Following the end of last month's LCBO strike which shuttered liquor stores provincewide for over two weeks, the Crown agency temporarily stopped accepting returns while operations returned to normal, advising shoppers to wait until August 7 to try to exchange or refund anything.

But now, a permanent change to the way these types of transactions are dealt with is on the way, due to come into effect at the beginning of next month.

People in Ontario are confused about LCBO refunds after strike and here's the new policyhttps://t.co/l73UbahnOI

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 2, 2024

The retailer shared an update on Friday advising customers that as of September 5, 2024, they will need to provide a receipt for all refunds and exchanges, which can only be made within 30 days of purchase.

Up until now, a receipt has not been necessary to exchange a product for another of equal or lesser value — a rare policy, but one that makes sense given that the LCBO has long been the primary or sole place to buy most alcoholic beverages.

Now, the chain is actually blaming Ontario's expansion of alcohol sales to convenience stores and other stores for this new move.

"With an expanding beverage alcohol marketplace comes additional risk for fraudulent returns," a release reads.

"To ensure that we are protecting LCBO revenues and the quality and safety of returned products, we need to verify that all product returns were originally purchased from an LCBO store."

LCBO Return Policy Change
byu/Staarstruuck inontario

As was the case before, any returned bottles must be in unopened, saleable condition. The sole exception to the rules are returns on the basis of a product recall, or due to product quality.

Those with complaints for the manufacturer can still get an exchange with a receipt older than 30 days, or with no receipt at all, as can anyone who bought a product that was subject to a public recall.