Kroger stores nationwide overcharging on items including some expired by 90 days: investigation

Kroger stores nationwide have been overcharging shoppers on expired and discounted sale items – potentially breaking federal and state laws and sapping extra dollars from cash-strapped customers, according to a monthslong investigation.The Cincinnati-based chain has long been accused of inaccurate price labels, fending off several class-action lawsuits filed by customers in California, Illinois, Ohio and Utah who claim they were charged full price at the register for items with sale tags.Executives at the major grocery chain have allegedly discussed the need to remedy the issue at internal meetings – but the faulty tags have stuck around at dozens of Kroger stores, according to an investigation led by Consumer Reports, The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network.“The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions,” a Kroger spokesperson told The Post in a statement. “It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing,” they said, adding that the company regularly conducts price checks, reviewing millions of items each week.The news outlets recruited shoppers to check prices at 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores, including Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, Fry’s and Ralphs, across 14 states and the District of Columbia in March, April and May.These undercover customers were overcharged on more than 150 items with incorrect sales labels, from Cheerios and Nescafe instant coffee to Mucinex cold medicine and dog food – and at least five items that had expired 90 days ago.In one instance, an undercover shopper paid $4.99 for salt and pepper pistachios – $2.50 more than the advertised $2.49 sales price. In another, Kroger rang up a pack of flour tortillas for $4.99 at the register, though they had been advertised at a discounted $2.99.“The scale of the price errors identified at Kroger, and the length of time th...