Albertsons and Vons have agreed to pay nearly $4 million to resolve a civil complaint brought by prosecutors across the state — including the San Diego County District Attorney's Office — that alleged the grocery chains overcharged customers and engaged in false advertising.
The complaint alleged customers were charged more than their lowest advertised or posted prices on items. Other items had inaccurate weights on their labels, which meant certain items had less product inside the packages than was displayed, according to prosecutors.
The case filed in Marin County Superior Court was brought by the District Attorney's offices of San Diego, Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin, Riverside, Sonoma and Ventura counties.
As part of the judgment reached between both sides, the grocers will be required to pay more than $3.2 million in civil penalties and nearly $750,000 to cover investigatory costs and support other consumer protection enforcement efforts. The judgment also prohibits Albertsons and Vons from engaging in false or misleading advertising.
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A "Price Accuracy Program" has also been established, which allows customers to be compensated by up to $5 if they are overcharged.
"Consumers should be able to trust that the advertised weight of a food product is accurate," said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, who said her office's Consumer Protection Unit "works to hold grocers accountable for meeting their obligations under the law."
How customers can protect themselves
Customers can do the following to protect themselves:
- Pay attention to customer price display to ensure that you are charged the correct price
- Always look at the receipt before you leave the store
- Report pricing errors to store management immediately
- Ask the store about their policy for overcharges (sometimes the store will give the item for free or subtract a dollar amount)
How to report overcharges
Local
To report overcharges, call 1-888-TRUE-SCAN (878-3722) (toll free) or e-mail wm.awm@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Provide the following information to help inspectors accurately investigate the complaint:
- Store name, address, and city
- Date and time of occurence
- Sale ending date, if the item is on sale
- Item or items purchased, including brand name and size as appropriate
- Location in the store, such as, regular aisle, end cap, special table display, at entrance, etc.
- Specific complaint information (i.e., shelf price state $1.50, but store charged $1.75)
Include your name and telephone number, or name and e-mail address, to allow us to contact you with the results of our investigation. This information is kept confidential from the store location.
Additionally, you can file your complaint using this complaint form: General Consumer Complaint Form
