Costco Canada Could Be In Big Legal Trouble After Allegedly Overcharging Shoppers

Costco Canada is facing a lawsuit after allegely "double ticketing," which refers to a company charging more money for a product online than it charges in-store. Double ticketing is banned in Canada under the Competition Act, which regulates trade and commerce. Jocelyn Ouellette from Perrier Attorneys, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette: "In fact, it says that if you advertise the same product at two different prices, then you are bound to sell it at the lower price, which is not what Costco does."

The lawsuit was filed by Ibrahim El Bechara on December 23, 2024. El Bechara is a Costco shopper who claims to have over a dozen examples of double ticketing from 2024 purchases. These examples apparently include his online purchase of a flat iron for $59.99, which was sold for ten dollars cheaper in-store; another example is a blender he bought online for $84.99 that is priced at $5 less in Costco warehouses. Other items listed in the suit include mixing bowls, irons, and socks, all of which were supposedly sold between $4 and $10 more online than in-store. While this lawsuit may not be what adds Costco to our list of grocery store scandals, it may lead customers to start leaning toward Aldi in the ongoing Aldi versus Costco debate.

Additionally, the Costco website claims that higher fees online account for shipping and handling, but the checkout page then lists shipping and handling as free. This may also violate the Competition Act, which does not allow for misleading representations. According to attorney Joceylyn Ouellette, if the extra $10 is due to shipping and handling, then that needs to be clearly stated to the customer. Ouellette said to the Montreal Gazette, "If you were able to compare the prices in-store and on the internet, and let's say, you see a difference of $10, you could see that there's $10 in shipping fees that you would not know about, but if you buy three or four of the same item, then you'd be paying that $10 three or four times, which is something that the internet customer is unaware of."

The Costco website also directly addresses that a product may not be sold for the same price online as it's sold in stores, as well as the fact that the website does not price match the prices seen in stores. However, the lawsuit states that these statements equate to the company admitting to double ticketing.

If certified by a judge, the suit can become a class-action lawsuit, allowing other customers who experienced the same price discrepancies anytime after December 2022 to join in. The lawsuit hopes to achieve monetary compensation, but the exact amount is not yet known. This would not be the first class-action lawsuit that Costco has faced regarding online prices being different than in-store prices – just last June, customers claimed that they were overpaying for toilet paper at Costco.