Latest news with #DerekKravitz
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
You Might Be Overpaying at Kroger, According to a New Pricing Audit
Consumer Reports found widespread pricing errors at Kroger, with outdated sale tags causing shoppers to overpay by an average of 18.4%. Employees and investigators allege Kroger is aware of the issue, but ongoing staffing cuts have made it harder to fix, particularly in stores with the most errors. Consumers are advised to check receipts carefully, take photos of shelf prices, and report discrepancies to store managers or state consumer protection may want to check your receipt if you've recently shopped at your local Kroger. In May, Consumer Reports, in partnership with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN), released a report on the grocery giant's errors in price labeling, which caused consumers to overpay by an average of 18.4%. Consumer Reports became aware of the issue after learning that Kroger workers in Colorado alleged that old sale tags remained on products long after their expiration dates, leading to consumers paying a different cost at the register. The workers, Consumer Reports noted, claim the issue is well-known to the grocery chain's head office. It's also an issue Kroger has faced before in numerous class-action lawsuits in California, Illinois, Ohio, and Utah, Consumer Reports noted. "It's an open secret," Derek Kravitz, an investigative reporter at Consumer Reports, shared with Food & Wine. "Grocery chains, and more specifically dollar stores, have been dinged on this for years." Related: On a Budget? This Tool Can Help Plan Your Grocery Lists To determine the true significance of the problem, the Consumer Reports team recruited volunteers to shop at 24 Kroger or Kroger-owned stores across 14 states over a span of three months. This group of shoppers discovered expired sale labels on more than 150 grocery items, several of which had expired at least 90 days earlier. This resulted in an average overcharge of $1.70 per item, or 18.4%. 'People should pay the price that is being advertised, that's the law,' Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and the founder of Consumer World, shared with Consumer Reports. 'The issue here is that shoppers can't rely on the shelf price being accurate, and that's a big problem.' And while employees are working diligently to correct the tags, it seems that Kroger may be undermining their efforts, as the company has also been conducting layoffs from the top down in recent months, despite reporting record profits. According to Consumer Reports, in the stores where significant errors were found, the average number of employees was reduced by 10.3% between 2019 and 2024. However, in stores with few or no price tag errors, the staffing cuts were only 6.2%. 'It really makes me feel bad because some of [the customers] are on fixed incomes and they're older. They're not going to pay attention,' Joy Alexander, a Kroger employee, told Consumer Reports. 'They think that when they took it off the shelf, it was $2.50. They don't know that they're paying $3.75 for that one item.' For its part, Kroger told Consumer Reports that it is 'committed to affordable and accurate pricing' and also rejected the idea that the price issues were as frequent as they appeared in the report. 'While any error is unacceptable, the characterization of widespread pricing concerns is patently false,' the spokesperson added. Related: These Foods Will Likely Get More Expensive After Trump's Tariffs Take Effect As for what consumers should do, Kravitz said to keep it simple and "take a photo or write down the sales price you see when putting things in a cart. And then check it against the receipt when you're at the register or right before or right after." He warned not to do it days or weeks later, as it may be more difficult to get a refund. "Kroger does have a Make it Right policy with an internal code that they use for their point of sale computer system to fix those errors," Kravitz said. "But they do it on a case-by-case basis, and that's the larger problem that we're flagging because a lot of people don't check or are just too busy." And if that doesn't work, Kravitz says it's time to "complain" to your local or state attorney general. Each state, he said, "typically has a consumer protection division that handles this type of complaint," which could help you and everyone in the neighborhood save more in the future by addressing the problem from the start. See the full report at Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Some Kroger stores overcharged for groceries despite advertised discounts
A recent joint investigation found that Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, has been overcharging its customers on sale items. Consumer Reports, along with other news organizations, found the typical Kroger shopper 'unknowingly paid full price' on more than 150 items marked as discounted or on sale at stores across the U.S. Working with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, Consumer Reports found that Cincinnati-based Kroger overcharged on items ranging from meat to cereal to instant coffee. On average, the overcharge was $1.70 per item or more than 18% above the sale price. The investigation began after Colorado Kroger workers alleged widespread pricing errors during labor union negotiations. Derek Kravitz, an investigative reporter with Consumer Reports, wrote that the workers say the overcharging goes back years and is a problem "that Kroger is well aware of." 'Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty,' Kravitz wrote. Food prices have increased nearly 24 percent since 2020. In recent years, Kroger has reported record sales and profits along with a strong stock performance. Shoppers recruited by Consumer Reports checked sales tags at 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores in March, April and May. Expired labels led to overcharges on 150 grocery items. A spokesperson for Kroger, meanwhile, pushed back on the report. 'The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions,' according to a Kroger spokeswoman. 'It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.' A reason cited for pricing errors, according to Kroger employees, is that there's not enough staff to change out shelf price labels. Consumer Reports, citing data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), found Kroger has 'significantly cut the number of workers in most of its stores and the number of hours those full- and part-time employees work each week.' Across the country under the Kroger Co. umbrella, stores include Kroger stores, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry's and Ralphs. While some customers sought price adjustments for the errors, a couple in Ohio also filed complaints with their state's attorney general's office. Kroger customers in California, Illinois, Ohio and Utah, the report said, have filed class-action lawsuits alleging pricing errors. There are 103 Kroger locations in Indiana, according to the chain's website. Of those, 24 are in Indianapolis. Indiana law prohibits businesses from making misrepresentations during consumer transactions. The attorney general's office can investigate allegations of violations of Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. IndyStar has emailed Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office for comment. Responding to the report, a Kroger company representative stated that the company is 'committed to affordable and accurate pricing.' Kroger told Consumer Reports that it regularly price checks 'millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate.' The grocer also said the price tag errors cited in the report were a 'few dozen examples across several years out of billions of customer transactions annually.' 'While any error is unacceptable, the characterization of widespread pricing concerns is patently false,' the company told Consumer Reports. In addressing price issue, Kroger also has in place its 'Make It Right' policy. The policy allows employees to address and fix pricing issues on an individual basis. In a statement, Kroger said its 'Make It Right' policy addresses any situation when we unintentionally fall short of a customer's expectations,' the report said. Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Consumer Reports: Kroger overcharged customers for sale items
