Prosecutors to Accuse Ralphs of Overcharging on Sale Items

Ralphs supermarkets have been cheating consumers throughout the San Fernando Valley and other parts of Los Angeles County by routinely overcharging them for items that are marked on a sale, according to city prosecutors who plan to file criminal charges against the chain today. The city attorney’s office will file seven separate criminal cases against Ralphs and its store managers alleging that the supermarket chain has been overcharging customers on its “Price Breaker” items in the Valley, prosecutors said.

During undercover shopping trips over a four-month period, investigators with the county Department of Weights and Measures found that they ended up paying more for one out of every six sale items when they brought them to the checkout stands at Ralphs stores.

“This is unacceptable, and it is an illegal business practice,” City Atty. James K. Hahn said.

Hahn said the county investigators also made undercover inspections at other major supermarket outlets and “felt there were more inaccuracies at Ralphs.” Most of the criminal charges are misdemeanors or lesser infractions, which carry a maximum of a $1,000 fine and six months in prison.

Meanwhile, Ralphs and some of its store managers are set to go to trial today in an unrelated but similar case stemming from allegedly charging customers more than the advertised sale items at Ralphs supermarkets in Koreatown, the Wilshire District and Hollywood, prosecutors said.

Executives at Ralphs refused to comment specifically on the new complaints, saying that the company was still responding to the allegations and that no charges have been filed.

“All I can tell you is that the charges are absolutely ridiculous,” said Jan Charles Gray, general counsel and senior vice president for Ralphs.

Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek said the practice appeared to be widespread and systematic. In one case, he said, a county investigator took a $9.99 bottle of wine to the checkout counter, and was charged $12.99.

“The bottom line is they’re getting ripped off,” Cocek said about shoppers. “It’s happening all over the county.”

Cocek said he had no evidence to believe the violations were intentional. But he said the 18% error rate seemed uniform at all the stores checked. It also mirrored the error rate that officials in Los Angeles and San Diego found at Ralphs stores more than five years ago, when they filed a civil complaint alleging overpricing, he said. Without admitting wrongdoing in that case, the company that owned Ralphs agreed to pay $71,000 in a settlement.