Albertsons and Vons supermarket chain agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle a civil complaint filed by several California counties alleging the grocer’s customers paid higher prices than advertised, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced Oct. 3.
The lawsuit also claimed some items sold by weight, such as produce, meats, and baked goods, contained less product than what was listed on the label, according to Stephan.
The Albertsons Companies and its subsidiaries operate 589 stores in California under the names of Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and others.
“Consumers should be able to trust that the advertised weight of food product is accurate,” Stephan said in a news release Thursday. “Our Consumer Protection Unit works to hold grocers accountable for meeting their obligations under the law.”
The lawsuit was filed in Marin County Superior Court by prosecutors representing district attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, and Ventura counties.
The civil complaint filed by the prosecution team, led by San Diego Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Turner, alleged the grocery stores unlawfully charged customers higher prices than what was advertised or posted on items when the products were scanned at checkout.
Prosecutors also claim Albertsons put inaccurate weights on product labels. The stores are not allowed to include the weight of packaging in the total weight of the item when determining its price, according to Stephan.
The judgment includes placing an injunction on the companies to prohibit them from engaging in false or misleading advertising and prohibits 14 unfair practices, including misleading weights on products.
The companies agreed to pay $3.96 million in civil penalties and pay the state nearly $750,000 in restitution to cover investigation costs and support future enforcement of consumer protection laws.
As part of the judgment, the stores will implement a “price accuracy program,” which includes guaranteeing accuracy and allows customers to be paid up to $5 if they are overcharged in the future.
The program is an incentive to encourage consumers to report false advertising to the store as soon as it is suspected.
A spokesperson for Albertsons said the chain has taken steps to ensure price accuracy.
Romaine lettuce on the shelves at an Albertsons market in Simi Valley, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2018. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
“Albertsons/Vons takes this matter seriously and remains committed to ensuring that our customers can shop with confidence,” the company told The Epoch Times in an email. “We have taken steps to ensure our price accuracy guarantee is more visible to customers by posting signage at multiple locations at the front of our stores.”
The company has also held more trainings for staff to reinforce “the importance of price accuracy and customer transparency,” and enhanced price-tracking systems to ensure real-time accuracy, the company stated.
“We are committed to ensuring our customers pay the lowest advertised price on a product, and we work quickly to correct any price discrepancies,” the company added.
Customers who claim they were charged higher prices than advertised may be eligible to receive a gift card or the item for free, under the company’s new price accuracy guarantee policy, which is now posted in stores.
If a customer is overcharged for an item and the lowest advertised price is $5 or less, the customer will get the item for free. If they are overcharged for an item that is over $5, customers can claim a $5 gift card and the company will charge the correct price, according to the policy.
For customers who are overcharged for more than one of the same item, the free item or gift card is limited to one of the items, not the others. And if the customer is overcharged for two or more different items, the free item or gift card applies to the highest-priced item, according to the company.
