Best Buy says viral photo of $40 packs of water in Houston was 'a big mistake'

• Best Buy was accused of selling cases of water for more than $40.
• The company told CNBC that it does not sell water by the case and the signage promoting the offer was a mistake made by several employees.
• Best Buy does sell individual water bottles at the checkout counters.

Electronics retailer Best Buy said a viral photo of cases of water selling for north of $40 was "a big mistake."

Tweets surfaced on Tuesday purporting to show a Best Buy in Houston touting packs of 24-count water bottles at a massive uptick in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

However, the company told CNBC that it does not sell water by the case and the signage promoting the offer was a mistake made by several employees.

Best Buy does sell individual water bottles at the checkout counters.

"This was a big mistake on the part of a few employees at one store on Friday," a company spokesman told CNBC via email. "As a company we are focused on helping, not hurting affected people. We're sorry and it won't happen again. Not as an excuse but as an explanation, we don't typically sell cases of water. The mistake was made when employees priced a case of water using the single-bottle price for each bottle in the case."

Here is how customers reacted on Twitter:

Tweet 1

Tweet 2

Tweet 3

Tweet 4

WATCH:  Airbnb waiving fees for evacuees, hosts offering free shelter