If you've ever gone to the checkout in a Kroger and the final bill was way higher than you expected, you're not alone because it turns out they've been allegedly massively overcharging on quite a few items. People have finally started kicking back.
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It has been reported by many customers of Kroger that, when ringing up items, the charged price is far higher than the advertised. But they claim it's not that big of a deal. Over the billions of transactions a day, the percentage is miniscule.
Kroger is aware of the problem, and has allegedly had discussions on how to remedy the overcharging. "The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions," they told The Post. "It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing."
However, a number of investigators decided to do their own study on the situation. They believed the overcharging issue was much more common than Kroger made out. Consumer Reports, The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, led an investigation. They sent shoppers out to compare prices at checkout with advertised prices.
The results were wild.
Findings Prove Kroger Regularly Overcharging At Checkout
The investigators for the outlets visited 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores across 14 states. They were overcharged on a total of 150 items in total in the various Kroger stores they visited. These items ranged from dog food to cold medicine.
Some of the more egregious items were a pack of 4.99 for salt and pepper pistachios, which were advertised at $2.49. One Kroger was overcharging on a pack of flour tortillas at $4.99. The store advertised them at $2.99.
This kind of dishonesty could violate federal and state consumer protection laws. If investigated and found guilty, there could be serious consequences. Many stores preceding Kroger have faced heavy fines for overcharging. Recently, Safeway, Albertsons and Vons were sued for $4 million for the same misconduct and false pricing.
The practice is incredibly predatory, and results in people simply trying to buy the groceries they need to survive heavily out of pocket. Many people, while doing a large grocery shops, won't remember the individual item price of everything in their basket. Kroger relies on this.