Indianapolis Star
15-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Report: Some Kroger stores overcharged for groceries despite advertised discounts
A recent joint investigation found that Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, has been overcharging its customers on sale items. Consumer Reports, along with other news organizations, found the typical Kroger shopper 'unknowingly paid full price' on more than 150 items marked as discounted or on sale at stores across the U.S. Working with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, Consumer Reports found that Cincinnati-based Kroger overcharged on items ranging from meat to cereal to instant coffee. On average, the overcharge was $1.70 per item or more than 18% above the sale price. The investigation began after Colorado Kroger workers alleged widespread pricing errors during labor union negotiations. Derek Kravitz, an investigative reporter with Consumer Reports, wrote that the workers say the overcharging goes back years and is a problem "that Kroger is well aware of." 'Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty,' Kravitz wrote. Food prices have increased nearly 24 percent since 2020. In recent years, Kroger has reported record sales and profits along with a strong stock performance. Shoppers recruited by Consumer Reports checked sales tags at 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores in March, April and May. Expired labels led to overcharges on 150 grocery items. A spokesperson for Kroger, meanwhile, pushed back on the report. 'The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions,' according to a Kroger spokeswoman. 'It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.' A reason cited for pricing errors, according to Kroger employees, is that there's not enough staff to change out shelf price labels. Consumer Reports, citing data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), found Kroger has 'significantly cut the number of workers in most of its stores and the number of hours those full- and part-time employees work each week.' Across the country under the Kroger Co. umbrella, stores include Kroger stores, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry's and Ralphs. While some customers sought price adjustments for the errors, a couple in Ohio also filed complaints with their state's attorney general's office. Kroger customers in California, Illinois, Ohio and Utah, the report said, have filed class-action lawsuits alleging pricing errors. There are 103 Kroger locations in Indiana, according to the chain's website. Of those, 24 are in Indianapolis. Indiana law prohibits businesses from making misrepresentations during consumer transactions. The attorney general's office can investigate allegations of violations of Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. IndyStar has emailed Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office for comment. Responding to the report, a Kroger company representative stated that the company is 'committed to affordable and accurate pricing.' Kroger told Consumer Reports that it regularly price checks 'millions of items weekly to ensure our shelf prices are accurate.' The grocer also said the price tag errors cited in the report were a 'few dozen examples across several years out of billions of customer transactions annually.' 'While any error is unacceptable, the characterization of widespread pricing concerns is patently false,' the company told Consumer Reports. In addressing price issue, Kroger also has in place its 'Make It Right' policy. The policy allows employees to address and fix pricing issues on an individual basis. In a statement, Kroger said its 'Make It Right' policy addresses any situation when we unintentionally fall short of a customer's expectations,' the report said. Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Kroger overcharging customers for sale items? Investigation finds how Americans are being ‘duped'
A new investigation says you and millions of others may be charged more than the price you see on the shelf at any Kroger store in the United States. A report by Consumer Reports, in collaboration with The Guardian and the Food and Environment Reporting Network, exposed widespread pricing errors at Kroger and its affiliated stores. The investigation revealed that sale prices posted on shelves frequently don't match what's charged at the counter, and it's not a small difference. On average, shoppers were overcharged $1.70 per sale item, which added up to about 18.4% more than the expected total. From fresh foods like beef, salmon, and vegetables, to everyday essentials like coffee, juice, cough medicine, and even dog food, price mismatches were reported across the board. ALSO READ| Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen resigns after investigation into his 'personal conduct' Kroger workers in Colorado, currently in contract negotiations with the company, claimed that price tag mistakes have been a known and ongoing problem, per The Guardian report. To dig deeper, Consumer Reports sent volunteers to check pricing at 26 Kroger-owned stores across 14 states and Washington, D.C., over the course of several months. 'Some stores have as many as 15,000 discount tags hanging at any one time,' the report noted. Kroger has acknowledged the pricing concerns, pointing to new solutions like digital price tags that are being tested in some locations. '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,' a company spokesperson said. Despite those claims, Consumer Reports said internal audits at one Kroger store found that nearly 6% of items had pricing errors, well above the company's own threshold of a 1% error rate. Investigative reporter Derek Kravitz explained in The Gurdian piece, 'The report stems from authors checking grocery prices for errors after '… learning that Kroger workers in Colorado who are currently in labor union negotiations with the company were alleging widespread errors on price labels — a problem they say has been going on for years and that Kroger is well aware of.'' ALSO READ| Elon Musk's robot impresses Shopify CEO by dancing 'better than most humans' 'Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty.'
