PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona senator is demanding answers from a major grocery chain after an investigation found the company was allegedly overcharging customers nationwide.
A months-long Consumer Reports investigation found that Kroger, which owns Fry’s Food Stores in Arizona, reportedly left up expired discount tags on over 150 items, leading to customers paying more than the sale price at checkout. The average overcharge was roughly $1.70 per item, an 18% markup from the discount customers were expecting to pay.
Consumer Reports reported that the overcharges involved everything from beef to salmon, coffee, juice, vegetables, even cough medicine, and dog food.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego demanded accountability from Kroger CEO Ronald Sargent, but also noted the failure to remove the tags may have been due to understaffing.
“At a time when American families are facing high costs for essentials, unexpected food price increases can cause significant strain on family budgets. We write to urge you to create a plan with union partners to prevent overcharging from occurring in the future, compensate consumers who have been overcharged, and ensure sufficient staffing at stores to prevent overcharging,” the Senator wrote to Kroger.
A spokesperson for Fry’s Food Stores responded to the findings, stating that the “allegations boil down to misinformation.” The full statement is below:
The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions. It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.
See Sen. Gallego’s full letter here.
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