Supermarket charging excessive prices for basic food items
The only major supermarket in a remote or underserved area charges significantly more for basic food items than its branches in more accessible locations, exploiting its position as the sole convenient retailer.
Premiumintermediate8 minutes
The Situation
What They Said
“You are the only major retailer our community can reach on foot. Charging 35% more than your branches in more accessible areas for bread and cooking oil, without genuine cost justification, may constitute excessive pricing by a dominant firm under competition law. I am documenting these prices and lodging a complaint with the competition authority.”
You live in a remote or underserved area where one major supermarket chain is the only accessible retailer. You have compared prices with branches of the same chain in more accessible locations and found that cooking oil, flour, bread, and rice are 30–40% more expensive at the local store. The store manager tells you 'delivery costs more here' but cannot provide documentation. People without transport have no alternative.
The Fallacy
Remote Location Justifies Any Price Premium
The supermarket is using location as an unlimited justification for any price it chooses. But competition law sets a legal ceiling: if a firm is dominant in a market, it cannot charge prices that are 'excessive' — meaning significantly higher than the economic value of the goods without genuine cost justification. Geographic isolation that forces consumers to use one retailer can itself create a dominant market position, which comes with legal responsibilities.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Code de droit économique
art. IV.2/1 du Code de droit économique — Abuse of dominance
“May be considered an abusive practice: 2° the direct or indirect imposition of unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions;”
The store's 30-40% price increase on essential goods, without documented cost justification, may constitute the imposition of unfair selling prices under Article IV.2/1, 2°, if the store holds a position of economic dependence and competition is affected.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Amos 8:4-6 ()
“Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying... 'skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales.'”
Amos condemned merchants who exploited the poor through inflated prices and manipulated measures. Charging vulnerable communities more for essential food because they have no alternative is the same injustice named by scripture.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.