Is a retailer obligated to honor the shelf or rack price of an item that has clearly been mispriced, through an error or customer switch?
Deputy Attorney General Jim McKenna, author of the Maine Consumer Law Guide, says the “rule of thumb” is that the contract between customer and retailer is “formed at the checkout counter” and the retailer would not be legally bound to honor innocent mistakes or mix-ups. He warns, however, that deliberate “bait & switch” tactics and consumer switching of price tags fall outside that category and may be illegal.
