Vons, Albertsons, Safeway Ordered To Pay Millions For Overcharging

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Golden State's largest grocery chains will pay nearly $4 million in response to allegations of gouging customers and false advertising.

According to a lawsuit brought by district attorneys up and down the state against Albertsons, Vons, and Safeway, the stores have been charging unknowing customers more than the lowest advertised prices and tipping the scale on items such as meat and vegetables sold by weight.

Albertsons Companies, Safeway Inc., and The Vons Companies operate 589 stores in California.The companies did not admit to wrongdoing, but as part of the judgment, they will have to participate in a program that requires them to pay customers up to $5 every time they are caught overcharging.

“False advertising preys on consumers, who are already facing rising costs, and unfairly disadvantages companies that play by the rules,” District Attorney Gascón said. “This kind of corporate conduct is especially egregious when it comes to essential groceries, as Californians rely on accurate advertised prices to budget food for their families."

Beyond the scanner violations, the stores also charged extra for inaccurate weights on the labels of their products, according to prosecutors.

"Some items sold by weight, such as produce, meats, and baked goods, had less product in the package than was displayed on the package label. For those items, a grocer may only charge for the product’s actual weight, the packaging is not included in the overall weight," announced Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

Consumer protection units of the district attorneys’ offices of Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties participated in the investigation, often by going to stories to test for inaccurate charges.

According to Price, inspectors from the Alameda County DA’s office conducted inspections at two Safeway stores in Castro Valley and one in Dublin and found evidence of labels with no gross or net weight for dozens of items being sold.

Under the judgment, signed by Marin County Superior Court Judge Sheila Lichtblau on September 26, Albertsons (Safeways' parent company) and Vons are required to pay $3,213,000 in civil penalties and $749,500 in costs and restitution to cover investigation costs and support future enforcement of consumer protection laws.

As a result of the lawsuit, the companies are prohibited from engaging in misleading advertising, and they must implement a Price Accuracy Program, including the Price Accuracy Guarantee that allows a consumer to be compensated up to $5 if they are overcharged.

The program is an incentive to encourage consumers to report false advertising to the store as soon as it is discovered.