Consumer Reports study alleges King Soopers has been overcharging customers on sale items
Celeste Springer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A new Consumer Reports study claims that Kroger, which owns King Soopers, has been advertising marked-down prices on products, but customers are still paying more at the register.
According to the report, the agency found that the average overcharge cost customers was about 18.4% more at checkout.
Consumer Reports believes the problem lies with old/expired sales tags not being removed after a sale is over.
Consumer Reports said they began investigating after union members in Colorado began calling attention to the alleged issue, “a problem they say has been going on for years and that Kroger is well aware of.”
The agency said it dispatched people to Kroger and Kroger-owned stores across the country to investigate.
UFCW Local 7, the union representing King Soopers and City Market employees in Colorado, says it sought to investigate as well. The union alleges every single one of the stores they went out to had “misleading prices leading to the over-charging of consumers.”
The union claims the issue is due to understaffing, with not enough staff able to go through and properly vet and remove old sale tags.
“When Kroger dictates that workers’, hours be cut in these stores, it is customers who pay the price,” said Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 President, in a release.
King Soopers has fired back at the allegations, releasing the following statement:
“The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions. It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.”
-Spokesperson for King Soopers