Expired discount tag, full amount at checkout? The lower price wins

The Consumer Act of the Philippines requires displaying accurate price tags.

The fluorescent lights of a convenience store hum. The day is finally over, the aisle is quiet, and a promotional tag catches your eye.

It promises a discount on your favorite snack—a small, unexpected win at the end of a long day. You grab a few and head to the counter.

Then comes the beep of the scanner. The total appears on the monitor, but the math does not add up.

The promo had already ended days ago, but the price tag supposedly reflecting it remained. You are charged the regular price.

It is familiar frustration for consumers: a mismatch between what they see on the shelf and what they are charged at checkout.

While some may suspect such incidents are deliberate, price discrepancies can also happen because retail systems and physical displays do not always update at the same time.

Retailers can update prices through their digital systems, changing the amounts reflected in point-of-sale terminals. Physical shelf tags, however, still require manual replacement by store employees.

But consumers are protected when this happens.

Under Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, the display of accurate price tags is a strict legal requirement.

The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Administrative Order No. 9, series of 2002, enforces a definitive standard: “In case of inconsistencies in the price shown on the shelf, on the product itself or in the database price, which appears when the item is scanned, the price which appears the lowest shall prevail.” This applies even when the discrepancy comes from an outdated promotional tag or store error.

Failure to do so can result in administrative fines, the confiscation of mislabeled goods, and the suspension of business permits.

The DTI advises consumers to immediately report such incidents to store management. If unresolved, a formal complaint can be filed through the Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Group.

A promotional tag may be designed to catch a shopper’s attention. But once placed on a shelf, it becomes the price information consumers rely on when making a purchase.

And when the shelf and the scanner disagree, the law gives consumers a remedy.

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