DENVER — At a time when a cart full of groceries costs more than it used to, shoppers could be paying more for hundreds of products across Colorado supermarkets.
"When I was younger, I remember $50 could get you a house worth of groceries," said Barbacar Fall, a King Soopers shopper.
An investigation by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 alleges these stores are overcharging customers for hundreds of products marked as “on sale.”
Union President Kim Cordova said workers checked sale tags on various items, from pistachios to dog food and detergent, in more than 50 stores across Colorado.
“They’re going to buy this bag of pistachios thinking they’re going to pay $6.99, but we were actually being charged $8.99. So that’s $2 over,” Cordova explained.
The investigation found widespread pricing errors and expired sale tags.
Cordova noted that workers often struggle to keep up with numerous labels.
"I mean, these workers have to hang, sometimes more than 8, 9, 10,000 tags whenever the ad changes, and there's no hours allocated for those," she said.
These findings were shared with Consumer Reports, which conducted a nationwide investigation and said it found a systemic issue within Kroger's pricing practices.
In light of these allegations, Denver7 sought advice on how consumers can avoid overcharging for groceries.
If you’re shopping at King Soopers, use the store's app to scan the QR code on the back of the item to verify its price. Then, compare this price with what's on your receipt.
Denver7 tested this method at the King Soopers store at W. 38th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard on Saturday and discovered that most sale tags were current.
At a time when filling a grocery cart costs more, Cordova emphasized the importance of verifying prices as an effective way to protect your wallet.
“Every little penny counts,” she said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for King Soopers/City Market said, "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."
Denver7's Smart Shopper is all about getting you the best deals and lowest prices on groceries! Each week, Denver7 will break down the latest deals at popular grocery spots across the metro and help you find ways to save money. The latest prices, in the interactive chart below.
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