Contacts:
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829
Ray Cioffi, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 241-4369

Monday, November 29, 2010

Montpelier, Vt - The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets recently assessed penalties to two retail establishments for violating the Vermont scanner pricing law. The agency assessed the Price Chopper store in Derby a penalty of $3,750 and the Price Chopper store in Saint Johnsbury a penalty of $13,000.

These penalties were assessed for overcharging consumers for items purchased in these stores. The Consumer Protection division of the agency routinely, and in response to consumer complaints, tests checkout scanners in supermarkets and department stores to verify that the advertised price agrees with those charged at the register. Vermont law does not require a retailer to mark the price on individual items so the customer, and the store, relies on the accuracy of the checkout scanners to charge the correct amount. Inspections were conducted that resulted in corrective action or assessment of penalties on other retail stores for scanner, mislabeled weigh and short measure of petroleum products.

Inspectors from the Vermont Agency Agriculture’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division uncovered the violations during routine inspections. In both Price Chopper stores inspectors found that prices at the register were higher than prices advertised on shelves for certain items. Those discrepancies were 5 percent at the Derby store and a whopping 13 percent at Saint Johnsbury. These egregious overcharges were on non-sale items. Overcharges ranged from $.10 to $4.90 per sampled item. One package was advertized at $1.59 and scanned at $5.49. In the past three years, the agency has issued four penalties to these stores for the violations of the scanner law.

“Even the slightest inaccuracy in pricing can have enormous cost impact to the consumer. This is especially true during times of economic strain when food and transportation budgets are squeezed even further with rising costs,” said Henry Marckres, Chief of the Division of Consumer Protection for the agency. “Our goal is to work cooperatively with Vermont businesses and to take corrective action when necessary to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again to protect consumers. What is particularly disturbing was that we generally find overcharges on sale items. If the store doesn’t remove an out of date sale sign the customer assumes they are getting a discount, but are not.”

Price Chopper paid both penalties and did not dispute the findings.

You can protect yourself, as well. Keep track of the price of items, especially items marked on sale, as you go through the store. Monitor these items as they are rung up at the checkout. Also, it’s important to check your receipt before you leave the store and notify an employee of any discrepancies. For more information contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture at 802-828-2436 or visit www.vermontagriculture.com.