The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is apologizing for overcharging its customers nearly $30,000 last weekend and is donating to charity to make up for the error.
The NSLC admits it collected $29,891.70 from people it shouldn’t have, due to a computer glitch.
The corporation had scheduled a price hike for Monday, but prices changed on Saturday instead.
The Crown agency has taken out a newspaper ad apologizing for the mistake, and is donating the same amount to a registered charity.
“We wanted to do the right thing, so any amount that was overcharged to our customers, we’re actually going to give back to charity,” says NSLC spokesman Mike Maloney.
Customers can vote on which charity they would like to see receive the donation on the NSLC’s website until Thursday.
“The money that was overcharged, it came from the people of Nova Scotia,” says Maloney. “A nickel here, maybe a dime there, even a few cents in some cases, we wanted to give those same people the opportunity to actually have some say where that money goes.”
Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil says he is pleased the money will go back into the hands of Nova Scotians.
“It’s a great opportunity for these charities who often do a lot of fundraising to actually mobilize their base and get them excited in and around making sure people vote,” says McNeil.
Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie agrees that it’s a great use of money, but says the incident still needs to be investigated.
“It’s the right thing to do, but there’s still an important principle about how the price on the shelf can be different from the price at the cash register for an entire day,” says Baillie.
Anyone who was overcharged on Saturday can present their receipt at their local NSLC store to receive a refund.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Suzette Belliveau
