receives a $10 discount. If the customer purchases more than one of that item, the first one is subject to the price adjustment, and the others are charged at the posted sale price. The sale price may include that posted in the shop, in an advertising flyer, or in

online advertisements Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...

. Items covered by the code include those that have a

Universal Product Code The Universal Product Code (UPC or UPC code) is a barcode symbology that is widely used worldwide for tracking trade items in stores. UPC (technically refers to UPC-A) consists of 12 digits that are uniquely assigned to each trade item. Along wi ...

(UPC), a

Price look-up code Price look-up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes, or produce labels, are a system of numbers that uniquely identify bulk produce sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. The codes have been in use since 1990, and ...

(PLU), or other

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

s that are scanned at the point of sale by a barcode reader. The code does not apply to items that are individually priced (that is, they have a

price tag A price tag is a label declaring the price of an item for sale. It may be a sticker or attached by twist tie or other means. Some jurisdictions require items (possibly exceptions for bulk good and produce) to be individually marked with the pri ...

), items that are weighed (such as

produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...

), prescription drugs, and cosmetics available only "behind-the-counter".

Problem resolution

A customer unsatisfied with the cashier's point-of-sale resolution for a price discrepancy should first attempt to resolve it with the shop's manager or supervisor. If this does not result in a resolution, the consumer may call the Retail Council of Canada Scanner Price Accuracy Committee at a

toll-free telephone number A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing pre ...

to register a complaint. About 92% of the 1000 annual calls received by the committee are not legitimate complaints. Incorrect charges for individually priced items are covered by the Competition Act, and unresolved price discrepancies reported to the Competition Bureau.

Participation

There are few participating retail chains, but they represent over 7,000 shops throughout Canada, excluding those in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

which are covered by the provincial Consumer Protection Act. Among them are Best Buy, Canadian Tire,

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (Trade name, doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only Big-box store, big-box retail stores (warehouse c ...

, Giant Tiger,

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement r ...

Lawtons Lawtons is a Canadian drug store chain owned by the Sobeys Group of Stellarton, Nova Scotia with a head office located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is a participant in the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code managed by the Retail Counc ...

Loblaw Companies Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...

, Rona, Safeway,

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 19 ...

, Sobeys,

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

, and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. Shops of participating merchants are required to post a sign about the code near the entrance to the shop, and some also post a notice or sticker at the point of sale.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/scanner-sale-price-errors-1.3994752, title=Special code means shoppers charged full price for sale items could get them free, last=Colbert, first=Yvonne, publisher=

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

, date=23 February 2017, access-date=28 November 2021 {{Cite news, url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/scanner-price-accuracy-voluntary-code, title= Did you know you're entitled to $10 off a wrongly priced item under the Scanner Price Accuracy Code?, last=Edwards, first= Danielle, newspaper=

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

, date=20 November 2019, access-date=28 November 2021 {{cite web, url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/price-code-free-1.6263904, title=Attention shoppers: Overcharged for an item at checkout? You might be able to get it for free, last=Harris, first=Sophia, publisher=

, date=28 November 2021, access-date=28 November 2021 {{cite news, url=https://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2009/10/14/did_the_store_overcharge_you_no_need_to_fume.html, title=Did the store overcharge you? No need to fume, last=Rempel, first=Shauna, newspaper=

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

, date=14 October 2009, access-date=28 November 2021 {{cite web, url=https://competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/ct02380e.pdf/$file/ct02380e.pdf, title=Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code, publisher= Competition Bureau, date=2002, access-date=28 November 2021 {{cite news, url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/consumerwatch-scanner-price-accuracy-code-1.692857, title=Consumerwatch: Scanner price accuracy code, publisher=

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

Winnipeg, date=5 September 2011, access-date=28 November 2021

External links

Scanner Price Accuracy Code
at the

Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code—Code of practice
at the Competition Bureau
Scanner price accuracy
at the Competition Bureau
Scanner Price Accuracy Code FAQs
at the Retail Council of Canada Consumer protection in Canada Retailing in Canada Retail pricing 2002 establishments in Canada