Ralphs, Kroger charged with overcharging for prepackaged goods in Los Angeles stores

Ralphs, Kroger accused of overcharging in LA

LOS ANGELES — The city attorney’s office filed criminal charges Tuesday against the Ralphs supermarket chain and its parent company, Kroger Co., accusing them of overcharging for some of its goods in Los Angeles.

The city attorney filed 14 counts of false and misleading advertising along with other charges, including false labeling and unlawful computation of value. Both Ralphs and Cincinnati-based Kroger face fines and penalties of up to $256,000.

“We take allegations of this nature very seriously and we’ll conduct our own investigation and take corrective actions as necessary,” said Meghan Glynn, a spokeswoman for Ralphs and Kroger.

Undercover inspections visited 14 Ralphs stores across Los Angeles between January and March and found customers were being gouged for prepackaged and weighed products including fried chicken and salad, city prosecutors said.

Inspectors from the county’s Department of Weights and Measures discovered 27 violations. Most of the violations involved the store illegally charging for the weight of the package, or including the ice glaze on frozen products in the net weight, authorities said. Some prepackaged items also were found to be under the weight on the label.

Ralphs was cited for similar violations in 2008 and 2009 and paid nearly $17,000 in fines.