Scan receipts for pricing errors, county officials warn shoppers
By: DARRYN BENNETT - Staff Writer
Inspections estimate shoppers overcharged by more than $100M annually | ∞
SAN DIEGO -- As shoppers rush to take advantage of the post-Christmas megasales, county officials have issued a warning: Double-check receipts -- especially on items with slashed prices.
Citing inspections at more than 1,000 stores throughout the year, county officials this month said that one out of three retailers surveyed had overcharged customers on at least one item.
Inspectors scanned 24,515 items in 1,035 retail stores and found that four out of 100 items were priced higher than advertised.
The results of the inspections, available on the county Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures Web site, have prompted officials to urge shoppers to double-check receipts, especially on items with slashed prices.
The department is the agency that conducts the price verifications.
When discounted items were inspected, shoppers were five times as likely to be overcharged, in most cases because items marked down on shelves were not changed to reflect the lower price in the computers linked to the pricing scanners, department officials said this month.
Based on the inspections, county officials have estimated that shoppers are being overcharged by more than $100 million annually, adding that while scanners make it easier and faster to get through the checkout lanes, they can also lead to increased errors.
"During this busy time of year where people are spending extra money, it's easy to overlook pricing errors," especially when people are in a hurry, said Robert Atkins, who is in charge of the county's weights and measures department.
Most errors are inadvertent, and violators have been slapped with penalties ranging from $100 to $1,200, depending on the number of times overcharges occur and the number of items that are overpriced, county inspectors said last week.
But while most stores receive modest fines, the county has succeed in winning larger penalties in civil settlements for more severe violations.
Over the last two years, county prosecutors working with the district attorney's Consumer Fraud Unit filed civil suits against eight major retailers, including Albertsons, RadioShack Corp., The Sports Authority, Smart & Final, Toys 'R' Us, Baskin-Robbins, AutoZone and Longs Drug Stores. One of the largest civil settlements came in February, when RadioShack agreed to pay $569,763 in penalties and reimbursements, according to county records.
Secret shoppers
Scanner inspection programs aren't required by state law, and the county's program was adopted under the Consumer Confidence Protection Act, an ordinance enacted by the county Board of Supervisors in 1999.
During inspections this year, inspectors randomly selected between 25 and 50 items in 1,035 retail stores, depending on the number of scanners the store uses, and scanned the bar codes to compare the price that registered with the lowest advertised or posted price of the item.
County officials said that over the last two years, they have levied an estimated $85,000 in fines against nearly 250 businesses. That amount does not include large civil settlements.
In addition to paying fines, retailers found to have pricing errors are required to post a "Notice of Penalty for Failed Inspection" at store entrances for 10 days following any civil or criminal action taken by the district attorney's office, which is responsible for prosecuting violators.
More than 170 locations posted the penalty notices in the last two years, according to county officials. However, many of those retailers operate more than one store in the county, meaning that less than 170 individual retailers were cited.
In an effort to encourage shoppers to regulate retailers, the county ordinance also requires a "Notice to Consumer" urging customers to check their receipts and report overcharges to management or the county to be posted at all automated checkouts.
San Diego is one of 19 counties in the state that has a scanner inspection program.
Retailers who fail inspection
Retailers fail inspections for a variety of reasons, ranging from scanners that don't work properly to grocers not subtracting the weight of packaging from the price of foods sold in bulk. But more serious violations can result in prosecution.
In February, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced a $569,763 settlement with the RadioShack Corp., saying that the multibillion-dollar corporation's "bad business practices" violated consumer trust and that it had engaged in "misleading" advertising during a four-year period at 698 stores throughout California. Forty-one stores are in San Diego County, she said.
RadioShack representatives didn't return calls for comment, but company officials were quick to cooperate with prosecutors to negotiate the settlement, according to reports from the district attorney's office.
The overcharges documented by officials in 282 inspections at 186 RadioShack stores averaged nearly $2 per item on about 650 items.
