Local officials have just given Walmart shoppers 5.6 million reasons to keep a close eye on price tags and what they’re charged at the register.
Four California counties have settled a consumer protection lawsuit against the retail giant, accusing it of charging customers more than the shelf price for various products, and mislabeling weighted goods to charge shoppers for more than what they were actually getting.
The Consumer Protection Units of the District Attorneys of San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties filed suit against Walmart last month, alleging violations of the state’s False Advertising and Unfair Competition laws. Their complaint alleged that Walmart had charged customers higher prices than those posted on the shelf. “Walmart also had issues with inaccurate weights on their product labels,” the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office explained. “Some items sold by weight such as produce, baked goods, and other prepared items had less product in the package than indicated on the label.”…