# The grocery store makes a Mis-Steak! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 25, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779 "2002-10-25T01:20:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/1 "2002-10-25T01:20:23Z")
So I’m in a local grocery with my wife and a friend, and I say “Hey, I feel like a nice steak tonight” So we head over to the meat section, and notice packages that contain three very nice boneless steaks, for about 12 bucks a package. So I choose one, and my wife is looking through the others as I turn to head away from the section. Suddenly, she shoves a second package in my face, and says “Look at the price” My “Whoo-Hoo!” sounded through the whole store as I took the package of THREE LARGE BONELESS STEAKS priced in error, at 38 CENTS!! I still can’t believe it… That’s something like 12 cents each… And that’s all we paid, becasue there’s a law now that states that if an item doesn’t scan properly, it’s free or something along those lines… 38 cents… Gotta love that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/2 "2002-10-25T01:32:15Z")
Thirty-eight cents _Canadian_, right? ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/3 "2002-10-25T01:34:16Z")
Yup. Canadian. Insert joke about Canadian dollar here… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/4 "2002-10-25T01:45:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Insert joke about Canadian dollar here… I wasn’t going to; but since you insist… What do Canada and Mexico have in common? The peso. 😃 [sub]FTR: I really do like Canada very much.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/5 "2002-10-25T03:20:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\* And that’s all we paid, becasue there’s a law now that states that if an item doesn’t scan properly, it’s free or something along those lines… \*\* Ummm… are you sure about that? I know that some grocery stores will give you the food item free if it scans incorrectly as a matter of _store policy_, but I don’t think there is any _law_ that specifies this. When I was a Radio Shack Manager 20 years ago I had a person come up with a grossly mis-priced item, and when I told him the correct price he said that there was a “law” about selling stuff for the price tag. I told him to bring me a copy of the the law and we would see. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/6 "2002-10-25T12:18:58Z")
We have a law covering items that scan the wrong price. You are legally entitled to 5 times the amount overcharged, with a max of like $5 or $10. They set this up because the state attorney general found that something like 30% of scanned items were overpriced. I once made $5 on a $1 purchase! Kind of like a screw-up lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Moon-Watcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Moon-Watcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moon-Watcher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/7 "2002-10-25T13:01:34Z")
I worked as a grocery store cashier for a few years, and I heard tell of the same “law” dozens of times, **astro**. After speaking with several managers the basic concesuswas that the store was under no obligation to sell it for less than when they paid their distributor. ---
**Author:** ![Lockz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Lockz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/8 "2002-10-25T13:02:31Z")
And would you mind sharing which store this was so we can all share in future slip ups? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stupendous\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Stupendous\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stupendous_man)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/9 "2002-10-25T13:13:47Z")
Locz: It was the Loeb in Lincoln Fields. The law is called the “Scanning code of practice” I can’t find the exact wording, but apparantly such laws exist elsewhere too. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/10 "2002-10-25T14:32:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\*Locz: It was the Loeb in Lincoln Fields. > > The law is called the “Scanning code of practice” I can’t find the exact wording, but apparantly such laws exist elsewhere too. \*\* It’s apparently Canadian only. I can’t find a similar “law” for the US. [http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ct02381e.html](http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ct02381e.html). > [@](#): > > 1. THE ITEM FREE SCANNER POLICY > > Retailers will implement an Item Free Scanner Policy as follows: > > 1.1 On a claim being presented by the customer, where the scanned price of a product at checkout is higher than the price displayed in the store or than advertised by the store, the lower price will be honoured; and > > (a) if the correct price of the product is $10 or less, the retailer will give the product to the customer free of charge; or > (b) if the correct price of the product is higher than $10, the retailer will give the customer a discount of $10 off the corrected price. > > 1.2 Where the same error recurs in scanning multiple units of a given product during a given transaction, the retailer will correct the scanning error in respect of each unit of the given product purchased, but is obliged to apply the policy set out in 1.1 (a) and (b) in respect of only one of the units. > > 1.3. Paragraph 1.1 only applies after the final sale price of the purchased item has been displayed at the checkout, including relevant rebate, discount or promotional coupons. > > 1.4 To be eligible for the Item Free Scanner Policy, the product must match the product description on the corresponding shelf tag. > > 1.5 The Item Free Scanner Policy does not apply if the barcode or shelf label for a given product has been tampered with. > > 1.6 The Item Free Scanner Policy does not apply to a product where, in respect of that product, the law: > > (a) establishes a minimum price (or specified price); or > (b) does not permit the retailer to offer a discount or a rebate ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/11 "2002-10-25T19:06:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stupendous man \* > \*\*Insert joke about Canadian dollar here… \*\* Me: Why do you have Canadian quarters in your glove box? Dad: They’re having a half-off sale up there. Me (slightly dazed): On what? Dad: Everything! :: Small discussion about how merchants down here in Havre, MT (45 miles south of the border) explicitly say they don’t accept Canadian quarters. :: Me: Soon, not even the Canadians will want to accept them. 😃 Lame, I know, but I gotta get back at them for their great highway system… 🙂 **lost4life** : ‘Screw-up lottery’. Hilarious. Bwa ha ha ha! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/12 "2002-11-04T13:45:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > **:: Small discussion about how merchants down here in Havre, MT (45 miles south of the border) explicitly say they don’t accept Canadian quarters. ::** I don’t expect any business or vending machine in America to accept Canadian coins. But it grinds my gears how no one ever seems to mind **giving them out** , and change machines spew them with impunity. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/13 "2002-11-04T15:23:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\* > > I don’t expect any business or vending machine in America to accept Canadian coins. But it grinds my gears how no one ever seems to mind **giving them out** , and change machines spew them with impunity. :mad: \*\* I remember back in the early 80s there was a video game that I discovered took Canadian quarters. As my mom and dad had their own business (they still do) they collected their share of Canadian coinage and often gave it to me since they didn’t like to hand it out with people’s change, and they were either too courteous to tell people not to give them Canadian change, or they were too busy to pay attention to what customers were giving them. In any case, having amassed several dollars worth of Canadian quarters, I found a good use for them and went over to play this game. I’m sure the guy whose job it was to collect the money from that game was surprised to see a bunch of Canadian quarters in the coin box. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grocery-store-makes-a-mis-steak/133779/14 "2002-11-04T15:57:56Z")
I’m no expert in Canadian law, but it seems to address only a discrepancy between the price marked and the price scanned. In other words, it appears intended to address the practice of advertising (vis the shelf price) something low, and then having the scanner jack up the price. In your case, both the marked price and the scanned price were in agreement. It doesn’t seem to me that the law applied, and it further seems that the store would have been justified in pointing out that the price was in error on the package. Of course, the store seems to have chosen to pick up some customer goodwill by honoring their mistake. Good for them. - Rick