Whole Foods Chain Faces NYC Probe After Investigators Found ‘Worst Case Of Overcharges’

In New York City, Whole Foods grocery chain has been caught with overcharging products to customers. The grocery chain is reportedly the subject of a probe by the city after investigators say they caught the store routinely overcharging customers for packaged groceries during a slew of inspections dating back to at least 2010, the New York Daily News reports.

The Department of Consumer Affairs conducted a sting in the fall aimed at checking the accuracy of the weight marked on pre-packaged products. Inspectors selected 80 different kinds of items at Whole Foods' eight locations in NYC that were open, and found every label was inaccurate, and many charged customers too much for those products, an agency spokeswoman told the NYDN.

Though other grocery chains were also found to be overcharging in the city, and 77% of them received at least one violation, the agency pegged Whole Foods as particularly egregious offender. That prompted the DCA to open up a full investigation of its pricing practices in 2014.

But, overall, the situation sounds pretty egregious. Whole Foods was also found to overcharge at scanning stations and add tax to items that shouldn't be taxed. Eight of the nine New York outposts have logged a total of more than 800 violations since 2010, racking up a $58,000 tab in fines (the UES location that just recently opened wasn't included in the investigation).

Whole Foods isn't the only offender in the overcharging department, but Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Julie Menin says: "Our inspectors told me it was the worst case of overcharges that they've ever seen." Whole Foods is of course defending itself. A spokesperson for the company explains that the Whole Foods "never intentionally used deceptive practices to incorrectly charge customers." But a store worker allegedly told a DCA inspector that prices were intentionally mislabeled. This isn't the first time Whole Foods has gotten itself into this sort of mess. Last summer, the Texas-based chain has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a similar issue at some of its California stores. 

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