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Starbucks Is Raising Prices by as Much as 30 Cents on Certain Drinks

Surprise!

Nicola/Flickr

Did your grande latte — extra shot, soy, double pump of vanilla — cost more than you expected last week? Due to a computer glitch Starbucks accidentally raised prices last week, but now admits it will be raising prices later this month as part of a planned annual price hike.

For at least the past two years Starbucks has raised prices in the first week of July, but the coffee giant was forced to announce this year's price increase early after it accidentally put the higher prices into effect too soon. Per a release posted on the company's website late Friday:

On July 12, Starbucks is planning a small price increase on select beverages. Unfortunately, that price adjustment was prematurely entered into the point of sale systems in our U.S. company-operated stores. As a result, some customers were charged incorrectly. The maximum any customer could have been overcharged is 30 cents per beverage.

Both Fortune and Eater reached out to the company for comment on exactly what drinks will go up in price, and how many customers may have been affected by the recent accidental overcharge. Starbucks has not yet responded. We will update this post with more information as it becomes available.

Last year's price hikes fell between 5 and 20 cents. The price of a large coffee landed at $2.45, up 10 cents from 2013's price of $2.35. Of note: Starbucks prices vary by region and city; drinks in major cities tend to cost the most.

According to five staffers at Starbucks locations in NYC, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles, this price increase has not yet been communicated to staff. One barista noted that "when Starbucks raises prices it's usually just through the computer system and we find out after."

Last month Starbucks China raised prices about 15 to 30 cents (or 1-2 RMB) on certain drinks.

Coffee prices are currently slightly up from a low reached this past January, but over all the price of coffee is less than half what it was in 2014, according to Nasdaq.

So what do you do if you've been over charged? Starbucks says: "If a customer believes this mistake impacted the price of their beverage, we encourage them to please contact Starbucks Customer Service at 1-800-782-7282, and we will gladly make this right."


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