The cashier charged me more than the price on the shelf tag, or added a charge nobody told me about. Do I have to pay the higher amount?

Why

Article 81 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 7394) is short and direct: it is unlawful to offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public without an appropriate price tag, label or marking publicly displayed to indicate the price of each article, and the products 'shall not be sold at a price higher than that stated therein and without discrimination to all buyers.' For goods too small or impractical to tag individually, a price list placed at the nearest point where the products are displayed is enough. So when the shelf tag says ₱89 and the cashier rings up ₱99, the store may not charge you the higher figure.

Article 82 requires price tags, labels or markings to be written clearly, showing the price per unit in pesos and centavos. Article 83 prohibits any erasures or alterations of price tags, labels or markings, and authorizes the DTI to issue rules on the visible placement of price tags for specific products and services. The same pricing duty now applies online: Section 23(a) of the Internet Transactions Act (Republic Act No. 11967) requires e-retailers and online merchants to indicate prices consistent with Article 81.

Hidden add-ons are a separate problem. Under Article 50, a sales act or practice is deceptive when the seller, through concealment, false representation or fraudulent manipulation, induces a consumer to enter into a transaction, including by representing that a specific price advantage exists when it does not. Under Article 52, an act is unfair or unconscionable when the seller takes advantage of the consumer's ignorance or lack of time to induce a transaction that is grossly one-sided. A fee disclosed only at the counter, after you have already committed to the purchase, can be challenged on these grounds.

Restaurant service charges are commonly confused with this. Article 96 of the Labor Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 11360, only governs what happens after a service charge is collected: it must be distributed completely and equally among the covered non-managerial workers. It does not itself require or forbid a service charge on your bill. Whether an undisclosed service charge is fair to the customer is a consumer-protection question, so the practical protection is disclosure: if the charge was stated on the menu or at ordering, you agreed to it; if it appeared only on the bill, you can dispute it with the manager and, if unresolved, with the DTI.

The DTI receives consumer complaints under Article 159 of the Consumer Act. After investigation, it can order restitution, accept an assurance that the business will comply and reimburse you, and impose administrative fines of ₱500 to ₱300,000, plus up to ₱1,000 a day for continuing violations (Article 164). For price and labeling rules on specific goods, such as those under a price freeze, other agencies and laws may also apply.