False Advertising
Vons, Albertsons to Pay $3.96 Million For Mislabeled Prices While Lamps Plus Hit With $4.1 Over Price Guarantees
RIVERSIDE (Combined Sources) – Joining forces with other California Counties; the Consumer Protection Unit of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office has disclosed two ballpark $4 million settlements against national retailers.
According to a D.A.’s office statement, an investigation last year of Albertsons and Vons outlets statewide revealed the “grocers unlawfully charged customers prices higher than their lowest advertised price.”
“Beyond the scanner violations, Albertsons also had issues with inaccurate weights on the labels of their products,” the agency stated. “Some items sold by weight, such as produce, meats and baked goods, had less product in the package than was displayed on the label.”
The settlement bars the grocers from any further false advertising. It mandates that they implement a “Price Accuracy Program,” which provides compensation of up to $5 when a customer is determined to have been overcharged.
Riverside County’s take on the settlement is $3.96 million.
“The program is an incentive to encourage consumers to report false advertising to the store directly as soon as it is discovered,” the D.A.’s office said.
On Wednesday, the Riverside D.A.’s Consumer Protection Unit said Lamps Plus has agreed to a stipulated agreement to pay $4.1 million for false advertising in its price guarantees.
According to the DA’s office, the judgment prohibits Lamps Plus from offering a 120 percent Price Protection Policy, and from advertising any Price Match Guarantee Policy in a manner that results in the Price Protection Guarantee Policy being false or misleading.
The civil complaint alleges that Lamps Plus unlawfully advertised price protection policies, including price match and 120 percent price match guarantee, without disclosing that such policies did not include Lamps Plus own-brand products.
Lamps Plus did not admit liability or wrongdoing in paying out $4.1 million.
In a statement, the DA alleged the use of “ “Compare At” and “Comparable Value” sales tags to indicate a bargain price, even where the product sold was an own-brand product with no competitor in the market or where the comparable product was not of similar design or quality.”
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