The odds of getting charged incorrectly at a grocery store are higher than you might think. That’s the case in New York City, at least.
The city’s Department of Consumer Affairs investigated more than 900 supermarkets and found about half did not comply with pricing laws. In the neighborhoods with the highest poverty levels, compliance was even worse at 36 percent. While this investigation is limited to one city, it should be an eye-opener for us all.
“DCA inspectors checked for a variety of potential violations, including inaccurate check-out scanners, lack of prices on individual items, taxation of items that are not taxable, improperly weighed food, and unavailability of scales for customers.
“The most common violation was for lack of item pricing, which occurs when individual items do not have price tags. Additionally, nearly one in three scanners inspected for accuracy failed, making the lack of item pricing even more harmful to consumers’ pocketbooks. Citywide, 48 percent of the supermarkets inspected charged incorrect taxes or incorrectly collected taxes on bottle deposits. In the five neighborhoods with the highest poverty levels, 58 percent of supermarkets were charged with these violations.”
What do inspectors in your community find when they check supermarket scales, registers, scanners and the prices of individual items?
