-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass, and Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif.
, are calling upon the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Agriculture to investigate Albertsons and other major grocery chains for “predatory pricing” practices that may have violated federal laws. In a letter sent to FTC Chair Lisa Khan and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Warren and Schiff expressed concern that chains, including Albertsons, “may be making false and misleading representations regarding food sold by weight, leading to customers paying more for groceries than expected.” Related As politicians point fingers on price gouging, Kroger pledges to slash grocery prices by $1 billion There’s some precedent for their concern.
Last month, California prosecutors reached a $3,962,500 settlement with Albertsons Companies, Inc. — and its subsidiaries Safeway and Vons — to resolve allegations that the companies engaged in “false advertising and unfair competition.” Specifically, the civil complaint filed by the prosecution team alleged that the grocers unlawfully charged customers prices higher than their lowest advertised or posted price.
Beyond what prosecutors classified as “scanner violations,” the grocers also had inaccurate weights on the labels of their products, meaning customers were paying more for “produce, meats, baked goods and other items [that] had less product in the package than was displayed on the package label.” In a stateme.
