The time when it was still possible to obtain, without any invoice, a reimbursement to the Société des alcohols du Québec (SAQ) is now over.
The management of the SAQ confirms having tightened its return and exchange policy, and its decision to demand, from today, proof of purchase for any request for exchange or reimbursement of its customers.
This, even if in fact, the retailer is the only merchant authorized in Quebec to sell wines and spirits.
With the same breath, the state -owned company also considerably reduces the deadlines to return a product. It goes, from today, from 90 to 30 days.
The SAQ justifies these changes by the need to slow down its loss of income and limit fraud.
It also appears that customers of SAQ Dépôt, taking advantage of discounts at the volume, had become used to requesting their reimbursement in a classic or express SAQ in order to take advantage of a increased reimbursement. Other maneuvers specifically affected private imports.
“It’s very common. Customers return to private import bottles which have already been sold by the SAQ, but which are no longer several years, said to the Journal An employee of the SAQ under the cover of anonymity.
“It is very expensive and it is downright theft,” he added. It could never happen like this in the private sector. ”
When writing these lines, the SAQ had not yet encrypted the importance of losses and frauds that it would thus seek to thwart.
The LCBO, its Ontario vis-à-vis, had also made such changes to its return policy last year.
With the collaboration of Francis Halin and Gabriel Côté.
