Read The Label On Foods

Finally, I settled on a choice in between the two extremes, a popular high-fiber brand that had dried strawberries to add a bit of flavour to it. I only had a couple other items, so when I went to the check-out, the price tag of over $10 for this box really stuck out. In fact, I was flabbergasted, and the manager who overheard me inquiring with the clerk as to whether it had been mislabeled, intervened to explain that the price was correct and he intended to stop importing it because it was so expensive compared to the others.

The only problem? The price wasn’t on the shelf, so I had no way of knowing prior to the checkout counter that this particular brand was so much more expensive than the others. And normally I’d be buying more than three products at a time, so most likely wouldn’t have noticed one discrepancy in my bill at all.

Similarly, a client of Consumer Affairs recently went shopping with her daughter for a specific brand of facial wipes. They found the wipes on the shelves where they should be but discovered that similar products were labeled, others were not, and the brand they were looking for was entirely un-priced. Generally, this type of product retails for $6.75, but when they went to pay discovered that their selection was almost double the cost of the others on the shelf!

Are these examples of a scam to make customers think that all brands were around the same price? Are expensive items deliberately left unlabelled? What recourse do we have if we notice the difference in price? What recourse do other customers have who blindly pay for the product and get home before noticing the discrepancy on their receipt?

The answer to these questions can be found in consumer law and the answer isn’t pretty. Essentially, the situation falls under the concept of “Invite to Treat”, meaning that any retail transaction is not completed until a firm price has been established at the point of sale and cash has changed hands. Both the buyer and the seller have the right to back out of the transaction at any point up to this. From then on, it’s a question of returns, which are largely a matter of store policy (except for products which are defective at the time of sale, which the retailer legally must redress).

This means that it is the responsibility of the consumer to inquire as to the price and to accept or deny the terms of the sale. To put it bluntly, you can like it or lump it.

Similarly, if a product is under-priced (for instance, a can of diet coke is mislabeled as retailing for $0.25 rather than $1.25) then the clerk can charge the correct price at the checkout counter and you have no right to demand the marked price on the can.

As for the responsibilities of the retailer to correctly label goods - ironically, providing prices is a customer service. Thus, not providing prices is merely poor customer service and is not a breach of the law. In a normal free market economy, one would assume that such poor customer service such as not providing prices, or mislabeling prices, would put a store out of business. While Bermuda is a small market, customers can, and should, talk with their money and go elsewhere when possible so retailers are forced to acknowledge the ramifications of not providing good customer service. Alternatively, voice your concerns to the store manager or owner.

Considering the rising costs of food, utilities and housing in Bermuda, consumers legitimately ask that retailers do a better job about correctly labeling their products and, in some cases, explaining the price differential from store to store.