It’s not just one retailer that’s ripping you off. It’s all of them.
That’s according to a newly-revised lawsuit that accuses a major grocery chain of displaying inaccurate prices and promoting a false “promise.”
Florida resident Wendy Koutouzis has amended a federal lawsuit against Publix, first filed four months ago, to include new allegations that the pricing problems she highlighted are more widespread and nefarious than previously believed.
Back in February, Koutouzis accused Publix of regularly miscalculating the price per pound of products sold by weight, and falsely inflating the weight at checkout to conform to the inaccurate price on the tag.
Since then, Koutouzis says she “recently discovered that Publix modified its (point-of-sale) system to no longer display the alleged weight of ‘sold-by-weight’ products at checkout, a deliberate change that further conceals weight inflation from consumers.” This “indicates Publix’s intent to perpetuate its deceptive practices while making it harder for consumers to challenge overcharges,” she claims.
And it’s not just happening to her, she alleges. “Since the filing of the initial complaint in this action,” the amended lawsuit reads, “several consumers have contacted Plaintiff’s counsel verifying the schemes as described.”
One Publix shopper “has confirmed and provided evidence showing that her local Publix in Tennessee regularly overcharges her and changes the weights of packaged deli items,” the lawsuit explains. That customer “also claims that Publix leaves up old sales signs and when she notifies Publix of the expired sales signs, Publix does not take them down.”
And “numerous customers have confirmed that Publix’s so-called ‘Publix Promise’ or refunds are difficult to obtain.”
The “Publix Promise” states that if a customer is ever overcharged for an item at checkout, “we will give the customer one of that item free. We will charge the lower price for the remaining items.”
But “Publix does not adhere to its Publix Promise,” Koutouzis alleges. “Every time Plaintiff went to customer service, she had to spend time arguing and explaining the discrepancy,” she explains. In one case, when purchasing a mispriced beef tenderloin, “the cashier insisted that Plaintiff received the sale price. The cashier called over a manager, and the manager stated the meat was too expensive to provide the Publix Promise. Instead of continuing to argue, Plaintiff conceded and did not obtain a refund.”
In its response to Koutouzis’s initial claims, Publix asked the judge to “dismiss this unmeritorious and manufactured lawsuit.” Koutouzis “recognized and actually knew about these allegedly ‘deceptive pricing schemes'” when making and documenting her purchases. But she “consciously and voluntarily chose to make her purchases anyway,” when she “could have asked for the products to be voided from her receipt” or taken advantage of Publix’s “full, unconditional money-back guarantee to unsatisfied customers.”
Koutouzis argues that her “decision to click ‘pay’” at self-checkout “was not a deliberate endorsement of the inflated price but a practical response to Publix’s deceptive and ambiguous presentation,” and that she intended to “address issues later via Publix’s refund policies or consumer protection laws.”
Her original lawsuit sought class-action status on behalf of all affected Publix customers in Florida. The amended lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide class, given the new allegations Koutouzis’s attorney has received from customers outside of Florida.
And, in a final warning, Koutouzis says these pricing problems are even more widespread than her lawsuit alleges. “Publix is not alone in overcharging customers,” the lawsuit states. “Publix’s conduct mirrors allegations in lawsuits against Walmart, which settled claims of weight inflation for millions, and reports of store-wide pricing errors at Kroger, reflecting an industry-wide pattern of deceptive pricing.”
So, as this case proceeds through the court system, keep an eye on those price tags and the prices you’re charged at checkout. No matter where you shop.
Image source: Publix
