The Boise-based owner of 225 grocery stores in Washington state, including Safeway stores in Kitsap County and an Albertsons in Port Orchard, is being sued by Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown for allegedly deceiving customers through “buy one get one” sales.
The lawsuit filed in King County Court, announced Monday, April 27, alleges that Albertsons Companies, which also owns Albertson’s and Haggen stores in Washington, overcharged customers in more than 3 million transactions over five years. The AG alleges that the stores would raise the prices on items leading up to when they were announced for the sales, when a customers gets an addition item for free, and drop prices down when the sales were done.
“As a result of this artificial price manipulation, consumers making purchases under these promotions are paying a premium and not truly getting a 1:1 free product as advertised,” the lawsuit states…