‘Special’ supermarkets: Pak’nSave Māngere fined $ 78,000 for price discrepancies

An Auckland supermarket has been fined nearly $ 80,000 for price discrepancies between the promotional price displayed or advertised and the price charged at the checkout.

Pak’nSave Māngere, operated by Kennedy Foodcentre 2003 Ltd, has been fined $ 78,000.

He previously pleaded guilty to six counts of making false and / or misleading price statements under the Fair Trade Act, the Trade Commission said today.

Between June and October 2018, the supermarket was found to charge a higher price at the checkout for one or more items than the promotional price it had advertised or displayed on the shelves.

Among the most expensive items were mushrooms priced at $ 4.99 but charged $ 2 more at the box twice, avocados advertised at three for $ 5 but charged $ 1.99 each on one occasion, and Sliced ​​salmon for $ 8.99 on the shelf but $ 10.79 on the box, four times.

The charges were made after officials showed up and held “mystery shops” to compare the prices of the advertisement with those charged at the checkout.

The price differences were raised by those officials, Commerce Commission staff, to customer service personnel at the store.

However, when staff returned to the supermarket the next day and purchased the same items, they found that customers were still being charged more at the checkout than what was displayed on the shelves.

In a written decision, Manukau District Court Judge McNaughton said the conduct was “repeatedly careless.”

“The price discrepancies were related to a series of individual items in different departments of the supermarket and they were repeated,” the judge said.

“And the defendant did not take immediate action to correct its pricing systems.”

After Pak’nSave Māngere was informed of the commission’s investigation, the supermarket took important steps to remedy the problems.

“But the immediate lack of action was unforgivable,” said Judge McNaughton.

Commerce Commission Chair Anna Rawlings said supermarkets need to make sure their systems are robust enough to make sure customers are charged the correct prices and not misled.

“Consumers need to be able to trust that the price shown on the shelf is the price they will be charged,” he said.

“If a mistake is made, companies must ensure that consumers are compensated and take immediate action to ensure that the mistake is not repeated.”