In addition to the $569,763 paid in penalties and reimbursements, RadioShack agreed to give customers any overcharged item that costs less than $3. On overcharged items that cost more than $3, RadioShack agreed to give the customer $3 off the lowest price advertised.
So far, RadioShack has complied with the settlement terms, which also included implementing a five-year program to correct inaccurate shelf and scanner prices, county officials said this week.
To view a list of businesses that have received overcharging violations, go to the County of San Diego's Web site.
To report a complaint to the county, call 1-888-TRUE SCAN or go to www.sdcawm.org.
-- Contact staff writer Darryn Bennett at (760) 740-5420 or dmbennett@nctimes.com.
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Theotis wrote on Dec 26, 2007 2:57 AM:Seems like too many of our county inspectors are sleeping on the job.
Chuck wrote on Dec 26, 2007 7:46 AM:It would be nice if the NCTimes checked that their links to various web sites actually work! The scanner violations one is wrong.
Roberto1 wrote on Dec 26, 2007 9:15 AM:watch out!....if something goes on clearance they could try and give that price instead....happens every year.
Roberto1 wrote on Dec 26, 2007 9:16 AM:Watch out!....if something goes on clearance they could try and give that price instead....happens every year.
Ralphie wrote on Dec 26, 2007 11:49 AM:Right on Theotis! Fire 'em all!
What? wrote on Dec 26, 2007 1:00 PM:First off here is the correct link to website mentioned in the story. http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/awm/scannerviolations.html
Next I would say the inspecters are doing their job it is the stores that aren't getting it done. Unless you consider that numbers list in the story. County officials estimate $100 million in over charges. The biggest fine in the story is just over half a million. Until the fines are greater than the profit from the crime I don't see the retailers getting motivated to fix the problem. So more inspections funded by bigger fines is the soloution. Continue to increase both the number of inspections and the cost of the fines until the retailers figure out that this form of fraud will not be tolerated. I call it fraud because items go off of sale as often as they go on sale. Yet the errors seem to be in the stores favor far more often than they are in the consumers favor. If it was just random human errors it should be very close to 50/50.
Watch those scanners wrote on Dec 26, 2007 1:06 PM:One problem not covered by this article: you buy 6 of the same item and the careless, oerworked cashier scans a few of them TWICE! You stuff the receipt in the bag or your pocket, never figuring in your 'head' what your total should be; you just hand over a credit card. This happened to us at Costco, but thankfully we caughtit before leaving the store. Scanners are often not updated as prices change so rapidly, especially during holidays. So yes, please check those store receipts, and even your bank accounts! Happy New Year.
overcharged wrote on Dec 26, 2007 5:23 PM:I was over charged at Circut City on Hacienda in Vista. I called the Manager when I got home and was told because I had already taken sticker off the CD I was out of luck. The CD was still in the factory wrapper. So watch your purchases there.
Roberto1 wrote on Dec 26, 2007 7:55 PM:A frienfd of my wife is alwas finding errors on her Walmart bill....and get the item discounted when she point it out per policy...amazing
Consumer Responsibilty wrote on Dec 26, 2007 8:26 PM:Most of these scanning errors are human made because the systems may or may not be updated as fast as the sales happen. The customer needs to be aware of what they're buying and how much they are supposed to be paying for it. The cashier has no idea what costs how much. They just know what the computer tells them. You have the responsibility to be responsible for your own purchases. Where the stores win is the fact that most overcharges are less than $5 which means most consumers won't waste the time fighting them. You guys want to blame the stores, but it's the lazy shoppers that don't stand up for what is theirs that creates the situation they complain about.
John wrote on Mar 24, 2008 12:48 PM:This is just further evidence that you should save your receipts. If you have all your receipts saved and accessible you can figure out how much you're spending and control your habits. You can also make returns, tax deductions, and get reimbursed by your office or insurance in case anything happens.
I use Shoeboxed to keep track of mine, which has worked pretty well for me. You could also try icreceipts (not well estabilished) or neat receipts (you have to scan yourself).
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