Price Gouging in Arizona? Walmart Faces A Class Action Lawsuit
Inflation has prices skyrocketing. It doesn't help my family's bottom line when you can't rely on the giant retailer known for low prices as they're being accused of deceptive pricing and price gouging.
Walmart is facing a class-action lawsuit because it allegedly used deceptive pricing practices. The lawsuit claims that Walmart's shelf prices were frequently listed lower than the final purchase price that was charged at checkout.
It's not just a blip or a minor discrepancy. In some cases, the markup was as high as 10 to 15%.
READ MORE: Walmart Self Checkouts Overcharged Arizona Shoppers
Allegations of Deceptive Pricing in Arizona Walmart Stores
In Arizona, customers have reported similar price discrepancies. It’s not just a local problem, though. The scanning error wasn't just found in Arizona Walmart locations. Similar discrepancies between the shelf price and final cost have been noted in Illinois, Ohio, California, Florida, and other states.
This isn't the first time Walmart has been criticized for mismatched prices. In 2012, a California court fined Walmart $2 million because it violated a 2008 ruling that required it to resolve pricing errors at checkout.
Two separate locations in North Carolina were also fined back in 2021. The stores were taken to task over “repeated and excessive scanning charges.”
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Estimates suggest that the alleged pricing overages may cost shoppers hundreds of millions of dollars every year. This is a good reminder to keep an eye on our receipts and check to make sure we’re paying what we expect at the register.
Sources: Supermarket News | USA Today | Yahoo! News | State of NJ Attorney General | AZ Family
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