Kroger Accused of Overpricing Sale Items

Shoppers at one of the nation's largest grocery chains may be unknowingly paying more for groceries. An in-depth investigation found that customers were often charged higher prices at checkout than what was listed on store shelves.

A months-long investigation by Consumer Reports and other partners uncovered widespread pricing errors. They found expired sale tags on more than 150 different grocery items, which actually led to overcharges at the checkout counter on everything from beef to salmon, coffee, juice, vegetables, even cough medicine, and dog food.

"Imagine picking up an item on sale only to be charged full price at checkout. That's exactly what Consumer Reports says is happening at Kroger-owned stores across the country."

Consumer Reports launched its investigation after Kroger workers in Colorado alleged widespread and long-standing price label errors. To measure the scope of the problem, CR recruited shoppers to visit 26 Kroger-owned stores in 14 states and Washington, D.C.

"On average, shoppers were overcharged $1.70 per sales item, or 18.4 percent more." Why is this happening? Kroger workers say that major staffing cuts and reduced hours have left them stretched way too thin, making it nearly impossible for them to keep up with changing all the price tags.

Kroger has been testing digital price tags in some stores, which could help fix ongoing pricing issues. The company says it also corrects price mistakes, with a policy called “Make it Right” that lets employees fix errors on the spot.

In a statement, Kroger said, "We are committed to affordable and accurate pricing and regularly conduct price checks that review millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate."

No matter where you shop, Consumer Reports says take a quick photo of the sale tags, review the receipts before leaving the store, and demand a refund if the price isn’t right.

Consumer Reports notes that similar pricing issues have also been reported at other stores, including Walmart and Safeway, which recently agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that they were charging customers more than the lowest advertised price.