Reuters
The grocery chain known to some of us as "Whole Paycheck" must fork over $800K in fees and penalties for overcharging customers in California. An investigation revealed that the retailer overcharged customers.
Specifically, the Los Angeles City Attorney claims the problems included:
• Failing to deduct the weight of containers when ringing up charges for
self-serve foods at the salad bar and hot bar;
• Giving less weight than the amount stated on the label, for packaged
items sold by the pound; and
• Selling items by the piece, instead of by the pound as required by law
(such as kebabs and other prepared deli foods).
City attorneys in Santa Monica, LA and San Diego brought the case against Whole Foods, which has agreed to allow "state coordinators" to ensure price accuracy, and perform random audits at 74 California Whole Foods locations.
"Based on a review of our own records and a sampling of inspection reports… our pricing on weighed and measured items was accurate 98% of the time," the company said in Tuesday. "We will continue to refine and implement additional processes to minimize such errors going forward."
The court injunction stays in place for 5 years, and affects all of the store's 74 California locations.
Here is the LA City Attorney's press release.
